Masterbuilt
Masterbuilt 30-Inch Digital Electric Smoker
The Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital Electric Smoker is the best-selling electric smoker in the US, a vertical cabinet with digital temperature control and a side wood-chip loader. It's the simplest way to smoke meat.
Specifications
Features
Pros
- ✓It's the most foolproof way to smoke - just set the temp and time digitally, load chips, and walk away; perfect for total beginners
- ✓The patented side wood-chip loader lets you add chips without opening the door and losing heat and smoke
- ✓710 sq in over four racks fits a surprising amount - multiple racks of ribs, several chickens, or pork butts
- ✓The insulated cabinet holds steady low temps reliably, even in cooler weather, with very little fuss
- ✓At ~$250 it's inexpensive and includes a meat probe for monitoring internal temp
- ✓It's electric, so no fire-tending, charcoal, or propane - just plug it into a standard outlet
- ✓It's light at ~46 lbs and compact, easy to store or move on a balcony or small patio
- ✓Cold-smoking cheese and fish is easy at its low minimum temp, expanding what you can make
Cons
- ✗It tops out at 275°F, so it can't crisp poultry skin or sear anything - you finish those in an oven or on a grill
- ✗Smoke flavor from chips is milder than charcoal or wood, and purists find it lacks the depth of a real fire
- ✗The cheap chip tray produces inconsistent smoke and many owners add an aftermarket cold-smoke tube for steadier output
- ✗Build quality is budget - the thin door seal, latches, and racks are common early failure points
- ✗The 1-year warranty is short, and the heating element or controller can fail after a couple seasons
- ✗It needs an electrical outlet, limiting where you can place it and making it useless off-grid
- ✗The non-WiFi model has no app, so you check it manually unless you buy the Bluetooth/WiFi version
- ✗The window models can be hard to see through once the glass smoke-coats, and the door doesn't always seal tightly
Compare the Masterbuilt 30-Inch Digital Electric Smoker
Related grills
More from Masterbuilt →
Masterbuilt
Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 is a digital, app-controlled charcoal grill, griddle, and smoker that uses a gravity-fed charcoal hopper and a fan-driven digital controller to automate charcoal cooking. It blends real charcoal flavor with set-and-forget convenience.
Masterbuilt
Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT
The Gravity XT is Masterbuilt's current gravity-fed flagship and a direct response to the #1 complaint about the original 560/800/1050 series: build quality. The XT gets dual-wall FuelSaver insulation, a porcelain-coated interior, beefier hardware, and a 3-year warranty (up from 1), while keeping the party trick that made the line famous - real charcoal flavor with pellet-grill automation, from a 225F smoke to a legitimate 700F cast-iron sear in minutes. Owners and reviewers consistently call it the best-cooking gravity smoker you can buy, with better fuel efficiency and steadier temps than the old 1050 and the Char-Griller Gravity 980. The honest caveats: at $1,799 it costs nearly triple what a Gravity 800 street-prices for, it's a 199 lb two-person assembly job, and the electronics-in-a-charcoal-grill concern hasn't vanished - fans, switches, and control boards remain the failure points owners report, though XT-generation complaints are notably rarer. The hopper's 12 lbs of lump or 18 lbs of briquettes genuinely runs an overnight brisket. If you want charcoal taste with an app and don't want a Big Green Egg's learning curve, this is the class leader.
The Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 is the iconic charcoal kettle that started backyard grilling in America, upgraded with a built-in thermometer, hinged grate, and sealed One-Touch ash catcher. It's the single most-recommended first grill on Reddit.
Blackstone
Blackstone 28-Inch Griddle
The Blackstone 28-inch is the compact 2-burner version of America's favorite outdoor griddle, offering the same flat-top cooking in a smaller footprint suited to smaller patios and families. It's a top-selling entry griddle.
Weber
Weber Q 1200
The Q 1200 has been the default answer to 'best portable gas grill' for over a decade, and the review volume backs it up - it's one of the most-reviewed grills Weber sells. Unlike the thin folding camp grills it competes with, the Q is a real grill shrunk down: a cast aluminum cookbox that retains heat like a full-size Weber and porcelain-enameled cast iron grates that lay down legitimate sear marks on steaks and burgers. OutdoorGearLab has ranked it their top tabletop portable for years, and r/grilling threads about balcony and tailgate setups almost always land here. Honest limitations: one U-shaped burner means no two-zone cooking, so thick cuts and bone-in chicken take lid management and patience; 189 sq in feeds about four people; it drinks 1 lb canisters, so most owners buy the adapter hose for a 20 lb tank; and the low-profile grease tray will flare if you never clean it. The regulator's low-flow safety lockout (weak flames after a bottle swap) is the most common owner complaint, fixable with the well-known reset ritual. Against a Blackstone 22 you're trading griddle versatility for real grill marks and a lid.
The Weber Master-Touch 22 is the upgraded version of Weber's iconic charcoal kettle, adding a hinged Gourmet BBQ System grate, a built-in thermometer, and a Tuck-Away lid holder. It's a benchmark backyard charcoal grill.