Comparisons · Two kinds of barbecue
57 cm charcoal kettle or Electric outdoor grill with wood-pellet smoke box
Live fire against an element with a smoke box, which is the clearest illustration in the catalogue of energy source and smoke source being separate things.
What each one is
57 cm charcoal kettle
The most common barbecue in the world, and more capable than its reputation: with the coals banked to one side it becomes a genuine indirect cooker, and with a small, well-managed fire it will hold low temperatures for hours.
Electric outdoor grill with wood-pellet smoke box
A mains-powered outdoor grill whose heat comes from an electric element and whose smoke comes from wood pellets burned in a separate compartment. The clearest physical demonstration that energy source and smoke source are different questions — and the clearest refutation, from the maker itself, of the idea that an appliance with no combustion heating is therefore safe indoors.
Where they overlap
- Both do direct heat — designed for this.
What actually differs
| Aspect | 57 cm charcoal kettle | Electric outdoor grill with wood-pellet smoke box |
|---|---|---|
| Shape and how it works | Kettle | Electric outdoor grill |
| What heats it The energy source sets the ceiling temperature and how quickly the cooker answers a change. | Lump charcoal, Charcoal briquettes | Electricity |
| What smokes it Separate from the heat, and deliberately so: one cooker in this catalogue draws its heat from the mains and its smoke from wood pellets. | Charcoal combustion, Wood chips, Oak chunks | Wood-pellet smoke box |
| Cooking surface | 57 cm | 35–45 cm |
| Indirect heat | Possible with the right setup — Coals to one or both sides with the food in the middle, lid on, and a drip pan under the food. | Designed for this |
| Two-zone fire | Possible with the right setup — Bank the coals to one side, leaving roughly half the grate with no fire beneath it. | Not modelled for this cooker |
| Smoking | Not modelled for this cooker | Possible with the right setup — The smoke box must be filled with food-grade wood pellets using the supplied scoop; the manufacturer forbids charcoal, hardwood, heating pellets or liquid fuel in it. |
| Low and slow | Possible with the right setup — Needs a fuel arrangement that burns progressively rather than all at once. | Designed for this |
| Foods the difference reaches These are the foods whose cooking profiles call for a heat configuration these two cookers support differently. For anything not on the list, the choice between them does not change how it is cooked. | whole chicken, chicken thigh, bone-in, chicken thigh, boneless, chicken breast, boneless, chicken breast, bone-in, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, beef burger, rib eye steak, picanha, whole, pork chop, pork shoulder, pork spareribs, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, brisket, lamb leg steak, lamb loin chop, lamb burger, salmon fillet, sausage, whole trout, whole mackerel, whole sea bass, cod fillet, pizza, whole side of salmon | |
Which one, for what
Conditions rather than a verdict. Each line below is a thing one of them can do that the other cannot, or does without arrangement where the other needs it — taken from the what each cooker is documented as doing, rather than from a preference.
57 cm charcoal kettle, if:
- You want to cook with two-zone fire, which the other cannot do.
Electric outdoor grill with wood-pellet smoke box, if:
- You want indirect heat without arranging the fire for it every time.
- You want to cook with smoking, which the other cannot do.
- You want low and slow without arranging the fire for it every time.