The cooking space on the Weber I tested might be a little tight for someone throwing a BBQ for 40 or 50 people, but there is an XL version of the Searwood that offers almost 50% more room.
The most versatile pellet smoker: Recteq X-Fire 825
Pros:
- Wide temperature range
- High-quality material
- Manual feed settings allow for open-top grilling
Cons:
- Controls aren’t intuitive
- Heating is a little uneven across the cook box
- Size: 47″ x 54” x 30”
- Grilling area: 842 square inches (578 square inches in main cooking area)
- Temperature range: 225°F-1250°F
- Pellet capacity: 20 lbs.
- Wi-Fi connection: yes
- Bluetooth connection: yes
- Warranty: Firebox – 6 years
One limitation of older pellet grills is that they don’t really get hot enough to truly grill. If you want to sear a steak or get those idyllic grill marks on your burgers, a top temperature of 450°F doesn’t always cut it; especially when you consider the fact that, to hit even that modest temperature, the lid needs to be kept closed.
Recteq’s new-in-2025 X-Fire series does not have that issue. Not even close.
What we loved: This Recteq grill gets hotter than any other pellet grill I’ve ever used or even heard of. When set to high with its sear burner opened up all the way, my laser thermometer, which tops out at 1000°F gave me an error message trying to get a reading on the cast iron grates. Recteq says it can hit 1250°F. That’s definitely hotter than you need, but it means you can easily get more useful searing temperatures, and, with a pizza steel, use this as a pizza oven if you want.
That’s because the X-Fire is designed to alternately function as a smoker or a pellet-fired grill thanks to the inclusion of two burn pots and its adaptive sear controller (basically a cover that you can open to expose food directly to the live fire in the pot).
You can dial the heat back, though. Choosing the smoke setting on the Recteq activates only one of the burners and lets you set temperatures between 225°F and 400°F, adjusted in 25-degree increments. I found that the temps fluctuated up to 20°F during a multi-hour cook, which is more than the Weber, but still within what I’d consider an acceptable range.
It also doesn’t produce as much smoke as the Weber, but it still left my ribs tender with a rich, smoky flavor.
Finally, this just feels like a high-quality piece of equipment (which, given its $1500+ price tag, it should). Made of heavy stainless steel from the lid to the front shelf to the impossible-to-miss bull horn handle, this is a high-end cooker in every way.
What we’d leave: The biggest issue with the X-Fire was that its heating was uneven across the grill. Because the smoke setting only uses the burn pot on the left side of the grill, that side ran sometimes more than 30°F hotter than the right side (it’s worth noting that, while the heat wasn’t even across the grill, the two sides did move in parallel; if temperatures increased 10 degrees on one side they increased about the same amount on the other). It’s a problem that you’ll also find on some offset smokers, but one that a good pellet smoker, with its fans and thermostats, would ideally correct for. If you’re smoking something big like a whole brisket, need to make sure to face the thicker part towards the hotter side or you’ll get some wonky results.
The one other issue I had was dealing with the interface. The mode setting (smoke or grill) happens with large dials at the center of the grill, temperature setting happens on a digital controller to the left of the grill. The instruction manual was not entirely clear about operation, though Recteq does a great job with the how-to videos on its website.
The best budget pellet smoker: Pit Boss 850 FB2
Pros:
- Large cooking area
- Offers low temperature for smoking
- Affordable
Cons:
- Small temperature range
- Temperature less stable than more expensive grills
- Size: 47″ x 47” x 26.00”
- Grilling area: 840 square inches (584 square inches in main cooking area)
- Temperature range: 180°F-500°F
- Pellet capacity: 21 lbs.
- Wi-Fi connection: No
- Bluetooth connection: No
- Warranty: 5 years
Pellet grills have become increasingly complicated over the years, and, as a result, increasingly expensive. But if you’re looking to add a pellet smoker as a secondary cooker or you don’t mind a simpler experience, Pit Boss has your number.
What we love: For a grill that costs less than $600, this Pit Boss felt like it has a quality build, right down to the casters and heavy rubber wheels that moved easily over a bumpy driveway. During testing, it lit easily and heated quickly in a little more than 15 minutes. The interface was easy to figure out and adjusts in 5-degree increments, more precise temperature control than the 25-degree increments on the Recteq or the 10-degree increments on the Weber. At least in theory.
It produced succulent ribs and chicken and showed no issues of jamming or burning through pellets quickly, which sometimes show up in inexpensive pellet grills.
What we’d leave: As a budget grill, the Pit Boss is more limited. Its temperature range is supposed to go from 180°F up to 500°F when you open the “flame broiler” plate below the grates, but I struggled to get temps that high with the lid open. During smoking, the temperature also bounced around more than the Weber or the Recteq, sometimes as much as 30°F, and it didn’t create nearly as much smoke as the Weber or the Recteq.
How we tested pellet grills
While most big box stores offer white glove assembly services for big items like pellet grills, we thought it was important to get a full picture of what buying one means, so the first thing we did was unbox and assemble all the grills. (The Weber Searwood was an exception due to delayed shipping; the store provided assembly.)