SMOKE & SEAR
Brisket smoking on a pellet grill

WHY TRUST SMOKE & SEAR

We're backyard pitmasters who got tired of fake "reviews" written by people who'd never lit a fire. So we built the site we wished existed.

SBy the Smoke & Sear Editorial Team · Reviewed by our pitmaster panel

Who we are

Smoke & Sear is an independent review site run by a small team of home cooks, competition-circuit hobbyists, and one genuinely obsessive brisket nerd. We're not a faceless content mill — every recommendation comes from someone on the team actually firing up the grill in their own backyard.

How we test

We don't rank products from a spreadsheet. Our process for every grill and smoker:

  • We buy or borrow the real unit and assemble it ourselves — noting where instructions are bad and parts don't fit.
  • We run multiple cook styles: a high-heat sear (steaks/burgers), a long low-and-slow (brisket or pork butt), and a mid-temp roast (chicken).
  • We measure temperature stability with calibrated probes, tracking how tightly each cooker holds a set temp and how it handles wind and weather.
  • We score on what matters to home cooks: flavor, ease of use, temperature control, build quality, and value — not marketing spec sheets.
  • We re-test across seasons. Build quality only reveals itself over time, so our long-term picks have logged many cooks.

Our scoring scale

Every product gets a score out of 5. A 4.5+ means we'd happily recommend it to family. Anything below 4.0 generally doesn't make our roundups — we'd rather show you fewer great options than pad a list.

How we stay independent

Here's the honest part: we make money through affiliate commissions. When you buy a product through one of our links (Amazon, ThermoWorks, and other partners), we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

What that money does not do is change our rankings. We have turned down products we didn't like even when the commission was generous, and our "Editor's Pick" is chosen before we ever look at payout rates. If a recommendation ever feels off, that's on us — email the team and we'll re-test.

You can read the complete details on our affiliate disclosure page.

Why "Amazon Associates" matters to you

Amazon's program requires reviewers to be transparent and to genuinely use or evaluate products. We take that seriously — it's also just the right way to treat readers who trust us with a real purchase decision.

Get in touch

Spotted an error, want us to test something, or just want to argue about wrap-or-no-wrap? We read everything. Reach the editorial team at [email protected].

Start cooking

New here? Begin with BBQ 101: Your First Cook, then browse our 2026 grill rankings.