Specifications
- 560 square inches of total cooking space
- Three cooking grates
- Enameled steel construction
- Temperature range between 200 and 700 degrees F
- WiFi Enabled with a proprietary app
- Forced air flame acceleration
- Charcoal hopper holds 10 pounds of lump or 16 pounds of briquettes
- Removable ash catcher
- One side table
- Four wheel cart
- Made in China by Masterbuilt
Full Review – Masterbuilt Gravity Feed Digital Grill & Smoker
PROS
- WiFi enabled Charcoal Grill
- High Cooking Temperature
- Smoker and Grill
- Unique Design
CONS
- Limited Construction Quality
- Long Term Durability Unknown
- Lowest Temperature is 225 degrees
- High Charcoal Consumption
Pellet grills are all the rage these days. Their set-it-and-forget-it technology makes them appealing to a market that has been moving from fast and easy grilling to low and slow smoking. Now Masterbuilt has produced a charcoal grill that promises all the advantages of the modern pellet cooker with the superior power of charcoal. The Masterbuilt Gravity Feed Digital Grill & Smoker has an external charcoal tower. A blower fan accelerates and controls the combustion rate allowing for easy temperature control that can be set on the grill itself or via a WiFi-enabled app.
One great thing about this grill is that it doesn’t matter what kind of charcoal you use. It will take lump or charcoal briquettes and holds enough for more than 10 hours of cook time. More charcoal can easily be added during the cooking process. Ash falls into a removable catcher for easy clean-up. In most every way, this is a charcoal grill that is as easy to operate as any of the best pellet cookers. Plus, charcoal is a more powerful fuel so this grill can hit temperatures above 700 degrees and do so in less than 15 minutes of preheat time.
The lowest temperature this grill can hold consistently is about 220 degrees, which might be a little high for hardcore smokers, but it is still a good barbecue temperature. The reason this grill won’t go lower is that there is a minimum rate of charcoal combustion necessary to keep the fire alive. Since this grill doesn’t work by depriving the fire of oxygen, it can only maintain a certain level of fire. It also doesn’t do anything to hold in heat. The fire has to keep burning at a certain level which can be affected by wind and weather.
Bottom Line
The Masterbuilt Gravity Feed Grill is an innovation in outdoor cooking. It combines everything we like about pellet grills with the power of charcoal. It is hotter than pellet grills but can still be managed remotely with relatively precise temperature control. It is clean and easy to use and it works. And it really works. Yes, this is a Masterbuilt. It is lightweight and its durability is going to be something we wait to find out about. However, it is cool. If that is something you are looking for, buy it. You will probably be able to cook a better steak than most any pellet grill, while still smoking briskets.
5 responses to “Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 Digital Grill & Smoker Review”
had mine for a few weeks now and i have to say i’m pretty impressed with both the smoke and grill aspects. Biggest ‘complaint’ i have is not being able to ‘easily’ remove charcoal that i’ve filled the ‘hopper’ with. I could just remove the grate thing and have it all fall down in the ash bucket, but that’s not as big as the hopper or chamber that the charcoal is loaded into. Given, it’s not often you’d want to do that, but sometimes i would like to do the wood chunks in layers with charcoal, but then next time i cook, i might not want the wood. This is the method i’d try to use for a long smoke if i didn’t want to have to go throw a few chunks in the ash bin every hour or so. I was skeptical about the ash bin being a good place to put the wood chunks but i did it with ribs yesterday and it worked great. Great smoke ring and the ribs were super moist even though i overcooked them a tad (one rack fell in half when i picked it up if that tells you anything). The ability for it to get up to 700 degrees is awesome.. i’ve grilled numerous steaks on this thing and i have to say, i prefer it over my 4 burner weber gas grill anyday. Seriously, great for searing, the grates even have a beveled side for smoking and a flat side for searing. I do have some problems connecting it to wifi, but that could be because of where i have it right now.. i’ll know once i move it closer to where my router is at. If that starts working and i can use my app to monitor/control things, that would give me a full 5 stars worth of happiness. I guess bottom line is if you are ok with ‘cheating’ but still want that wood chunk smoke that you can’t get with other smokers and also have the ability to get a great charcoal sear on your steaks, this is probably the best option out in my opinion
Hi Derrick,
Very interested to hear what you have to say about this Masterbuilt gravity fed charcoal unit. Personally, I’ve got some reservations about the four-season usability of pellet grills. Maybe this will answer that concern?
I will keep checking in. Thanks.
Ross, Barbecues Galore, Calgary
Ross,
We will have to see how this grill performs. You are right though about the cold weather issues with some pellet grills. With so many coming out in the next few months, that segment might see some serious changes.
I am in Ontario Canada and own a Grilla Grills Silverbac pellet grill and the Original Grilla. Both are double walled construction and perform flawlessly in winter. Going on my 3rd winter now.
-I also hear that Masterbuilt will have a larger version of the gravity 560 come spring. Can’t wait to see how it performs.
Cheers.
Ross,
I am on my 4th winter with my pellet grills, and I use 1 of them every week. I do have their thermal jacket installed, but the work like champs no matter the temp in Edmonton. I do like the look of this Masterbuilt Gravity Series, and will be keeping an eye on the reviews to come.