The fine folks over at ApolloBox.com reached out and asked if I would be interested in playing around with a new grill model from Z Grills, the Pro 7002. I thought about it for a few days and almost said no. In the end I told them to send it over and it was the best decision that I have made this grilling season!
Update: Z Grills just activated a 15% discount code (BRISKET) for all of their grills at Apollobox (valid through 9/30/18)!
I almost didn’t get this grill because I dreaded the thought of spending hours putting the thing together. My fears were completely unfounded. The grill arrived neatly packaged and had simple, easy to follow instructions for assembly. Heck, it even came with all of the tools I needed!
My total assembly time was just over an hour. EASY!
Let’s look at some of the details on this grill:
Even though this grill comes with a nice cover I am still storing it inside my garage. That makes the heavy duty wheels an important feature since I am constantly rolling it out to my driveway and back.
Moving the grill is super easy.
The details on the grill are a simple but nice touch. It has an attractive badge on the lid and stainless steel handles on the grill and hopper lids. This is a handsome grill.
The Pro 7002 has a 20 pound pellet hopper. I have burnt about 60 pounds of pellets through this guy and the hopper design has consistently been able to keep the auger fed without my intervention.
The temperature controller is very easy to use and is set with 25 degree increments. The grill typically takes about 30 minutes to reach the desired set point and stabilize. Once it hits its set point the temperature has been incredibly steady.
The cooking surface on the 7002 is pretty massive. The product literature advertises 700 square inches but those inches are split between the primary cooking grate (~500 square inches) and the secondary elevated grate (~200 square inches).
The real question is, “How does the grill perform?”
The answer is, “Like a dream!”
I have run the grill at 250F to slow smoke spare ribs and tri tip.
I have run the grill at 400 F to grill up crispy chicken wings.
I have smoked pork loins and chicken breasts at 275 and 325 to see how it laid down smoke on boring meats. I used it to cook up some chicken drumsticks just because I was feeling good and wanted to burn some pellets.
The loin was delicious but the ribs were better! I was impressed with the smoke ring that this cooker lets you throw down. The smoke flavor from the pellets is on point and not overpowering.
The only drawback that I have found with the grill is that there is no easy way to remove unused pellets from the hopper when you are done cooking. If you want to change wood flavors or protect your pellets from humidity in between cooks you might need to get yourself a small shop vac.
The two things that I loves the most about this grill, other then its performance, are:
- At its current price of $549 on Apollobox this thing is a screaming bargain (use coupon code BRISKET to save 15% on any Z Grill through 9/30/18)! Even at the full list price of $749 you are still getting plenty of bang for your buck.
- The grill is backed by a three year warranty which is on par with the industry leader, Traeger, and two years longer than you get with discount rival Pit Boss.
If you are in the market for a new pellet grill then head over to Apollobox and check this bad boy out!
Update 2020: I have had this grill for two years now and published a walk through review of how it has held up.
