Great video James. I have two Kamado Joes (Jr & Classic l) and been wanting to purchase this Masterbuilt to round out my collection. Your brisket cook has sold me for easier fire maintenance/control, thanks.
James, I was interested in this grill but waited until after you did your wood fire ribs on it. It’s awesome to see you doing a longer cook using the same methods. I’ve done a few wood fire cooks (ribs and ham) and everything has come out amazing. But it’s also great that you can just load it up with charcoal and use it as a regular grill for those quicker weeknight cooks.
Great hack again using the splits. It is a pretty good perspective. With the right approach, one can create great BBQ on highly affordable gravity smoker. Hopefully someone will create a heavy duty version of this style of smoker with all the bells and whistles included.
Great video James. I don't think pellet grills can compete, at least mine won't. That is why I got my KJ Classic III. I would love to see you compare the flavor of your best KJ double indirect (adding little splits) brisket, to your Master Built brisket. If you could just post your opinion, that would be great. Thanks again for another great video and teaching the flat /point ratio. I always learn something from you. 😋👍😇
Great video. My issue with these cookers where you can add wood splits/chunks to it (usually using some charcoal or pellet base) as you go to get extra smoke is that it doesn't really seem that much more convenient than just cooking in an offset IMHO. Even with a little practice on an offset you basically end up doing the same amount of manual work, add wood every X minutes. So it always just feels like why not cook on an offset at that point. You can even do the same thing where you put wood smoke on for the first X hours and then transfer to a pellet smoker or even an oven to finish it off if you want that convenience too. The whole point of these convenient cookers is set it and forget it, like a pellet grill. If you have to add wood every 30-45 minutes you are essentially doing the same amount of work as running an offset. I guess something that would auto feed the wood into these sorts of things is the only thing that would actually make sense to me. There are a couple differences of course beyond this. Cost of course. Cheap offsets (not in my own experience fortunate enough to have the Workhorse 1975 be my first offset, but based off everyone else's experiences that seem pretty consistent) are harder to run than more expensive ones often. Managing temperatures etc in particular seems to be more difficult. I know in my 1975 it's pretty damn forgiving. Sure i can end up with a little bit of a bigger spike down or above, but as long as I don't spike too high too long (which usually only happens because I'm too lazy to trim down my big splits) it usually won't effect the quality of the results much. As long as I add a split or two every 30-60 minutes it ticks along just fine. Though yeah I've heard those cheap offsets are much trickier to run. Of course I really question the longevity of something like the Masterbuilts or any smoker at those prices at all. Then the issues with electronics people run into etc. Again I get it if you're fine with something that won't last forever and hits that price point and compared to the offsets at that price point it might make a lot of sense. Additionally of course there's less of a learning curve, though still some learning to be had. Yes an offset will take a bit more, but not as much as some people might think. Space is another advantage to something like this, offsets do take up more space. Also keeping stocked in full wood splits vs say just wood chunks etc or a smaller amount of splits. It's certainly easier to stay stocked in charcoal and a small amount of wood splits or chunks than a big ole stack of wood. Though when it comes to the actual operation I kind of don't get the point of doing this if you have access to a decent offset. If I'm going to have to go out and add wood every 30 minutes or so I might as well just use my offset.
You hit the nail on the head a few times. I have very little space for a grill or storage, so it's a gravity 800 for me that can both smoke and grill. Now knowing that I can do a wood burned cook and get close enough to offset quality is pretty great!
What temps did you use for this cook? If I remember correctly you had the ribs around 270 did you use the same temp for the brisket? What was total cook time?
Thanks for another great review, James! I'm holding out for the Gravity XT to be available over here in AB. Substantially more expensive, obviously, but I'd be curious to see your review of the XT if you happen to get your grill gloves on one.
Super video again. Love how you tweak your tools to your imaganition. I would put my Burnhard Flint with fruitwood pellets up to the Masterbuild with no problems. In the US i think the Green mountain grills daniel boon would do the trick. Look into them, the build good afordable pellet smokers.
Very nice looking brisket that was done perfect. It seems like you must have a live fire to get great brisket, ribs and etc. Does anyone mind the brisket smell while you are holding the meat for the many hours needed to finish a cook? I haven't seen a prime brisket in Costco for over a couple of years now. The butcher says they cost so much they are not selling enough to make worth while to stock. Do you buy your briskets with the proper flat to point ratio or it doesn't matter, just trim to get the ratio and make tallow?
Adding a piece of wood split to my charcoal kettle grill, makes a huge difference in smoke flavor. Just goes to show you that good flavor can be achieved from simple equipment.
That's pretty amazing that a $500 is better than the premium ones, but your right, the masterbuilt will not last. I have a 560 gravity and the temperature is 100 degrees off, the WiFi doesn't work, the rubber seals are melted and the burn box is warped very badly. It's too bad as the concept of the grill and the results are fantastic being able to use real wood
I bought a 545 on May 6 and received it May 14 for the holiday weekend It came in defective, so I contacted masterbuild customer service, and it took a week for a response, they said they would send a Fan and then will send me a tracking # today is 6/1/2024 and still waiting. Take that into consideration when purchasing a masterbuild product. everything has to be done by e-mail no phone option. Customer service is no good.
It’s really encouraging that such good results are becoming so accessible.
100%
What an interesting thought. Flat to point ratio. I like it. Thank you for sharing! I had not really considered this.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video James. I have two Kamado Joes (Jr & Classic l) and been wanting to purchase this Masterbuilt to round out my collection. Your brisket cook has sold me for easier fire maintenance/control, thanks.
James, I was interested in this grill but waited until after you did your wood fire ribs on it. It’s awesome to see you doing a longer cook using the same methods. I’ve done a few wood fire cooks (ribs and ham) and everything has come out amazing. But it’s also great that you can just load it up with charcoal and use it as a regular grill for those quicker weeknight cooks.
James, you've out done yourself on this one with the tape measure brisket ratio :) Keep up the good work!
Thanks 👍
Gotta finish my patio. I need to do Dad things. Kids are grown, but Dad things call. 😊
100%
Finishing mine right now, love my Kamado Joe. MB maybe in the future
I was wondering if you still on your auto ignite and if you still use it and if you would still recommend it
Great hack again using the splits. It is a pretty good perspective. With the right approach, one can create great BBQ on highly affordable gravity smoker. Hopefully someone will create a heavy duty version of this style of smoker with all the bells and whistles included.
It’s some pretty impressive kit
Great video James. I don't think pellet grills can compete, at least mine won't. That is why I got my KJ Classic III. I would love to see you compare the flavor of your best KJ double indirect (adding little splits) brisket, to your Master Built brisket. If you could just post your opinion, that would be great. Thanks again for another great video and teaching the flat /point ratio. I always learn something from you. 😋👍😇
Great video. My issue with these cookers where you can add wood splits/chunks to it (usually using some charcoal or pellet base) as you go to get extra smoke is that it doesn't really seem that much more convenient than just cooking in an offset IMHO. Even with a little practice on an offset you basically end up doing the same amount of manual work, add wood every X minutes. So it always just feels like why not cook on an offset at that point. You can even do the same thing where you put wood smoke on for the first X hours and then transfer to a pellet smoker or even an oven to finish it off if you want that convenience too. The whole point of these convenient cookers is set it and forget it, like a pellet grill. If you have to add wood every 30-45 minutes you are essentially doing the same amount of work as running an offset. I guess something that would auto feed the wood into these sorts of things is the only thing that would actually make sense to me.
There are a couple differences of course beyond this. Cost of course. Cheap offsets (not in my own experience fortunate enough to have the Workhorse 1975 be my first offset, but based off everyone else's experiences that seem pretty consistent) are harder to run than more expensive ones often. Managing temperatures etc in particular seems to be more difficult. I know in my 1975 it's pretty damn forgiving. Sure i can end up with a little bit of a bigger spike down or above, but as long as I don't spike too high too long (which usually only happens because I'm too lazy to trim down my big splits) it usually won't effect the quality of the results much. As long as I add a split or two every 30-60 minutes it ticks along just fine. Though yeah I've heard those cheap offsets are much trickier to run. Of course I really question the longevity of something like the Masterbuilts or any smoker at those prices at all. Then the issues with electronics people run into etc. Again I get it if you're fine with something that won't last forever and hits that price point and compared to the offsets at that price point it might make a lot of sense.
Additionally of course there's less of a learning curve, though still some learning to be had. Yes an offset will take a bit more, but not as much as some people might think. Space is another advantage to something like this, offsets do take up more space. Also keeping stocked in full wood splits vs say just wood chunks etc or a smaller amount of splits. It's certainly easier to stay stocked in charcoal and a small amount of wood splits or chunks than a big ole stack of wood.
Though when it comes to the actual operation I kind of don't get the point of doing this if you have access to a decent offset. If I'm going to have to go out and add wood every 30 minutes or so I might as well just use my offset.
I agree that affordable offsets are harder. Can cook as well but much more difficult
You hit the nail on the head a few times. I have very little space for a grill or storage, so it's a gravity 800 for me that can both smoke and grill. Now knowing that I can do a wood burned cook and get close enough to offset quality is pretty great!
What temps did you use for this cook? If I remember correctly you had the ribs around 270 did you use the same temp for the brisket? What was total cook time?
Thanks for another great review, James! I'm holding out for the Gravity XT to be available over here in AB. Substantially more expensive, obviously, but I'd be curious to see your review of the XT if you happen to get your grill gloves on one.
Good choice! I hope to this summer
Super video again. Love how you tweak your tools to your imaganition. I would put my Burnhard Flint with fruitwood pellets up to the Masterbuild with no problems. In the US i think the Green mountain grills daniel boon would do the trick. Look into them, the build good afordable pellet smokers.
i have used a daniel boone a few times
@@SmokingDadBBQ And what did you think about them?
Very nice looking brisket that was done perfect. It seems like you must have a live fire to get great brisket, ribs and etc. Does anyone mind the brisket smell while you are holding the meat for the many hours needed to finish a cook? I haven't seen a prime brisket in Costco for over a couple of years now. The butcher says they cost so much they are not selling enough to make worth while to stock. Do you buy your briskets with the proper flat to point ratio or it doesn't matter, just trim to get the ratio and make tallow?
Would you recommend a tallow injection into a Chuck roast to stop it drying out ? Cheers from ottawa
yes for sure
Hey James how would you compare this to a Pellet grill?
I like it way more
Adding a piece of wood split to my charcoal kettle grill, makes a huge difference in smoke flavor.
Just goes to show you that good flavor can be achieved from simple equipment.
100%
Great head to head comparison.
Thanks for watching!
I love the ratio comparison! If only we could get a full on automated wood fueled offset 😅
Nice comparison!
Thanks!
you need to try the Lone Star Grill pellet grill. Amazing amount of clean blue smoke for a pellet grill.
I will check it out
That's pretty amazing that a $500 is better than the premium ones, but your right, the masterbuilt will not last. I have a 560 gravity and the temperature is 100 degrees off, the WiFi doesn't work, the rubber seals are melted and the burn box is warped very badly. It's too bad as the concept of the grill and the results are fantastic being able to use real wood
Great food as long as she goes lol
What if you oven doesn't go down to 155. I may try 170 and put a probe in the oven and look at the temps
I can manually adjust mine. Otherwise I’ve used my kj manually to hot hold 11hrs
Tiger sauce works great as a binder. It’s a sweet chili sauce
I bought a 545 on May 6 and received it May 14 for the holiday weekend It came in defective, so I contacted masterbuild customer service, and it took a week for a response, they said they would send a Fan and then will send me a tracking # today is 6/1/2024 and still waiting. Take that into consideration when purchasing a masterbuild product. everything has to be done by e-mail no phone option. Customer service is no good.
May and she is using a big a$$ jacket. Thank god for the Caribbean! Going to the beach now
This was recorded in February as I had to build up content for travel to Memphis in May. It’s mid 80s now
Bought a rotisserie for my Kamado Joe today. Watch this space....
Congrats. Love the joetisserie
I hope u are using prime Alberta beef. The only beef to bbq in canada 🇨🇦
Berta beef? Salt and pepper and down the hatch - letterkenny
Hard to beat any masterbuilt pit. i own 2 560s.
they are legit
I had a MB gravity series it was a cooking machine but the quality of the grill just be trash.
The food is stunning but I feel confident my joes will last the lifetime they are warrantied for
Is it me or they both look dey
Dey?