True BBQ mastery isn’t just about hovering by a grill making sure the sausages don’t burn. A real grill master knows that adding complex and interesting flavours to choice cuts is key in cooking a BBQ to remember.
From flavoursome marinades to veggie options to complement your feast, a great BBQ should have plenty of choice for everyone invited. If you’re a carnivore, meat is undeniably the headline attraction, and one way to raise your game and bring something new to the table is by adding a smoker.
What is a BBQ smoker?
Specifically designed for garden grill, a smoker helps home chefs cook food at low and controlled temperatures in a smoky setting which can add real depth to the flavour of your food. The much-celebrated low and slow method can take hours, sometimes days. It’s worth the wait for the tender, flavourful results that will follow.
If you don’t have the time or patience (or weather on your side), you can buy smoking devices that can be filled with flavoured chips to add smoky flavour to grilled food.
Where to buy smoking chips
You can get different woods for varying flavours to enrich your BBQ spread, as well as hardy woody herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, dill and oregano. Here’s a quick roundup of popular smoking chips to add to your smoker, whether it’s a box or integrated design.
- Hot Smoked Wood Smoking Chips Collection - £34, NOTHS
- Cherry Smoking/Smoker Wood Chips 4.5L - £11.95, Amazon
- Weber Smoking Wood Chips, Whiskey - £6.16, Amazon
- Smoker Wood Chips for Smoking and Grilling - £19.99, Amazon
- Woodabrix Cherry Wood Chips - £8.69, Amazon
The other route is to buy a machine that comes with integrated smoking features. This can knock up the price for some models, but if you’re someone who spends all summer dreaming of the next time you can barbecue, it’ll be worth the extra cost.
Best BBQ smokers at a glance
- Best for versatility: Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker - £274.29, Amazon
- Best for Kamodo style on a budget: vidaXL Ceramic Kamado Barbecue Charcoal Grill Smoker - £280.99, Amazon
- Best for smart features: Traeger Pro D2 575 WiFi Connected Wood Pellet BBQ - £899, John Lewis
- Best for easy cleaning: Tower T978573 2-In-1 Smoker Grill with Charcoal & Smoker - £499.99, Amazon
- Best for multifunctional marvel: CosmoGrill Hybrid 4-Burner Barbecue - £349.99, Amazon
- Best for camping: Bar-Be-Quick Charcoal Smoker and Grill - £85, Argos
- Best for old-school smoking: Argos Home American Smoker Charcoal BBQ - £110, Argos
- Best for celeb credentials: Big Green Egg BBQ - £2566, John Lewis
- Best for southern-style succulence: Landmann Kentucky Smoker - £299.97, Appliances Direct
- Best for updating your current BBQ: Navaris Smoker Box - £12.99, Amazon
If you’re unsure where to begin, we’ve gathered the best BBQ smokers below to help you decide.
Shop now
Best garden furniture sales: deals on rattan, outdoor furniture sets and more
Best gas BBQs for gourmet grub in the garden
Best home pizza ovens for indoors, your garden or any outdoor space
Best fire resistant gloves that are ideal for home grilling and wood burning stoves
Best BBQ cleaning tools and products to keep your grill gleaming
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker OG701UK
Best for: versatility
- Cooking space: 28 x 37cm
- Fuel type: mains
- Weight: 12kg
Ninja’s Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker combines the high-crunch, low-fat charms of air frying with another cooking method favourite - barbecuing.
Using real wood pellets in an integrated smoke box, the machine can flavour all sorts of meats and veggies through the smoker, alongside six other cooking functions - including air fry. It’s made to be used outdoors but the 1.6m power cord means you’ll need to stick pretty close to mains power unless you’ve got a generator for camping trips.
Still, for big entertainers and throwers of garden parties, it's a gizmo that can do all your cooking for you. No more to-ing and fro-ing to the kitchen and hauling trays out of the oven: the Woodfire can sizzle sausages, crisp up chicken wings and make pork ribs and extra tenders all in one machine, and make the potato wedges and smoked corn too.
Most persuasive review?: “This grill is SO much less faff than a BBQ, it’s so much easier and quicker to clean which is a big deal to me as I hate the clean up after a BBQ. It’s quicker to heat, safer to use, has more control (no more food charred on the outside and raw on the inside) and more cooking options than any other outdoor cooking option I know of.”
Buy now £274.29, Amazon
vidaXL Ceramic Kamado Barbecue Charcoal Grill Smoker
Best for: Kamodo style on a budget
- Cooking space: 27cm diameter
- Fuel type: charcoal
- Weight: 16.4kg
Reigning supreme as the cult BBQ for a few years now, this Japanese-inspired grill is fast becoming the outdoor cook's go-to. Not only can it grill and smoke, but it can do all sorts of other clever cooking too: baking anyone?
Typically egg-shaped, this black ceramic barbecue has a sturdy hinged lid with a vent and a thermometer on top so you can see the internal temperature at a glance.
There's a double-layer vent which you can use to control airflow and it comes with two collapsible side shelves on either side for space to put cooked food and BBQ utensils.
Sitting on four stable feet, it looks as good as it cooks with a dimpled and glazed exterior.
Buy now £280.99, Amazon
Traeger Pro D2 575 WiFi Connected Wood Pellet BBQ, Black
Best for: smart features
- Cooking space: 3710 sq cm
- Fuel type: wood pellets
- Weight: 55.8kg
Got a family to feed? Traeger calls in the big guns with this BBQ smoker which can be controlled and monitored remotely from an app. This hi-tech version of cooking means you're no longer tethered to your machine for the duration and can kick back with your guests knowing that the food is taken care of. The WiFi element only works when the BBQ is plugged into the mains so be sure you can extend your cables around the garden first.
The grill grates are finished with a porcelain coating, making them wonderfully easy to clean and there is a built-in meat probe to help you work out if your food is ready.
Buy now £899.00, John Lewis
Tower T978573 2-In-1 Smoker Grill with Charcoal & Smoker
Best for: easy cleaning
- Cooking space: 38cm diameter
- Fuel type: charcoal
- Weight: 5kg
Enjoy al fresco cooking four ways with Tower's two-in-one BBQ grill which offers you the flexibility to grill, steam, smoke and roast to stave off menu fatigue.
Use the temperature gauge to reach the optimum heat depending on what you want to make. This 5kg design has two doors to add charcoal and increase airflow if needed while an ash catcher under the drum makes clean-up easy.
Buy now £49.99, Amazon
CosmoGrill Hybrid 4-Burner Barbecue
Best for: multifunctional marvel
- Cooking space: 86 x 84cm
- Fuel type: dual
- Weight: 47kg
A serious machine for serious grillers, CosmoGrill's barbecue will let you cook in practically any weather conditions, come rain or shine. It can run on charcoal but there are gas capabilities with a total of four burners that can be fired individually for controlled cooking.
A smoker can hold up to 1.35kg of charcoal or briquettes and comes with six settings to adjust the heat to the right level and there's a chimney to keep air flowing. Underneath the cast iron grates is a storage area that is big enough for gas canisters or cooking equipment and the whole show is loaded onto four castor wheels for portability.
Buy now £349.99, Amazon
Bar-Be-Quick Charcoal Smoker and Grill
Best for: camping
- Cooking space: 40cm diameter
- Fuel type: charcoal
- Weight: 8.3kg
Enjoy al fresco cooking four ways with Bar-Be-Quick's Charcoal Smoker and Grill which offers the flexibility to grill, steam, smoke and roast (summer Sundays will never be the same again). Use the temperature gauge to reach the optimum heat depending on what you want to make.
Best of all, this 8.3kg design breaks down and can be converted into a small portable barbecue by removing the top section, making it perfect for taking on a camping break. Meanwhile, the larger charcoal pan gives you space to feed more hungry mouths. Comes with a one-year guarantee from the manufacturer.
Buy now £85.00, Argos
Argos Home American Smoker Charcoal BBQ
Best for: old-school smoking
- Cooking space: 52 x 30cm
- Fuel type: charcoal
- Weight: 16.5kg
Prepare for queues around the block once your friends and family clock this bad boy in the garden. Shaped like an oil drum, this steel BBQ not only has enough space to feed up to eight, but also comes with an integrated fire box to burn wood for a delicious smoky flavour.
A small chimney sits on the other side to provide ventilation from the food cooking on the two 30 x 26cm enamel cooking grills. Cook directly over the coals in the main area or place food in the side firebox to smoke the food.
The whole lot is set on wagon wheels so you can move it around your garden or patio with ease. Self-assembly is required, but once you sit down to your feast, we're sure it will all be worth it. Sold with a one-year manufacturer's guarantee.
Buy now £110.00, Argos
Big Green Egg BBQ & Acacia Wood Shelves Nest Bundle with ConvEGGtor & Cover
Best for: celeb credentials
- Cooking space: up to 120cm
- Fuel type: charcoal
- Weight: 93kg
Plump for the Big Green Egg XL and aside from being over £2k lighter, you’ll join an elite owners club featuring celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Tom Kerridge as well as Goldenballs himself, David Beckham.
Clad from NASA-grade ceramics, that Armageddon-proof – okay, weatherproof – body, with its fabulous racing green livery and hammered exterior takes the capital’s climate in its stride, backed by a lifetime warranty.
BGE was at the vanguard of the craze for Kamados - more outdoor ovens than traditional BBQs - and the Eggs are fantastic fun to use, guaranteed to enthuse even the most reluctant outdoor chef. This one will roast, slow cook, smoke and bake as well as grill, promising restaurant-quality food in your back garden that’ll be the talk of the neighbourhood. Moreover, XL users can effectively double their 61cm diameter cooking space by investing in an EGGspander, allowing you to cook directly and indirectly simultaneously – great for Sunday roasts.
If you’re looking for a practical, stylish way to grill 24 burgers, 12 juicy steaks or 11 vertical chickens at a pop, and aren’t put off by the price tag and size, the XL weighing in at 93kg and measuring 82cm high x 82cm wide, including handles, then this one’s for you.
Just remember to ‘burp’ it, fractionally opening and closing the lid a few times before fully opening, to avoid any high-temperature, eyebrow-erasing backdrafts.
Buy now £2566.00, John Lewis
Landmann Kentucky Smoker
Best for: southern-style succulence
- Cooking space: 66 x 36cm
- Fuel type: Charcoal
- Weight: 29kg
Having the ability to smoke your food really adds a welcome element to your charcoal BBQ game. Slow-smoked tastes can be dished up with ease thanks to this sub-£300 machine.
With a quirky design that reminds me of an aged locomotive or Appalachian moonshine still, the eminently functional Landmann Kentucky Smoker is simple yet effective. It measures a decent-sized 140cm x 53cm and sits 125 cm high. Cook away on a decent-sized grill cooking area as well as a separate offset smoker.
While the chrome-plated charcoal grid is no great shakes, the powder-coated shell seems hardy and its handier features include a removable side shelf; an in-lid thermometer; a removable ash pot; and a 60cm x 18cm warming rack.
Landmann reckons it’ll cater for 10 people, which sounds plausible. Search ‘Kentucky Smoker’ on YouTube and you’ll find a handy ‘getting started’ video to help smoke out your appetite.
Buy now £299.97, Appliances Direct
Navaris Smoker Box - Heavy Duty Metal Smoker Box for BBQ Grill Wood Chips
Best for: updating your current BBQ
- Cooking space: n/a
- Fuel type: any
- Weight: 600g
Offering a budget option for those craving smoky flavours without the price of an electric smoker, the Navaris BBQ Smoker Box runs on wooden chips, pellets or herbs. Add them to the box, and place them directly over the flames.
The simple device will help you dish out succulent steaks, ribs, chicken wings and pork chops every time. Try cherry wood chips or pecan wood chips for unique and tasty flavours that will leave your guests wanting more. Heat resistant to 300°C and dishwasher safe.
Buy now £12.99, Amazon
