Best Charcoal Grill Smoker Combo

OUR TOP PICK

Char-Griller prides itself on making quality grills and smokers that hard-working families can easily afford and use to help create a lifetime of lasting memories. 

They’ve forged an unbreakable kinship between themselves and their customers by putting their client’s needs first and their profits second.

It’s a policy that’s worked well for them for decades and it’s one that they continue to, and almost certainly always will cling to.

The Outlaw is an ideal grill for families and backyard cookouts.

With a total cooking surface area of one thousand and sixty-three square inches (seven hundred and forty in the primary area and nearly three hundred and thirty in the secondary) and simple to use heat control that’ll let you gradually step your game up between warm, medium and hot as you grill using it’s fully adjustable cooking shelves, it’s an entry-level grill that’s been built to last until your kids leave for college and eventually return to the fold with children of their own. 

And when you want to start smoking? Just close the lid and let the Outlaw do the rest, as the rich, velvet smoke that the charcoal makes envelopes and imbues whatever you’re cooking.

It’s simple to set-up and use, and thanks to its easy-dump ash pan is also simple and straightforward to clean.

As we said, it’s an ideal smoker and grill combination for those lazy, long family weekends and get-togethers with your friends. 

Pros

• Simple to set-up and easy to use, as soon as it’s been assembled, you’ll be ready to start cooking, grilling, and smoking, and before you know it you’ll be a backyard master chef.
• Smoking doesn’t have to be difficult, and Char-Griller has made it ridiculously easy to do. Just set your stopwatch, close the lid of the Outlaw and it’ll be smoking time in your backyard coral. 
• Their promise about manufacturing affordable grills and smokers for hard-working families? It’s one that Char-Griller sticks to like glue, which means that the Outlaw won’t singe your pocketbook or burn your bank account. 
• And, best of all? The Outlaw comes with a five-year warranty, so if it does go up in smoke, Char-Griller will be there to replace it or refund you.

Cons

• Don’t let the fact that it has wheels fool you into thinking that it’s a portable, easy to move around your yard smoker and grill, it isn’t. The Outlaw weighs around one hundred and twelve pounds, so when you finally maneuver it into place and decide where your prime grilling spot is, chances are, it’s going to live there forever.  
• There’s also a vocal minority of disgruntled customers who claim that the Outlaw doesn’t live up to Char-Grillers fanfare and isn’t as reliable as the brand claims it is. Mostly their complaints are centered around the quality of the cooking shelves, but some seem to have focused on the fact that the warranty that Char-Griller is so proud of isn’t quite as comprehensive as the company would like you to believe it is.

EDITORS CHOICE

Royal Gourmet is driven by a passion to create the joy and happiness that barbecuing and grilling brings to families all over the country.

Based in Atlanta, they’re a brand that rigidly believes in care, taste, innovation, and diversity that plows all their time, energy, and expertise into designing and manufacturing the sort of grills and smokers that families can depend, and rely on. 

This offset smoking monster doubles up as a charcoal-fired grill that can cook anything and everything that you’ll want, and need it to, on its eight hundred square inches of cooking space.

With a built-in thermometer on the main lid so that you can check on, and maintain the temperature of your grill, a fully adjustable air-flow to help you control the temperature, and an easy to fill, light, and clean side-mounted firebox, Royal Gourmet’s grill and smoker will help you to savor and enjoy the best of both outdoor cooking worlds. 

Made to help you to embrace the deep, rich flavors that charcoal smoking will imbue your food with, the Royal Gourmet has been fashioned from steel and it’s cooking shelves are coated with porcelain to make them easier to wipe down and clean.

Durable, tough, and strong, it’s been built to last and will almost certainly become a family heirloom that’s passed down from one generation of grillers to the next. 

Pros

• For a heavy-duty grill and smoker combo, it’s surprisingly light and at just fifty-seven pounds can easily be moved around your yard. Don’t like grilling and smoking in one spot? Then just pack the Royal Gourmet up and move to the next, it’s easy to do with this lightweight grill,
• If you want to learn, and master the hidden arts of smoking and grilling, this affordable and easy to use combo will help you to conquer both.
• And when you’ve finished cooking, thanks to the removable ash can that’s part and parcel of the firebox, it’s also remarkably easy to clean.
• Then there’s the warranty. Royal Gourmet guarantees all of their grills for a year, so you’ll have twelve months of hassle-free grilling and smoking from the moment that you fire up the Royal Gourmet for the first time.

Cons

• Our Grandma used to tell us that “You get what you pay for” and if some of the reviews of this smoker and grill and combo are to be believed, that certainly seems to be the case with Royal Gourmet. A not inconsiderable number of backyard chefs have complained that the Royal Gourmet looks and feels cheap and when it’s set-up, things don’t quite line-up the way that they should. This is a little worrying when you’re using equipment that relies on heat and fire to work.

BEST VALUE

While Char-Broil makes the bold claim that they produce a grill for every griller, it’s a statement that isn’t without merit or weight.

After all, they’ve been making charcoal grills for American families for almost seventy-five years, so they know what they’re talking about, and in all that time, they’ve definitely made a lot of grills.

It might be slightly smaller than the other combos on our list, but don’t let that fool you as everyone and their hound in the grilling world knows that size isn’t everything and its total cooking surface area of around four hundred square inches is nothing to be sniffed at.

That’s more than enough room to cook anything and everything that your family can, and will eat at any given time.

Unless of course, you’ve got a couple of teenagers in tow, in which case you’ll probably need to double your cooking efforts to keep them fed anyway. 

Its lid-mounted temperature gauge will let you know what’s happening at every single stage of the cooking process, and you’ll be able to easily control all of the charcoal powered heat with the simple to use dampers that keep Char-Broilers combo in check.

Then, when you’re done, it’s side-mounted firebox makes the combo straightforward to clean, and once it’s been emptied out, you’ll be ready to start smoking and grilling all over again.

Pros

• Easy to set up and simple to use thanks to its lid-mounted gauge and dampers, this is the combo that you’d even feel safe letting your cousin who likes to drink a little too much bourbon at family get-togethers cook with,
• It’s easy to empty ash-can system means that cleaning doesn’t have to be the chore that it once was and you can just get stuck straight into the five-minute job that used to take an hour whenever you’re ready. And as soon as it’s been cleaned, it’ll be ready to go again. 
• Seventy years and some change of expertise mean that Char-Broiler knows what they’re talking about, and all of that experience is crafted into every grill that they make. That’s a lot of know-how that Char-Broiler builds into every grill.

Cons

• While four hundred square inches of cooking space is more than enough for you and your family, if some unexpected guests show up, it might not be enough, which means that you’ll miss the party while you’re slaving away over a hot grill. 

RUNNER UP

Giantex has its fingers in so many home leisure-related pies that if you tried to count everything that they made, you’d be there all day. If you can name it, the chances are Ginatex makes it.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re not sticklers for quality control, they are and that’s why they’ve become one of the world’s leading home leisure home furnishing and outdoor equipment eBrands. 

While they’re not exactly forthcoming with how much cooking space their combo has, and we haven’t got a tape measure to adequately measure it with, there’s more than enough grilling and smoking space to keep all your charcoal fans smiling for the duration of a weekend cookout.

Built out of steel and easy to set-up, the Ginatex (we’re not going to try and give it its full title as it would take far too long) is a hardy combo that feels like it’s been made to weather any and every storm. 

Even though they haven’t reinvented the wheel, GIantex has made a reliable and affordable smoker and grill combo that’s easy to use and clean and an ideal way to find your footing in the often intimidating world of grilling. 

Pros

• Given how impressive it seems to be, the GInatex is remarkably light and weighs just under thirty pounds. Which means that moving it around your yard won’t be a problem.
• With a lid-mounted thermometer and fill damper control, you’ll always know exactly what’s going on inside the Giantex while it’s smoking anything and everything that you want it to.

Cons

• Here’s the bad news. The Giantex hasn’t exactly endeared itself to the grilling community and it’s been bombarded with a number of indignant reviews that complain about everything from how illegible and hard to understand the assembly instructions are, to how flimsy it feels and how small it is in the real world. If we’re being absolutely honest, it does feel like Ginatex has oversold their combo, but given that it does have its fair share of fans and the price you’ll pay for it, it’s a combo bargain that’s difficult to ignore.

RUNNER UP

We saved the best for last, as we’re die-hard fans of just about every grill and smoker that Oklahoma Joe’s make.

And when they combine the best of both in one easy to use and incredibly efficient machine, we might just be forced to admit that grills and smokers don’t get much better than this combo. 

Affectionately known as the Longhorn by those in the know, this grilling and smoking behemoth has a total cooking surface area of more than one thousand square inches, has lid-mounted temperature gauges, and can be fully controlled using the straightforward dampers that control the supply of heat and smoke from its side-mounted firebox.

The Longhorn also has an additional secret weapon up its sleeve that will encourage you to fully explore each and every grilling and smoking avenue, and that’s the inclusion of a propane-fueled grill that lends it a versatility that the other charcoal grill and smokers on our list just can’t match.

Oklahoma Joe’s has been at the forefront of the smoking and grilling scene for more than three decades and has earned its reputation the hard way.

By making reliable, durable, frills, and smokers that you, your family, and your friends can rely on to always cook up a storm. 

Pros

• With more than one thousand square inches of cooking space, there isn’t a shindig or party that the Longhorn can’t cater for. No matter how much cooking you need to do, with the Longhorn by your side you’ll be able to handle it with ease. 
• It’s a three in one smoker and grill combo that’s happy to be fueled by both charcoal and propane, which makes it versatile and adaptable and more than able to keep up with you as your grilling and smoking expertise increases. 
• Thanks to its lid-mounted temperature gauges and dampers, it’s easy to use and control the heat and volume of your smoke with. And as for the grill? That’s even easier to use than the smoker is.

Cons

• Compared to the other smoker and grill combos on our list, the Longhorn is incredibly expensive. The addition of the propane grill exponentially raises its price, and you’re also paying for the peace of mind and security that comes with the brand name.  Is the Longhorn worth it? We told you that we were fans of Oklahoma Joe’s right? Of course, it is. But it will hit your pocketbook where it hurts the most if you decide to follow the Joe path. 
• The Longhorn might have all of the grilling bells and whistles that you’ve been dreaming about, but they come at a cost. And that cost manifests itself in the weight of the Longhorn. At just over two hundred pounds, it’s incredibly heavy, and unless you’re intent on doing yourself some serious damage when you find your happy grilling place in your backyard, the Longhorn will definitely end up living there forevermore.