Outdoor cooking on this site currently means three things in depth: flat top griddles, pizza ovens, and the thermometers that make grilling and smoking predictable. Everything published on those is collected below.
The honest gap is grills and smokers themselves. That is being filled deliberately rather than quickly, starting with the faults owners actually search for — ignition, heat, and the electrical problems that stop a machine working — because those are the questions where a careful answer beats a generic buying list.
Grills and smokers
The newest section here, and the one still being built out. It starts with the faults that stop a machine working rather than with buying advice, because that is where a careful answer is worth more than another list.
- Electric smoker keeps tripping the breaker? — usually moisture leaking to earth, not an overloaded circuit
- Electric smoker not getting hot enough? — find out whether it is actually cold before replacing anything
- Electric smoker not producing smoke? — the smoke you are looking for is a thin wisp, not a white cloud
- Pellet grill temperature swings — how much is normal, and which of the grill’s three thermometers you are actually reading
- Grill igniter clicking but not lighting? — the clicking proves the igniter works, so the problem is usually gas
- Best extension cord for an electric smoker — the four things Masterbuilt and Bradley actually require, and five cords that qualify
- Best pellet tube smoker — a ten-dollar fix for smoke that arrives in bursts, and why more smoke is not the goal
Flat top griddles
Griddles are the most covered category here, largely because Blackstone dominates the market and generates the most owner problems.
- Best flat top grill: 5 picks compared — the buying guide, from 17-inch tabletop to 36-inch four-burner
- Blackstone 36-inch griddle review
- Blackstone 28-inch vs 36-inch — which size actually suits how you cook
- How to season a Blackstone griddle
- How to clean a flat top grill
- Why is my Blackstone griddle sticking?
- Why is my Blackstone griddle rusting?
- Best indoor grill for Korean BBQ — for when outdoor is not an option
Pizza ovens
Outdoor pizza ovens are a narrow category dominated by two brands, which makes the buying decision unusually tractable.
- Best pizza oven: reviews and buying guide
- Ooni Koda 12 vs 16 — the size question, answered by how many people you cook for
- Gozney Roccbox vs Ooni Koda 12
- Gozney Roccbox review
- Ooni Karu 12 review — the multi-fuel option
- Why will my pizza oven not get hot enough?
Thermometers for grilling and smoking
Outdoor cooking is mostly temperature management, which is why this is the deepest section on the site. A leave-in probe removes more guesswork than any upgrade to the cooker itself.
- Best BBQ thermometers — leave-in and instant-read
- Best meat thermometer for smoking — built for long, low-temperature cooks
- Best thermometer for brisket
- Best wireless meat thermometers
- Bluetooth vs Wi-Fi meat thermometers — which one you actually need
- Meat temperature guide — the finish temperatures worth knowing
- How to calibrate a meat thermometer
- Wireless meat thermometer not connecting?
- Are wireless meat thermometers accurate?
Cooking outdoors with cast iron
Cast iron moves between the kitchen and the fire more comfortably than anything else, and it is the one surface that survives a griddle, a campfire and an oven equally well.
- Best cast iron skillet
- Best cast iron Dutch oven
- Cast iron seasoning flaking off?
- Cast iron sticky after seasoning?
How this section is put together
Plainly: these are research-based guides, not hands-on tests. I do not own the grills, griddles, pizza ovens or smokers covered here, and nothing on this site is a report from my own garden. What the guides rest on is published manufacturer documentation, independent testing where it exists and is attributed, and the pattern of what owners consistently report.
Where a question cannot be answered honestly from those sources, the guides say so rather than filling the gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
My electric smoker keeps tripping the breaker. Is it broken?
Usually not an overloaded circuit. It is more often moisture leaking to earth inside the unit, which trips a breaker or GFCI well under its rated load. Replacing the breaker rarely fixes it; finding where moisture is reaching a live part does.
My smoker will not get hot enough. What should I check first?
Confirm it is actually running cold before replacing anything. A thermometer reading well below the set temperature can be a placement problem or a probe issue rather than a fault with the heating element itself.
How much smoke should a pellet grill actually produce?
A thin, almost invisible wisp, not a thick white cloud. Heavy white smoke usually means something is smoldering rather than burning cleanly, which is the opposite of what a properly running pellet grill or smoker should look like.
My gas grill igniter clicks but the burner will not light. What is wrong?
The clicking proves the igniter itself works, so the problem is almost always downstream of it — most often gas not reaching the burner rather than the ignition system.
I'm Glenn, and I started Kitchenware Compare to cut through conflicting product reviews and help readers pick kitchen gear with confidence. I don't own or test the products I write about — these guides are built from verified-purchase reviews, manufacturer specifications, and independent testing where it exists, with the reasoning shown, not just a rating.