Smokers and pellet grills are becoming increasingly popular, probably because a lot more people cook at home – and are looking for other ways to improve their game as a chef. The Asmoke pellet grill, which is currently in the final stages of a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, has a price that is way below most other options – but don’t be fooled by the price, the grill is more powerful than its cost and portable size could suggest.
Basics
If you’re not familiar with pellet grills, they’re a smoker and grill combination that burn condensed hardwood pellets fed by a snail to generate smoke and heat. The most popular options include Traeger’s grills as well as Camp Chef, Pit Boss and others. The Smoke Pellet Grill is a new, portable pellet grill that offers many of the features you would see with higher-priced brand name options, but at a much lower cost when you consider the accessories – especially now, during the tail end of your crowdfunding campaign.
Asmoke’s $ 176 baker’s price includes a grill, a meat injector, a thermometer, barbecue gloves, mincing tools to shred smoked meat, tongs, and a 5-pound bag of apple wood pellets so you can start cooking right away . This is more than half of the estimated retail price after the campaign ended. Even at the full final price, you will still be cheaper than the next brand competitor – the Traeger Ranger – if you take into account all the accessories included.
design
The Asmoke Pellet Grill is portable, just over 2 feet by 1.5 feet tall and 14.45 inches tall. It weighs around 45 pounds, which is heavy, but it is still portable compared to most pellet smokers, who tend to be very tall and are essentially designed to sit in a fixed place. The Asmoke is also mainly made of steel and stainless steel, so the weight represents a long service life, which is good for a device that is only intended for outdoor use.
The construction of the grill feels very robust and high quality, with good features and surfaces all along the line. The heat-resistant paint is available in four different colors, including the colors red and blue shown below, as well as aquamarine green and black. Latches secure the lid when cooking and there is an insulating gasket that extends the length and width of the edge to hold the heat and give you a secure seal. A large handle opens and closes the lid and four feet lift the grill off the surface you are letting it rest on.
On the front you can see the control unit, which contains a large, readable display that uses several different colors to clearly display information such as the set temperature of the drill, the screw speed and the sensor temperature when cooking with the probe. The large, single dial is your only control mechanism that allows you to set the temperature and turn the grill on and off.
Some assembly is required to get the Asmoke ready to cook, but it’s really super easy. Basically, you simply install the legs and the front handle, then remove all internal components from the packaging and put them back in the grill. It took me about 20 minutes to finish. The grill needs to be primed the first time you use it (and every time you run out of pellets), but that’s only a few minutes. And when you use it for the first time, there is a burn-up process in which the grill is operated at higher temperatures for about 30 to 40 minutes. However, this is very simple.
performance
The Asmoke beats above its weight class. When testing, I smoked a pork shoulder roast with the included Applewood pellets and the results were fantastic. I smoked a lot of meat with a Traeger Pro 575 and this was easy to compare in terms of quality and taste of the finished product with the best results I have achieved with this stove.
Credit: Darrell Etherington
The best thing is that the Asmoke is small enough to work on my condo deck, which I normally couldn’t consider using a smoking stove. The grill emits a lot of smoke through the exhaust, especially when it warms up to temperature for the first time, but it also dissolves fairly quickly, especially if you are on a higher floor. However, be aware that the smoke generated by such stoves smells strong and strong especially in the immediate vicinity – which is an advantage to me, but may not be what you are looking for if you live in a dense city environment.
Using the Asmoke is very easy. You can find easily available recipes for smoking stoves on the Internet. Then just follow these instructions. The Asmoke quickly reaches the target temperature and can maintain a constant temperature throughout the cooking process once these values are reached. If you need to refill the funnel while cooking, opening the box and doing this is easy enough and you won’t lose as much temperature as long as you do this quickly. And since the funnel compartment is isolated from the cooking area, you can do so without fear of burning yourself.
Since the Asmoke offers such a wide temperature range, it is also good or suitable for grilling and even baking. I also made burgers with a much higher temperature on it, and those results were fantastic too – far above standard BBQs in terms of retaining juices and adding a subtle smoky taste.
Bottom line
If you want to improve your outdoor cooking game, the Asmoke portable pellet grill is a remarkably inexpensive way to do it. especially during these crowdfunding efforts. I would normally advise caution in any crowdfunding scenario, but in this case grills are already being shipped to customers and they work exactly as stated and deliver high quality results.
This is a category in which established top brands rightly deserve a lot of respect and customer loyalty for their long history of delivering reliable products. Therefore, it is difficult for newbies to interfere. However, Asmoke’s products and results far exceed their novice status.