Best BBQ Smoker to Buy in New Zealand

With so many different types of smokers on the New Zealand market, it can be tough to work out which one is best for your backyard. So, I am going to list what I consider to be the best smokers available and help you identify which model is best option for your needs.

Whether it’s charcoal, electric, wood pellets, ceramic eggs, kettles, drums, vertical or portable smokers, I’ve been smoking on them for 20 odd years. I’ll share my experiences to hopefully help guide you across these various styles. I’ve become so passionate about BBQ smoking that I have written for several different blogs worldwide.

Here’s my list of the best BBQ smokers to buy in New Zealand:

• Green Mountain Grills Ledge
• Traeger Ironwood 650
• Broil King Keg 5000

So, what makes these smokers great?

The Ledge and the Ironwood 650 are pellet smokers which hold temperatures accurately while automatically producing the optimum amount of smoke for flavour. They’re great for beginners and seasoned pro’s alike. 

The Broil King 5000 is both a versatile smoker and searer. The insulation and airtightness make this easier to control heat than many other charcoal/wood smokers available in New Zealand. 

9 Reasons to Purchase the GMG Ledge or Traeger Ironwood 650

• Both GMG and Traeger are strong, proven brands.
• Well thought out designs for smoking.
• Easy functionality with simple push START buttons.
• Remote control your grills via smartphone apps.
• Cooking profiles that take out the guesswork of smoking meat (great for beginners).
• Clean combusting pure wood fire smoke (no dirty charcoal).
• Heavy and sturdy builds.
• Bake, smoke, or add a cast iron pan to sear (we baked sourdough in a dutch oven, well the Mrs. did).
• Both handle GMG’s pizza oven attachment.

6 Reasons to Purchase the Broil King Keg 5000

• Super Efficient Insulation
• Efficient Tight Gasket Lid Rim
• Holds Temperature Effectively with Charcoal/Wood Chunk Smoking
• The Best Searing Ability you can find
• Superb Pizza Oven – a super hotty
• Easy Ash Removal Pan

Why These Smokers are the Best in NZ

GMG Ledge and Traeger Ironwood 650

One of the biggest reasons these pellet grills are the business is that they both focus on convenience and getting consistent results as easily as possible.

Holding temperature and achieving consistent clean combustion (i.e. that thin blue smoke) is the key to any successful smoking session but this can be difficult for beginners to achieve with a charcoal or log smoker. These pellet grills do this job for you admirably, holding temperatures steady for hours on end.

GMG Ledge and Traeger Ironwood 650 are two of the most popular pellet grill smokers in the world thanks to their super easy and reliable thermostat-controlled smarts.

Operation is as easy as plugging them into power and pushing a button. The auger will then automatically feed the wood pellets into the burner pot for pure wood-fired heat and smoke. Of course, you can keep an eye on things via the smartphone apps available for Android and iPhone.

This pellet smoker technology is really changing the game for indirect heat/smoke for low and slow flavour. Select your favourite cooking profile for your meat and press a couple of buttons…BOOM. It’s why I see pellet smokers as the best all-round smokers around.

Broil King Keg 5000

This Broil King kamado-style smoker is up there with my favourite picks because they are incredibly well-insulated. They are air-tight making heat management super easy – it’s just ‘in and out’ control on the air vents.

There is a learning curve but it’s minor. Like all smokers, to hold heat at a tighter temperature – DON’T KEEP OPENING THE LID- IF YOU’RE LOOKING YOU AIN’T COOKING!

One of the things I prefer about the Keg 5000 over a traditional ceramic kamado is that it can handle a bit of punishment.

I’ve witnessed someone try and cool down their ceramic kamado by pouring cold water on it. CRACK! Here’s a free tip for you – ceramic cracks under extreme heat changes so don’t pour cold water on hot ceramic!

I’ve also witnessed ceramic kamados crack during transportation too.

The Keg 5000 is tough! It’s made of lightweight fiberglass insulated with double-walled steel. It has the durability of a classic kettle but without the heat loss that they suffer from. Basically, the Keg 5000 is the best of both worlds – the airtightness and insulation of a ceramic kamado and the durability and versatility of a kettle.

Different Types of Smokers

There are many different types of smokers and I usually put them into two categories: Horizontal or Vertical.

Best smokers for convenience:

• Pellet Grill Smoker
• Electric/Gas Vertical Smoker

Best charcoal smokers for traditional low and slow:

• Kamado/egg/ceramic smoker (semi convenient – it’s charcoal but epic!)
• Offset smoker
• Drum, bullet, or barrel smoker
• Kettle

Best Charcoal Smoker in New Zealand

You don’t get as tight an airflow with drum or kettle style smokers, but they do get the job done – if you don’t mind hanging around the smoker. It’s a good excuse to sink some brews and hang with the boys. With drums and kettles, it’s all about heat management and lots of it!

I always find that you must keep an eye on them at least every 30-60 minutes, which is fine if you are into it. They will also take time to respond to a change in airflow and you’ll find yourself micro-adjusting the intake now and then.

For an excellent all-round charcoal smoker, the Broil King Keg 5000 is fantastic, but another great piece of kit is the Napoleon Apollo AS300K. It’s a ‘bullet’ style smoker that is versatile and you can actually hang things in for smoking things like fish or hot smoked bacon.

Compared to a pellet grill, this is a much more involved process but can be very rewarding too.

If you’re a die-hard, check out this offset – the Charmate Wrangler Offset Smoker & BBQ. They are heavy but they are the purist’s approach. It’s one of the hardest smokers to master, but if you’re looking for the next level, go crazy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I always recommend a pellet grill smoker for a beginner or if you want the easiest, most convenient way to smoke low and slow meat.

Best Kamado Ceramic Egg Smoker in New Zealand

As mentioned, the Broil King Keg 5000 is one of the best but if you’re after a traditional ceramic egg, the Bull Kamado is the way to go in my opinion.

There are some big name-brand ceramic egg smokers like Big Green Eggs and Kamado Joe, but they are twice the price. Like Traeger, Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe have helped build a market and reputation for their style of smoker and as a result charge a premium just like Traeger. Most pitmasters I know prefer value for money – heck a lot of them will even build their own drums and offsets!

My favourite smokers are eggs and pellet grills, but I guess you will have picked up on that by now.

Best Wood Pellet Grill Smoker in New Zealand

The Green Mountain Grills Ledge and Traeger Ironwood 650 are the best pellet grill smokers in New Zealand. Both have excellent temperature-controlled thermostats and pure wood-fired smoke. Both are WiFi controlled, strong reliable brands, and create delicious smoked food.

Here is the GMG Ledge I had just put together performing its job admirably:

To learn more about what makes these two the best pellet grills, read my full article here.

Factors for Best BBQ Smokers

Here are the factors I’ve considered to assess the different types of smokers:

• Convenience
• Longevity
• Fuel Source 
• Heat Retention
• Holding Temperatures

Best Smokers in New Zealand Comparison

Convenience

The level of convenience is likely to be the key factor for most guys considering you will be smoking or cooking something for between 1 and 13 hours.

On one end you have pellet smokers which automatically hold temps whereas you must manage the fire and temperature aspects charcoal smokers such as kettles, drums, bullets and to a lesser extent, ceramic eggs.

So, which one appeals to you?

I understand the hardcore, traditional style low and slow guys love to hang out and smoke while sinking a few brews and talking smoked turkey. Sometimes, I’m part of that cult too!

Being able to see the internal meat and smoker temperature on the phone has massive upsides. I love the flexibility to go off and do other things by not having to check on the BBQ for hours at a time which I think is a massive benefit for those of us who need that time available for other things. Hence why pellet grill smokers rank best for most convenient smokers.

Longevity

You’re investing big bucks and want something that lasts. Like any BBQ or smoker, you need to cover it at a minimum. Ideally, you have a roof over it too. The above products I have suggested are built to last but like anything – cleaning and a decent cover will help prolong the life for your BBQ smoker.

Pellet grills have electronics and require mains power (GMG also offer 12v cigarette lighter plug and alligator clips for mobile smoking). Keeping a pellet grill out of the wet is really important. It’s also necessary to make sure your pellets are dry.

A ceramic kamado will brave the elements better than a steel smoker. My brother’s ceramic egg just sits in his garden the entire year. He has an old cottage with a mega fireplace (2m wide by 1.5m high) and we wheeled the egg into the fireplace one winter. Good times.

Fuel Source

There are three types of fuel for indirect heat/smoking: charcoal, gas, and wood.

Most smokers run on charcoal unless it’s a pellet grill, or electric or gas smoker. I have seen charcoal pellets for mixing with my wood pellets, but I haven’t tried that yet (and it might invalidate your warranty).

Gas and wood pellet smoking is as convenient as it gets. Unlike wood, gas and charcoal are often described as inert fuels with no actual flavour being provided from the fuel. However, some say gas dries out meat and others say it gives a porkier flavour. I think charcoal has a specific flavour (think charcoal whole chicken).

Some offsets can run on pure wood, but you are going to need some expertise. Screw that personally – a log an hour for thirteen hours? No thanks.

Charcoal can be a little bit more bearable depending on what smoker you are using. The air-tight gaskets and airflow control of an egg/ceramic smoker make this easier since it burns charcoal uber efficiently. You can close off the air after a smoke up and it will starve the fire of oxygen, extinguishing the charcoal and helping save it for your next session too.

Heat Retention

The best smokers are thick and well-insulated to hold the temperature well.

The Broil King Keg is a thermos flask design with air insulation in between the metal exterior and interior. The Bull Kamado is a more traditional thick ceramic insulation. I have noticed that I can stick my hand on the exterior of a Broil King Keg when smoking (100-120°C) as it does not get very hot. Something to consider if you have young ones running around.

I have definitely had the biggest challenges with kettle grills (like the classic Weber’s) when it comes to holding temperatures, but they are often one of the cheapest smokers to invest in.

Kettle smokers take the most amount of effort because they’re often made of a lighter grade of steel which leads to lower heat retention. Drums and bullets fall into this category too. So, you have light weight kettles through to heavy gauge cast iron offsets on one end and ceramic eggs/kamados on the other end in terms of insulation and heat retention.

Holding Temperatures

Most low and slow smoking occurs at 100-120°C or 200-250F for pulled pork, pork ribs, beef short ribs or the mighty beef brisket.

I’ve also learned through experience that when the temperature drops in a charcoal smoker, you may not notice. The smoking session ends up being a number of hours longer than planned, and this can strain the party vibe a bit.

Pellet, gas and electric grills are nearly ‘set and forget’.

What Do You Want from a Smoker?

Do you want convenience or the hardcore experience?

Best BBQ Smokers for Convenience

• Pellet Grill Smokers
• Vertical Smokers – (Gas / Electric)

Don’t like the idea of hovering over your barbecue for hours on end, adjusting the temperature etc? Want the convenience of ‘set and forget’? Then a thermostat controlled auger that feeds wood pellets automatically is the grill you’re looking for.

For even more convenience, you may want to invest in a pellet grill with WiFi smarts. With the ability to monitor and control temperatures via your smartphone, that way you don’t have to be stuck at home.

Having used a few different types of vertical gas smokers, they provide heat from below with some deflection via some type of metal tray. Often there is a water pan to create a bit more moisture since gas runs a little bit drier during a cook. Really, you are just setting the desired heat, smouldering some wood, and letting things cook at a set temperature.

Best BBQ Smokers for Hardcore Low & Slow

• Bullet/drum style smokers
• Kettle smokers
• Offset smokers

Somewhat similar to a vertical smoker, the bullet or drum smoker is like a 40-gallon drum with a fire on the bottom but with airflow control in and out. Compared to a pellet grill or ceramic egg, I have found the insulation to always be a bit too lightweight. Which, of course, means more tweaking needs to be done throughout the cook.

Offset smokers are often a bit more solid and heavy. Holding heat a lot better, you have two chambers – one for your heat and smoke creation, and the other for cooking. Definitely for the hardcore as there is a learning curve to mastering this type of low and slow barbecue.

From many conversations I’m told that an offset smoker produces the best flavour. However, there’s a reason pellet grills have been barred from a lot of barbecue smoking competitions in America – they often end up winning. Its consistency to hold temperature helps produce the best results to a deadline.

Best All-Round BBQ Smokers in New Zealand to Buy

• Ceramic Egg Smokers – Bull Kamdo and Broil King Keg
• Pellet Grill Smokers – GMG Ledge and Traeger Ironwood 650

The Japanese came up with the idea of ceramic insulation to hold heat for cooking thousands of years ago. It’s the airtightness of ceramic smokers with rather chunky gaskets that means you have tighter control over the heat and smoke compared to a lot of the kettles, drums, or bullet-style smokers.

Ceramic smokers are just a bit more straight forward than other charcoal smokers for holding temperatures thanks to the tight control you have over the airflow. Many barbecue owners I’ve spoken to across New Zealand, Australia and the UK have a ceramic smoker at home and that’s saying something.

It’s also hard to look past pellet grills for the ultimate in convenience and great tasting smoked food. Traeger and Green Mountain Grills are the biggest pellet grill brands in the world for good reason – they make the best pellet grills. The GMG Ledge and Traeger Ironwood 650 are the standard.

For me, I prioritise convenience, which is why I chose GMG Ledge, Traeger Ironwood 650, and Broil King Keg 5000 as the best BBQ smokers to buy in New Zealand.