The 4 Best Gas Smokers, According to Our Tests

Our Favorite

Although none of these gas smokers will give you the same results as wood-fired or charcoal smokers, we were pleased with the performance of the Pit Boss 3-Series Gas Vertical Smoker. For less of a learning curve when it comes to heat management, we recommend the Cuisinart COS-244.

The Tests

Assembly

Our tests are designed to emulate a consumer's experience, from assembling the smoker to cleaning it. So, first, we removed the smoker from its packaging and then followed the instructions provided by the manufacturer to assemble it. We timed this process and noted the ease or difficulty involved as well as how clear the directions were.

Design

Design rankings are more subjective. We took down our impressions on the sturdiness and construction of the smoker, the stability of the legs or wheels, the capacity of the racks, how securely the grates fit into the smoker, and how much (if any) smoke escaped from the doors or joints. We also rated how easy or difficult the following were: the grates sliding in and out, moving and lifting the smoker, attaching the propane tanks, replenishing the water bowl, controlling the temperature, and following the user guides.

Cooking Tests

We tested the smokers’ performance by cooking chicken wings and ribs at 225°F and a slab of salmon at 200°F. We noted the starting food temperature, ending food temperature, cooking temperature, any variation of cooking temperature during the process, if and when we needed to replenish the smoker chips, and the time to cook these items. After cooking, we judged the texture, smoke flavor, and appearance of the cooked foods.

Cleaning Tests

Following the manufacturers’ instructions, we cleaned the smokers, noting the ease or difficulty encountered during the cleaning process and whether the drip pan aided or aggravated the situation. 

Scoring

We rated each category on a scale of one to five, five being the best. We then took a weighted average of the category scores, with assembly counting for 15% of the total, design, performance, and ease of use, each carrying 25% and cleaning 10%. We used these weighted average scores to determine our winners.

Factors to Consider

Design

You’ll be spending considerable time with your smoker, so you should probably make that time as enjoyable as possible. The most obvious examples of design include how well-built or well-insulated the smoker is, how heavy it is, how easy it is to move should you relocate it, and its stability – how easy is it to knock this hot thing over?Take a look to see if the doors have any gaps and if the latches close tightly, preventing smoke (and heat) from escaping. Ideally, accessing and refilling the water bowl and chip tray will be easy, too. Also, look at how easily the shelves slide in and out and whether they have a mechanism to hold them in place while extended to make loading easier.

Temperature Control

Controlling your temperature is key when smoking. The best smokers provide baffles in addition to a temperature knob, allowing you to fine-tune the heat to a constant, desired temperature. Most of the models we tested have a knob that turns from high to low. Baffles are often a smoker's fine-tuning mechanism, so look to see if your model has them. 

Smoke too cold, and your food will either not cook or suffer from moisture loss from evaporation, in addition to the fat not properly rendering out. The end result? Dry, gray, and flabby. Smoke too hot, and again, you won’t properly render the fat. Your food will overcook on the outside and probably cook too quickly on the inside, never having a chance to break down connective tissue. The end result? Dry, fatty, and chewy.

Other Gas Smokers We Tested

Strong Contenders

GrillPro 33” Vertical Propane Gas Cabinet Smoker ($262 at Home Depot)

The GrillPro is a smaller-capacity smoker (we couldn’t fit all of our chicken wings on one rack) and has fairly decent heat control. It burned through chips, though, requiring multiple refills throughout testing. Still, it didn’t generate a full smoke flavor in the foods we cooked.

Dyna-Glo 36” Vertical LP Gas Smoker ($275 at Home Depot)

With the Dyna-Glo, the heat ran away from us during our testing. Even with the dampers closed and the temperature knob at its lowest setting, the smoker consistently ran 25 to 50°F over our target temperature and gave us uneven cooking and dried-out food.

Broil King Vertical Gas Smoker ($599 at BBQ Guys)

Assembling the Broil King came with some challenges, largely due to parts missing from the box. We got decent temperature stability results with the wings and ribs, but the smoker had another agenda when smoking salmon, spiking 50°F higher than our target temperature. The ribs and the wings were over-smoked, with a heavy, acrid flavor that took any pleasure off the table.

Masterbuilt 40” ThermoTemp XL Propane Smoker ($361 at Home Depot)

The Masterbuilt performed more like a pizza oven than a smoker. It has a relatively small chip pan for such a large smoker, and even though we refilled the chips multiple times, there was minimal smoke flavor to any of the food.

Our Expertise

Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Food Republic, Serious Eats, Tasting Table, and other publications.