Easy units could be a blessing or a curse. Generally firms streamline entry-level merchandise to supply the most effective core options at a cheaper price. Different occasions they pair down the expertise a lot that it turns into a hindrance. With the Smoque (pronounced “smoke”), Weber needs to present potential pellet grillers entry to dependable efficiency and primary sensible options for less money than its extra versatile Searwood sequence. Ultimately, the corporate presents sufficient capabilities to attraction to inexperienced persons and knowledgeable yard pitmasters alike, though the Smoque isn’t as a lot of a worth because it was just a few months in the past.
Essentially the most reasonably priced sensible pellet grill from Weber is a dependable barbeque machine with simply sufficient sensible options to attraction to each inexperienced persons and skilled yard cooks alike.
- Easy controls
- Dependable efficiency
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- New prepare dinner chamber design
- No storage with out upgrades
- SmokeBoost solely works at 180 levels
- No gasoline monitoring
Primary, purposeful design
The Smoque might seem like a smaller Searwood on the surface, however there are just a few noteworthy variations. First, this mannequin has a simplified controller that, like its predecessor, is simply operated with a single knob. The smaller LCD panel is definitely learn from a distance, and it could actually present grill temperature, meals probe temperature and timer information. The catch is the restricted actual property can solely show a type of stats at a time.
This isn’t an issue in the event you’ve acquired the Weber Join app useful, however you’ll wish to be conscious of which merchandise you allow on the display screen in the event you’re planning to look on the progress from throughout the deck. The corporate is definitely hoping the restricted onboard controls will encourage grillers to make use of the app on their telephone extra through the course of. This isn’t a far-fetched state of affairs because the Smoque is extra for smoking and roasting than high-heat cooking, however I’ll get to that in a bit.
The opposite foremost distinction between the Smoque and the Searwood is beneath the cooking grates inside. Weber changed its trademark Flavorizer bars with a grease sheet that’s typical in most pellet grills. The Searwood has one giant bar stretching backward and forward, whereas Weber’s fuel grills and the SmokeFire have a number of of them going entrance to again. The corporate opted for vents as an alternative of a strong sheet of steel, and their covers are mainly mini Flavorizer bars. This implies you continue to get the impact of infusing taste again into meals when grease and juices hit the new steel and sizzle, albeit on a smaller scale. And people vents facilitate higher airflow across the prepare dinner chamber, which implies environment friendly smoke circulation.
Good grilling options
Weber Join, a trademark characteristic of Weber’s sensible pellet grills, is accessible on the Smoque by way of Wi-Fi. As soon as your grill syncs with your property community, the cellular software program can be utilized to watch ambient and meals temperatures from anyplace. That is useful in the event you run out of pellets earlier than your brisket is completed or when it’s time to hit the college carpool line. You possibly can set timers, activate SmokeBoost mode, add a temperature alert and provoke the shutdown course of from the app, too.
For inexperienced persons, or for cooks simply in search of inspiration, the Weber Join app additionally gives a wealth of recipes. These include step-by-step directions, and the software program presents readiness alerts so that you don’t overcook these dear cuts of meat. All of those software program options have been a staple of Weber’s sensible grilling lineup since the debut of the platform in 2020. The corporate has vastly refined them within the years since, and Weber Join is now simply as useful and dependable as Traeger’s WiFire tech, which I beforehand thought-about the gold customary.
Cooking with Smoque
Talking of reliability, the Smoque is a barbeque workhorse within the yard. Weber guarantees preheat occasions of beneath quarter-hour on the grill, and that holds true. Actually, more often than not the Smoque will arrive on the desired temperature effectively earlier than that. Each time I exploit it, I’m shocked by how shortly it preheats, recovers from the lid being open and adjusts to a better temperature. That is all because of the Fast React tech within the controller, an improve that first appeared on the Searwood.
Throughout cooking periods, the Smoque held its temperature reliability, too. The Weber Join app has graphs for the assorted temperatures, and the ambient grill temperature trajectory is nearly at all times a straight line. Positive, you’ll see the dips any time you open the lid, however you’ll additionally see the sharp incline that signifies how shortly the grill returned to the set temperature.
Just like the Searwood, the SmokeBoost characteristic that’s designed so as to add extra smoky taste to your meals solely works at 180 levels Fahrenheit. That is decrease than you’d wish to prepare dinner issues like brisket or pork shoulders, so you need to plan extra prepare dinner time for the 1-2 hours on the decrease setting. Nonetheless, you don’t really want to make use of all of it. The Smoque imparts loads of wood-fired taste from the pellets on the acceptable cooking temperatures. Ribs, pork butts, wings and rooster kabobs all had ample smokiness throughout my assessments — despite the fact that the latter two objects cooked at greater temperatures with out utilizing SmokeBoost first.
A helpful characteristic you’ll have to determine in the event you can reside with out on the Smoque is guide mode. Weber launched this on the Searwood and the software lets you prepare dinner with the lid open for issues like direct-flame searing and flat-top griddling. It makes that pellet grill extra versatile, undoubtedly, however we’re speaking a couple of extra reasonably priced, extra streamlined mannequin with the Smoque. Consequently, that’s not out there right here.
The competitors
Each Weber and Trager have taken an fascinating strategy to their new sensible grills in 2025. The businesses have constructed choices which are extra reasonably priced than earlier units, and the most cost effective fashions from each of them begin at $800. The Smoque was initially introduced at $699, and Traeger now lists the Woodridge for $900 when it’s not on sale (it currently is). Given the present international financial predicament, it’s no shock each firms have raised their costs since their January bulletins.
Traeger’s Woodridge additionally excels on the fundamentals and can make it easier to churn out some deliciously smoked meats. Nonetheless, the temperature fluctuates throughout cooking on that grill, so I give a slight edge to Weber in a head-to-head matchup for its rock-solid consistency. And given the truth that the Smoque is now $100 cheaper at full value, these financial savings might go in direction of extra equipment.
Wrap-up
With the Smoque, Weber proves {that a} primary grill doesn’t have to supply a subpar expertise. This mannequin presents dependable smoking and roasting efficiency with sensible options within the firm’s app for lower than its extra sturdy Searwood mannequin. The Smoque is even out there in two sizes, so there’s an choice in the event you want greater than the 594 sq. inches of cooking house on the unit I examined. Weber actually hit its stride with pellet grills final 12 months with the Searwood, and Smoque is proof the corporate has extra compelling concepts within the hopper. Fortunately, this one saves you some cash with out sacrificing any of the culinary outcomes.
Weber says the 22-inch Smoque is headed to retailers now and shall be out there on its web site in early June for $799. The bigger, 36-inch mannequin is coming mid-summer for $999.
