The Best Gifts for a Pellet Grill Owner

Read this first if you do not own a pellet grill

The safest good gift is a high-quality thermometer — almost every pellet grill owner wants a better one and most have a cheap one. The riskiest gift is anything model-specific: covers, grates and shelves all depend on the exact grill, and getting it wrong means a return.

What you need to know before buying

Two questions, and if you can answer both you can buy almost anything on this page safely:

1. What brand and model is the grill? The model number is on a plate inside the hopper lid. “A Pit Boss” is not enough — there are a dozen current models with different footprints.
2. Do they already have a thermometer, and is it a good one? A cheap digital probe and a ThermoWorks Thermapen are very different things, and a keen cook with the former wants the latter.

If you cannot find out either, buy from the “safe regardless” list below.

Safe regardless of their grill

The thermometer is the standout gift

A ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE is the accuracy benchmark in cooking thermometers: one-second reads, holds calibration for years, and will outlive several grills. It is a genuinely nice object, which matters for a gift.

It is also the thing serious cooks recommend to each other and the thing most people will not buy for themselves because a cheap one “works fine”. That combination is exactly what makes a good gift. See thermometers.

A smoke tube is the surprise

Costs very little and solves the one thing pellet grill owners quietly grumble about — that the smoke flavor is subtler than they expected. Many owners have never tried one.

It is a small gift, so pair it with a bag of a strong wood like hickory or mesquite and you have a complete present for not much money.

Pellets are a better gift than they sound

A consumable they will definitely use, and a chance to give them something better than they buy themselves. CookinPellets’ two 40 lb bags with no bark and no filler woods is an enthusiast product most people would not spend their own money on.

Check they have somewhere to store 80 lb first — see storage containers, which also make a good paired gift.

Shop by budget

Three tiers, each linked to the guide or review that covers it. Every price below is the live Amazon price on the product cards further down this page, and Amazon moves prices constantly — so treat the tier as a guide to what the item usually costs, and the card as the number that counts today.

Under $50

• A 12-inch stainless smoke tube. The single best value gift here: it fixes the one thing owners quietly grumble about, and many have never tried one. See accessories.
• Long-cuff heat-resistant gloves. Short mitts leave forearms exposed over an open lid. See accessories.
• A 40 lb bag of good pellets. A consumable they will certainly use, and bigger bags cost far less per pound. See best wood pellets and budget pellets.
• Grease pan liners or a bucket-liner set. Unglamorous and genuinely welcome. See liners and drip trays.
• A pellet scoop with sifter holes. Separates the dust that causes feed problems. See accessories.

A full list with live prices is on pellet grill gifts under $50.

Under $100

• A 40 lb pellet storage dispenser or bin. Most people store pellets badly, and damp pellets are the most common cause of a feed jam. See pellet storage containers.
• An ash vacuum. Nobody buys this for themselves and every owner needs one. See ash vacuums.
• A leave-in wireless probe. The gift for someone who already owns a decent instant-read. See thermometers.
• A cast iron griddle plate. Turns the grill into a breakfast cooker, and it is not model-specific the way a sear kit can be. See sear kits and griddles.
• A bulk two-bag pellet set. 80 lb of hardwood with no bark and no filler woods is an enthusiast product most people will not buy for themselves. See best wood pellets.

The splurge

• A ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE. The accuracy benchmark in cooking thermometers, and the one object on this page a keen cook will recognize immediately. See thermometers.
• A GrillGrate sear station. The proper fix for a pellet grill that cannot sear, if you know the grate is at least 15 inches deep. See sear kits and griddles.
• The grill itself. If you are buying for someone who does not own one yet, start with the main roundup or the holiday picks grouped by budget on our Black Friday page.

Riskier gifts — check the model first

• A cover. Excellent gift, entirely dependent on the exact model. Fitment lists are approximate. See covers.
• Sear grates. Universal panels need a grill at least 15 inches deep — fine for any barrel grill, wrong for a tabletop.
• A front shelf. Model-specific, down to the series number.
• Grease pan liners. Model-specific for the tray; generic for the bucket, if you know the dimensions.

What not to buy

Branded rubs and sauces: the supermarket versions are often the same products at lower prices, and a keen cook probably makes their own. Insulated blankets: only useful if they genuinely cook below 40°F. Third-party controller boards: a warranty problem dressed up as an upgrade. Rotisserie kits for pellet grills: the chamber airflow fights them.

If you want to spend less

A smoke tube, a pellet scoop with sifter holes, grease liners and a bag of good pellets together make a genuinely useful bundle for very little. See pellet grill gifts under $50.

Buying the grill rather than an accessory? Our picks grouped by budget, with live prices, are on the Black Friday page.