What if you could combine the convenience of a pellet grill with the real wood flavor that you love about a traditional stick-burner? A gravity-fed charcoal grill just might be the answer you’re looking for…
That’s right – all the charcoal flavor that you love with none of the work. It almost sounds too good to be true, but I’ve been using gravity-fed grills for over a year now and I can confirm that they live up to their promise.
Today I’m going to be breaking down the basics of gravity-fed grills, as well as comparing the best options on the market today.
What is a gravity-fed charcoal grill?
As the name implies, a gravity-fed grill utilizes gravity to keep your charcoal burning for hours. Similar to a pellet grill, the gravity-fed design has a hopper that can be filled with lump charcoal, charcoal briquettes, and/or wood chunks.
I usually use lump charcoal because that is what I prefer in all of my grills, but I’ve used briquettes as well. I find that the briquettes burn a little slower than lump because you can fit more of them in the hopper due to size.
You simply light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper, set the grill to your desired temperature, and let the grill do its thing.
The grill has an electronic temperature system and fan to keep your charcoal burning at the same temperature for hours. The hopper can hold 10 pounds of lump charcoal or 16 pounds of charcoal briquettes, which will allow you to keep your charcoal burning for upwards of 8 hours straight without adding more fuel.
Gravity-fed grills allow the flexibility of smoking, grilling, and searing, all at the simple touch of a button. They are easy to use and will allow you to pack in that amazing, smoky, charcoal flavor that you love without any of the hassle of a traditional charcoal grill.
What I love about gravity-fed grills:
- Hassle-free cooking for hours on end.
- Integrated temperature control and fan will maintain a steady temperature throughout the entire cooking process.
- Ability to raise or lower temperature in a matter of minutes.
- All the charcoal smoke flavor you love with no hassle.
What I don’t like about gravity-fed grills:
- Inability to set up multi-zone cooking; the entire grill surface can only be set to one temperature.
- Electrical components increase the chances of product defects (though I have not experienced any issues in over a year of grilling regularly).
What gravity-fed models are available on the market?
Masterbuilt was the first company to launch a gravity-fed charcoal grill back in 2019. They essentially took all the convenience people love about pellet grills and applied that concept to this charcoal grill.
Masterbuilt patented the design, which is why we haven’t seen a lot of other grill companies create a similar style grill of their own. The one exception is Char-Griller which released the Char-Griller 980 Gravity Fed charcoal grill in 2021.
Both Masterbuilt and Char-Griller are owned by the same parent company, so I think that is how they were able to get around the 15-year patent on the technology.
However, it has been out of stock for several months, so we don’t know if that model has been discontinued.
Masterbuilt has also recently released a higher end XT model with a bunch of design and quality imprveoments.
The current models available are as follows:
| Specifications | Masterbuilt
Gravity 560 | Masterbuilt
Gravity 800 | Masterbuilt
Gravity 1050 | Masterbuilt Gravity XT |
|---|
| Cooking Space | 560 sq. in. | 800 sq. in. | 1080 sq. in. | 1260 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity | 16lbs of briquettes
10lbs of lump | 16lbs of briquettes
10lbs of lump | 16lbs of briquettes
10lbs of lump | 18 lbs of briquettes
12 lbs of lump |
| Dimensions | 54W x 51H x 24D | 55W x 50H x 30.5D | 61W x 52H x 33D | 60.3W x 52.2H x 34D |
| Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price |
We have also published detailed reviews of the smallest 560 model and the new XT model.
The Best Gravity Smokers We’ve Tested
The Masterbuilt Gravity 1050
I got my Masterbuilt Gravity 1050 in December of 2021, so I have been cooking with it for a few years now. It is by far one of my favorite grills in my collection. I’ve done everything from smoking meat low and slow to searing steaks at a high temperature of 700°F+, and the Masterbuilt is a powerhouse for any cooking application.
Until the XT was released, this was the largest and most expensive of the models Masterbuilt offered.
| Cooking Space | 1080 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity | 16lbs briquettes / 10lbs lump charcoal |
| Single-hopper Cooking Time | Up to 10 hours |
| Cooking Grates | Cast-iron grates that are reversible for both smoke + sear functions |
| Temperature Range | 225°F to 700°F |
| Fan | DigitalFan™ technology for precise temperature control |
| Control Panel | Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor your cook from your phone |
| Warranty | 1 year |
When I first got this grill, I joked with my husband about how I could fire up a charcoal grill without even getting my hands dirty. But, all jokes aside, that is one of my favorite features of this grill.
You simply fill the hopper with your charcoal of choice, then slide a couple of fire starters into the bottom and light them. There are dampers located on the side of the hopper that you need to remove before lighting the grill, but they slide out easily with one hand.
After you light the fire starters, you want to let them burn for a couple of minutes to really get going. Then, you can shut the hopper and head over to the control panel to set your desired temperature.
The temperature ranges from 225°F to 700°F and heats up very quickly. It only takes about 10 minutes to get the grill up to 225° for low and slow smoking and another 5 to 7 to kick it up to 700°F when you want to perform a high-heat sear.
As I said before, I’ve been cooking on this grill for a few years now and have done just about every type of cooking you can imagine on it.
It allows you to set the temperature down to 225°F for low and slow smoking, and I would venture to say that it rivals an offset smoker when it comes to the flavor you are able to achieve.
The grill holds a consistent temperature for hours and will allow you to add a prominent charcoal smoke flavor to your cooking. Some of the best ribs I’ve ever made have come off my Masterbuilt and I’ve also gotten the grill up to over 650°F to reverse sear steaks beautifully.
With the release of the XT which I’ll cover below, you seem to be able to get some great deals on the 1050.
Masterbuilt Gravity XT
The XT is the newest lineup to the Masterbuilt gravity range. It’s bigger, better built, and has better fuel economy than the previous models.
After a few months of cooking on it, I think it’s a significant upgrade over the 1050.
My favorite new feature on the XT is the redesigned heat and air intake slides. Now you can control air flow to the hopper via a small lever on the front of the grill. The old models used a small metal plate that you removed and I never had a good place to put them.
One of the biggest complaints about Masterbuilt smokers is always their build quality, and the Gravity series definitely suffered from some cheap components.
The XT has beefed up everything with better insulation, a thicker interior, and a heat gasket to prevent heat and smoke leakage. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in fuel economy, meaning I can smoke for longer with the same amount of charcoal.
The hopper is also a little bigger, which is great for those overnight cooks.
They’ve also completely redesigned the digital control panel, making it easier to navigate and control.
Despite being better in every way, the XT is a steep price jump over the 1050. I think it’s worth it if you can afford it, but after cooking on the 1050 for years, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with grabbing one of those instead.
The Char-Griller Gravity 980
I’ve left this information in incase you manage to find a Char-Griller gravity in stock somewhere.
While I don’t have nearly as much experience cooking on the Char-Griller 980 as I have with the Masterbuilt, I’ve been able to get a few cooks in on the Char-Griller and found it to perform just as great as the Masterbuilt model.
The Char-Griller has a round design and looks more like a traditional smoker or pellet grill, plus it comes in two colors (red and blue) for those that want to add a touch of color to their cooking space.
Char-Griller Gravity 980 overview & specifications
| Total Cooking Space: | 980 sq. in. |
| Primary Cooking Space: | 680 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity: | 16lbs briquettes / 7lbs lump charcoal |
| Single-Hopper Cooking Time: | Up to 8 hours |
| Cooking Grates: | Porcelain-coated cast iron |
| Temperature Range: | 200°F to 700°F |
| Fan: | Precision control fan for temperature control |
| Control Panel: | Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor your cook from your phone |
| Warranty: | 1 year |
Lighting the Char-Griller is almost identical process to the process I outlined above for the Masterbuilt model. You simply fill the hopper with your charcoal of choice, add a firestarter into the slot in the bottom, allow it to light for a few minutes, then shut the hopper and adjust the temperature of the grill using the control panel.
You can use the grill to smoke meat at a range of temperatures from 200°F to 250°F, or you can kick up the temperature and grill/sear food at temperatures from 450°F to 700°F as well.
Similar to the Masterbuilt, cooking on the Char-Griller Gravity 980 was a great experience. I love the design of the grill and how easy it is to adjust temperature based on what you are cooking.
I smoked a couple of pork butts and they came out amazing. The smoke flavor was very prevalent and they cooked very similarly to the way I would expect a charcoal grill to cook. I also made a couple of racks of ribs and they came out amazing as well.
The hopper lived up to the promise of an 8 hour cook time. If you run out of charcoal during the cook, you can always add more on top easily without having to turn off or adjust the grill in anyway.
What accessories can you buy?
Masterbuilt has a few accessories that I think are worth looking at besides the obvious cover.
- Rotisserie Kit – the Masterbuilt Gravity Rotisserie Kit is compatible with all three models of the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed grills. It has a powerful electric motor and can hold up to 10 lbs of food to cook rotisserie-style. It also has 2 interchangeable spit rods to allow your food to cook slowly and evenly over the charcoal grates.
- Pizza Oven – the Masterbuilt Pizza Oven slides right into your GravityFed™ smoker and converts it into a pizza oven with a 14” capacity. It’s made from stainless-steel with a porcelain-coated exterior and offers a 360° airflow to cook your food evenly and quickly.
- Smoker Griddle – Masterbuilt offers a smoker griddle insert for both the 800 model and the 1050 model that will allow you to convert your GravityFed™ smoker into a full-sized griddle.
Why aren’t gravity-fed grills more popular?
I honestly think the issue is that people don’t know they exist. Pellet grills have been the shining star of the backyard barbecue industry in recent years, so many people gravitate towards the brands they know, like Traeger, Pit Boss, and Camp Chef.
I can confidently say that performance is not the issue with gravity-fed grills. The issues are marketing and publicity.
The ability to cook over charcoal and wood without any of the hassle of managing a fire is a huge game-changer in the grilling industry. The number one complaint that I hear from people about pellet grills is the lack of smoke flavor, but a gravity-fed grill is going to give you all the smoke flavor that you love with the convenience and ease of cooking on a pellet grill.
Plus, Masterbuilt filed for a patent on the technology when they launched the gravity-fed back in 2019 and that patent got approved for a 15-year term. Essentially, the only companies that are going to be able to be players in the gravity-fed game are going to be models that are owned by the same parent company as Masterbuilt, Char-Griller, and Kamado Joe.
Final thoughts
As I mentioned before, I think the Gravity Fed design is an absolute game changer when it comes to grilling over charcoal. If you are in the market for a pellet grill, I highly recommend considering a gravity-fed charcoal grill.
These grills combine the convenience and versatility of a pellet grill but allow you to use real wood and charcoal as your fuel source. If you’re a fan of a deep, smoky flavor in your food, then I would venture to say that you would prefer the flavor you can get from a gravity-fed grill over a pellet smoker.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://manstuffnews.com/backyard-grilling/10-best-turkey-rub-recipes-easy-and-delicious
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