While possibly not the number one reason millions of Americans love to hunt, eating wild game is right up there near the top. And from upland game birds to waterfowl to a variety of big-game species, there are plenty of opportunities to hunt wild game throughout the country and put some amazing meals on the table as a result.

Cooking wild game can be as simple as sprinkling it with salt and pepper and dropping it on a hot grill to preparing extravagant recipes with rubs, marinades and other more complicated aspects and cooking in a crockpot, cast-iron skillet or even sous vide. Regardless of how hunters like to prepare their meat for the table, experienced wild game chefs will tell you that the main way to ruin most wild game meat is to cook it too long to too high a temperature. Most game meat is extremely lean — one of the reasons it is so healthy — but that leanness makes it easy to overcook. While you should always cook wild game meat to a safe temperature, cooking it too long will invariably lead to a tough entrée that is much less enjoyable to eat than had it been cooked to a lower temperature. Consequently, a good meat thermometer is a wild game cook’s best friend.

Of all the ways to cook wild game, cooking on an outdoor grill is a favorite for many hunters for game dishes from pheasant breasts to elk steaks. That’s important for hunting retailers, as those same grills that hunters seek to prepare their wild-game meals can become a profit center for those who sell the grills. Let’s take a look at three grills great for cooking a variety of wild game meats. Consider adding them to your sales inventory to capitalize on the ever-growing trend of wild game cooking.

Traeger Ironwood 650 Pellet Grill

Traeger is a very popular name in grills, and there’s a good reason why. The company has some of the finest grills available on the market, and while some are quite expensive, the company’s lineup includes some models that fall into a lower, more affordable price range.

The Ironwood 650 is one of the latest in Traeger’s line of pellet grills that can also be used as smokers. Since many wild game meats are delicious smoked, these combo grills are far more versatile than more conventional grills.

The Ironwood 650 boasts 650 square inches of total cooking space, giving you plenty of room to prepare meals for large gatherings or holiday events. Plus, the 20-pound pellet hopper capacity ensures you won’t be jumping up out of your recliner over and over to keep it refilled while cooking.

Total weight of the Ironwood 650 is 149 pounds, so game chefs probably are not going to want to load it up for a weekend trip to the beach or for tailgating at the stadium on the weekend. But it’s nearly the perfect size for a back patio grill for multiple cooking and smoking chores. Additionally, maximum temperature is 500 degrees, so hunters can use it for nearly any recipe they’re likely to be trying.

One of the best things about the Traeger grill is that wild game chefs can control their grill anytime, anywhere using the Traeger App. The app makes it simple to adjust temperatures, monitor food and browse more than 1,600 recipes without setting down your beer. Cooks can also remotely monitor their pellet levels through the app, alleviating the need to walk out and check. And a built-in meat probe allows wild game chefs to monitor their meat’s internal temperature without lifting the lid and letting it cool down inside.

Lastly, double side-wall insulation improves temperature consistency and pellet efficiency in cold weather, meaning your customers can use it to grill their favorite outdoor creation in any weather conditions.

MSRP is around $1,200.

Camp Chef Woodwind WiFi 24

The Camp Chef Woodwind WiFi 24 is another wood pellet grill/smoker offered by another top name in outdoor and wild-game cooking. And, the new Woodwind line is Camp Chef’s most feature-packed grill, making it what the company calls the “smartest and most versatile grill on the market.”

It’s equipped with Camp Chef’s PID and WiFi-enabled controller, so wild game chefs are able to stay connected to their grill through the Camp Chef app, meaning less running in and out the backdoor to check on meat and fuel. The PID controller enables chefs to regulate both smoke and temperature, controlling exactly how much smoke they incorporate into their cooking session by simply adjusting the smoke number, which ranges from 1 to 10.

The Woodwind WiFi 24 boasts a total rack surface area of 800 inches, with 429 inches on the bottom main rack. Hopper capacity is 22 pounds of pellets, so it will cook for a good long time before refilling. Total weight is 150 pounds so, again, I wouldn’t plan on taking it on an overnight camping trip. But if you’re headed for deer camp for a few weeks and planning on feeding a bunch of people, it’s not so heavy you couldn’t manage to get it loaded and unloaded with some assistance.

Other cool features that your hunting customers will love include a full-color screen monitor, four stainless steel meat probes, a 160- to 500-degree temperature range, and a handy and easy-to-use pellet hopper cleanout/purge. The grill also has an ash cleanout system, bottom utility shelf, cord management system, grease management system, stainless steel fire box and protective controller cover.

At about $800, the Woodwind WiFi 24 will still cost your customer a chunk of change, but it will save them about 30 percent when compared to the Traeger.

Weber Genesis II SE-335

Not all wild game chefs are interested in getting into smoking meat. I wasn’t until my family dragged me there kicking and screaming by buying me a smoker for Christmas one year — one of the best gifts I ever received.

However, for your customers who might be shopping for a more conventional gas-fueled grill, the Weber Genesis II SE-335 is an outstanding choice. It features a black finish, 9mm stainless steel rod cooking grates and a very convenient motion-activated handle light.

The grill’s high-performance burners, a side burner and a sear station burner deliver up to 60,000 BTUs of combined output. The grill also is compatible with Weber’s iGrill 3 app-connected thermometer to monitor food from beginning to end, displaying real-time temperature on the user’s mobile device (accessory sold separately).

The welded-tube frame, open-cart design includes plenty of much-needed prep space, along with two heavy-duty locking casters and two large wheels. The propane tank is stored to the side, freeing up the shelf space under the grill.

The Genesis II SE-335 boasts 513 square inches of grill space in the main grilling area, along with another 156 inches in the secondary grilling. It stands 47 inches high, is 59 inches wide and has a depth of 29 inches.

At about $1,050, the Weber falls right in between the Traeger and Camp Chef in price.