Summer is right around the corner and that means it’s the perfect time of year to start grilling and smoking.
Even if you’re reading this review as we get later into the year, there’s never really a bad time to be grilling.
As long as the weather is clear, there’s simply nothing better than getting friends or family together and enjoying a meal that is grilled or smoked to perfection.
Although gas grills have become incredibly popular in the last few decades, there’s still a lot that can be said for a charcoal grill.
With charcoal, you will get the authentic smoky flavor, and you could even add some wood chips to turn a quality hooded grill into one of the best charcoal smokers.
Char-Broil smokers offer a lot on paper and could be an excellent choice if you’re looking for something that can do both smoking and cooking.
Let’s take a look at the features of some of the best Char-Broil smokers available on today’s market, and all of the benefits of owning this model.
Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker
This is a Char-Broil smoker designed for busy households.
With a modern look and an easy-to-use interface, it’s the perfect investment if you’re looking to smoke your meat at home.
With 725 square inches of total rack space, this smoker is perfect for family use.
It includes plenty of special features to make it ideal for first-time smokers.
There’s an advanced control panel with a backlit LED display, glass doors so you can see your food as it cooks, and a large locking latch to ensure the perfect seal.
Designed for outdoor use, this smoker is perfect for a modern home.
It features contemporary stainless steel, dark metal, and glass design, which gives it a unique look.
It is electric-powered, so there’s no need to use gas or charcoal.
This makes it more convenient if you don’t have a propane tank or don’t want to store charcoal at home.
Because it’s digitally controlled, there are no variables when it comes to smoking temperature and smoking time.
Everything can be controlled from the top panel, making it one of the most user-friendly smokers available today.
Pros
- Appealing to modern design.
- Glass door design.
- Double-walled metal construction.
- Electric powered for convenience.
- Plenty of space for any ingredient.
- Wheels for easy storage and moving.
Cons
- The glass needs cleaning after every use.
- Need to open the door to get access to the wood chip holder.
With just a couple of minor downsides, this is one of the best Char-Broil smokers available today.
It’s ideal if you simply want to set your smoker and let it cook without interruption.
Char-Broil Deluxe Black Digital Electric Smoker
Here’s a slightly modified version of the Digital Electric Char-Broil Smoker.
This time with an attractive black finish that will work better with some outside decors.
Like the two-tone deluxe model, this one features a large glass door on the front, so that you can see your food as it cooks without having to open the cabinet door.
All of the other features are identical in the Digital Electric Smoker range.
There’s plenty of cooking space with four stainless steel racks, providing up to 725 square inches of space.
The racks are ideal for smaller cuts, deli ingredients, fish, and poultry pieces.
For larger cuts and whole birds, removing a rack or two will create the extra clearance that’s needed.
The smoker will burn for up to seven hours at its lowest setting.
The sealed design keeps heat, smoke, and flavor locked inside, providing the best results, even for first-timers.
The digital controls are incredibly easy to use, allowing you to set cooking temperature and time, and simply let the smoker run in the background as you enjoy your day or entertain guests.
Pros
- Attractive cabinet design with a large glass viewing window.
- Plenty of space for ingredients large and small.
- Up to seven hours of smoke time at low temperatures.
- Simple digital panel makes it easy to start smoking your favorite ingredients.
- Electrically powered for convenience.
Cons
- Glassdoor requires cleaning after every session.
- Smoker needs to be opened to replace wood chips.
This double-insulated smoker is one of the best choices on the market if you want the convenience of digital smoking at home.
Its innovative design is the perfect entry point to the world of rich smoky flavors.
Char-Broil Standard Digital Electric Smoker
Here’s a slightly more affordable option if you’re looking for a convenient modern aesthetic, without a glass door on the front.
The Standard Digital Char-Broil Smoker offers plenty of space, an innovative cabinet design, and convenience thanks to its digital control system.
This electric smoker features a backlit LED display that allows you to control temperature and smoking time.
The wood chip holder is inside the main cabinet, so you’ll need to open the door to refill it.
However, this model can produce smoke for up to seven hours on a single refill, which will be more than enough for most ingredients.
The fully enclosed design and sealed door help to trap smoke, heat, and flavor, so experienced smokers will find that this produces better results than some standard barrel smokers that aren’t fully sealed.
Even cleaning is made easy, thanks to a slide-out grease tray at the bottom of the cabinet.
Four adjustable racks provide up to 725 square inches of capacity for most ingredients.
Some larger ingredients will need a tray or two to be removed before cooking.
Pros
- Modern design and excellent construction quality.
- Simple electric smoking is perfect for busy households and first-time smokers.
- Fully sealed design locks in smoke and flavor.
- Burns wood chips and pellets more efficiently than gas and charcoal smokers.
Cons
- No glass door like on its sister models.
- The door will need to be reopened to refill wood chips after seven hours.
Digital smokers are becoming more popular today.
With their convenience and ease of use, it’s not hard to understand why.
This is a great Char-Broil smoker for families that love authentic smoky BBQ flavors.
Char-Broil 12201570-A1 American Gourmet Offset Smoker
A smoker doesn’t have to be a one-trick device.
With the Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset Smoker, you can grill, BBQ, and smoke as much as you like, thanks to the simple and versatile design.
This affordable Char-Broil smoker is a combination grill with an offset smoker box.
It can be used with charcoal and woodchips, giving you authentic smokehouse flavor for your favorite ingredients.
There are 140 square inches of cooking surface in the firebox chamber, with an additional 290 square inches in the main smoking chamber.
This smoker is designed primarily for low and slow cooking, so it’s not the best option if you simply want a quick way to cook burgers.
However, if you want to smoke beef, pork, poultry, fish, and specialty meats to perfection, this is a great model to start with.
Construction quality is good considering the price, but note that there’s a lot of thin steel and tubular steel used in the construction.
If you’re on a budget, you’ll love this option.
If you are looking for something with a more premium look and feel, other Char-Broil smokers will be better suited.
Pros
- Large main cooking surface with plenty of hood clearance.
- Easy to use, thanks to a simple charcoal design.
- Works in any weather, without the need for gas or electricity.
- Integrated hood thermometer.
Cons
- Basic construction quality will limit durability.
- Weak legs and wheels could be improved.
This affordable charcoal smoker is a perfect choice if you want to smoke, BBQ, slow roast, or grill a range of ingredients.
Its versatility and price are the biggest advantages.
Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Smoker Roaster & Grill
This is another versatile option, this time offering a grill, smoker, and roaster all in one unit.
The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Char-Broil Smoker is one of the most interesting designs on the market today.
Its unique barrel system creates an aesthetic that is unlike anything else you can buy. It’s not just about the looks.
The design helps to create natural heat convection, pushing heat and smoke upwards and through all of your ingredients.
This grill runs from propane gas, making it convenient for every household.
It has Char-Broil’s TRU-Infrared technology to add efficiency and the ability to grill at searing hot temperatures.
The special barrel design ensures that meats are cooked thoroughly, whether you’re roasting a brisket, a full chicken or turkey, ribs, roast cuts, BBQ, or any of your favorites.
While not primarily a smoker in the truest sense, this grill can get right down to 9,000 BTU of power, which allows for low and slow cooking.
Pros
- Large cooking basket suitable for poultry and big cuts of meat.
- Versatile and innovative. The barrel design is ideal for roasting and performs well for smoking.
- Quality construction with a powder-coated steel finish.
- Infrared cooking technology to cook food evenly and prevent flare-ups.
Cons
- More focused on roasting and grilling than it is slow-smoking your ingredients.
- The top grilling surface is relatively small at 180 square inches.
This is a roaster first and a smoker second, but its versatility could be perfect for your needs.
If you want an efficient grill that can also use wood chips and pellets when needed, this is an option to consider.
Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker
If you like the cabinet/refrigerator design of the digital Char-Broil smokers, but want something a little simpler and more affordable, this Analog Electric Smoker could be perfect for your needs.
It features sturdy coated steel construction, a sealed and locking door, and 544 square inches of cooking space across three removable cooking grates.
The walls are doubled and insulated, so that flavor, heat, and smoke are kept inside, no matter the setting.
Although it lacks the digital display and controls, this model still has an accurate analog temperature gauge.
It’s easy to set the temperature and leave food to smoke while you take care of other things around the home.
A single refill of wood chips or pellets will provide an average of five hours of smoke at medium-low heat.
Like other cabinet-style Char-Broil smokers, this model needs to be opened to replace the wood chips.
This can be an inconvenience for long smoking sessions, but the average user will find that one fill is more than enough for most ingredients.
Pros
- Efficient cabinet design with up to 544 square inches of rack space.
- Double-walled and insulated cabinet to lock in heat and flavor.
- Electric power offers convenience over gas or charcoal.
- Easy to clean inside thanks to an efficient grease-catch system.
Cons
- Difficult to get up to temperature on cold days.
- Smoke chip refill is inside the main cabinet.
- The analog thermometer isn’t as user-friendly as a fully-digital smoker.
Whether you’re cooking chicken, turkey, fish, beef ribs, pork, or even deli and game meat, this is a capable smoker.
It’s more affordable than a digital version but provides almost as much convenience for home smoking.
Char-Broil CB940X Charcoal Grill
Char-Broil has always made attractive and high-quality grills, and the CB940X is no exception.
The design is pure utilitarian, with a coated black exterior that has more in common with the grills of yesteryear than it does with the stainless steel models of today.
This design choice becomes rare in the market today, and it is appreciated by several consumers.
If you are looking for a grill that is understated in looks, then this one is a good option.
Upon taking delivery of your grill, there will be some assembly required.
You’ll need a helper to mount the hood/lid, but everything else can be completed alone.
Assembly can be done within 60 minutes, depending on how familiar you are with assembling large outdoor appliances.
The assembly instructions are clear and the parts all align well.
Quality is something that will stand out from the moment you start assembling the grill.
The parts feel durable without being overly heavy.
The fit and finish are of high quality, and everything will feel sturdy once you have it all put together.
Pros
- High-quality construction with good component fit when assembled according to instructions.
- A huge cooking surface that will be perfect for the largest cookouts.
- The firebox access door is convenient for long cooking sessions.
- Doubles as both a grill and a smoker.
- Competitive pricing.
Cons
- Wheels and casters may eventually need replacing.
- Traditional black finish and squared design may not appeal to all buyers.
- Charcoal cooking isn’t as fast or convenient as gas.
- One of the best charcoal smokers/grills, but wouldn’t be suitable as a dedicated smoker.
- Doesn’t work with a generic rotisserie kit.
There are premium grills that do have better materials, however, the reasonable price of the char broil smoker makes it one of the best charcoal smokers/grills that we’ve seen in this segment of the market.
The Perfect Char-Broil Smoker for Any Home
Is there a ‘perfect’ smoker to buy today?
The answer depends on your needs.
There’s variation in the market because everyone expects something a little different from their smokers.
We’ve covered some of the best models with unique designs so that you can find one that fits within your budget.
Designs range from classic offset smokers to upright barrel-style smokers, and even cabinet-style smokers.
Think about how you will use your smoker and where you will put it. Often, the location will inspire the type of smoker that’s right for you.
Whether you choose charcoal, gas, or a modern digital Char-Broil smoker, you can be certain of getting a high-quality outdoor cooking appliance for all of the smoky flavors that your family and friends will love.
