How we research and test
A verdict is only as good as the work behind it. Here is the work, what passes, and how we label a review when the hands-on test has not happened yet.
Every review carries one of three labels
- Owned. The grill lives here and has done at least ten cooks across a season. Every test below has been run.
- Hands-on. Cooked on for at least a weekend, or run at a dealer. The page lists which tests were done and which were not.
- Researched, test pending. Built from manufacturer specs, retailer listings and the pattern in owner reports. The page says so near the top and gets updated with a date when the grill is cooked on.
How we research a grill before testing
Specs come from the manufacturer's own product page and manual, then get checked against at least one major retailer listing. Owner reports are read in bulk, across retailer reviews, owner forums and warranty discussions, and only patterns make it into a review. One angry post about a cracked fire pot is noise; forty of them is a finding.
Prices are checked on the day a page is written or updated, and the month sits right next to the price. A price with no date is a guess, and you will not find one on this site.
The hands-on tests
These are the tests every owned grill goes through. A hands-on review runs as many as the time allows and lists the rest as not done.
| Test | How | What passes |
|---|---|---|
| Hold at 225°F | Grate-level probe logged every 5 minutes for 3 hours, lid shut | Stays within 15°F of the set point after the first 20 minutes |
| Hold at 225°F in the cold | The same test below 40°F, grill out in the open | Stays within 25°F; pellet use recorded |
| Top end | Set to max, read the grate temperature at 20 minutes | Within 25°F of the advertised maximum |
| Sear | Two 1 inch ribeyes, 2 minutes a side at max or on the sear zone | A real crust; marks or full crust noted |
| Hot spots | Biscuits across the whole grate at 350°F | Gap between the hottest and coolest zone recorded |
| Smoke flavor | Chicken thighs at 225°F for 90 minutes against a reference cook | Smoke clearly there, nothing acrid |
| Pellet use | Hopper weighed before and after a 6 hour cook at 250°F | Pounds per hour published in the review |
| Start-up and shutdown | Cold start to 225°F; length of the shutdown cycle | Minutes recorded |
| App and controller | Wi-Fi pairing, probe accuracy against a reference, alerts | Pass or fail, with notes |
| Build | Steel gauge, lid seal, casters, grease handling after 10 cooks | Notes and photos |
What we measure with
Grate temperature comes from a probe clipped at grate level, not from the grill's own controller, which reads near the back wall and usually flatters itself by 10 to 25°F. Meat temperature comes from a leave-in probe during the cook and an instant-read for the final call. Pellet use is weighed on a scale, never estimated from the bag.
What we will not do
- Accept a grill in exchange for coverage or a better verdict.
- Fill a gap with an invented test result.
- Rank one grill over another because its commission is higher.
- Leave out a known problem with a grill we recommend.
Corrections
If a spec, price or claim is wrong, tell us through the contact page. The fix goes up with the date it was made.