Ill admit it straight away: Im a novice at smoking food.
But Im not a novice to cooking or indeed grilling.
In fact, Im a trained chef, so Ive done my time over a hot plate.
(Image credit: Peter Wolinski / Future)
Im often considered thede factocook at barbecues, even when Id rather just sit and drink some beer.
Id heard that pellet grills are a great entry point for newcomers like me.
Could I get amazing-tasting smoked food without any prior experience?
And how would the grill handle traditional barbecue food?
There was only one way to find out.
And believe me, it wasnt a chore.
I spent several days using the Weber Searwood XL 600 and absolutely loved it.
This is one of thebest grillsfor new or intermediate smokers looking for a family-sized, easy-to-use, tech-filled grill.
Find out more in my full Weber Searwood XL 600 review.
This is a mid-range smoker/grill.
Webers similarly-sized Summit Kamado-style grill, which can also be used for smoking, costs$2,149.
Pellets can be more economical than chips long term but produce a less-intense smoke flavor.
Weber advises only using its pellets to avoid blocking the chute.
A mid-range pellet grill with user friendly controls, a fantastic companion app and plenty of cooking space.
It produces great smoked food and is perfect for both new and intermediate smokers.
I started running out of pellets with an impending barbecue the next day.
Dont be me: keep a healthy stock of pellets.
The Searwood feels extremely high quality, from its metal frame and hood down to the sturdy wheels.
Thats plenty for mid-to-large barbecues.
The pellet hopper holds 20lbs of pellets, which I found enough for 8-hours of 275F/135C smoking.
Perhaps my only gripe about the Searwood is its lack of storage as standard.
There are no cupboards or built-in condiment/paper trays as on the Traeger Woodridge Elite.
I just used it as a beer rest instead (and for that, it worked well).
This is a mains-powered electric grill, so be warned: its as power-hungry as a viking warlord.
Here in the U.K. our electricity meters let us monitor usage in real time.
My consumption went through the roof!
As a total beginner, the screen, dial and interface made everything super easy to figure out.
These are all easy to switch between using the control dial and menu button.
Then I used it.
I see a lot of crappy apps in my job, and Weber Connect aint one of them.
Stable, polished and functional, it totally defied expectations.
The app gives you all the physical controls of the grill and more.
It also shows you graphs of your probe temperatures.
I was able to control one of my cooks while at the pub with friends!
Smoking Ribs
My first test was a rack of pork ribs.
I applied a dry rub then rested them at room temperature for 45 minutes.
The smoker took about 10-15 minutes to get up to 275F/135C.
These ribs were good.
I shouldve let them rest after smoking but just dived right in.
After 4 hours 30, the meat was pulling away from the bone and was juicy and tender.
Im not a heavy smoke fan, so I loved the gentler, sweet smoke of the cherry pellets.
When the temperatures hit 165F, I pulled the brisket off to wrap.
Unfortunately, the lower section of brisket ended up a little dry.
My probe mustve been off too, because clearly the lower section went higher than 93.
Again, there was a thick pink line around the edge of the meat where the smoke had infiltrated.
The cherry pellets imparted a soft smokiness that contrasted well with the peppery rub and sweet, buttery glaze.
These were a triumph and went down a treat.
Luckily hes a 100lb dog, so didnt get sick from the small quantity of garlic in the meat.
Smoking SmokeBoost
I then tested the Searwoods intensive SmokeBoost mode on a cluster of plain pork sausages.
Grilling
The Searwood held its own for traditional grilling too.
Meanwhile, I used the top grate to slowly cook some buttered, foil-wrapped corn.
Cleaning after smoking is straightforward: simply wipe down the ash from the grates and internal components.
The inner parts, including the smoke box, diffuser and grease guards all come out easily for cleaning.
Cleaning after grilling is, as with any barbecue, a pain in the butt.
Its no harder than any other grill though.
Get some good grill-safe degreaser, some scouring pads and a scraper and youll be fine.
Thats a pretty minor issue, though.
(Image credit: Peter Wolinski / Future)
(Image credit: Peter Wolinski / Future)
(Image credit: Peter Wolinski / Future)
