The SmokeFire EX4 ($999) looks like what you’d expect from a Weber pellet grill. The exterior is a mix of black enamel paint and silver accents, like the company’s gas grills. SmokeFire models have an oval, barrel-shaped chamber, not unlike recent options from Traeger. One key difference is Weber opted to put the pellet hopper around back rather than on the side. Other companies, like Rec Tec, have also done this, and the location has its advantages. Primarily, the auger path -- or the channel that feeds pellets to the fire pot -- is much shorter. That means there’s less room for a jam to stall your cook. Weber made the auger path even shorter by opting for a slide that drops the pellets to their final spot rather than a moving part that carries them the entire way.

Inside, Weber chose its trademark Flavorizer bars instead of a solid stainless steel drip tray to direct grease to a small bucket. This is both a good and bad thing. First, not having a sheet of aluminum for the smoke to meander around means your food gets a lot more direct exposure. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never had an issue imparting flavor with other pellet grills, but what SmokeFire is capable of is a whole other level. The Flavorizer bars also heat up, since they’re metal, so when any grease hits this and smokes or sizzles, that too adds flavor to your food.

Billy Steele/Engadget

And now the bad news. Grills with those metal sheets catch all the grease from your food, directing it to a catch can that’s typically on the outside of the grill. It’s easily accessible and emptied. It’s also usually contained and insulated from the flame. The Flavorizer bars are triangular, so they direct any significant runoff to the bottom of the grill. On Weber’s SmokeFire, there’s a tray that slides out from the front with a catch pan for grease and an area for ash. The company says cleaning the grills is as easy as pushing ash through two small openings in the bottom of the cook chamber. Well, I can tell you it’s not that easy. In fact, it takes me much longer to clean the SmokeFire EX4 than it does any Traeger grill I’ve reviewed.

One reason is that there are several more pieces. The bottom grill grate is in two pieces, plus there’s the top/secondary grate. Then there are the four Flavorizer bars, the center fire-pot shield and the fire-pot cover. That’s five more parts to remove than with the Ironwood each time I vacuum it out.

I can deal with that though. The real headache is when the grease and ash mix in the bottom of the cook chamber. They combine to create a thick paste you have to scrape into the two exit holes and into the collection tray. If it were just ash, you could vacuum it out quickly and move on. This is much more time-consuming and much more frustrating.

Weber argues that gas grills require similar cleaning, and we probably don’t do it often enough. While that’s probably true, pellet grills objectively create a lot more debris than gas. The company recommends that if you want to keep the bottom of the SmokeFire from becoming a nasty grease trap, you put a disposable aluminum pan on top of the Flavorizer bars or on the bottom grate. Sure, it’s a workable solution, and I often do it on a Traeger to make cleaning up easier. However, those pans are an extra expense you’ll need to consider. I should be clear that I’ve never had an issue with a grease fire. My gripe is with the mess.