Best Pellet Grills for Brisket: Five Grills With Room and Steady Heat for Long Cooks

Brisket is the test of a pellet grill. It is a big, tough cut that needs many hours of steady low heat, and it exposes every weakness: a small grate, a small hopper, a wobbly controller or thin steel in the wind. A grill that handles brisket handles nearly everything else.

So this guide looks at the features that decide a brisket cook: room for a full packer, a hopper big enough for the whole cook and a controller that holds temperature. Prices vary, so the table shows typical ranges. Confirm the current price on Amazon.

What a brisket needs from a grill

Room. A whole packer brisket is long. Check the width of the grate, not just the total square inches, because a narrow grate can force you to cut the brisket in half. Many cooks do that anyway, and it works, but a wide grate gives you options.

Hopper size. A long cook burns a lot of pellets. A 30 pound hopper can carry an overnight cook. A 5 or 7 pound hopper means refills in the middle of the night.

Temperature control. Brisket tolerates a range of temperatures, but big swings hurt. PID controllers hold steadier heat.

Heat retention. Thicker steel and a tight lid cope better with wind and cold. In a windy yard, that can decide how many pellets you burn.

Meat probes. Probes let you watch the internal temperature without opening the lid.

Our five picks

Pit Boss Navigator 850: best for brisket overall

About 932 square inches, a 30 pound hopper and WiFi and Bluetooth control. That hopper is the main attraction, since a full load of pellets can carry an overnight cook, and the app lets you watch from bed.

Few buyers have rated it so far, and it has a large footprint.

Buy it if you smoke briskets often. Skip it if you want a long track record on this exact model.

Z Grills 7002B: best value for brisket

About 700 square inches, a digital controller and thousands of buyer ratings. It is often priced well below premium grills, and it gives you enough room for a packer, or a trimmed brisket.

It has no app control, and it is a less established name.

Buy it if you want a roomy grill at a fair price. Skip it if you want WiFi.

Traeger Woodridge: best supported pick

An 860 square inch grill with WiFi app control and the support network of the biggest pellet grill brand. For a long cook where reliability matters, brand support has real value.

It carries a premium over similar-size rivals.

Buy it if you want a large, well-supported grill. Skip it if price per square inch is your main concern.

Traeger Ironwood 885: best premium pick

Traeger's upper-tier grill, with 885 square inches, WiFi app control and extra features over the entry models. Hundreds of buyers have rated it.

It is expensive, and the cooking area is close to the cheaper Woodridge.

Buy it if you want the upper-tier experience. Skip it if you just want room to cook.

Pit Boss 700 Carbon: lowest-cost way to fit a packer

About 718 square inches, a 13.5 pound hopper and a meat probe, at a low price. It is the cheapest grill here with room for a large brisket, with the hopper big enough for a decent cook.

It is a newer listing with fewer ratings, and it has no app control.

Buy it if you want space on a tight budget. Skip it if you smoke overnight often and want a bigger hopper.

Tips for a better brisket

Trim the fat cap to about a quarter of an inch, season simply and let the grill preheat fully. Smoke fat side down or up depending on your grill's heat source. Most pellet grills heat from below, so many cooks put the fat side toward the fire.

Expect a stall, a long period when the internal temperature stops rising. It is normal. Many cooks wrap the brisket in butcher paper when the bark sets, which speeds the cook and keeps the meat moist. Cook to tenderness, not time, by probing the meat until it slides in easily. Then rest it for at least an hour before slicing.

Our step-by-step guide to smoking a brisket on a pellet grill covers the whole process, and our guide to the best pellet smokers compares more long-cook grills.

Protecting a long cook

Fill the hopper to the top, and keep a spare bag of pellets handy. Shield the grill from wind. Check the grease tray before you start, because a full tray on a long cook is a fire risk. Use a separate thermometer to check the brisket, since built-in probes can drift.

Common mistakes

Opening the lid constantly, slicing too soon, wrapping too early and running out of pellets. Another mistake is cooking by the clock and not by feel.

How big a grate do you really need?

Brisket sizes vary a lot. A whole packer runs from about 12 to 18 pounds, and the flat alone is much smaller. If your grill has a narrow grate, you can separate the point and the flat and cook them side by side, or cut the packer in half. Many competition cooks do this, and it works fine, but it changes the cook, because each piece has its own timing.

Measure before you buy. Square inches tell you the total area, but the shape matters just as much. A tall, narrow grill with a second rack may list a big number that does not help a long brisket. Check the listing for the width and depth of the main grate, and compare it with your brisket's length.

Pellets and fuel planning

A long brisket cook burns a lot of pellets, and the amount varies with the weather, the temperature setting and how well the grill is built. Plan for several pounds an hour at the very least on a cold day, and keep extra on hand. Fill the hopper to the top before you start, and check it at every wrap or probe check.

If you cook overnight, start in the afternoon so the brisket finishes in the morning with time to rest. A late finish is better than a rushed one, since a brisket can rest for hours in a cooler. An early finish is a problem, because the meat cools. If it finishes ahead of schedule, wrap it in towels and put it in a cooler to hold it warm.

What a pellet grill does well and badly with brisket

A pellet grill makes the cook easier. The temperature is steady, the fuel feeds itself and you can check the meat with a probe. It also makes a milder smoke flavor than an offset smoker. If you want a stronger smoke ring and flavor, start at a lower temperature, use oak or hickory and consider a smoke tube. The bark on a pellet-grill brisket is good, though a bit softer than the bark from a wood-fired pit, especially if you wrap in foil.

Our guide to wood pellets for smoking covers the flavors that suit beef, and our walkthrough on troubleshooting a pellet grill is worth a read before a first overnight cook, so you know what to check if the fire goes out at 3 in the morning.

Slicing and serving

Slice the flat against the grain, and the point in cubes or slices. A long, sharp knife makes cleaner cuts. Serve right away, with the juices from the wrap spooned over the meat, and keep leftovers cold.

Bottom line

For brisket, the Pit Boss Navigator 850 is the best pellet grill on hopper and size. The Z Grills 7002B is the value pick, the Traeger Woodridge is the supported pick and the Pit Boss 700 Carbon is the lowest-cost way to fit a packer. Check the width of the grate, fill the hopper and watch the meat, not the clock. For more on size, see our large pellet grill guide.