SweetHeatBBQnSC
is One Chatty Farker
Why can't you do burgers or chickens on your Assassin? Are you simply referring to at high heats? I love smoked burgers.
Trouble deciding between a pellet or a gravity smoker..(imagine that)
- Thread starter digital
- Start date
Why can't you do burgers or chickens on your Assassin? Are you simply referring to at high heats? I love smoked burgers.
smokeisgood
is one Smokin' Farker
For a thousand dollars, I'm going here hands down.....
https://greenmountaingrills.com/products/grills/prime/peak-ss/
https://greenmountaingrills.com/products/grills/prime/peak-ss/
Bob C Cue
Quintessential Chatty Farker
For a thousand dollars, I'm going here hands down.....
https://greenmountaingrills.com/products/grills/prime/peak-ss/
That is impressive looking for the price, plus it has a bottle opener. Still not crazy about the lid having a window, which I hear is next to impossible to keep clean enough for it to be usable.
worldbfreebase
is one Smokin' Farker
I have a masterbuilt 1050. I really like it. I have done none of the mods. Have done some great cooks on it. Love the ability to reverse sear.
In saying that, I bought mine when the 1050 first came out back in april/may of 2020. The chargriller didn't exist then.
I would have to take a real hard look at the chargriller 980. It is pretty much a direct rip off of the masterbuilt but they may have made a few design changes that are improvements.
1) slide damper.
2) can't see it but the porcelain lined firebox is probably an improvement
3)Fan box on the outside with a door. At first i wasn't quite sure of the point of this but i believe it is an effort to shut off the air supply when shutting the cooker down. One thing that is annoying about the masterbuilt is the amount of fuel wasted before the fire burns out after shutdown. one of the reasons could be a draft from the fan.
who knows about the controller and probes, which the chargriller only has 2 probe ports(1050 has 4). I am considering picking up a fireboard 2, not necessarily to replace the controller at this point but for the meat and ambient probe monitoring. MB's don't seem to be consistent.
In saying that, I bought mine when the 1050 first came out back in april/may of 2020. The chargriller didn't exist then.
I would have to take a real hard look at the chargriller 980. It is pretty much a direct rip off of the masterbuilt but they may have made a few design changes that are improvements.
1) slide damper.
2) can't see it but the porcelain lined firebox is probably an improvement
3)Fan box on the outside with a door. At first i wasn't quite sure of the point of this but i believe it is an effort to shut off the air supply when shutting the cooker down. One thing that is annoying about the masterbuilt is the amount of fuel wasted before the fire burns out after shutdown. one of the reasons could be a draft from the fan.
who knows about the controller and probes, which the chargriller only has 2 probe ports(1050 has 4). I am considering picking up a fireboard 2, not necessarily to replace the controller at this point but for the meat and ambient probe monitoring. MB's don't seem to be consistent.
MMaham
Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match.
my 2 cents
Super new to both the Brethren and gravity fed, but I just bought the 1050. I was seriously considering a Camp Chef because I was looking for the convenience, heard good things about the brand from some friends who have one.
Then I was talking to another friend and he mentioned MB. He knows several people who have them and love them. I finally decided on it because:
My daughter and I got it mostly assembled and I'll finish that up today. Then burn in and season tomorrow- love working from home
Looking to cook on it for the 1st time next week
Super new to both the Brethren and gravity fed, but I just bought the 1050. I was seriously considering a Camp Chef because I was looking for the convenience, heard good things about the brand from some friends who have one.
Then I was talking to another friend and he mentioned MB. He knows several people who have them and love them. I finally decided on it because:
- Camp Chef looked like they wouldn't ship until August
- the good recommendations for MB
- I like the flavor of lump, plus like the idea of mixing in some real wood chunks
- i'll be keeping stored in a garage or shed so think it will last long enough for me to be happy with it at the price point
My daughter and I got it mostly assembled and I'll finish that up today. Then burn in and season tomorrow- love working from home
Looking to cook on it for the 1st time next weekCaptainCharcoal
MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
Ahh, we think alike my friend. I am in the same boat.
I've had a few pellet grills. My most recent one was a Pitts and Spitts 1250. An absolutely beautiful smoker. 300 pounds of authentic Texas steel. But I didn't like the food that came off of it. For me, it got an 10 in build quality and a 5 in food quality. You could make good food with it, but you had to get creative and wrangle the flavor out of it.
From everything I've read, the two gravity feeds on the market right now are the exact opposite end of the spectrum: great food, poor build quality. I have looked at the Masterbuilt a few times, most recently with the upgrades, and they are indeed built like your typical traeger/Rectecq/pit boss/etc. Flimsy. If your dog jumped on it, it would probably dent the smoker. I'm currently drinking a Coca Cola that is made of a similar gauge metal as those smokers.
That being said, I'm still going to buy one because they are the only game in town right now. Even if they were the same price, the Chargriller seems better than the Masterbuilt in every way. Except looks. The Chargriller is fugly. But it seems better put together and it's cheaper, so they get my money.
Once Weber stops hitting the Smokefire pipe and brings out a gravity feed, it is on. I will buy one the second it's available. Gonna be epiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic.
I've had a few pellet grills. My most recent one was a Pitts and Spitts 1250. An absolutely beautiful smoker. 300 pounds of authentic Texas steel. But I didn't like the food that came off of it. For me, it got an 10 in build quality and a 5 in food quality. You could make good food with it, but you had to get creative and wrangle the flavor out of it.
From everything I've read, the two gravity feeds on the market right now are the exact opposite end of the spectrum: great food, poor build quality. I have looked at the Masterbuilt a few times, most recently with the upgrades, and they are indeed built like your typical traeger/Rectecq/pit boss/etc. Flimsy. If your dog jumped on it, it would probably dent the smoker. I'm currently drinking a Coca Cola that is made of a similar gauge metal as those smokers.
That being said, I'm still going to buy one because they are the only game in town right now. Even if they were the same price, the Chargriller seems better than the Masterbuilt in every way. Except looks. The Chargriller is fugly. But it seems better put together and it's cheaper, so they get my money.
Once Weber stops hitting the Smokefire pipe and brings out a gravity feed, it is on. I will buy one the second it's available. Gonna be epiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic.
smokeisgood
is one Smokin' Farker
Yeah, the window appears like it would be a PIA, maybe fireplace glass cleaner, but I'd probably just put a vinyl sticker on it and forget it.
worldbfreebase
is one Smokin' Farker
The MB 1050 is actually fairly solidly built. Better than the 560 if that is what you were looking at.
Chester
is one Smokin' Farker
There are more than 2 gravity fed smokers on the market. Check out Stumps, Assassin, Deep South, Myron Mixon, T&K, Humphreys and what I have Southern Q. More exist than that as well, that’s just off the top of my noggin. Now these better made Gravity's don't grill, but simply add a Weber kettle and you have a better griller than the Masterbuilt and Chargriller and to boot, you can bake or smoke on your better made Gravity unit and at the same time grill something on the Kettle.
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SmoothBoarBBQ
is Blowin Smoke!
None of those builders have a until below $2500, and OP has already stated that his budget is around $1K.
OP, I didn't enjoy my pellet smoker as the smoke flavor was pretty much unnoticeable. The rub also didn't bark up very well and the meat came out more like it had been cooked in an oven rather than actually smoked. This is my experience with pellet cookers, and it just wasn't a great experience.
I've never used a gravity feed smoker, but I did have an insulated cabinet smoker and I LOVED the food I cooked on that smoker. The rub barked up well and the smoke flavor was VERY CLOSE to what I got when I was using my offset smoker. That MB1050 would probably fit the bill for you and you won't have to wait months for a custom builder.
Good luck with whatever you choose to purchase.
Chester
is one Smokin' Farker
I was responding to the poster that is wanting to replace a Pitts and Spitts 1250, which lists for more money than the Gravity Fed Limo Jr. I purchased. Both of which are really well made and heavy beasts, and yes, do cost more than the 1k the OP budgeted.
CaptainCharcoal
MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
Apologies, I thought it was obvious that we were talking about sub-1k gravity feed grills/smokers here. I wasn't including the plethora of 3-5K insulated smokers. As far as I know it's only MB and Chargriller so far. But I'm guessing this segment will get a lot bigger. Or at least I hope so.
Chester
is one Smokin' Farker
You get what you pay for. Any sub 1k gravity built smoker will be made similar to the Masterbuilt and Chargriller. Same with Pellet Grills. You have a 2k plus pellet smoker and it is built way better than the comparable 1k or less pellet smokers.
There is nothing wrong with these makes. They are just not made to last. Anything that is will cost considerably more. If you want a 10 build quality gravity fed smoker, they are out there, for about the same amount of money you have in your Pitts and Spitts.
BuckN BBQ
Knows what a fatty is.
I'm not saying you can't do burgers or chicken on the Assassin but why would you want to wait 30+ minutes to heat it up and then 5+ hours to cool it down for just burgers or chicken?
Chester
is one Smokin' Farker
Or add a kettle with the Assassin. Hard to beat that combo, Gravity and or insulated cabinet plus a kettle. You got the short quick cooks covered and the low and slow, and can do both at the same time.
Kettle is probably easier to clean and maintain than any other grill.
RacrX
Full Fledged Farker
I don't think a lot of pellet grills can match the flavor of charcoal and wood chunks (I've owned every kind of grill imaginable), I'd go with the GF. I have the Masterbuilt, it's been great and it was a bargain at $250 on sale. Comes up to temp SUPER fast and you can smoke and grill. I think the new CharGriller looks awesome, I would definitely do that one. Just my opinion.
onemanlan
Full Fledged Farker
Ease of use with the MB 560 has edged out my kettle as of late. While the upkeep is a bit more and the start up can be a bit more involved the product that comes off is solid since you can dial in a temp & it will generally hold without intervention. The new gravity-grill experience has been a nice change up from the usual. I'll always love my kettle, but these are fun to use & produce a great product whether it's smoked, grilled, or seared.
While the manner of fuel feed is the same as the IVS with GF it's a different beast altogether. Part of the inefficiency of the walls of the grill-GF smoker allows for crazy temps you couldn't otherwise take an IVS to for the sear. Also much less mass to heat overall. It obviously omes at the cost of fuel.
digital
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
I appreciate all your replies, I really do. At this point, I'm just gonna get a 26" weber kettle until I know which smoker I want to get. I know it won't let me down for 75% of the food we eat. Thanks Brethren!
Chester
is one Smokin' Farker
That not a bad choice at all. Add a slow and sear or similar type basket and you have a very versatile cooker, and decent quality that will last a good long time. You can pretty much smoke anything in a 26 kettle. Briskets will fit fine, and large turkeys. And it can sear anything well.
Have fun with it.
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SVTNate
Knows what a fatty is.
I have a Weber Performer that was my sole cooker for months before I pulled the trigger on my RT-590.
It's a fantastic unit for grilling, and for shorter smokes, toss a wood chunk on your charcoal, on one side of the grill, and your meat on the other side, crank the vents down, and it'll hold 225-250 just fine
I've done hot/fast pork ribs and smoked chicken thighs that were very good.
And yes, it's bullet proof, clean up is incredibly easy.
You'll never feel under-gunned on the grilling/direct cooking side of the equation with a Weber kettle IMO.
I do really like having the Performer's side table for prep and holding a cutting board, or a cookie sheet.
