Dave's Masterbuilt 1050 Gravity Feed Experiences

[Dave - Unixadm]

It was still almost 90 at 10:00pm last night. We're only seeing those lows for a couple hours in the early morning before things get hot again.

Thank goodness for Anti-Monkey Butt powder. Lmao.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

Back at it tonight with a quick cook. I had some brats in the fridge from Costco I needed to cook, so I decided to make beer brats. Never made them before and they were quite tasty. An onion, a half stick of butter, a couple Bud Lights, the grill and 45 minutes - dinner was served.

Set the 1050 to 450 degrees and it came up to temp in about 10 minutes. This thing is super easy to start up. I only put a little color on the brats - most of the cooking was done in the simmering beer with the onions.

I didn't even want to post this pic because it just looks SAD, but hey, I was making food to eat and not to be photogenic tonight.

This isn't one of those meals where I was going for presentation. It's a dang hotdog. I put some American cheese, mayo, mustard and the onions on top. Gotta admit it was a lot better than I was expecting. The Rainbow Costco buns I got were kind of dry though which is normally not the case. I made the best of it after microwaving a couple of buns under a wet paper towel for 15 seconds.

Depending on how early I wake up in the morning, I may smoke ribs using the rotisserie. I'm not sure yet though, so we'll have to see. I've got a three pack of baby backs from Costco in the fridge. My favorite rib cooking method is Sous Vide, so it's always hard cooking them another way. A friend of mine is a bartender (a very cute bartender) and she said I needed to make her charcoal cooked ribs. She didn't like the Sous Vide style, even though every other person I gave ribs to LOVED them. However, that's not the point I suppose. Coincidence I bought the 1050? No. haha. I guess we'll all find out tomorrow what I decide. I've still got Ribeyes to cook as well. So many options, so little stomach space. I feel like a blimp - two brats was too much. LOL

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

Update on the WIFI situation....

I received the ALFA antenna today and it was a lot larger than I was expecting. Size matters though, right? It installed just fine and still fits up under the side table, though just barely. Signal strength was excellent. Zero issues with it. For like $8, it's a no-brainer. More to come but I wanted to share that if you're having WIFI issues, do consider an antenna upgrade for the 560/1050.

 

[LMichaels]

So I saw open flame under those grates and brats. Was that normal on how these work?

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

So I saw open flame under those grates and brats. Was that normal on how these work?

That’s actually aluminum foil covering the manifold. However, at higher temps you’ll get flames when the drippings ignite.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

UPPER AND LOWER GRATE TEMP TEST....

I was contemplating cooking ribs but I decided to hold off a day and check the temperatures in the 1050 one more time just so I know where things stood. After checking the side to side temps in earlier posts, I decided to do a typical 250 degree smoke test. This is when I'd find the temperature variation important, because I may be cooking the same items at multiple levels. After putting a probe dead center in the bottom grate and another probe in the front center of the upper grate, I fired up the 1050 with a set point of 250 degrees.

After it settled in, there was around a 5 degree difference from the bottom to the top grate. Initially during heat up, the variance was +30 degrees or so, but once the pit settled down at the set point the temperatures came into near alignment.

CH 1 = Bottom Grate, Center/Center
CH 2 = Top Grate, Center/Front

I was using some Kingsford hickory briquettes which were sitting around opened for I don't how long. Even though I said earlier that I had charcoal sitting around, I still went ahead and bought plenty of new stuff just in case. It was only a partial bag but I got around three hours out of it at 250. The temperature control is pretty consistent. I had left the house when it ran out of fuel, so I just let it do its thing until I got home.

I also had a delivery show up from Amazon with a few things, one of which was for the 1050. I bought a replacement high temp 900 degree dial thermometer for the lid, since the stock one is completely useless. No mods were required to install this:

Lastly, since we're in the middle of the worst heatwave we've had in quite a while (they say once in a decade), I bought a misting fan. It works so good and I'm kicking myself for not ordering one years ago. I got a Lasko 7050 Misto. Plug it in and connect it to a garden hose. That's it and you have patio cooling while cooking or hanging out. It's not going to cool a huge area, but it would easily cool a space around my six person patio table. I sat with that thing blowing on me for about an hour this afternoon and really didn't realize how hot it was (110 degrees) until I got up and moved away from the fan/misters. I also got a little misting stick but it was pretty weak. I'd use it in a pinch or perhaps if I was a hot woman sunning in a bikini, but that's about it. The fan is where it's at!

If the upcoming cooks come out good on this pit, I honestly could see parting with my pellet grills which is crazy. I've had a pellet grill on my patio since 2010 and most of the time I've had several. This thing is easy to use, heats extremely fast, has far better temperature control and temperature evenness than any of my pellet smokers and runs rock cooking temperatures. The proof is in the pudding though. If I can brave the heat, I think it's going to be that ribeye cook I've been talking about. It will also be the first time I'll run the 1050 on lump charcoal, since I've used up most of the open bags of other stuff I've had laying around. I'm planning a reverse sear with pecan or oak - just a couple of small pieces in the ash pan. I'm looking for that wood fired taste more than anything.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

The First Real Cook....

It was time this evening to finally cook something of significance on the 1050. Enough testing, this boy needs to eat too. I took a reverse sear approach to the steak, using a MEATER to monitor it so that I could pull it at 100 degrees IT. I cooked with lump charcoal and 4-5 small pieces of oak in the ash pan. I learned a trick after having the smoker running for a while. When you drop chunks of wood into the ash pan, slam the firebox door. It will drop pieces of hot charcoal down into the ash pan, thus accelerating the smoking action.

I was watching a Masterbuilt 560 or 1050 grill video on YouTube last week. I think it was a channel called "The Atlanta Grill Company" or something like that. He did a reserve sear tomahawk on the Masterbuilt, but he used a process I never had. That's seasoning the steak with only salt flakes up front for smoking and then rubbing it with an aioli with rub/seasoning/hot sauce. I bought the exact stuff the guys used and followed his approach with a couple of changes. i did lightly season the steak up front. I also added about a 1/4 teaspoon of soy sauce to the aioli. I'm a big fan of soy with beef, so I knew it wasn't going to hurt anything.

I set the Masterbuilt 1050 to 225 degrees and tossed on some sweet corn wrapped with in foil with butter and some rub. About 25 minutes later I put the steak on and that took about about 35 minutes to come up to 100 degrees. At that point I pulled everything and put the corn into my countertop convection oven to let it continue cooking, while I set the grill to 600 degrees. While it was heating up, I slathered the steak with the aioli. In the pics you can see the seasoning I used but the Lanes BBQ scorpion steak rub is amazing. That's going to be my go-to going forward! I'm going to need to check out what else they offer.

This is where my cook went a slight bit south. I used lump for the first time and guessed regarding how much lump I should add to the chute. Let's just say I guessed probably a pound short, so when the grill hit 600, it wasn't roaring for long. I managed to complete the cook on the fuel I had in there because at this point the thing is hot as hell and I'm not going to go add charcoal in there, which is going to distract me from searing the steak. I made it work and it still hovered around 560 when I'd shut the lid. Lesson learned.

In terms of the capability in the 1050, it's pretty damn awesome. Other than my poor judgement of how much fuel to use (trying to prevent waste..... for a $4.97 bag of lump...... yeah... duh..... the 1050 hit it out of the park. When I pulled the steak to rest, I took a dollop of butter and rubbed it on top, then tented the steak for about 10 minutes to rest. After that I plated everything up, took a pic or two and headed out to the 99 degree patio at 9 PM! You might go why would you do that? Well, after I took a little taste of that steak and was dancing around, I knew I wanted to savor every bite. Eating outside kept my steak warm way longer than if I ate inside, so I made it work and it was so very worth it.

This was THE BEST STEAK I've ever had, period. I've traveled the country and I've eaten a lot of steaks. I don't know if it's the seasoning, the meat (prime), the reverse sear, the oak or the 1050. Maybe my mad cooking skills? Nah, probably not that. Perhaps a combination of all of those items, but I think that aioli was something special. I'm totally blown away by how good that meal was and I ate every last bite. I have two more ribeyes left and I think the bigger one is dinner tomorrow night and the smaller one is going to make some a tasty Philly Cheesesteak!

I'm thinking ribs on Monday....

 

[Bruno]

Looks perfect!! I like the grates on that thing, give you some nice grill marks.

 

[AlfonzoW]

Curious how much grease lukes manifold mod will keep out of the manifold. The 1 grease fire I had with my 560 was from grease pooling inside the manifold. From what I've seen on the Facebook groups seems to do pretty good.

 

[Jeff Foley]

I bought the 560 a while back.. it was a pain to put together.. but it did cook great food.. was totally digging that cooker until about 1.5 weeks of owning it, I did a thorough cleaning and noticed the metal in the fire box basically succumbed to the constant heat.. leaving a styrofoam type insulation exposed... returned it to home depot..
Wish it was built better.. i def would've have kept it. Masterbuilt's customer service was a complete joke and told me that insulation is supposed to be exposed.. i questioned that and never heard back from ever again..

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

I bought the 560 a while back.. it was a pain to put together.. but it did cook great food.. was totally digging that cooker until about 1.5 weeks of owning it, I did a thorough cleaning and noticed the metal in the fire box basically succumbed to the constant heat.. leaving a styrofoam type insulation exposed... returned it to home depot..
Wish it was built better.. i def would've have kept it. Masterbuilt's customer service was a complete joke and told me that insulation is supposed to be exposed.. i questioned that and never heard back from ever again..

Good feedback. That’s why I bought the heavy duty stainless insert. While it has warped a little bit, it’s holding strong. I’d prefer to not have to shell out more money though.

 

[George in California]

So if any of you have checked out my other posts about the Smokefire EX6 and the Campchef Woodwind 36, this will be a similar thread. Initial assembly, to burn-in, to mods, to various cooks. I'll post up my honest opinion but that opinion is just that, an opinion.

I ordered the Masterbuilt 1050 after YouTube suggested a video of it to me while I was watching some cooking programs. I didn't know what the heck it was, so when I checked it out I was intrigued. I found some forum posts and videos, which I proceeded to do my homework. It was a bit different than the Smokefire, since I didn't buy it straight at launch time. As of today, I believe it's been out for 60-90 days. Right now it's hard to come by one, but stock seems to be building back up. I ordered it from Amazon at the MSRP price of $799. It shipped quickly and I received it in less than a week. Assembly took place on August 11th, 2020.

My initial impressions of this cooker is actually quite good. It doesn't have the robustness of the Smokefire or the overall polished fit and finish. With that said, it comes with a lot of bang for the buck which is impressive at this price point:

• Double-wall construction
• Cast-iron reversible cooking grates (Sear/Smoke)
• Safety switches
• Extra hardware
• Three cooking levels
• Folding front and fixed side shelves
• WIFI enabled controller
• Four probe ports
• Four wheels for easier mobility
• Bottom shelf
• 160-700 Degree temperature operating range. Temperature control from reading reviews seems to show fairly good even control.
• Rotisserie capable
• Good accessory offerings (Rotisserie and cover)
• Easy to follow assembly instructions.
• Solid feeling after assembled. I was surprised but it feels more solid than the Smokefire EX6 or Woodwind 36
• 225 Degrees in 7 minutes and 700 in 15 minutes. This appears to be accurate and some folks show the grill beats that.
• Wood chunks can be placed in the chute or in the ash pan
• Runs well on briquettes or lump charcoal
• Well packaged for shipping (though mine did have one ding on the body)

There are some cons, some of which I noticed:

• 32-step assembly process.
• Somewhat thin exterior sheetmetal
• Rubberized firebox and hopper gaskets
• No insulation (air gap only)
• The marketing material and adhesive. I almost feel like it's a tailgate of a 2000's Toyota Tundra it has so much stuff going on.
• Firebox design shows heat damage with limited use (from my research)
• Grate temps can vary across the cooking space
• Controller temp and set-point may not match
• Potential for grease fires (similar to that of the Smokefire's design without a diffuser/drip-tray)
• Limited grease cup. Potential to overflow when cooking multiple large cuts of meat at one time.
• Grease cup placement is pretty piss-poor IMO. Going to be a pain in the *** to clean it and not make a mess.

In terms of OEM or aftermarket accessories, I purchased the following:

• Grillgrates (17.3") with Griddle
• Rib-O-Lator 17" Rotisserie accessory
• Masterbuilt OEM Rotisserie kit (works with both the 560 and 1050)
• Masterbuilt OEM 1050 cover

In terms of initial mods, this is what I ordered:

• L.S.S. Mods Stainless firebox liner
• L.S.S. Mods Stainless heat tent cover
• L.S.S. Mods Stainless water tray

Normally I've not purchased mods before getting the grill/smoker, but in this case my research showed that these were good mods to have to improve the clean-ability. I'm not going to do my burn-in until I get the firebox liner which is due to arrive on August 12th. Once I get that, I'll have to partially disassemble the firebox/chute to install it. From there I can do my burn-in. Once I do my burn-in, I'll update the thread with more details. I just completed assembly and am going to go out and set up the rotisserie and Rib-o-lator since both of those arrived before the grill did.

My initial impressions are quite positive after assembly and the reviews have been pretty positive as well. I went into this with some knowledge, so I didn't have to wing it as much as I did with the Smokefire EX6. No fitment issues - went together without much hassle. The next post will be the initial assembly pics. If this thread should be moved, just let me know.

 

[George in California]

So if any of you have checked out my other posts about the Smokefire EX6 and the Campchef Woodwind 36, this will be a similar thread. Initial assembly, to burn-in, to mods, to various cooks. I'll post up my honest opinion but that opinion is just that, an opinion.

I ordered the Masterbuilt 1050 after YouTube suggested a video of it to me while I was watching some cooking programs. I didn't know what the heck it was, so when I checked it out I was intrigued. I found some forum posts and videos, which I proceeded to do my homework. It was a bit different than the Smokefire, since I didn't buy it straight at launch time. As of today, I believe it's been out for 60-90 days. Right now it's hard to come by one, but stock seems to be building back up. I ordered it from Amazon at the MSRP price of $799. It shipped quickly and I received it in less than a week. Assembly took place on August 11th, 2020.

My initial impressions of this cooker is actually quite good. It doesn't have the robustness of the Smokefire or the overall polished fit and finish. With that said, it comes with a lot of bang for the buck which is impressive at this price point:

• Double-wall construction
• Cast-iron reversible cooking grates (Sear/Smoke)
• Safety switches
• Extra hardware
• Three cooking levels
• Folding front and fixed side shelves
• WIFI enabled controller
• Four probe ports
• Four wheels for easier mobility
• Bottom shelf
• 160-700 Degree temperature operating range. Temperature control from reading reviews seems to show fairly good even control.
• Rotisserie capable
• Good accessory offerings (Rotisserie and cover)
• Easy to follow assembly instructions.
• Solid feeling after assembled. I was surprised but it feels more solid than the Smokefire EX6 or Woodwind 36
• 225 Degrees in 7 minutes and 700 in 15 minutes. This appears to be accurate and some folks show the grill beats that.
• Wood chunks can be placed in the chute or in the ash pan
• Runs well on briquettes or lump charcoal
• Well packaged for shipping (though mine did have one ding on the body)

There are some cons, some of which I noticed:

• 32-step assembly process.
• Somewhat thin exterior sheetmetal
• Rubberized firebox and hopper gaskets
• No insulation (air gap only)
• The marketing material and adhesive. I almost feel like it's a tailgate of a 2000's Toyota Tundra it has so much stuff going on.
• Firebox design shows heat damage with limited use (from my research)
• Grate temps can vary across the cooking space
• Controller temp and set-point may not match
• Potential for grease fires (similar to that of the Smokefire's design without a diffuser/drip-tray)
• Limited grease cup. Potential to overflow when cooking multiple large cuts of meat at one time.
• Grease cup placement is pretty piss-poor IMO. Going to be a pain in the *** to clean it and not make a mess.

In terms of OEM or aftermarket accessories, I purchased the following:

• Grillgrates (17.3") with Griddle
• Rib-O-Lator 17" Rotisserie accessory
• Masterbuilt OEM Rotisserie kit (works with both the 560 and 1050)
• Masterbuilt OEM 1050 cover

In terms of initial mods, this is what I ordered:

• L.S.S. Mods Stainless firebox liner
• L.S.S. Mods Stainless heat tent cover
• L.S.S. Mods Stainless water tray

Normally I've not purchased mods before getting the grill/smoker, but in this case my research showed that these were good mods to have to improve the clean-ability. I'm not going to do my burn-in until I get the firebox liner which is due to arrive on August 12th. Once I get that, I'll have to partially disassemble the firebox/chute to install it. From there I can do my burn-in. Once I do my burn-in, I'll update the thread with more details. I just completed assembly and am going to go out and set up the rotisserie and Rib-o-lator since both of those arrived before the grill did.

My initial impressions are quite positive after assembly and the reviews have been pretty positive as well. I went into this with some knowledge, so I didn't have to wing it as much as I did with the Smokefire EX6. No fitment issues - went together without much hassle. The next post will be the initial assembly pics. If this thread should be moved, just let me know.

Hi Dave, I like the info you are posting. Can I ask you where I can get those L.S.S. mod items that you've used, thanks.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

Hi Dave, I like the info you are posting. Can I ask you where I can get those L.S.S. mod items that you've used, thanks.

Sure thing. Here's a link to their site:

Home | LSS MODS HAS A NEW WEBSITE! PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE AT lss-mods.com.

Custom Stainless Steel Mods for your Gravity Series Smoker

lss-mods.square.site

Made to order but everything shipped a couple of days later. I'm still waiting on the manifold drip cover and the water pan. Both are scheduled to arrive today. I did not order the firebox insert and these items at the same time, which is why they're showing up on different days.

 

[George in California]

Thank you sir.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

I've got some ribs on today. I have no idea how this is going to go, so my confidence is low to be honest. Using the Rib-O-Lator with Dominator Rib Rub, pecan chunks for smoke and a mixture of pineapple juice and ACV to mist them. I put some water and apple juice in the water pan. Running around 250-260 degrees on the controller with Royal Oak Lump.

A couple hours in:

I ordered another counter balance as one just isn't enough with ribs. This is a little dicey, I'll just say that. If they turn out good, I'll be happy. I just don't know and don't have a good feeling. LOL

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

The ribs came out quite good. I'm not 100% sure this rotisserie is worth it or not, but it was something new.

The ribs had a very pronounced smoke ring but were not over smoked. I used pecan and didn't go crazy with the wood chunks. The 1050 ran like a top, though I did add just a bit of fuel at the end as a precaution. Took around 6.5 hours which is longer than my normal 2h+2h+15min @ 250 would take. Were these the best ribs I've ever made? No. But they were quite good and those I gave the other racks to were happy with them. It went better than I was expecting.

The L.S.S. mods water pan seemed to help as the ribs were not dried out. Also the drip pan for the manifold worked very well. I elevated one end to direct the grease as far away from the firebox as possible, and it caught 90+ percent of the grease and got it into the drip pan.

This thing produces some darn good BBQ. It does go through the fuel, but if you get a bag of lump for $10, that's competitive with what I'd burn in pellets cost wise, especially with the Smokefire which eats pellets at a pretty good clip.

One last thing. Removing the lower cooking grates is not required when using the rotisserie, but I did it for easier cleanup and the ability to refill the water pan.

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

The Grillgrates I ordered came in today. They fit perfect and I also picked up the griddle. I wouldn't run the pit with the configuration you see below. I'd remove one of the grill plates for better airflow, but I wanted to show the package I picked up.

 

[Bruno]

Very nice ribs, that looks like a lot of fun!!
Can’t wait to see a fat steak on those grill grates either. I may have to make that purchase. Post a link if you can. Thanks

 

[Dave - Unixadm]

Very nice ribs, that looks like a lot of fun!!
Can’t wait to see a fat steak on those grill grates either. I may have to make that purchase. Post a link if you can. Thanks

It was kind of fun. Cleanup, maybe a bit less fun. I purchased them from Grillgrate.com direct. The cool thing is the grates for the 1050 also fit the Smokefire. You'll need 17.375" grates. Their site has a selection for the Smokefire. I picked up the grill grate package, griddle and the grate brush. You can buy extra panels if you want a larger grilling surface. I'm likely going to cook my last Ribeye tonight using these.

Pics of them in the Smokefire:

These fit so well in the Smokefire that you wouldn't even need the stock grates in place. Also sad this morning the ash that's blowing around from the fires here in California.