The 5 best barbecue smokers in 2024: Perfect for Labor Day weekend celebrations

If you love to grill, you probably have strong opinions about charcoal, wood-pellet and propane/gas options. But have you considered a barbecue smoker, or a grill with smoking capabilities? These too come in a wide range of sizes to accommodate your outdoor entertaining and tailgating needs. 

Pro Tip: Determine how much cooking space you need (in square inches). For a family of four, 400 to 500 square inches should be adequate. Next focus on fuel type, since this has a huge impact on food flavor. We recommend a wood-pellet option for more versatility and control, but this is a matter of personal taste. 

What is the best barbecue smoker in 2024?

If you’re craving the unique taste of smoked meat, chicken or fish, you can’t go wrong with one of these carefully selected barbecue smokers that our grilling experts chose for this roundup. Whether you’re preparing food for yourself, your immediate family or a large group, you have plenty of great options.

Best barbecue smoker: Traeger Ironwood 885

If you’re ready to take your outdoor cooking to the next level of delicious, check out this Traeger Ironwood 885. It’s a wood-pellet grill and smoker designed to deliver superior flavor every time.

This model offers a generous 885 square inches of cooking space, but there’s also the Ironwood 650 ($1,099) if you can get by with just 650 square inches. We love both options because you get a versatile temperature range between 165-degrees Fahrenheit and 500-degrees Fahrenheit, so you can smoke, bake, roast and grill with extreme precision.

Another great feature is the wood pellet hopper that allows you to switch pellet flavors quickly (and Traeger offers plenty of its own options). The Ironwood plus into any 120 volt outlet and quickly heats up to the desired temperature and then maintains it.

You also get two-tiers of porcelain coated steel grates, so you can spread out the foods you’re preparing. And the grill includes Traeger’s integrated Super Smoke feature for improved wood fired flavor that’s easier to achieve than ever. Using Super Smoke, you simply press a button to increase the level of smoke generated.

We also love that the grill has its own mobile app, so you can monitor and control your cooking without standing directly over the grill. The 886 square inches of cooking space is enough room for up to 10 chickens, seven rib racks, or nine pork butts.

Best budget barbecue smoker: Royal Gourmet 30″ charcoal grill with offset smoker

Thanks to Royal Gourmet, you can enjoy an outdoor charcoal barbecue with offset smoker for just $119. In all, this grill delivers 811 square inches of cooking space. This includes 443 square inches of porcelain-enameled steel wire cooking grates, a 184-square-inch, chrome-plated warming rack, and a 184-square inch offset smoker — all integrated into a single unit.

The offset smoker is firmly attached to the grill to ensure good circulation of heat and smoke. It provides an easy to open side door to add charcoal and remove ashes. There are also built in air vents that stoke the fire instantly. And for durability, the grill is made mostly from alloy steel. 

Smoking meats properly involves a lot of time and patience. It’s just not as simple as placing a slab of meat on the grill. So, it is of the utmost importance to select a versatile charcoal smoker to meet your demand. Designed for amateurs, this grill will nicely accommodate anyone who likes to grill and smoke at the same time.

Best large capacity barbecue smoker: Traeger Grills Pro 34

This versatile barbecue smoker uses wood pellets, so it’s easy to achieve that classic wood-fired taste whether you’re grilling, smoking, baking, roasting, braising or barbecuing. The digital controller uses advanced grilling logic to maintain a +/- 15 degree Fahrenheit temperature for precision grilling, at a temperature up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

In all, you get 884 square inches of cooking space, which is enough to prepare up to 40 burgers at the same time. Using this electric grill, achieving the ideal wood-fired smoked taste is easy. And it’s possible using a grill that’s budget-priced at just $499.

Thanks to this grill’s barrel-shaped design, heat and smoke continuously circulate around your food, while grease is carried away by the drip tray. The built in induction fan is used to stoke the fire. The grill’s wood-pellet hopper capacity is 20 pounds.

Best Kamado-style barbecue smoker: Kamado Joe Big Joe III

When it comes to premium-quality, Kamado-style barbecue grills and smokers, the model you want is the Kamado Joe Big Joe III. This is a 24-inch ceramic charcoal grill and smoker that has its own built in cart, complete with two side trays. 

This grill comes in Kamado Joe’s iconic red color and features 450 square inches of cooking space. Thanks to its design, the Kamado Joe distributes smoke and heat in rolling, recirculating waves. So your food gets surrounded in clouds of delicious smoke. This results in enhanced flavor and significantly reduced hot spots.

The Kamado Joe maintains a consistent air setting for precise airflow management when the dome is opened and then closed. The dual-adjustment top vent is rain resistant and allows you to smoke from 225 degrees Fahrenheit up to being able to sear at 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

Best smaller capacity barbecue smoker: Traeger Grills Pro 575

Perfect for a family of four (or just a few people), the Traeger Grills Pro 575 offers 575 square inches of cooking space and is a versatile, wood-pellet grill that can grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, and BBQ. Plus, the porcelain grill grates makes clean up a breeze.

We’re fans of this grill because it supports Wi-Fi connectivity. Using the Traeger app, you can monitor and control the grill from virtually anywhere. It also offers a more compact design than many competitors. It measures 27 by 41 by 53 inches, but weighs in at 149 pounds, so you’ll certainly want to rely on the wheels to transport the grill.

To take the guesswork out of your barbecue smoking experience, the Pro 757 comes with a built-in meat probe that can communicate with the mobile app, plus showcase the food’s temperature if you’re standing over the grill. And to enhance the flavor of your food even more, we definitely recommend trying some of Taeger’s own flavored wood pellets that are made in the USA from 100% natural, food-grade hardwood.