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After teasing it last week, the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro was released this morning, revealing how the wood fired smoke is created. Camp Chef created an innovative slide out chamber called the Smoke Box (patent pending) that you can add wood pellets, wood chunks or charcoal to and create additional heat and smoke for flavor. In a news release, Camp Chef had the following to say about the innovative new grill.
Countless hours went into the research and development of the new Woodwind Pro. We are excited to bring this innovative product to market. Our goal at Camp Chef is to make sure everyone has a positive outdoor cooking experience and with the development of the Woodwind Pro our consumers will be able to take their outdoor cooking game to the next level. This grill is the first of its kind and will bring the flavor that no other pellet grill can.
Brandon Sparrow, President of Camp Chef
Camp Chef Woodwind Pro
The Woodwind Pro has many of the same specs as the popular Camp Chef Woodwind. It still uses a PID controller that’s controllable with the Camp Chef Connect app on your phone. The pellet hopped is the same, with the same 22 lb capacity. The Woodwind Pro also still has the easy ash cleanout and Sidekick compatibility.
New to the Woodwind Pro
- Base retail price of $1,199 (check price) for the Woodwind Pro 24 and $1,499 (check price) for the Woodwind Pro 36
- Smoke Box technology with “fan only” mode
- Dampers to control ventilation on the back of the grill
- 430 stainless steel on the inside of the grill and 304 stainless steel on the butterfly valve, gasket and burn cup
- No slide and grill because of the Smoke Box
Smoke Box
The main innovation for the Woodwind Pro is the Smoke Box technology. It works similar to a smoker box on a gas grill, but Camp Chef did a great job of seamlessly integrating it into the grill.
On Camp Chef’s website they showed their 3D model of the Woodwind Pro which shows exactly how the Smoke Box works. The left side of the image is the front of the grill and you can see there’s a handle there. The handle is connected to the Smoke Box, which is on a slide directly above the pellet fire pot.
You pull the handle to slide out the Smoke Box, then you can load it with wood chunks, wood pellets or charcoal. You slide it back into the grill and the pellets automatically fed into the fire pot, ignite the contents of the Smoke Box to create extra smoke for your cook. It’s a really slick design to address the common complaint that pellet grills don’t produce enough smoke.
Down & Out Ventilation and Cold Smoke
One new feature for the Woodwind Pro is there are vents on the back of the grill that give you extra control of your cook. A great application for this is it lets you now more effectively cold smoke. Cold smoking is probably most associated with fish or cheese.
With the Woodwind Pro you can put wood in the Smoke Box, turn the controller to “fan only” mode, and open up the rear vents to cold smoke. The Smoke Box creates the smoke you need and the vents help keep the temperature cool in the cook chamber.
Summary
The Camp Chef Woodwind Pro has a really innovative design to put to bed once and for all that pellet grills can’t give good smoke flavor. With the optional Sidekick accessories, you can have a grill that can do just about anything. While the Camp Chef Apex that was released earlier this year was a bit on the pricey side, the Woodwind Pro is priced well to make it a favorite amongst other pellet grills on the market. I’m looking at you Traeger Ironwood.