Masterbuilt MB20041220 Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker, 202.9 lbs, Black review and price compare 2025
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Product overview
| Brand | Masterbuilt |
| Model Name | Gravity Series 1050 |
| Power Source | Charcoal |
| Color | Black |
| Item Weight | 202.9 Pounds |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 33.07 x 61.02 x 52.17 inches |
| Fuel Type | Charcoal |
product features
- by entering your model number.
- Reaches 225°F in 10 minutes or 700°F in 15 minutes
- Control temperature and cook time with the digital control panel or with smart device control using WiFi or Bluetooth
- DigitalFan for precise temperature control
- GravityFed hopper holds 10 lbs. of lump charcoal or 16 lbs. of briquettes for up to 8 hours of use
- Convenient fold out cord storage in back of side shelf to prevent loss or damage to the power supply
- Folding stainless steel shelf and stainless steel side shelf for extra preparation space
This fits your .
From the manufacturer
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GRAVITYFED CHARCOAL HOPPERRedefine charcoal cooking with the GravityFed Hopper that holds up to 8 hours of fuel using lump or briquette charcoal. No need to remove charcoal after each use! | DIGITALFAN CONTROLWith the push of a button, the digitally controlled fan moves air flow from the hopper to the cooking chamber and maintains desired cooking temperature. | SMOKE + SEAR VERSATILITYReach 700°F in 15 minutes to grill + sear or 225°F in 10 minutes for low + slow smoking. Includes reversible cast-iron grates to smoke + sear. |
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WIFI BLUETOOTH CAPABILITYSet it and go with your smart device. Learn to master the art of smoking, grilling and more with the Masterbuilt App. | FOLDAWAY RACKS + FOLDING SHELFThe FoldAway warming + smoking racks provide extra cooking space, while the stainless steel front shelf provides extra preparation space. | GRAVITY SERIES ROTISSERIE & COVEREnhance your experience with accessories. |
product description
Style:Gravity Series 1050 XL
With the Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker by Masterbuilt, you can smoke, grill, sear, bake, roast and so much more. Set the temperature on the digital control panel or your smart device and the DigitalFan maintains the desired cooking temperature. The GravityFed charcoal hopper holds up to 8 hours of charcoal and gravity ensures you have constant fuel to the fire. The reversible smoke + sear cast-iron grates and FoldAway warming + smoking racks add up to a total of 1050 square inches of cooking space. Master the art of charcoal grilling and smoking with Masterbuilt.
product details
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Important information
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Questions about Masterbuilt MB20041220 Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker, 202.9 lbs, Black
Q:
Can you mix wood in with the charcoal?
Answer: Thank you for your interest in the grill and smoker Shelly. Yes, you can mix wood with the charcoal. We recommend for an On-Demand smoke, add 1-2 chunks (no larger than your fist) directly to the Ash bin, this will last approximately 2-3 hours. For a Controlled smoke we recommend, add four (4) pounds of charcoal and this one (1) wood chunk, creating layers of charcoal and wood chunks. We hope this information helps. If you have any additional questions, please contact us directly at 1.800.489.1581.
Answer: I run wood chunks in both the hopper and ash pan. I layer charcoal and chunks in the hopper and then throw in some wood chunks in the ash pan every few hours or so. Gives really good amounts of smoke, not overpowering at all.
Q:
What are the dimensions of the packaging?
Answer: Thank you for your interest in this grill. The box dimensions for this unit are 37.3 W X 21.7 L X 21.6 H. If you have any additional questions, please contact our Customer Support Team at www.masterbuilt.com.
Answer: Which model? Which size?
Q:
Can you shut the grill off with it full of charcoal?
Answer: Good Morning,
Q:
What are dimensions of the cooking area, Length and Width?
Answer: The cooking area dimensions for the two cast iron grates is 14" X 22". If you need any additional assistance, please contact our Customer Support Team at www.masterbuilt.com.
Answer: The main grate is 22.5"x14.5" and the upper grates are 22.5"x5.5" each. You can fit two of the small grates on each of the upper shelves - I bought two extra upper grates to give myself two additional shelves at roughly 22.5”x11”.
Q:
What's the minimum temperature for this gravity series masterbuilt smoke.? And/ or does it have a cold smoke accessory attachment?
Answer: Hello Patricia, 150° is the lowest temp setting for this grill and smoker. Currently we have not produced a cold smoke accessory attachment for this unit.
Q:
Is it made in the USA?
Answer: Thank you for your question. Our products are manufactured in China.
Q:
How big a brisket will fit on the cooker?
Answer: It will hold large brisket 20 plus pounds
Answer: Hello Rex Andrews, thank you for your interest in this grill plus smoker product. The cooking space of each main grate in this grill is 320 sq.in. We hope this information helps. If you need any additional information, please feel free to reach out to our Customer Support Team at www.masterbuilt.com.
Q:
Does it have a drip tray to collect meat juices as cooking? Also, is there somewhere to put a water pan when smoking?
Answer: Thank you for your interest in this grill. Yes, there is a grease tray that will collect liquids. There is not a designed area in the unit for a water pan. Along with the pictures of this unit in the description there are two videos as well that should help with the grill space and components. If you have any additional questions, please contact our Customer Support Team at www.masterbuilt.com.
Answer: The drip tray is on the bottom of grill that slides out is same size as grill as far as water pan would have to put next to food on great or put on great above grill great note there are some real good videos on YouTube hope this helped
Q:
Where do you get a closed lid sensor? Mine melted first burn can't find online parts
Answer: Wow. Definitely haven’t had that happen on mine (with 24+ cooks now). But, ping Masterbuilt customer service. They’ll take care of you. If you can’t reach them on their phone (lots of places shut down due to Covid 19), I’ve heard they respond quickly on Facebook messenger.
Q:
Can this smoker be used in the rain?
Answer: Thank you Eric for asking. We wouldn't recommend using this grill in the rain due to the electric controller on the unit. If you have any additional questions, please contact our Customer Support Team at www.masterbuilt.com.
Answer: I wouldn’t.
Q:
How much charcoal does this thing consume for something simple like burgers? Seems awesome for smoking and steaks - what about burgers?
Answer: Depending on the temperature you are using will depend how much charcoal will be used. It will also depend what kind of charcoal is in use. For a quick cook of burgers, it shouldn't use much. A full hopper can last for up to 15hr with lump or 11hr with briquettes, at 225F. This number will decrease as temperatures rise but, not aggressively. And, coal can be left in the hopper between uses, just keep the hopper lid and door closed, push the slides back in and it will cut off the oxygen.
Q:
How do you return this item?
Answer: You will have to contact the seller so that they can make preparations
Q:
Main grate size on 560 vs 1050?
Answer: The Gravity Series 560 cooking and sear grate is 14.5" x 22" while the Gravity Series 1050 is 28" x 18"
Q:
Cuando tendrán en existencia?
Q:
Can this grill be used in light rain? Are there any rain gaskets around the top of the electrical panel?
Answer: There are a lot of safety features to make this a useable outdoor product. It is not suggested to use any electrical appliance in any rain. If there is a place the unit can be used and covered during rain, that would be ideal.
Q:
Temp readout showing 0000timer when increasing temp from 250 to 400 is tis normal
Answer: The controller will scroll through your time and temperature throughout the heating and cook cycle, this is a normal operation of the unit.
Q:
How wide is the unit? The description says 24.6“ but I want to confirm with someone who has the unit. Is that the width from the widest point?
Answer: From the widest points, the width is 54.13", depth is 24.65", and height is 51.96"
Answer: Dimensions
Answer: Not correct. The width is 54” the depth is 24.6”
Answer: What is the width with the bottom door of the stack opened? I have a spot for my grill that measures 67.5” wide.
Q:
Do you have a cook book for masterbuilt gravity series 560?
Answer: It's a digitally controlled smoking oven heated by burning wood and charcoal. Cook anything you want in it with any recipe, it's not unique.
Answer: No I do not have a cook book but if u need some recipes I am more than happy to help
Answer: Hello Vincent, thank you for your interest in this grill. We do have a cookbook designed for this grill yet, but we do have recipes for it. Please visit us at www.masterbuilt.com.
Q:
Do the fan / electronics run on 220v? or is it just 110?
Answer: Power source ia 110
Answer: This is manufactured for the 110v.
Answer: 110v
Q:
Would this work in the United Kingdom? Can it handle 220v without a converter?
Answer: There are units designed specifically for the United Kingdom 220v. These units will need to be purchased in the UK.
Q:
Does it flair-up
Answer: If grease builds up onr the cook is quite fatty. The unit should be cleaned after each use to avoid grease flair ups.
Answer: It flares up when cooking over 350 degrees if there's grease build up in the manifold or if the meat is very fatty. Inserting the 2 metal slides quickly chokes out most flare ups. To avoid flare ups, it's best to clean the manifold regularly.
Answer: three prong
Q:
How many meat probes com with 560
Answer: The unit comes with 1 meat probe.
Answer: Only one probe. This is an awesome piece of equipment.
Answer: I got only one with it. You’ll have to purchase them separately.
Answer: 1
Answer: It comes with one.
Answer: Just 1 but you can buy more.
Q:
i this set it and forget it? I set the temp for say 250, walk away and never have to adjust? It will keep 250 constant?
Answer: As long as you have enough fuel (charcoal/wood) yes it will keep the same temp within a range of the target
Answer: You still have to feed it add charcoal or wood chunks but for the most part it maintains temp for a couple hours
Answer: The unit can be monitored by your phone for temperature control. Variances can occur due to amount of food and outside temperature. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Answer: For 8-10 hours yes. You have to check your hopper level occasionally. Otherwise it’s the taste of charcoal with the ease of a pellet.
Answer: As long as there is charcoal in the bin it should. As with any barbecue cooking it will be +/- 10%. Very easy to use.
Answer: You need to read and follow the instructions that comes with your package. At this time you will familiarize yourself with the grills operation,if not your results my not turn out to be they should be
Answer: Yes, as long as you still have coal in the hopper.
Answer: Yes
Q:
14 cooks old - the walls of the firebox is disintegrated to the extent that the insulation in the walls is visible - is this covered by the warranty?
Answer: According to Masterbuilt, those walls are sacrificial and are just there to hold the fire bricks in place during shipping, so the answer would be no.
Answer: The metal plates in the lower portion of the hopper hold the firebrick in place and protect it during shipping. These burn out and drop into the ash pan. They are not necessary for the grill to function and we’re not offering a replacement part, since they are meant to be temporary
Q:
How do you clean the ash out? Does it fall thru to the ground? Can this be used on a wood deck?
Answer: No grill should be used on a flammable surface. The ash falls to the bottom of the hopper, in a enclosed chamber into an ash bucket.
Answer: The ash goes into a pan that you dump after you are done and it cools. Yes it can be used on a wood deck, everything is contained. To be safe you could use fire brick under it or a fire proof mat. We love ours.
Answer: There is a ash catcher with a latched door at the bottom of the charcoal stack.
Answer: Get a grill mat. For sure. I dont really think there will be a problem but Id be leary about leaving it alone for any period of time without a grill mat under grill and maybe even one in front of grill for you to stand on.
Q:
Where can I purchase additional meat temperature probes?
Answer: There aren’t generic probes yet, so the only option is to purchase the Masterbuilt probes. I bought mine from their website.
Answer: I have never trusted the "onboard" meat thermometers on grills/smokers. They are never very accurate. Buy yourself a good set of bluetooth/wifi thermometers. I have the Tappecue Touch. It's Wifi and I can check grill and meat temps from anywhere on my phone. A bit pricey but well worth it.
Q:
Bought getting error codes V001 and R0 11 won’t work ?
Answer: I had to hook mine up to the internet and update it. Works better with apple products
Q:
How do I contact the seller for replacement parts that were damaged in delivery?
Answer: I registered it on their webpage and then used the support link.
Q:
Where can you buy an additional meat probe?
Answer: MASTERBUILT .COM
Q:
Is this delivered by semi truck?
Answer: Due to weight this unit, it will be delivered through a freight carrier.
Answer: Mine was delivered by semi, unloaded with a pallet Jack and wheeled up onto my deck… I took it from there.
Answer: Yes it was. They took it off the truck and put it in my garage. They were great. BTW it is a great smoker. It is the best gift I’ve given to hubby. ????????
Q:
does it come with Alexa?
Answer: It does not come with alexa
Answer: WOW....does it come with alexa?....just wow. You don't even deserve to have a grill
Answer: No, it features wifi and bluetooth connection with an app, so you can control grill temps and check meat temps and alarms from anywhere.
Answer: No, this feature is not available with the Gravity series Grill.
Q:
Is it Insulated
Answer: This grill is not insulated. For additional questions. please visit us at www.masterbuilt.com.
Answer: No but double walled in hopper
Q:
Does this smoker put out a lot of smoke or is it contained with in grill
Answer: As with any charcoal grill/smoker you’re gunna have smoke come out of the grill and that’s a good thing. If smoke can’t escape it sits over the meat and becomes bitter. That’s why this grill has about a 10-12” vent that runs along the back to help keep the smoke fresh. It smokes more on initial startup but once you’re up to temperature you get that nice thin clean blue smoke.
Answer: It does put out a lot of smoke. I typically add a couple chunks of moist wood to increase the amount of smoke. I love mine! I have two smokers, this one is very easy to clean( I can put most of the pieces in the dishwasher), it has WiFi (I done use it often) and was really easy to assemble ( I put mine together—only needed my husband to assist in moving it). Hope this helps. Oh, I would look at Home Depot - the one in our area had this on sale for $350.
Answer: It smokes. That’s probably why they call it a smoker. :)
Answer: This unit gives a good deal of smoke within the confines of the cabinet.
Answer: It put out a lot up smoke both outside and inside evenly
Answer: Both but does give a good smoke ring add wood chunks to ash bin just made baby backs yesterday and came out best yet
Q:
Why does it say it reaches temp of 700 when that burns the meat?
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: high temp grilling is for searing such as with steaks.
Answer: This is for searing feature. Please visit our website for more details.
Q:
How many racks come wth it.
Answer: Has a main grate and a middle rack and a top rack. So 3 tiers. Thats on my 1050. The video will show you.
Answer: The grill comes with 2 smoking and sear grates and warming racks.
Answer: Well there are two bottom racks, then there is an upper one, plus a rotissary mount.
Answer: 2 racks along with the 2 grates.
Answer: Main grilling area and two warming racks.
Answer: One shelf.
Q:
I have been having a difficult time trying to get in touch with customer service, any help?
Answer: To get responses I had to make sure I registered the product first via their website. After that I was able to submit an online form for my issue. It did take 3-10 days for them to respond but I did get a response. I have not tried their Facebook group. Hope this helps.
Answer: It's a knock on them during COVID. The only way to reach them is by email. Keep trying - it took a while but they got back to me
Answer: There is a Facebook group for the gravity series. Lots of folks there may help
Answer: I’ve emailed them and they responded. Contact them on their brand FB page also. Many have had luck with that.
Q:
Does you have to use an outlet for the digital temp or is it battery?
Answer: I know that masterbuilt answered that it needs to be plugged into an outlet to this question, but some of us in the MB560 group are using this with just your standard battery pack that you’d use to charge your phone. If you buy a DC 5v to DC 9v or 12v Adjustable Step Up Voltage Converter, you can plug it into the grill and then the usb side to the battery pack, you can essentially use this on the go! A 20,000 mah battery pack should give you over 20 hours of cooking time.
Answer: Thank you for your interest in this grill. Yes, this product needs to be plugged into an outlet.
Q:
So just bought the 1050 and received the code ERR 1, it says temperature switch not fully comnected but everything seems to be not changing
Answer: Check your connection on the underside. Even unplug and replug it. You should join the Facebook group ‘Masterbuilt Gravity Series Fans’. Lots of help in there.
Q:
What happens if you use fast acting charcoal to season the grill?
Answer: Are you asking what will happen if you fill the hopper? If so, they will all light up and potentially damage the hopper. One or two in the bottom to light regular charcoal would be fine, but a hopper full of easy light charcoal could be disastrous.
Answer: Are you talking about match light charcoal? If so, you could have a problem. Since it burns from the bottom the entire hopper would probably ignite all at once. It is designed to ignite only the bottom layer and then ignite more as the layers burn away. It does this very well but with match light it would all burn at once causing extreme heat and possibly damage the grill.
Answer: Temperatures can be unstable and accelerants are not recommended in use with Gravity.
Q:
Just bought it, is it normal to have smoke coming from the top of the charcoal box?
Answer: Smoke will come from different areas but, ensure all your lids are closed and latched, and your air intake slides are completely removed, to avoid the "chimney" effect.
Answer: Yes. Mine does as well. I don’t think it was designed to be completely sealed, just pretty close.
Answer: Yes
Q:
Saw the assembly video - seems like very many steps to assemble - how long does it take?
Answer: Probably less than three hours with the help
Answer: Took me about 45 minutes. Most of it is put together, just attaching the larger pieces together. It’s pretty easy in my opinion.
Answer: About 1.5 hours but the grill is awesome best smoker I have ever owned
Answer: At least an hour and half.
Answer: Took me two hours.
Answer: Alone 2.5 hrs
Q:
Does the grill come with a cover and temperature probe? Also, can you get a rotisserie for this grill?
Answer: Thank you for your interest in this product. This grill does not come with a cover but comes with 1 meat probe. Our rotisserie will be available late spring.
Answer: The grill does not come with a cover. but you can order one on the Masterbuilt web page. Yes it does with a probe. but I have not been able to connect with it.
Answer: No cover, 1 meat probe, it seems ready to accept a rotisserie but it isn't currently available.
Q:
What size of wood chunks can be used for this grill?
Answer: Standard wood chunks can be used.
Answer: Any that fit into the charcoal drop area, I soak 2 - 4 inch chunks and then add them to the ash box as needed, the dropping charcoal starts these smoldering and is very effective at producing smoke. In my opinion, the larger the better. But I would say anything less than 8 inches you would be fine.
Q:
How durable is the fire box /What gauge steel ,any stainless steel in this grill ?
Answer: This unit is very heavy duty. Double insulated back wall and single walled on the other three. There is brushed stainless steel within the interior of the grill.
Answer: The firebox is a dual walled vertical chamber. Don't know the actual metal thickness but it should be ok for the life of the grill. The metal at the bottom of the firebox where the burn is hottest is thicker metal. A metal slide thst you put the starter material in appears to be SS.
Answer: Have not used it yet so don't know
Answer: IT IS MADE TO LAST IF YOU TAKE CARE OF IT
Q:
Can i use a water pan ?
Answer: Thank you for your interest in the grill. Yes, you can put a water pan in this grill. If you have any additional questions, please contact our Customer Support Team at 1.800.489.1581.
Answer: I believe you could next to food on great or on upper great
Q:
Why don’t you ship to Hawaii?
Answer: Probably not worth it for Amazon...
Q:
We just got the 560 today and its throwing error code 001 something to do with the temperature probe. We tried calling Masterbilt and they are closed
Answer: Have you connected it to WiFi? You might need to download the latest firmware and need a WiFi connection to do that
Q:
When is the rotisserie accessorie coming out ?
Answer: It is available
Answer: I DONT KNOW I WOOD LIKE TO KNOW
Q:
is this the 2020 model or 2021
Answer: this model has no changes year to eyar so far. the only difference you can search for is the size. 580 (580Sqin) the 1050 (1050Sqin) and now a new one 800 (800Sqin).
Answer: We would need the serial number to identify the manufacturing year.
Q:
The charcoal grate holes look pretty wide. Do that fall through before burning?
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: Smaller pieces of burnt charcoal do fall thru the grate holes. Your choices are: 1. discard the ash and small charcoal pieces before firing up the grill the next time or 2. separate the ash from the small charcoal pieces then dump the small pieces back onto the top of the unburned charcoal.
Answer: I’ve modified mine slightly to hold charcoal better. Lump’s little pieces fall through a lot. If you use the char logs from royal oak or B&B it’s no problem.
Answer: You want lit coals to drop through and help ignite wood in the ash pan. Some people have modified the grates to a smaller hole. Works for some, others have ash build up and trouble lighting and/or getting to higher temps. I’ve left mine as is and it works fantastic. Zero complaints.
Answer: No, the ash will fall through after burning.
Answer: It burns probably 3/4 of the charcoal piece before it’s small enough to fall through.
Answer: Haven't cooked a lot on mine yet but this doesn't seem to be a problem. My main issue is that the you will waste a lot of charcoal if you fill up the hopper and are only cooking burgers etc. I thought there was some kind of "slide" that would separate the unburned charcoal but doesn't appear to be so.
Answer: Yes. Most users have modified it by placing another grate over it with narrower gaps.
Answer: A couple of pieces may get through but there is no reason to panic everything will still run normal.
Answer: No, this grill is the best grill I ever owned
Product reviews of Masterbuilt MB20041220 Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker, 202.9 lbs, Black
Northwestern Bag Co. : It was just ok
The 560 model is small. Would be tight to fit two racks of ribs. The taste of food wasn't any different than cooking on a propane grill. The biggest con for me was the fuel usage. This thing uses a lot of charcoal. I just couldn't justify using half a bag of charcoal every weekend for grilling my meal prep meat. About 10lbs of chicken and a couple steaks uses half a bag of charcoal.
Didn't use to smoke on but it would be difficult to keep wood burning in the hopper. You would have to try to mix wood and charcoal to load the hopper. It would tale a lot of trial and error to get the mix right.
Didn't use to smoke on but it would be difficult to keep wood burning in the hopper. You would have to try to mix wood and charcoal to load the hopper. It would tale a lot of trial and error to get the mix right.
Steven Krontz : Zero customer support!
I have used side smokers for years, they work great. This is even better do to the control of temp. The lighting of charcoal on the Masterbuilt is a bit choosy, need to buy fire starter blocks or pre start the charcoal on another grill. App issues, loosing wifi and zero customer support over the phone are some what a problem. Overall, when you figure it out, it really does a good job of smoking meats. Even did Chicken breast and it didn't dry it out and still tasted the smoke flavor after bbq sauce.
Nic : Great smoker and grill!
Before the Masterbuilt 560, I had been using a pellet smoker for about 4 years. Prior to my pellet smoker, I was using an offset. I went to a pellet smoker due to the ease of set and forget. One thing about using the pellet smoker for the past 4 years is that it was always lacking in smoke flavor. I did all the mods and add ons to get a stronger smoke flavor but could never get that familiar smoke flavor from the offset.
Now for the MB560. When I saw this announced I immediately knew I needed this grill. The fact that I could cook with charcoal and throw in large chunks of wood in the hopper and ash pan, I knew I would get a better smoke flavor off of this grill.
I got this grill delivered the day before Christmas. Put the grill together immediately and did the burn off. Tri-Tip steaks were the first thing I cooked on this. I reverse seared the steaks. Smoked them for about 45 minutes at 200 then bumped up the grill to 700 to sear the steaks. This is where the awesomeness of this grill comes in. With the grill already running at 200, for me to get to 700 took less than 5 minutes. I have to take the steaks off during this time so I can get that good sear on them. I mention this because with my pellet grill, the time to get to 500 (this is the hottest it gets) from 200 would take 20 minutes. The fact that I was at 700 in 5 minutes was amazing. The amount of smoke flavor that was on these steaks was awesome. I had thrown in some hickory chunks in the ash pan during the smoking process. The mixture of the charcoal flavor from the Oak Lump charcoal and Hickory tasted great on the steaks.
I have done ribs and pork butt as well and they have come out with better flavor than anything that ever came off my pellet grill. The versatility of this grill is awesome. To have a true smoker and a true grill all in one is amazing. I have had this for about a month now and haven't touched any of my other grills since I got the MB560. I would definitely recommend this grill!
Now for the MB560. When I saw this announced I immediately knew I needed this grill. The fact that I could cook with charcoal and throw in large chunks of wood in the hopper and ash pan, I knew I would get a better smoke flavor off of this grill.
I got this grill delivered the day before Christmas. Put the grill together immediately and did the burn off. Tri-Tip steaks were the first thing I cooked on this. I reverse seared the steaks. Smoked them for about 45 minutes at 200 then bumped up the grill to 700 to sear the steaks. This is where the awesomeness of this grill comes in. With the grill already running at 200, for me to get to 700 took less than 5 minutes. I have to take the steaks off during this time so I can get that good sear on them. I mention this because with my pellet grill, the time to get to 500 (this is the hottest it gets) from 200 would take 20 minutes. The fact that I was at 700 in 5 minutes was amazing. The amount of smoke flavor that was on these steaks was awesome. I had thrown in some hickory chunks in the ash pan during the smoking process. The mixture of the charcoal flavor from the Oak Lump charcoal and Hickory tasted great on the steaks.
I have done ribs and pork butt as well and they have come out with better flavor than anything that ever came off my pellet grill. The versatility of this grill is awesome. To have a true smoker and a true grill all in one is amazing. I have had this for about a month now and haven't touched any of my other grills since I got the MB560. I would definitely recommend this grill!
Kindle Customer : Great grill/smoker. App not ready for prime time.
Initial impression after assembly and first use. Assembly wasn't too bad, but it does take time. I did it solo. Another set of hands would have been helpful, but it can be done without.
This things fires up quickly and the temperature control is outstanding. So fun to turn the dial and watch it respond immediately.
As other have noted, the app is hot trash so far. If wifi/Bluetooth is an absolute necessity for you....this may not be the smoker for you. I will say that I thought going in that this was the case for me....but I may be willing to overlook it in the end given how good the performance of the actual grill/smoker seems to be. Hopefully future updates help.
This things fires up quickly and the temperature control is outstanding. So fun to turn the dial and watch it respond immediately.
As other have noted, the app is hot trash so far. If wifi/Bluetooth is an absolute necessity for you....this may not be the smoker for you. I will say that I thought going in that this was the case for me....but I may be willing to overlook it in the end given how good the performance of the actual grill/smoker seems to be. Hopefully future updates help.
c. Hayden : Easy to use
The best part of this smoker is the set and forget temperature controls. I bought a third party thermometer for the grill lid and the temp on that always matches the temperature on the Masterbuilt control panel. For my baby back ribs, the temp sat at 225 degrees for 7 hours and never moved. I never had to refill the charcoal and had about 10-15 percent of fuel left after the fire was snuffed out. The meat probe I used for the chicken also matched my instant read thermometer and I have no doubts about its accuracy. I'm only 4 cooks in (ribs, beef ribs, chicken, burgers) and I have no regrets.
Chris Musser : All about the Temp!!
Ok, I was extremely hesitant to purchase this Digital smoker. However after several uses this item has proved to be a very resourceful piece of equipment.
The key is the temperature control being consistent with very little variables in the heat. Like any barbecue it has its hotspots on the grill. But any educated smoker knows these locations on their barbecue and places they appropriate food in these areas to get a consistent cook temp. Overall the temperature control is unprecedented.
With the new update on the Bluetooth software it connects easily with Both android and Apple devices. Also, the app is extremely’s easy to use. Straight to the point, temp and time!
Now I’ll talk about the best part of this smoker and that is the searing at 700°. You go from a low to 250° to a high 700° in just a minute. It’s great for tri-tips that you want to smoke and then seer. Not to mention the incredible burgers and steaks you can get out of this thing.
If there were any negatives it would be the process of putting it together. One part in particular is the screws for the lift bar on the main door. Very easily dropped into the inside body of the door void. But, with a little work you can get it back out.
I did far too much research on this barbecue before buying it and watched a lot of reviews over the last year. There is a lot of negatives towards shipping and manufacturing defects. And a lot of negatives towards dealing with Manufacturing warranty.
I have not myself experienced any of these issues and I would HIGHLY recommend this product.
KNOW YOUR BBQ
There is a great deal of value in this item for what it does. It is not a heavy cast iron built BBQ meant to last 100 years in the rain. If you know Master Built Products you know they use thin metal body’s , however they double wall the majority of areas required to contain heat and consistency. This bbq requires cleaning on a routine basis to maintain consistency in your cooked and to reduce GREASE FIRES. Remember this thing can get up to 700° after you’ve just cooked a pork butt for 10hr. I recommend using aluminum foil pans on the bottom rack and use the second rack for meat on your long smokes to reduce grease drippings on the manifold burner.
The key is the temperature control being consistent with very little variables in the heat. Like any barbecue it has its hotspots on the grill. But any educated smoker knows these locations on their barbecue and places they appropriate food in these areas to get a consistent cook temp. Overall the temperature control is unprecedented.
With the new update on the Bluetooth software it connects easily with Both android and Apple devices. Also, the app is extremely’s easy to use. Straight to the point, temp and time!
Now I’ll talk about the best part of this smoker and that is the searing at 700°. You go from a low to 250° to a high 700° in just a minute. It’s great for tri-tips that you want to smoke and then seer. Not to mention the incredible burgers and steaks you can get out of this thing.
If there were any negatives it would be the process of putting it together. One part in particular is the screws for the lift bar on the main door. Very easily dropped into the inside body of the door void. But, with a little work you can get it back out.
I did far too much research on this barbecue before buying it and watched a lot of reviews over the last year. There is a lot of negatives towards shipping and manufacturing defects. And a lot of negatives towards dealing with Manufacturing warranty.
I have not myself experienced any of these issues and I would HIGHLY recommend this product.
KNOW YOUR BBQ
There is a great deal of value in this item for what it does. It is not a heavy cast iron built BBQ meant to last 100 years in the rain. If you know Master Built Products you know they use thin metal body’s , however they double wall the majority of areas required to contain heat and consistency. This bbq requires cleaning on a routine basis to maintain consistency in your cooked and to reduce GREASE FIRES. Remember this thing can get up to 700° after you’ve just cooked a pork butt for 10hr. I recommend using aluminum foil pans on the bottom rack and use the second rack for meat on your long smokes to reduce grease drippings on the manifold burner.
Steve Marin : Stop searching and buy this.
This is an incredible cooker. Smoke, barbecue, and grill all in one. I just did a 12 hour brisket on it last weekend and it was brilliant. The included probe takes the guess work out of smoking, and the digital temperature management is consistent. Assembly was challenging, but as long as you are organized and take your time, it is fairly straightforward. I have had the unit disconnect from my phone occasionally, but then again, I've never connected my phone to a smoker or weber kettle in the past, so that's not a deal breaker for me. Ultimately, I am now plating some of the best barbecue I ever had, and it is in no small part because of the Masterbuilt 1050.
Dang Lucky Nerd : Rusted Parts and Unable to Contact Customer Support
I was so excited to get this new smoker but when I opened it and started taking everything out of the box, I saw that the heat manifold assembly piece was covered in some kind of oil. I looked at the assembly videos on their website to see if maybe it is meant to be this way. Nothing looks like it has oil on it. So, I cleaned off the oils but it was full of rust (see the picture). So, I need a new part. The phone number in the book for customer support has a message that basically says they don't do customer support over the phone and directs to the website. Got to the website and it says you can't do anything until you register the product. I tried to register and and error comes up that says I need to log into Oracle Netsuite before I can complete it. Oracle network is not for customers as far as I can tell but there is not a way to sign up an Oracle Netsuite account. Shame on you Masterbuilt!
Bob : Be ready to straighten up some metal
Box was in perfect condition. But this is what the grill looked like when I opened it. I guess I can try and fix it myself. The metal is thin enough
Chris Musser : All about the Temp!!
Ok, I was extremely hesitant to purchase this Digital smoker. However after several uses this item has proved to be a very resourceful piece of equipment.
The key is the temperature control being consistent with very little variables in the heat. Like any barbecue it has its hotspots on the grill. But any educated smoker knows these locations on their barbecue and places they appropriate food in these areas to get a consistent cook temp. Overall the temperature control is unprecedented.
With the new update on the Bluetooth software it connects easily with Both android and Apple devices. Also, the app is extremely’s easy to use. Straight to the point, temp and time!
Now I’ll talk about the best part of this smoker and that is the searing at 700°. You go from a low to 250° to a high 700° in just a minute. It’s great for tri-tips that you want to smoke and then seer. Not to mention the incredible burgers and steaks you can get out of this thing.
If there were any negatives it would be the process of putting it together. One part in particular is the screws for the lift bar on the main door. Very easily dropped into the inside body of the door void. But, with a little work you can get it back out.
I did far too much research on this barbecue before buying it and watched a lot of reviews over the last year. There is a lot of negatives towards shipping and manufacturing defects. And a lot of negatives towards dealing with Manufacturing warranty.
I have not myself experienced any of these issues and I would HIGHLY recommend this product.
KNOW YOUR BBQ
There is a great deal of value in this item for what it does. It is not a heavy cast iron built BBQ meant to last 100 years in the rain. If you know Master Built Products you know they use thin metal body’s , however they double wall the majority of areas required to contain heat and consistency. This bbq requires cleaning on a routine basis to maintain consistency in your cooked and to reduce GREASE FIRES. Remember this thing can get up to 700° after you’ve just cooked a pork butt for 10hr. I recommend using aluminum foil pans on the bottom rack and use the second rack for meat on your long smokes to reduce grease drippings on the manifold burner.
The key is the temperature control being consistent with very little variables in the heat. Like any barbecue it has its hotspots on the grill. But any educated smoker knows these locations on their barbecue and places they appropriate food in these areas to get a consistent cook temp. Overall the temperature control is unprecedented.
With the new update on the Bluetooth software it connects easily with Both android and Apple devices. Also, the app is extremely’s easy to use. Straight to the point, temp and time!
Now I’ll talk about the best part of this smoker and that is the searing at 700°. You go from a low to 250° to a high 700° in just a minute. It’s great for tri-tips that you want to smoke and then seer. Not to mention the incredible burgers and steaks you can get out of this thing.
If there were any negatives it would be the process of putting it together. One part in particular is the screws for the lift bar on the main door. Very easily dropped into the inside body of the door void. But, with a little work you can get it back out.
I did far too much research on this barbecue before buying it and watched a lot of reviews over the last year. There is a lot of negatives towards shipping and manufacturing defects. And a lot of negatives towards dealing with Manufacturing warranty.
I have not myself experienced any of these issues and I would HIGHLY recommend this product.
KNOW YOUR BBQ
There is a great deal of value in this item for what it does. It is not a heavy cast iron built BBQ meant to last 100 years in the rain. If you know Master Built Products you know they use thin metal body’s , however they double wall the majority of areas required to contain heat and consistency. This bbq requires cleaning on a routine basis to maintain consistency in your cooked and to reduce GREASE FIRES. Remember this thing can get up to 700° after you’ve just cooked a pork butt for 10hr. I recommend using aluminum foil pans on the bottom rack and use the second rack for meat on your long smokes to reduce grease drippings on the manifold burner.
Amazon Customer : Versatile Grill/Smoker
I've had the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 for about 2 months now and I love it. It takes the best of the pellet grills and the offset charcoal/wood smokers and combines them into one grill. This thing can be set as low as 150 (struggles below 200 though) and high enough to sear a steak (600-700 degrees). Lighting is easy as long as you make sure you've knocked out all of the ash and soot from the previous cook. A full hopper lasts me anywhere from 5ish to 10ish hours depending on the charcoal I use and the temperature I'm cooking at.
My only complaint is how difficult it was to assemble. It does suggest assembling with a partner which probably would've helped, but it took me a few hours on my own to assemble. There's many different pieces and almost no extra screws so make sure you don't lose any.
Overall I'd recommend this to anyone looking to up their outdoor cooking game. It's great for beginner or advanced low and slow cookers. If electricity is easy to hook up at your house it's also a great primary grill.
My only complaint is how difficult it was to assemble. It does suggest assembling with a partner which probably would've helped, but it took me a few hours on my own to assemble. There's many different pieces and almost no extra screws so make sure you don't lose any.
Overall I'd recommend this to anyone looking to up their outdoor cooking game. It's great for beginner or advanced low and slow cookers. If electricity is easy to hook up at your house it's also a great primary grill.
C. Wolfley : Charcoal and wood flavor with Pellet control
I won’t pretend that it’s perfect. There are some quirks to it. But, it’s one of the best smokers I’ve used in the ~12-13 years I’ve been smoking.
There are a few things to do like put foil over the top of the hopper so the paint on the lid doesn’t peel.. rotate the fan 90 degrees so your fan wires don’t melt at high heat, and maybe mod the hopper grate at the bottom. Those are all fairly simple.
There’s after market mods you can do. I’ve done some of them for longevity sake, because I love it and want it to last.
Overall, I absolutely love it so far.
There are a few things to do like put foil over the top of the hopper so the paint on the lid doesn’t peel.. rotate the fan 90 degrees so your fan wires don’t melt at high heat, and maybe mod the hopper grate at the bottom. Those are all fairly simple.
There’s after market mods you can do. I’ve done some of them for longevity sake, because I love it and want it to last.
Overall, I absolutely love it so far.
Nullism : Smoker stopped working after 8 smokes and less than a year.
So many problems with this smoker, but here are the primary issues:
1. As others have mentioned, the seal on the smoke box lid came loose after less than a year. This leads to smoke leakage.
2. The sensor on the main box stopped working after the sixth smoke, so the smoker display just says "open", after some trial and error you can still get it to smoke, but you no longer get a temperature display on the smoker so you have to use your own thermometer. The sensor does not have any signs of damage.
3. The build quality is really poor for the price. The metal is pretty thin and can bend easily.
4. The drip tray is awkward to reach and pull out / put in the bottom slot, and it's fairly small so has to be changed often.
5. The top airflow cutoff insert is really stiff and is a PITA to put in and out, especially after the smoker has been sitting.
6. The power connection pops out frequently. The entire weight of the cable is held by a small connector, so it can rip the power connector from the circuit board if you're not careful. I added a mounted cable tie to hold some of the weight and that seems to help.
7. As others have mentioned, the glue inside the lid is very hard to remove and offgasses periodically. Doesn't seem to impact the flavor after a few smokes though.
Pros
1. The flavor is pretty good. On part with a nicer gravity smoker.
tl;dr - The build quality is terrible and there are several design decisions that make this a poor choice for your next smoker. The flavor is good, better than a pellet grill without a smoke tube, but definitely not good enough to warrant the price.
1. As others have mentioned, the seal on the smoke box lid came loose after less than a year. This leads to smoke leakage.
2. The sensor on the main box stopped working after the sixth smoke, so the smoker display just says "open", after some trial and error you can still get it to smoke, but you no longer get a temperature display on the smoker so you have to use your own thermometer. The sensor does not have any signs of damage.
3. The build quality is really poor for the price. The metal is pretty thin and can bend easily.
4. The drip tray is awkward to reach and pull out / put in the bottom slot, and it's fairly small so has to be changed often.
5. The top airflow cutoff insert is really stiff and is a PITA to put in and out, especially after the smoker has been sitting.
6. The power connection pops out frequently. The entire weight of the cable is held by a small connector, so it can rip the power connector from the circuit board if you're not careful. I added a mounted cable tie to hold some of the weight and that seems to help.
7. As others have mentioned, the glue inside the lid is very hard to remove and offgasses periodically. Doesn't seem to impact the flavor after a few smokes though.
Pros
1. The flavor is pretty good. On part with a nicer gravity smoker.
tl;dr - The build quality is terrible and there are several design decisions that make this a poor choice for your next smoker. The flavor is good, better than a pellet grill without a smoke tube, but definitely not good enough to warrant the price.
James In DFW : Do yourself a favor
I haven't had time to use this yet because it took all day to build. Do yourself a favor, if the box your grill shows up in is not in pristine condition, don't accept the shipment. Mine had what I thought was minor damage yet it resulted in bent and scratched parts throughout the build. I hope to upgrade my review once I get through the initial burn and use it a bit, but right now I hate the darn thing.
Gregory Gallina : This smoker is the tits!
This is a phenomenal
Machine. It does everything it says it will. It definitely uses way more charcoal than you’d think, but who cares. The only thing someone might struggle with is getting it lit. There are two cheats for this...get a fire starter, cut it in half and feed in through bottom. Or, get amsome instant light charcoal, about 20 briquettes and place in the hopper first, light these and allow them to burn off (it will burn hot for a few minutes). Additionally, it’s stunningly magnificent. It will definitely be a talk
Piece during your next backyard bbq.
Machine. It does everything it says it will. It definitely uses way more charcoal than you’d think, but who cares. The only thing someone might struggle with is getting it lit. There are two cheats for this...get a fire starter, cut it in half and feed in through bottom. Or, get amsome instant light charcoal, about 20 briquettes and place in the hopper first, light these and allow them to burn off (it will burn hot for a few minutes). Additionally, it’s stunningly magnificent. It will definitely be a talk
Piece during your next backyard bbq.
Heath : Do not buy this through Amazon
DK : Follow instructions closely
This product stands by its name. It’s built to do everything that experts have said it could.
Be mindful and follow the instructions,do so and you will create your own positive view of what this awesome grill can do.
Be mindful and follow the instructions,do so and you will create your own positive view of what this awesome grill can do.
Shelli H : Do not waste you money...worked twice and now dead
Do not buy this grill. We used it twice since January and it stopped working. We contacted Masterbuilt we followed the instructions and nothing. The fan does not turn on essentially rendering the grill completely useless. For hundreds of dollars and to have received it Dec 29,2020 and it has been unusuable since March 1st is appalling. This should be removed from Amazon and my money refunded
skhan : Great design, really bad quality material and quality control
I really love be the design of this grill and how it uses charcoal. However it has the softest lightest metal body in a grill I have ever seen. The box was received with a large portion bent. However, the metal is so soft and maleable that I was able to place the whole grill on a stair' step and fix it using my weight. Also the interior walls and the fire box (manifold) started rusting within a week even though I did the seasoning correctly. I am Texas and living on a third floor. I don't think this will last long...
Temperature control is great btw. However, due to the super thin body it looses a lot of energy and ends up costing you a lot of coal.. also the grate on which the charcoal falls is extremely wide. So it wastes a humongous amount of charcoal. I had to mod it using a wire hanger.
I really wish this was made by Weber. I would have loved it. Instead Weber made that terribly designed smokefire....
Temperature control is great btw. However, due to the super thin body it looses a lot of energy and ends up costing you a lot of coal.. also the grate on which the charcoal falls is extremely wide. So it wastes a humongous amount of charcoal. I had to mod it using a wire hanger.
I really wish this was made by Weber. I would have loved it. Instead Weber made that terribly designed smokefire....
Amazon Customer : Damaged-AC adapter sketchy at working properly
This item was received in an undamaged carton. Upon opening all appeared to be factory packaged properly. In separating the multitude of pieces many were bent and warped. The front tray had a big dent in the middle that cannot be repaired. The AC adapter sometimes works to power the grill and sometimes not until very much maneuvering of the plug in the outlet or heavy duty extension cord to get it to turn on. Had such high hopes for this as it checked off all my needs. Customer service is non-existent. Very disappointed. Honestly I would not invest in this product. Stay Away.
Greg Carroll : Best Grill I ever Bought
This Masterbuilt MB20040220 Gravity Series 560 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker, Black is the best grill ever. I looked for months and could not made a decision. Once I seen this grill in action and all the features I had to have it.
Yes, a little love and patience to put it together but well worth when done. I'm looking forward to using this grill for years to come.
Yes, a little love and patience to put it together but well worth when done. I'm looking forward to using this grill for years to come.
Runner : Really good
Product came damaged. Masterbuilt sent a new main body right away. It took about 1.5 hrs to put together by myself. The temp controller is easy to use and works well. The app sometimes loses its connection. I have found I go through quite a bit more charcoal than Masterbuilt stated, but it is winter. Overall I Like it a lot. The smoke flavor is awesome!
Shelli H : Do not waste you money...worked twice and now dead
Do not buy this grill. We used it twice since January and it stopped working. We contacted Masterbuilt we followed the instructions and nothing. The fan does not turn on essentially rendering the grill completely useless. For hundreds of dollars and to have received it Dec 29,2020 and it has been unusuable since March 1st is appalling. This should be removed from Amazon and my money refunded
Kwcupcake : Too expensive to not work!!!
Took us 2 days to put together, came in like 100 pieces at least and after all that it doesn’t work! Loaded it up with charcoal, set temp, and the fan shuts down after about 10 minutes before it reaches temp. Tried multiple times to restart and reset temp and nothing. $900 waste! Just get a Traeger!!
McKenzie : Brand new doesn’t work
After a few hours of assembly we were excited to try the new smoker. Was going through the first cook process to cook off the chemicals and grease from manufacturing. Followed step by step and the smoker will not get to temp. The reason for this is the fan is not working at all. Tried all the troubleshooting and googling for the past 3 hours or so and am defeated. They delivered us a faulty product. For the price you would really expect it to work :/
Dave : Grill works as advertised - the app does not.
From start to finish the grill took about 1.5 hours to put together. Not a terrible process, however, the piece of metal that is meant to hold the baffle for the air intake broke off at the slightest touch, one of the guards around the firebox had to be hammered in, and the hinges for the door to the ash bin had to be pried away from the door to get them to slide in the hinges. Not the worst experience in putting a grill together, but for the price it should have gone more smoothly.
After it was put together, it seems to work as promised. Fired her up and set her to 250 and was there in minutes. Set her to 350 and she got there in about 3 minutes from 250. Set her to 700 and she was there in about 5 minutes. I'm fairly impressed with the performance, but there should be a sear setting that disables the hood sensor. For the life of me I can't understand how that was over-looked.
Now on to the app. Bluetooth connectivity worked fine, no problems there, but WiFi? No good. I, again, cannot understand how in This Year of Our Lord, 2020, they decided that ONLY 2.4GHz WiFi would be supported. Because of this, I cannot get the grill to connect to the network to update, so I'm done messing with it. I'm just going to buy the Fireboard cable and use that to control the grill. At least that way I know I can go run errands and reliably keep tabs on my cooks.
It's for that reason that I'm giving this product 3 stars. Will I recommend it? Sure, but I will also tell them that they're also going to need to buy a Fireboard and the Fireboard control cable, meaning that their investment in this product will not be $800, but closer to $1000. Also, the 1 year warranty is pretty weak as well, especially for a product this expensive.
I'm going to edit my review after having done an overnight cook.
First, this cooker is *insanely* inefficient. Charcoal only burns about halfway through before it drops in to the ash pan. The bottom grate needs to be re-engineered and replaced by Masterbuilt.
Second, after an overnight cook of 2 pork butts and 2 briskets, I decided to crank it up to 350 since the bark was set just to finish the cook. This started a grease fire. Thankfully I was able to rescue the meat, but that wasn't fun to deal with.
Third, cleaning it was pretty quick and easy, so that was nice.
All in all, I think this is a great idea whose execution was mediocre.
After it was put together, it seems to work as promised. Fired her up and set her to 250 and was there in minutes. Set her to 350 and she got there in about 3 minutes from 250. Set her to 700 and she was there in about 5 minutes. I'm fairly impressed with the performance, but there should be a sear setting that disables the hood sensor. For the life of me I can't understand how that was over-looked.
Now on to the app. Bluetooth connectivity worked fine, no problems there, but WiFi? No good. I, again, cannot understand how in This Year of Our Lord, 2020, they decided that ONLY 2.4GHz WiFi would be supported. Because of this, I cannot get the grill to connect to the network to update, so I'm done messing with it. I'm just going to buy the Fireboard cable and use that to control the grill. At least that way I know I can go run errands and reliably keep tabs on my cooks.
It's for that reason that I'm giving this product 3 stars. Will I recommend it? Sure, but I will also tell them that they're also going to need to buy a Fireboard and the Fireboard control cable, meaning that their investment in this product will not be $800, but closer to $1000. Also, the 1 year warranty is pretty weak as well, especially for a product this expensive.
I'm going to edit my review after having done an overnight cook.
First, this cooker is *insanely* inefficient. Charcoal only burns about halfway through before it drops in to the ash pan. The bottom grate needs to be re-engineered and replaced by Masterbuilt.
Second, after an overnight cook of 2 pork butts and 2 briskets, I decided to crank it up to 350 since the bark was set just to finish the cook. This started a grease fire. Thankfully I was able to rescue the meat, but that wasn't fun to deal with.
Third, cleaning it was pretty quick and easy, so that was nice.
All in all, I think this is a great idea whose execution was mediocre.
B. Kim : Never received from AMAZON scheduled Delivery
I did not receive this item from amazon because it took over 2 weeks of the run around for a scheduled (specified time and date a week out from order date) before I had to cancel my order because no one could tell me when or where my order actually was. Ordered and picked up same day from Walmart.
Now down to the smoker
If your are looking for something as simple electric smoker and want the taste and flavor for a charcoal smoker this is the Smoker for you. I suggest getting your own Blutooth thermometer probe, i use it to monitor my meat temps and cooking temps since my smoker is too far from my router to use the app for the smoker.
Pros
It smokes about 12 hours with my setup without needing a refill.
Electric Fan control and built in meat and inside thermometer
Great cast iron racks for searing
Cons
Wifi range is quite short,
no blutooth,
wifi antenna is under the metal shelf plate (loss of signal range)
Random error codes during cooking
Now down to the smoker
If your are looking for something as simple electric smoker and want the taste and flavor for a charcoal smoker this is the Smoker for you. I suggest getting your own Blutooth thermometer probe, i use it to monitor my meat temps and cooking temps since my smoker is too far from my router to use the app for the smoker.
Pros
It smokes about 12 hours with my setup without needing a refill.
Electric Fan control and built in meat and inside thermometer
Great cast iron racks for searing
Cons
Wifi range is quite short,
no blutooth,
wifi antenna is under the metal shelf plate (loss of signal range)
Random error codes during cooking
Jason : Practical solution for smoker and grill combo.
I’ve been wanting a smoker for 3 years… I occasionally borrow my neighbor’s electric cookshack smoker to hold me over.
My thoughts and opinions:
Assembly:
-Took me about 3 hours. I didn’t realize one of the first pieces you need is stored inside the grill lid. Took me a while to find it. Nothing was difficult and the instructions were fairly simple to follow along, just many steps.
-One of the warming racks came warped. I called customer service, they answered right away and placed an order to ship a new rack to me without any hassle.
-Some manufacturing defect with the heat manifold screws or threads. I was unable to tighten the screws to secure the manifold to the manifold support. Either the screws were too long and bottoming out or the hole was not threaded deep enough. Customer service shipped a new heat manifold to me without any hassle. The new heat manifold had the exact same issue, maybe its a problem the instructions and you don’t actually tighten the screws down.
Usage:
-I’m surprised how easy and quick it is to get the cook chamber to temp. They advertise 7 minutes to 250F, and yup I believe it. I haven’t actually timed it, but I think mine is quicker than that.
-The LCD screen is poorly positioned. It faces straight out, as if it is meant for someone 3 feet tall. It should be tilted up so I can actually read it. Instead I have to crouch down when using it.
-The control panel allows 4 meat probes to be connected. Only one is included. I haven’t seen any documentation to see if this probe is standardized and whether I can connect a generic thermometer probe to it. The smoker does not actually use any info from these probes, only to display it on the control panel and to transmit wirelessly to be viewed on the Masterbuilt app.
-There is no auger like a pellet grill. This is simply a tower of charcoal that causes the coals to fall down as the hot coals burn. Then, the fan directs the heat into the smoker to maintain temperature. So it's a fairly simple setup, but I believe a bunch of heat is wasted and I assume that you’ll end up burning the same amount of charcoal whether you are at 250F or 700F. I got about 10 hours of cook time at 250F with a full tower of charcoal.
-You can place wood chunks in the tower along with the charcoal, or place wood chunks in the ash bin. As the hot embers fall into the ash bin, it will cause the wood to smolder and produce smoke.
Remote Control and Monitoring:
-Easy to pair with your phone and your WiFi network. Download the Masterbuilt app and follow the instructions. Which is basically setup username/password, press and hold a button on the grill, then press the search button on the phone. Select the WiFi network you want the grill to connect to and enter the network password.
-Took me a while to actually set the temperature of the smoker from the app. While I have not had any trouble viewing the temperature of the grill, and from the meat thermometer, I had problems with changing the temperature, or turning on/off the grill from the app. Looks like all you have to do is push the connect button again on the smoker so the wireless icon is not flashing. I guess it may be some safety issue. I think any time you open the tower lid or ash bin lid, it requires that button to be pushed again.
-I recently wrecked my phone and had to switch to my backup. I can not get the app to work on the new phone. I see my smoker listed, but it never connects, and then the app eventually crashes. Problem with the phone? I don’t know.
-During the initial seasoning of the grill, I set a 1 hour timer in the app. Over 1 hour passed by and no notification on my phone…. Hmm…. I check the timer status and it just stopped itself with 3 seconds left. You’ve got to be kidding me.
-Can only view current temperature of the thermometers. Come on Masterbuilt, show me a plot. I want to know how well the grill has kept temperature and how quickly the meat is rising in temperature. I took the liberty of sniffing the data it sends out over WiFi. Its constantly sending out data to the cloud (appears to be MQTT over TLS), so Masterbuilt has the data. Please Masterbuilt, let me be able to set the MQTT server so I can log the data myself.
Results - Pulled Pork
-My first use I tried cooking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork. I filled up the tower to the brim with charcoal, preheated to 225F, put the meat on (all rubbed up), put two meat probes in the meat, put a chunk of hickory in the ash bin, and went to sleep.
-The charcoal was completely burned up within 10 hours. Internal temperature of the meat from the smoker’s probe was 201F, and my ThermoPro read 190F.
-There was absolutely no bark. Meat was not falling apart like I am used to with pulled pork. It was fairly tough and had trouble pulling it apart. There was a great smoke ring. Did it not cook long enough?
Results - Ribs
-Put one rack of ribs on at 225F. Waited until internal temperature was 195F.
-Not the greatest looking ribs from the outside, but the taste was incredible. Definitely the best ribs I’ve cooked myself. I ate these without any BBQ sauce.
Results - Prime Rib
-I bought these on a whim… never cooked prime rib before or even researched it. I’m glad I tried it.
-I don’t remember what temperature I cooked it at, but I pulled the prime rib off when internal temperature was 130F.
-Cranked up the grill to 700F.
-Seared the prime rib on each side for about 1 minute. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
-This was probably the best tasting slab of beef I’ve ever had… ended up eating two large servings. The insides were tender and uniformly cooked throughout.
Results - Brisket, half, trimmed
-Cooked at 250F until internal temperature was 200F.
-Let rest in a cooler for 4 hours.
-No bark at all… looked like I baked it. Insides were tough and chewy. Needed a lot of BBQ sauce to be edible. Fed some to the dog.
-Where did I go wrong?
Conclusions
-Excellent at maintaining temperatures.
-Fast to preheat, awesome it can go up to 700F.
-Great smoke ring.
-I have been unsuccessful in getting that great bark texture. Never had problems in my electric smoker.
10 hours of cooking time before running out of coals is cutting it close in my opinion. Its enough for an overnight cook, but I won’t be able to ever get it going in the morning before work and have it still cooking by the time I get back.
-Wish it had some way of determining how much charcoal you have remaining without opening up the tower lid and looking down into hot coals and smoke.
-Overall, I like that it's a pretty simple design. Seems like the only parts that would ever need to be replaced are the fan and the control board.
-Sorta expensive to operate, I think I went through $100 of meat and $30 in charcoal and wood.
-Nice that you can cutoff airflow to the charcoal, so it won’t burn the whole tower full.
-Decent choice as a smoker that can also be used as a grill, or just an outside oven even. It will satisfy my craving for smoked foods. I am really interested in hearing how to get a better bark on this thing.
My thoughts and opinions:
Assembly:
-Took me about 3 hours. I didn’t realize one of the first pieces you need is stored inside the grill lid. Took me a while to find it. Nothing was difficult and the instructions were fairly simple to follow along, just many steps.
-One of the warming racks came warped. I called customer service, they answered right away and placed an order to ship a new rack to me without any hassle.
-Some manufacturing defect with the heat manifold screws or threads. I was unable to tighten the screws to secure the manifold to the manifold support. Either the screws were too long and bottoming out or the hole was not threaded deep enough. Customer service shipped a new heat manifold to me without any hassle. The new heat manifold had the exact same issue, maybe its a problem the instructions and you don’t actually tighten the screws down.
Usage:
-I’m surprised how easy and quick it is to get the cook chamber to temp. They advertise 7 minutes to 250F, and yup I believe it. I haven’t actually timed it, but I think mine is quicker than that.
-The LCD screen is poorly positioned. It faces straight out, as if it is meant for someone 3 feet tall. It should be tilted up so I can actually read it. Instead I have to crouch down when using it.
-The control panel allows 4 meat probes to be connected. Only one is included. I haven’t seen any documentation to see if this probe is standardized and whether I can connect a generic thermometer probe to it. The smoker does not actually use any info from these probes, only to display it on the control panel and to transmit wirelessly to be viewed on the Masterbuilt app.
-There is no auger like a pellet grill. This is simply a tower of charcoal that causes the coals to fall down as the hot coals burn. Then, the fan directs the heat into the smoker to maintain temperature. So it's a fairly simple setup, but I believe a bunch of heat is wasted and I assume that you’ll end up burning the same amount of charcoal whether you are at 250F or 700F. I got about 10 hours of cook time at 250F with a full tower of charcoal.
-You can place wood chunks in the tower along with the charcoal, or place wood chunks in the ash bin. As the hot embers fall into the ash bin, it will cause the wood to smolder and produce smoke.
Remote Control and Monitoring:
-Easy to pair with your phone and your WiFi network. Download the Masterbuilt app and follow the instructions. Which is basically setup username/password, press and hold a button on the grill, then press the search button on the phone. Select the WiFi network you want the grill to connect to and enter the network password.
-Took me a while to actually set the temperature of the smoker from the app. While I have not had any trouble viewing the temperature of the grill, and from the meat thermometer, I had problems with changing the temperature, or turning on/off the grill from the app. Looks like all you have to do is push the connect button again on the smoker so the wireless icon is not flashing. I guess it may be some safety issue. I think any time you open the tower lid or ash bin lid, it requires that button to be pushed again.
-I recently wrecked my phone and had to switch to my backup. I can not get the app to work on the new phone. I see my smoker listed, but it never connects, and then the app eventually crashes. Problem with the phone? I don’t know.
-During the initial seasoning of the grill, I set a 1 hour timer in the app. Over 1 hour passed by and no notification on my phone…. Hmm…. I check the timer status and it just stopped itself with 3 seconds left. You’ve got to be kidding me.
-Can only view current temperature of the thermometers. Come on Masterbuilt, show me a plot. I want to know how well the grill has kept temperature and how quickly the meat is rising in temperature. I took the liberty of sniffing the data it sends out over WiFi. Its constantly sending out data to the cloud (appears to be MQTT over TLS), so Masterbuilt has the data. Please Masterbuilt, let me be able to set the MQTT server so I can log the data myself.
Results - Pulled Pork
-My first use I tried cooking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork. I filled up the tower to the brim with charcoal, preheated to 225F, put the meat on (all rubbed up), put two meat probes in the meat, put a chunk of hickory in the ash bin, and went to sleep.
-The charcoal was completely burned up within 10 hours. Internal temperature of the meat from the smoker’s probe was 201F, and my ThermoPro read 190F.
-There was absolutely no bark. Meat was not falling apart like I am used to with pulled pork. It was fairly tough and had trouble pulling it apart. There was a great smoke ring. Did it not cook long enough?
Results - Ribs
-Put one rack of ribs on at 225F. Waited until internal temperature was 195F.
-Not the greatest looking ribs from the outside, but the taste was incredible. Definitely the best ribs I’ve cooked myself. I ate these without any BBQ sauce.
Results - Prime Rib
-I bought these on a whim… never cooked prime rib before or even researched it. I’m glad I tried it.
-I don’t remember what temperature I cooked it at, but I pulled the prime rib off when internal temperature was 130F.
-Cranked up the grill to 700F.
-Seared the prime rib on each side for about 1 minute. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
-This was probably the best tasting slab of beef I’ve ever had… ended up eating two large servings. The insides were tender and uniformly cooked throughout.
Results - Brisket, half, trimmed
-Cooked at 250F until internal temperature was 200F.
-Let rest in a cooler for 4 hours.
-No bark at all… looked like I baked it. Insides were tough and chewy. Needed a lot of BBQ sauce to be edible. Fed some to the dog.
-Where did I go wrong?
Conclusions
-Excellent at maintaining temperatures.
-Fast to preheat, awesome it can go up to 700F.
-Great smoke ring.
-I have been unsuccessful in getting that great bark texture. Never had problems in my electric smoker.
10 hours of cooking time before running out of coals is cutting it close in my opinion. Its enough for an overnight cook, but I won’t be able to ever get it going in the morning before work and have it still cooking by the time I get back.
-Wish it had some way of determining how much charcoal you have remaining without opening up the tower lid and looking down into hot coals and smoke.
-Overall, I like that it's a pretty simple design. Seems like the only parts that would ever need to be replaced are the fan and the control board.
-Sorta expensive to operate, I think I went through $100 of meat and $30 in charcoal and wood.
-Nice that you can cutoff airflow to the charcoal, so it won’t burn the whole tower full.
-Decent choice as a smoker that can also be used as a grill, or just an outside oven even. It will satisfy my craving for smoked foods. I am really interested in hearing how to get a better bark on this thing.
chris c. : works great needs better controller wifi
Makes great smoked meat!!! Please make a controller that works with WIFI. Mine connected once the never connected again, The smoker is within 20 feet of my wireless router and I have signal in my shop over 100 feet away but this controller cannot connect.
Charcoal, temperature control is great, this has all the things that i wanted... the only pain is the WiFi. So i just keep my phone within Bluetooth range and all is good.
Love this thing.
Charcoal, temperature control is great, this has all the things that i wanted... the only pain is the WiFi. So i just keep my phone within Bluetooth range and all is good.
Love this thing.
Noel Fontana : not worth the 500$
This item came in used and covered in animal fat. many of the pre-drilled holes did not line up. the handle came in cracked and it was very hard to put together. amazon only gave me 30% off the item after I showed them the condition it came in, even though if I had returned it there would have been a 500$ loss because it would have to be damaged out. first unsatisfactory experience with amazon.
rick : Minor modifications needed for more efficient burn
Easy to assemble plenty of cooking space. Tastes great with wood chunks mixed in the charcoal. The only drawback is that the factory grate allows for half burnt charcoal to fall into the ash can. Cut a grate and lay it in and it will burn up all the coals before they fall out.
Herbert : Fan not working after 45 days...
I was really excited for this purchase...
bought all the protective gear and the extra racks.
Set up was a puzzle.
Once I got it all assembled, I became aware that to light the charcoal you have to do some pretty creative things to get the charcoal ignited.
I ended up getting starter cubes, but they didn’t do too great.
Then I purchased an electric charcoal lighter and that does the job quite well.
But... now the fan on the Masterbuilt doesn’t kick on. I’ve used this grill 4-5 times and the fan already isn’t working.
Bought APRIL 13th, 2021 and fan was out by May 30th, 2021.
Not happy with this purchase.
bought all the protective gear and the extra racks.
Set up was a puzzle.
Once I got it all assembled, I became aware that to light the charcoal you have to do some pretty creative things to get the charcoal ignited.
I ended up getting starter cubes, but they didn’t do too great.
Then I purchased an electric charcoal lighter and that does the job quite well.
But... now the fan on the Masterbuilt doesn’t kick on. I’ve used this grill 4-5 times and the fan already isn’t working.
Bought APRIL 13th, 2021 and fan was out by May 30th, 2021.
Not happy with this purchase.
Lance J. : BEST Charcoal Grill Smoker PERIOD!!
If you truly love to cook outdoors this gravity fed charcoal smoker by Masterbuilt is a MUST BUY!! I can’t stress enough how much I like this grill. Besides a true expensive offset smoker, this is the next best thing!
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Jason : Practical solution for smoker and grill combo.
I’ve been wanting a smoker for 3 years… I occasionally borrow my neighbor’s electric cookshack smoker to hold me over.
My thoughts and opinions:
Assembly:
-Took me about 3 hours. I didn’t realize one of the first pieces you need is stored inside the grill lid. Took me a while to find it. Nothing was difficult and the instructions were fairly simple to follow along, just many steps.
-One of the warming racks came warped. I called customer service, they answered right away and placed an order to ship a new rack to me without any hassle.
-Some manufacturing defect with the heat manifold screws or threads. I was unable to tighten the screws to secure the manifold to the manifold support. Either the screws were too long and bottoming out or the hole was not threaded deep enough. Customer service shipped a new heat manifold to me without any hassle. The new heat manifold had the exact same issue, maybe its a problem the instructions and you don’t actually tighten the screws down.
Usage:
-I’m surprised how easy and quick it is to get the cook chamber to temp. They advertise 7 minutes to 250F, and yup I believe it. I haven’t actually timed it, but I think mine is quicker than that.
-The LCD screen is poorly positioned. It faces straight out, as if it is meant for someone 3 feet tall. It should be tilted up so I can actually read it. Instead I have to crouch down when using it.
-The control panel allows 4 meat probes to be connected. Only one is included. I haven’t seen any documentation to see if this probe is standardized and whether I can connect a generic thermometer probe to it. The smoker does not actually use any info from these probes, only to display it on the control panel and to transmit wirelessly to be viewed on the Masterbuilt app.
-There is no auger like a pellet grill. This is simply a tower of charcoal that causes the coals to fall down as the hot coals burn. Then, the fan directs the heat into the smoker to maintain temperature. So it's a fairly simple setup, but I believe a bunch of heat is wasted and I assume that you’ll end up burning the same amount of charcoal whether you are at 250F or 700F. I got about 10 hours of cook time at 250F with a full tower of charcoal.
-You can place wood chunks in the tower along with the charcoal, or place wood chunks in the ash bin. As the hot embers fall into the ash bin, it will cause the wood to smolder and produce smoke.
Remote Control and Monitoring:
-Easy to pair with your phone and your WiFi network. Download the Masterbuilt app and follow the instructions. Which is basically setup username/password, press and hold a button on the grill, then press the search button on the phone. Select the WiFi network you want the grill to connect to and enter the network password.
-Took me a while to actually set the temperature of the smoker from the app. While I have not had any trouble viewing the temperature of the grill, and from the meat thermometer, I had problems with changing the temperature, or turning on/off the grill from the app. Looks like all you have to do is push the connect button again on the smoker so the wireless icon is not flashing. I guess it may be some safety issue. I think any time you open the tower lid or ash bin lid, it requires that button to be pushed again.
-I recently wrecked my phone and had to switch to my backup. I can not get the app to work on the new phone. I see my smoker listed, but it never connects, and then the app eventually crashes. Problem with the phone? I don’t know.
-During the initial seasoning of the grill, I set a 1 hour timer in the app. Over 1 hour passed by and no notification on my phone…. Hmm…. I check the timer status and it just stopped itself with 3 seconds left. You’ve got to be kidding me.
-Can only view current temperature of the thermometers. Come on Masterbuilt, show me a plot. I want to know how well the grill has kept temperature and how quickly the meat is rising in temperature. I took the liberty of sniffing the data it sends out over WiFi. Its constantly sending out data to the cloud (appears to be MQTT over TLS), so Masterbuilt has the data. Please Masterbuilt, let me be able to set the MQTT server so I can log the data myself.
Results - Pulled Pork
-My first use I tried cooking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork. I filled up the tower to the brim with charcoal, preheated to 225F, put the meat on (all rubbed up), put two meat probes in the meat, put a chunk of hickory in the ash bin, and went to sleep.
-The charcoal was completely burned up within 10 hours. Internal temperature of the meat from the smoker’s probe was 201F, and my ThermoPro read 190F.
-There was absolutely no bark. Meat was not falling apart like I am used to with pulled pork. It was fairly tough and had trouble pulling it apart. There was a great smoke ring. Did it not cook long enough?
Results - Ribs
-Put one rack of ribs on at 225F. Waited until internal temperature was 195F.
-Not the greatest looking ribs from the outside, but the taste was incredible. Definitely the best ribs I’ve cooked myself. I ate these without any BBQ sauce.
Results - Prime Rib
-I bought these on a whim… never cooked prime rib before or even researched it. I’m glad I tried it.
-I don’t remember what temperature I cooked it at, but I pulled the prime rib off when internal temperature was 130F.
-Cranked up the grill to 700F.
-Seared the prime rib on each side for about 1 minute. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
-This was probably the best tasting slab of beef I’ve ever had… ended up eating two large servings. The insides were tender and uniformly cooked throughout.
Results - Brisket, half, trimmed
-Cooked at 250F until internal temperature was 200F.
-Let rest in a cooler for 4 hours.
-No bark at all… looked like I baked it. Insides were tough and chewy. Needed a lot of BBQ sauce to be edible. Fed some to the dog.
-Where did I go wrong?
Conclusions
-Excellent at maintaining temperatures.
-Fast to preheat, awesome it can go up to 700F.
-Great smoke ring.
-I have been unsuccessful in getting that great bark texture. Never had problems in my electric smoker.
10 hours of cooking time before running out of coals is cutting it close in my opinion. Its enough for an overnight cook, but I won’t be able to ever get it going in the morning before work and have it still cooking by the time I get back.
-Wish it had some way of determining how much charcoal you have remaining without opening up the tower lid and looking down into hot coals and smoke.
-Overall, I like that it's a pretty simple design. Seems like the only parts that would ever need to be replaced are the fan and the control board.
-Sorta expensive to operate, I think I went through $100 of meat and $30 in charcoal and wood.
-Nice that you can cutoff airflow to the charcoal, so it won’t burn the whole tower full.
-Decent choice as a smoker that can also be used as a grill, or just an outside oven even. It will satisfy my craving for smoked foods. I am really interested in hearing how to get a better bark on this thing.
My thoughts and opinions:
Assembly:
-Took me about 3 hours. I didn’t realize one of the first pieces you need is stored inside the grill lid. Took me a while to find it. Nothing was difficult and the instructions were fairly simple to follow along, just many steps.
-One of the warming racks came warped. I called customer service, they answered right away and placed an order to ship a new rack to me without any hassle.
-Some manufacturing defect with the heat manifold screws or threads. I was unable to tighten the screws to secure the manifold to the manifold support. Either the screws were too long and bottoming out or the hole was not threaded deep enough. Customer service shipped a new heat manifold to me without any hassle. The new heat manifold had the exact same issue, maybe its a problem the instructions and you don’t actually tighten the screws down.
Usage:
-I’m surprised how easy and quick it is to get the cook chamber to temp. They advertise 7 minutes to 250F, and yup I believe it. I haven’t actually timed it, but I think mine is quicker than that.
-The LCD screen is poorly positioned. It faces straight out, as if it is meant for someone 3 feet tall. It should be tilted up so I can actually read it. Instead I have to crouch down when using it.
-The control panel allows 4 meat probes to be connected. Only one is included. I haven’t seen any documentation to see if this probe is standardized and whether I can connect a generic thermometer probe to it. The smoker does not actually use any info from these probes, only to display it on the control panel and to transmit wirelessly to be viewed on the Masterbuilt app.
-There is no auger like a pellet grill. This is simply a tower of charcoal that causes the coals to fall down as the hot coals burn. Then, the fan directs the heat into the smoker to maintain temperature. So it's a fairly simple setup, but I believe a bunch of heat is wasted and I assume that you’ll end up burning the same amount of charcoal whether you are at 250F or 700F. I got about 10 hours of cook time at 250F with a full tower of charcoal.
-You can place wood chunks in the tower along with the charcoal, or place wood chunks in the ash bin. As the hot embers fall into the ash bin, it will cause the wood to smolder and produce smoke.
Remote Control and Monitoring:
-Easy to pair with your phone and your WiFi network. Download the Masterbuilt app and follow the instructions. Which is basically setup username/password, press and hold a button on the grill, then press the search button on the phone. Select the WiFi network you want the grill to connect to and enter the network password.
-Took me a while to actually set the temperature of the smoker from the app. While I have not had any trouble viewing the temperature of the grill, and from the meat thermometer, I had problems with changing the temperature, or turning on/off the grill from the app. Looks like all you have to do is push the connect button again on the smoker so the wireless icon is not flashing. I guess it may be some safety issue. I think any time you open the tower lid or ash bin lid, it requires that button to be pushed again.
-I recently wrecked my phone and had to switch to my backup. I can not get the app to work on the new phone. I see my smoker listed, but it never connects, and then the app eventually crashes. Problem with the phone? I don’t know.
-During the initial seasoning of the grill, I set a 1 hour timer in the app. Over 1 hour passed by and no notification on my phone…. Hmm…. I check the timer status and it just stopped itself with 3 seconds left. You’ve got to be kidding me.
-Can only view current temperature of the thermometers. Come on Masterbuilt, show me a plot. I want to know how well the grill has kept temperature and how quickly the meat is rising in temperature. I took the liberty of sniffing the data it sends out over WiFi. Its constantly sending out data to the cloud (appears to be MQTT over TLS), so Masterbuilt has the data. Please Masterbuilt, let me be able to set the MQTT server so I can log the data myself.
Results - Pulled Pork
-My first use I tried cooking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork. I filled up the tower to the brim with charcoal, preheated to 225F, put the meat on (all rubbed up), put two meat probes in the meat, put a chunk of hickory in the ash bin, and went to sleep.
-The charcoal was completely burned up within 10 hours. Internal temperature of the meat from the smoker’s probe was 201F, and my ThermoPro read 190F.
-There was absolutely no bark. Meat was not falling apart like I am used to with pulled pork. It was fairly tough and had trouble pulling it apart. There was a great smoke ring. Did it not cook long enough?
Results - Ribs
-Put one rack of ribs on at 225F. Waited until internal temperature was 195F.
-Not the greatest looking ribs from the outside, but the taste was incredible. Definitely the best ribs I’ve cooked myself. I ate these without any BBQ sauce.
Results - Prime Rib
-I bought these on a whim… never cooked prime rib before or even researched it. I’m glad I tried it.
-I don’t remember what temperature I cooked it at, but I pulled the prime rib off when internal temperature was 130F.
-Cranked up the grill to 700F.
-Seared the prime rib on each side for about 1 minute. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
-This was probably the best tasting slab of beef I’ve ever had… ended up eating two large servings. The insides were tender and uniformly cooked throughout.
Results - Brisket, half, trimmed
-Cooked at 250F until internal temperature was 200F.
-Let rest in a cooler for 4 hours.
-No bark at all… looked like I baked it. Insides were tough and chewy. Needed a lot of BBQ sauce to be edible. Fed some to the dog.
-Where did I go wrong?
Conclusions
-Excellent at maintaining temperatures.
-Fast to preheat, awesome it can go up to 700F.
-Great smoke ring.
-I have been unsuccessful in getting that great bark texture. Never had problems in my electric smoker.
10 hours of cooking time before running out of coals is cutting it close in my opinion. Its enough for an overnight cook, but I won’t be able to ever get it going in the morning before work and have it still cooking by the time I get back.
-Wish it had some way of determining how much charcoal you have remaining without opening up the tower lid and looking down into hot coals and smoke.
-Overall, I like that it's a pretty simple design. Seems like the only parts that would ever need to be replaced are the fan and the control board.
-Sorta expensive to operate, I think I went through $100 of meat and $30 in charcoal and wood.
-Nice that you can cutoff airflow to the charcoal, so it won’t burn the whole tower full.
-Decent choice as a smoker that can also be used as a grill, or just an outside oven even. It will satisfy my craving for smoked foods. I am really interested in hearing how to get a better bark on this thing.
Lance J. : BEST Charcoal Grill Smoker PERIOD!!
If you truly love to cook outdoors this gravity fed charcoal smoker by Masterbuilt is a MUST BUY!! I can’t stress enough how much I like this grill. Besides a true expensive offset smoker, this is the next best thing!
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Richard M. : Absolute Steal @ $500
Love my Masterbuilt Gravity 560. All the flavor of my Weber Smokey Mountain, but the simplicity of a pellet grill. Goes from 150°-700° so you can smoke/grill/sear with it. Heats quick. Super even temp across the grates. Rock solid on holding temps. App is awesome (although I have an iPhone - I’ve heard it’s less than stellar on Android). Masterbuilt has excellent customer service if you need it. And the price. Honestly, it’s a game changer at $750+, let alone $500.
Ken Mynatt : You Won't Regret This Purchase!
Like several reviewers I had a wood pellet smoker for many years. I just smoked a steak on this unit for 45 minutes at 180, then took it off, turned up the temp to 700 and seared it. Wow! The flavor is awesome. I added some applewood chips to the charcoal hopper for the smoke. This is the real deal! About two hours to assemble, drilled out some small holes, but not bad. It's amazing how the steak internal temp went from 90 to 135 in about 4 minutes at 700 degrees. Meat is extremely tender on inside and seared with dark grill marks on top. Get this and grill/sear/smoke like a PRO!
Kevin G. McCoy : Easy to assemble, exceeds expectations.
Assembly hints: Make sure you read every step in the assembly manual carefully. If the manual says to leave screws lose then don't tighten them. This will help square things up after all the other parts have been installed..
Before flipping the grill onto its wheels, rattle EVERYTHING to find screws you haven't tightened yet.
Yes. There are a bazillion parts, but the drawings in the manual are actually very precise (I do CAD). Really look at the drawings and compare them to the parts and you will do fine.
Pro-tip:
Unscrew the 4 temperature-probe nuts and remove the big black knob on the controller before before peeling the protective plastic film from the controller front panel. Screw them back on after peeling. Put the knob back on too.
Before flipping the grill onto its wheels, rattle EVERYTHING to find screws you haven't tightened yet.
Yes. There are a bazillion parts, but the drawings in the manual are actually very precise (I do CAD). Really look at the drawings and compare them to the parts and you will do fine.
Pro-tip:
Unscrew the 4 temperature-probe nuts and remove the big black knob on the controller before before peeling the protective plastic film from the controller front panel. Screw them back on after peeling. Put the knob back on too.
Lance J. : BEST Charcoal Grill Smoker PERIOD!!
If you truly love to cook outdoors this gravity fed charcoal smoker by Masterbuilt is a MUST BUY!! I can’t stress enough how much I like this grill. Besides a true expensive offset smoker, this is the next best thing!
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Takes some time to put together but you can do it. Don’t let that stand in the way of buying. There are many online YT walk-through videos on putting this together step by step.
Don’t pass up buying this grill and get the 1050 if you cook for more than say 6-8 people on a regular basis. For my family of 5, it handles plenty of food as you can see with my 2nd pic.
Stephen J. MacBride : Poor Customer Support
Instructions are poor and grill arrived with a large dent in the front. They don't have a call center any more "due to Covid." Since you can't get Covid over the phone that made no sense to me, but I went on their website as directed. Turns out you can't make a claim until you go through a lengthy registration process. You need to provide them with a picture of their invoice and picture of the serial number and then wait for them to confirm everything. Of course they already have all of this information, but they are probably hoping that you will decide it is not worth the trouble. You have to provide them the same information again on the support site. We'll see what happens, but this is not promising.
Folks, if you are going to stand by your product, then stand by your product.
Folks, if you are going to stand by your product, then stand by your product.
Eli Sherman : All banged up
Just started putting it together not looking good
RDaletto : Broken cast iron grate
One of the cast iron gates came completely broken!!
Heath : Do not buy this through Amazon
Phong Ngo : Don't buy this if you expect the app/bluetooth/wifi to work
Received my grill yesterday morning and it was delivered carefully to the back deck. It took about 1.5 hours to assemble by myself and the instructions were very simple, detailed, and easy to follow. After completing the seasoning procedure, I grilled/seared some steaks the same night.
In my first use, I found the following observations:
1. Even after shaking the charcoal grate to shake free any ash, it takes 2x fire starter cubes to really get the fire going. One cube just doesn't cut it.
2. I love that the grill will beep and give error if it finds issues such as it's taking much longer than expected for the temperature to rise, which is why I found out about #1.
3. The wifi is a joke and the antenna must be for show, because I'm quite tech savvy and couldn't connect even once. The bluetooth is LOS (most times) and is working maybe 4 out of 10 attempts. Sometimes I'll be in my kitchen with the phone in LOS of the grill outside the window (approx 10 ft away) and it just refuses to connect.
4. The app is very hand (when it works), but it needs some serious development. A buggy app is one thing, but it's appalling that an entire product with so much marketing material focused on the smart connectivity doesn't actually work half the time.
Luckily, this grill has a lot going for it aside from the app/connectivity. It's a beautiful grill, feels very solid, and a pleasure to grill on. The double walled design of the lid makes it light to life, but still maintains temps really well and doesn't get so hot that you'd burn/injure yourself instantly.
In my first use, I found the following observations:
1. Even after shaking the charcoal grate to shake free any ash, it takes 2x fire starter cubes to really get the fire going. One cube just doesn't cut it.
2. I love that the grill will beep and give error if it finds issues such as it's taking much longer than expected for the temperature to rise, which is why I found out about #1.
3. The wifi is a joke and the antenna must be for show, because I'm quite tech savvy and couldn't connect even once. The bluetooth is LOS (most times) and is working maybe 4 out of 10 attempts. Sometimes I'll be in my kitchen with the phone in LOS of the grill outside the window (approx 10 ft away) and it just refuses to connect.
4. The app is very hand (when it works), but it needs some serious development. A buggy app is one thing, but it's appalling that an entire product with so much marketing material focused on the smart connectivity doesn't actually work half the time.
Luckily, this grill has a lot going for it aside from the app/connectivity. It's a beautiful grill, feels very solid, and a pleasure to grill on. The double walled design of the lid makes it light to life, but still maintains temps really well and doesn't get so hot that you'd burn/injure yourself instantly.
C. Wolfley : Charcoal and wood flavor with Pellet control
I won’t pretend that it’s perfect. There are some quirks to it. But, it’s one of the best smokers I’ve used in the ~12-13 years I’ve been smoking.
There are a few things to do like put foil over the top of the hopper so the paint on the lid doesn’t peel.. rotate the fan 90 degrees so your fan wires don’t melt at high heat, and maybe mod the hopper grate at the bottom. Those are all fairly simple.
There’s after market mods you can do. I’ve done some of them for longevity sake, because I love it and want it to last.
Overall, I absolutely love it so far.
There are a few things to do like put foil over the top of the hopper so the paint on the lid doesn’t peel.. rotate the fan 90 degrees so your fan wires don’t melt at high heat, and maybe mod the hopper grate at the bottom. Those are all fairly simple.
There’s after market mods you can do. I’ve done some of them for longevity sake, because I love it and want it to last.
Overall, I absolutely love it so far.
Busy mommy : Horrible, after 8 months of troubleshooting still unable to cook a single thing.
I would love to leave an amazing review but unfortunately, after 8+ months of back and fourth with the frustratingly slow masterbuilt support, we are unable to return this product and we have never been able to cook a single thing on it. It’s one thing after another breaking, troubleshooting, waiting for a response, more troubleshooting. I should have burned that $850 in the fireplace, at least I would have been warm. It’s a bummer because we were really excited about this product.
Do yourself a favor and buy a different grill.
Do yourself a favor and buy a different grill.
Stephen J. MacBride : Poor Customer Support
Instructions are poor and grill arrived with a large dent in the front. They don't have a call center any more "due to Covid." Since you can't get Covid over the phone that made no sense to me, but I went on their website as directed. Turns out you can't make a claim until you go through a lengthy registration process. You need to provide them with a picture of their invoice and picture of the serial number and then wait for them to confirm everything. Of course they already have all of this information, but they are probably hoping that you will decide it is not worth the trouble. You have to provide them the same information again on the support site. We'll see what happens, but this is not promising.
Folks, if you are going to stand by your product, then stand by your product.
Folks, if you are going to stand by your product, then stand by your product.
martin : Nonexistent customer service. Run and don't buy
Update to last entry from last week. I have not heard anything via email or phone from any sort of customer service. My unit does not work and I'm warning people unless everything goes together perfectly you will not be able to years your unit as well. I've never in my life, whole week of trying without hearing from somebody who wants to help you from the company. My only thoughts is there too far in China for communication . Heed my warning as a faithful Amazon customer that you want to stay away from this product hard to assemble. 800 number in assembly guide goes to a voice mail that says we do not accept phone calls to help you. Guide says to call if problem so that is a lie. Had some problems with wiring and it does not funtion. Emailed customer service and got a reply that says "your reply can take up to 5 days to hear from us". May be best to plan your BBQ a couple weeks after assemby if you run into problems. Assembly guide is far from clear!
Stella : No customer support
Took a good three hours to assemble and at that point my husband was very impressed with the quality. He ran it through all the seasoning process, no problem. First time we actually go to use it we get 1050, error3 and the dam thing won’t start. I was able to bypass that using the app but husband is done. You can’t call Masterbuilt EVERYTHING is online. Here’s the true rub when you fill in the online request you get to an Oracle you don’t have permission for this..... TO WRAP THIS THERE IS NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT! I finally got a form to submit let’s see if they will stand by it, if not Amazon can pick it up AS IS.
Edit: finally heard from Masterbuilt apparently the codes we saw 1050(model), and the next numbers were software build and version. That would be good to list in the manual. It appears to turn off because it is off, until you press the power button.
I still stand by my title of no customer support, there should be a way to contact them by phone, especially since the contact form goes to an Oracle error.
Edit: finally heard from Masterbuilt apparently the codes we saw 1050(model), and the next numbers were software build and version. That would be good to list in the manual. It appears to turn off because it is off, until you press the power button.
I still stand by my title of no customer support, there should be a way to contact them by phone, especially since the contact form goes to an Oracle error.
McKenzie : Brand new doesn’t work
After a few hours of assembly we were excited to try the new smoker. Was going through the first cook process to cook off the chemicals and grease from manufacturing. Followed step by step and the smoker will not get to temp. The reason for this is the fan is not working at all. Tried all the troubleshooting and googling for the past 3 hours or so and am defeated. They delivered us a faulty product. For the price you would really expect it to work :/
you can compare the product price from Costco, wayfair, bestbuy, lowes, target, homedepot, Walmart, ebay, amazon to find the best price for you
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