Last year, Stuart Cobine became a convert.

The Bend resident went to a barbecue at his buddy’s house. The meat, slow-cooked on a smoker grill, was so good it sent him shopping for a new grill practically the next day.

He bought a pellet grill that can function as a smoker or grill and has since used it for everything from steaks to pizza to cookies.

“Pretty much anything you can barbecue, you can use it for that,” Cobine said. “And then you can use it for so much more.”

A smoker isn’t necessarily an ominous metal tower in the backyard anymore. Increasingly there are more models on the market that combine the grill and the smoker, providing more flexibility for cooks.

It’s time to get in touch with your inner Bobby Flay .

“The popularity of smoking is so big right now that everyone wants a piece of the pie,” said Leslie Wheeler, communications director for the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association , a national industry group. “It’s the Food Network and all these barbecue cook-offs. People love those programs and want to be able to do it at home.”

As you emerge from winter hibernation to shop for a new grill, learn a bit about the styles of smoker grills and their uses. And try not to drool thinking about the grub to come.

A smoker and a grill

By and large, what separates the smoker grill from your average variety grill is the addition of wood and the way it heats.

Where the wood is added depends on the type of grill. Some smoker grills, like Cobine’s pellet grill, separate the fuel source into a different container from the main grilling chamber. The smoke then travels through an opening or tube to the main chamber.

Other kinds have just one chamber. In those, typically coals topped with wood chips are on two sides of the grilling chamber. The food is placed in the middle, with no direct heat source below it.

That’s critical, as smoker grills employ indirect heat. Most smoker grills have a knob that allows you to either keep the heat low for slow-cooked delights like ribs or to crank the heat up to get results similar to a regular grill.

Still, smoker grills make the cooking process slower, grilling devotees said.

“It take about 10 to 15 minutes more,” Cobine said. “If you want to cook fast, get a propane grill.”

Yet some believe the results with a smoker grill are better.

The distinctive taste is what draws people to the smoker grills, said Terry Aust, who is the manager of Parr Lumber in Bend and also owns a smoker grill. Even if it’s just hamburgers, Aust said, the smoky flavor imparts something special.

“It takes longer than a regular barbecue, but the taste is well worth the wait,” Cobine said.

The range

of smoker grills

Smoker grills can use different types of fuel. And the prices for smoker grills range widely. For instance, in Bend a Char-Griller three-burner dual gas grill and charcoal smoker grill at Lowe’s was priced this week at $299 and a Traeger Deluxe pellet grill at Parr Lumber was regular price $999 .

The range in price, said Hap Blackmer, a sales associate for grill and patio store Fireside in Bend, is linked to the quality of design and construction and by what kind of service is provided with a grill purchase. Fireside’s grills typically start close to $700, he said.

A high-quality grill, Blackmer said, should last at least as long as a major appliance in a home does.

Pellet grills are electric, meaning the auger that causes the pellets to smoke is heated by electricity.

Parr Lumber carries only the Traeger pellet smoker grills. The pellets are condensed sawdust and thus burn slowly with little ash.

Pellets and wood chips come in myriad types, each with its own distinct flavor. Hickory and mesquite are most popular, Aust said, but Parr Lumber also sells other flavors like apple, alder and pecan. A 20-pound bag of pellets at Parr Lumber costs $11.99, while a 2-pound bag of wood chips from Lowe’s is $3.47.

Charcoal smoker grills are also common. In Bend, they are the main type of smoker grill carried by Lowe’s and Home Depot.

They usually are one-chamber grills. Air vents regulate the heat.

Some look like a large barrel that when opened appears inside like a standard grill. Another popular style is a kamado , an egg-shaped, thick-walled grill that is most often ceramic.

The kamado’s ceramic composition traps heat, allowing for temperature ranges from 180 to 800 degrees, while using very little fuel. The kamado brands most widely known are Big Green Egg and Primo.

These types of grills become smokers through a tray placed above the charcoal, Blackmer said. He said it resembles a pizza stone with legs. The disc then prevents the direct heat from hitting the food.

Because pellet and charcoal smoker grills are typically slow to heat, grill models have been introduced to provide the best of both worlds. There are grills that can switch the fuel over from pellet to gas to reach higher temperatures and faster cooking times. There are also those that are one unit but are composed of two completely separate cooking chambers, one for gas cooking on direct heat and the other for charcoal smoking.

Assessing your

grill needs

Think about your grilling habits before rushing out to make a purchase.

If a bit of cleaning will deter you from using it, a smoker grill that uses charcoal may not be the best buy.

The pellet smoker grills may be less mess, but they contain more moving parts than charcoal smoker grills and thus are more prone to requiring maintenance. Some versions also need a 110-volt outlet to function.

And speed remains a factor. Some may prefer a gas grill for speed and then once in awhile add a hint of smoke with a few other grilling tricks.

Wheeler, with the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, said because some smoker grills are available at relatively low prices, a family might decide to make it a second addition to the household to test it out first.

But smoker grill fans say they think cooks will become believers once they try it.

“Guys are fanatics about their barbecues anyway,” Aust said. “But once they start this, they will not turn back.”

Anatomy of a pellet smoker grill

On one side of this grill, a chamber is filled with wood pellets. An auger at the bottom heats, causing the pellets to smoke.

A bucket on the other side of the grill serves as the drip system.

Get that smoky flavor

While these methods will not exactly replicate the work of a smoker, here are a few tips for getting a bit of smoky flavor in your food.

• Create a pouch out of aluminum foil and insert wood chips soaked for at least an hour. Make sure there are a few openings. Put the foil pocket on the burner when you grill. Turn the burner beneath it on high heat until the pouch begins to smoke. Then turn the heat to low.

• Buy a cast iron smoker box or tube and fill it with moist wood chips. This can also be put directly on the grill. If you have a gas grill with multiple burners, turn the one underneath the box to medium-high. Leave the others on low.

• Put water-soaked wood

chips directly on your charcoal in the grill.

• Add some liquid smoke to sauces and marinades.