The Masterbuilt 800 Gravity Feed Charcoal Beast

[Joe Anshien]

In one of the threads I promised to do a review of the MB800 I got on sale from Walmart for $500. It arrived within a week and I had to help the truck driver get it on to the lift as this box was large and heavy. It sat in the garage for a few days as I took all the sub boxes to the living room while I waited for my brother-in-law's timely visit to help me move the main unit to the living room to put it together so that it could be easily rolled to the porch once it was put together. There is a good YouTube vid on building it. It took a few hours and I may have had to re-due a bolt or 2;-) This is the first brand new grill I have ever purchased and had to put together. The last and only new grill I had was a 1988 Sunbeam gas grill we received for a wedding gift, and we kept going for 20 years. Ever since I saw a video on this grill it has been like a siren calling my name. We have a 10 x 20 screened in porch and I had it mostly filled with grills. I liked the idea of this one replacing my griddle, WSM, and Performer. Sort of what I got from reading about the folks on this list that did the same with getting their Smokefires. I tried the Smoke fire EX4 and sold it after a few cooks, as it could not keep temp, and was not reliable for me.
Javi and I got the MB800 setup and moved on to the porch. One of the tougher aspects of the install was removing the glue crap from all the stickers that are all over inside and out on this new grill. I loaded it with charcoal and started the seasoning. Wow smoke was coming out of everywhere. I posted a video on the FB Masterbuilt fans page and they said it was normal until all the oil was burnt off.

So far I really do love this grill.
It is charcoal not pellets.
Control it from my phone
Can put splits in it.
No real need for gizmos. Slow N Sear, Vortex, Expander rings, Diffusers, etc
Comes with full size cast iron griddle
Changes temps really fast and is very accurate, as I tested with multiple thermometers.
Easy to empty ash bucket.

Build quality I would say is good. Not great. Is there room for improvement sure. There are smoke leaks I will have to seal. I wish the large drip tray came out the front instead of the back. I wish some of the metal was thicker or maybe 304 SS;-) Not going to happen on a 5-7 hundred dollar grill.

So far I made French fries, a whole turkey, apple pie, corn on the cob and beer can chicken. The fries were nice and crunchy (pic shows only the last ones left). The turkey was unfortunately a little over cooked as I was not paying attention. The beer can chicken was the best chicken I have ever made. It was the same crispy chicken mentioned on the rotisserie crispy chicken thread from hey grill hey with the lemon zest. I was actually going to get rid of my beer can holder as the last time I used it I was not impressed. This time I use peach wood in with the charcoal and had the temps at 425 - 450 the whole time and it cooked in 1 hour! Amazing crispy skin and juicy as could be. I may weight or maybe not even get the rotisserie for this thing.

With the redesigned charcoal grate fuel consumption seems to be quite good. I will probably we using more wood as I love that it can basically handle small logs;-)

It is much simpler than a pellet grill as there is no auger and glow plug. It is basically a charcoal hopper, fan and controller. I also purchased a USB cable that allows me to run it off a little battery pack.
Front of box

back of box

Javi helping remove the sticker glue

Apple pie

My porch setup

A build quality issue

Turkey

Fries on the griddle

Beer can chicken was soooo Good!

 

[Joe Anshien]

Another reason to like the 800. Aparently the griddle looks to be just the right size for a Genesis Silver.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I use my MB560 a lot . This past summer when it was 100 degree plus, I used the MB instead of sitting with the Franklin offset. I like it as a smoker far more than a grill. I do my grilling and searing on a Kettle.

But the MB560 is a rib cooking machine.

 

[MartinB]

It has a reputation for cooking good food, and its inexpensive.

That apparently ticks the right boxes for a lot of people, because they're fairly popular.

A lot of people like to use them as a grill, I would be a bit wary of grilling high temperatures effect on longevity. I've got no experience with it just do have experience with a lot of cheap steel grills rusting away in a few years. That's why I use a Weber kettle for grilling. I've had my Weber kettle for 11 plus years. Porcelain matters

 

[JKalchik]

a lot of cheap steel grills rusting away in a few years

This is my observation from a lot of economical grills, barbecues, smokers, etc. The gravity feds under about a grand really do seem to be built on the thin side, and at least for the Masterbuilts, an aftermarket sprung up rapidly with modifications for longevity like stainless throats & panels. OTOH, getting a gravity fed that's built for the long haul..... yeah, that's a LOT more expensive.

 

[MartinB]

This is my observation from a lot of economical grills, barbecues, smokers, etc. The gravity feds under about a grand really do seem to be built on the thin side, and at least for the Masterbuilts, an aftermarket sprung up rapidly with modifications for longevity like stainless throats & panels. OTOH, getting a gravity fed that's built for the long haul..... yeah, that's a LOT more expensive.

Yeah well if you start to consider the forces that are on any cooker that you trailer regularly.... Anything that you're going to travel with to compete etc has to be built to take all those forces the roads going to put on it. Even if it's not a tow behind and you put it on a flatbed trailer it's still going to be subject to the same kind of forces.

The old country gravity fed smoker is a decent Happy medium I think. But it achieves that $1,200 price by skimping on some welding and using lighter gauges here and there and does not have an internal frame. It will hold up fine I think for home use forever, but it's not the kind of thing that you would expect to put on a trailer every weekend and not eventually have problems. You get what you pay for. Good heavy duty 8 in foam filled casters alone can run you $200. I'm not a competitor and have no desire to do so, but I get it. You got to have a tool that's dependable , robust, and you're able to easily move around when you're hauling it somewhere every weekend. The little lightweight Weber Smoky mountains are a marvel that they cook so good at their ridiculous lightweight and portability. There's nothing else that's even in the same class of portability. Kudos to Harry Soo for his success with them, but if I was a competitor, I would say the fiddle factor was too high for the WSM. I would probably be using a $5,000 gravity feed cooker . One that lived in an enclosed cargo trailer with all the other things needed to depart for a weekend at a moment's notice.


I too read about people who bought the masterbuilt gravity feed and then bought the $300 kit to fix some of the issues.... Then was up to $1,000 in it and still weren't thrilled with it. But they did say it cooked good food. It is really flexible , some people say it's a better grill than a smoker. Some say it's a better smoker than a grill.

 

[Joe Anshien]

A few things to note here. This is a consumer backyard appliance. Not intended for travel / competitions. It is 1/2 the price of a Smokefire and does not have 1/2 the issues most do and it is charcoal. I was 100% gasser and now I am a 60% gas / 40% charcoal kind of guy. I was able to pay for this MB800 including tax by selling my Performer, WSM, and griddle. I baby my grills, and I think I will be able to get enough years and easy cooks out of it to justify the price. I do not plan on spending a lot of money on mods. I may make a few for the fun of it. So far it puts out great BBQ with very little effort, and I have 2 less grills I need to keep up with. I do not plan on going over 500° on this, as I have an IR burner and now Grillgrates on the gasser for any searing I need to do.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I smoke brisket and pork butt, the big meats, on my offset. But would have no problem with everything else on the MB . One of my first cooks on the MB was a cute little 9# brisket and it handled it just fine. But loading it up with meats that are gonna drip a lot of fats is something I don't feel good about. I think as long as temps are below 400*, though there's not a concern for a grease fire. But I have other issues with how much air flow is restricted by a lot of meats. Course, the 800 is larger than my 560 ( I'm gonna be looking for a 1050 on sale this winter, if I can get one for half price I'll trade up )

I've had some big flare ups or small grease fires, whichever ya wanna call them, when I reverse seared a couple of ribeyes. When I cranked up the heat to 550 to sear, the drippings from the ribeye caught fire. Some people don't mind that, they like the flame searing their steak. I don't like searing with grease fires.

At high heat, when the fan is really cranked up, it will throw embers into the cook chamber. The larger units may not do that, but it happens on my 560.

Its not as convenient as people seem to want it to be. I line the grease tray with foil and re-do it every few cooks. At that time, I take the manifold out and vacuum the ash out from inside. I use to cover the manifold with foil which was time consuming, But I bought the LSS manifold cover mod and its much easier.

I bought that cover along with the brackets to hold a drip/water pan. This allowed me to put a pan under the bottom grate. I don't think it alters air flow in the cooker when the pan sits right on top of the manifold. Again, my cooker is smaller than the 800. I hear the 1050 owners have no problem with a pan on the bottom grate. When I did that, there was big temp differences between the " set " temp and the actual cooking temp.

I empty the charcoal hopper after every cook. I've found that fire will travel upward through wood faster than charcoal. No matter where I place wood in the hopper, it gets burnt. I found that by splitting splits in half, then standing them vertically in the hopper, one on top of another. Then surrounding them with charcoal. The splits would burn completely while the charcoal would not ignite.

So to get even smoke distribution, I empty the hopper by pulling out the charcoal grate. I bought a mod from LSS that goes in the firebox and when I pull the grate all the charcoal falls neatly into a bucket.

It takes me a while to prepare for a cook. Its not a matter of turning it on and setting a cook temp.

I bought the LSS hopper cover mod. My hopper lid leaked and was getting worse. And I was using a piece of foil over the top , trying to help it seal. But the LSS mod solves that issue. Its air tight now and the lid doesn't get any more creasote build up. I also think it helps with charcoal usage if that hopper is air tight.

The smoke flavor is comparable to stick burner. I've done comparison cooks with identical racks of spare ribs. One in offset, one in the WSM, and one rack in the MB. There was a diff flavor from each. The WSM had a heavy charcoal/chunk flavor with was very noticeable. The MB and offset were closer, though not the same.

I was very surprised by getting thin blue smoke through the entire cook. Only for a few minutes when it first fires up, does any white billowy smoke appear.

I don't know the thickness of the metal used throughout the cooker, but I wish it was 1/8" , maybe like an Old Country Pecos or Okie Joe Highlander. May not be necessary, but it would make me feel better.

I've looked closely at the Old Country GF. I think the air flow in the MB would be much better. But I've not cooked on an OCGF. My local Academys rarely have a OCGF in stock, and when they show they do on the web site, I've never found them on display so I could even look at one in person.

I've become a GF believer.

 

[MartinB]

I smoke brisket and pork butt, the big meats, on my offset. But would have no problem with everything else on the MB . One of my first cooks on the MB was a cute little 9# brisket and it handled it just fine. But loading it up with meats that are gonna drip a lot of fats is something I don't feel good about. I think as long as temps are below 400*, though there's not a concern for a grease fire. But I have other issues with how much air flow is restricted by a lot of meats. Course, the 800 is larger than my 560 ( I'm gonna be looking for a 1050 on sale this winter, if I can get one for half price I'll trade up )

I've had some big flare ups or small grease fires, whichever ya wanna call them, when I reverse seared a couple of ribeyes. When I cranked up the heat to 550 to sear, the drippings from the ribeye caught fire. Some people don't mind that, they like the flame searing their steak. I don't like searing with grease fires.

At high heat, when the fan is really cranked up, it will throw embers into the cook chamber. The larger units may not do that, but it happens on my 560.

Its not as convenient as people seem to want it to be. I line the grease tray with foil and re-do it every few cooks. At that time, I take the manifold out and vacuum the ash out from inside. I use to cover the manifold with foil which was time consuming, But I bought the LSS manifold cover mod and its much easier.

I bought that cover along with the brackets to hold a drip/water pan. This allowed me to put a pan under the bottom grate. I don't think it alters air flow in the cooker when the pan sits right on top of the manifold. Again, my cooker is smaller than the 800. I hear the 1050 owners have no problem with a pan on the bottom grate. When I did that, there was big temp differences between the " set " temp and the actual cooking temp.

I empty the charcoal hopper after every cook. I've found that fire will travel upward through wood faster than charcoal. No matter where I place wood in the hopper, it gets burnt. I found that by splitting splits in half, then standing them vertically in the hopper, one on top of another. Then surrounding them with charcoal. The splits would burn completely while the charcoal would not ignite.

So to get even smoke distribution, I empty the hopper by pulling out the charcoal grate. I bought a mod from LSS that goes in the firebox and when I pull the grate all the charcoal falls neatly into a bucket.

It takes me a while to prepare for a cook. Its not a matter of turning it on and setting a cook temp.

I bought the LSS hopper cover mod. My hopper lid leaked and was getting worse. And I was using a piece of foil over the top , trying to help it seal. But the LSS mod solves that issue. Its air tight now and the lid doesn't get any more creasote build up. I also think it helps with charcoal usage if that hopper is air tight.

The smoke flavor is comparable to stick burner. I've done comparison cooks with identical racks of spare ribs. One in offset, one in the WSM, and one rack in the MB. There was a diff flavor from each. The WSM had a heavy charcoal/chunk flavor with was very noticeable. The MB and offset were closer, though not the same.

I was very surprised by getting thin blue smoke through the entire cook. Only for a few minutes when it first fires up, does any white billowy smoke appear.

I don't know the thickness of the metal used throughout the cooker, but I wish it was 1/8" , maybe like an Old Country Pecos or Okie Joe Highlander. May not be necessary, but it would make me feel better.

I've looked closely at the Old Country GF. I think the air flow in the MB would be much better. But I've not cooked on an OCGF. My local Academys rarely have a OCGF in stock, and when they show they do on the web site, I've never found them on display so I could even look at one in person.

I've become a GF believer.

I think the gravity feeds are a good compromise if you don't want to tend to stick burner. But the people who proclaim to know say that the stick burner has the best taste clearly because the high air flow and operation by limiting the fuel, not the air, generates cleaner smoke, and better convective transfer to the meat. All these other smokers that you charge the full load of fuel are different in that you limit the air flow... To limit fuel burn. Which can produce bad smoke if you don't do it right. But that can be trickier to master. When you walk outside and your area near your smoker has that sweet smoked meat odor.... Not smoke odor... That awesome odor you can almost taste... You've got it going on.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Lynn, Thanks for the great write up and info. Sounds like your MB gets quite the work out.
One important note that folks have mentioned and it is true for me, is I get much cleaner smoke out of this GF than I ever did out of my WSM. Until the WSM had been burning for hours, the smoke was just not that clean and I was not that patient. I thought about adding more air vents to the top to permit better air flow and higher temps. I admit that didn't mind and even liked the heavy smoke on my briskets, my wife not so much.
It sounds like we have much different grilling and BBQ habits. I smoke maybe 3 briskets, a turkey, and a few other things a year. I can go gas or charcoal for chickens, burgers, dogs, sausage. It also varies on the time of year. In winter I use more gas as I want to be in and out of the cold as fast as possible;-) I would say the combined use of my WSM, Performer, and griddle was = to about 50% of my use. I think that since propane is much cleaner, and that I have to haul home charcoal, vs a 100# tank hooked to the house influences me a little;-)
I have a couple of pieces of Stainless strips to try and make a water pan bracket for the top of the manifold. Here is a picture from the FB MB
group
I can see myself using the middle shelf for smoking with a pan on the grates most of the time. I think a most if not all your mods are transferable to the larger MB's.

I do use foil around the top. I do have some leaks but so did my WSM.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Whether I use the offset or the MB just depends upon what I'm hungry for

Right now, I'm hungry for some Texas spare ribs. Whole spares, S/P , smoked on the offset stick burner. But meats like baby backs really don't gain that much from the stick burner, they're heavily seasoned and sauced so the smoke flavor is gonna be secondary. That's when I go to the MB.

Lately, I've been smoking pork steaks on the MB, then searing them on the Kettle. Its great for that. I can set it for 250* until I get the IT I want, then turn it down to 160* and use as a warmer while I get the Kettle ready to sear.

When I did the rib comparison cook, while both of us prefer the stick burner rib, Mrs Dollar liked the WSM rib over the MB rib. Some people just prefer the charcoal/chunk flavor, hence the popularity of the Humphrey's Battle Box and other vertical water smokers, like LSG , etc. I know a KCBS judge here in OKC that prefers charcoal/chunk. To me its no contest, the clean smoke flavor from a stick burner is real barbecue flavor, in my book. But the MB comes really close to that.

I did not intend to buy the manifold cover mod from LSS, I just wanted the brackets. I bought the brackets, but I did not read closely that the brackets only work with the cover. I don't know if the cover helps with grease management or not, I've always had a pan sitting on top.

The only other mod I've done, I broke a fire brick into two halves , put them in the firebox, and then cut a piece of expanded metal to lay on top. I put chunks on the grate and it keeps them up out of the ash. They will also catch flame there. I've opened the firebox door and they're burning. That maybe hotter than the walls of the firebox can stand, but its delivering clean smoke through the cooker. Some have bought these backpacking cooking grates that sit inside the firebox and will do the same thing.

In Food Networks show, BBQ USA, in the episode from Texas comp, there's a short shot of someone cooking with a MB1050. And there's a fella from Texas over on the Smoking Meats " Charcoal Smoker " forum who uses one in comps.

 

[Joe Anshien]

I like the idea of a grate in the charcoal pan. When I clean out the ash bucket any of the wood that is left has turned into lump charcoal. I usually just put that in the hopper for next time;-) I remember a Harry Soo video of using 3 different smokers and comparing the results. Basically they all made great BBQ and the differences in flavor and rings were minor. As a relative newbie, I am always thrilled with whatever I smoke and consider it better than most BBQ joints we have been to. Now when we stop someplace and I get really good stuff I know it;-) This is a really fun journey and cooking up new stuff, and being able to share it and learning from others here, is what makes it so worthwhile.
They closed the Ruby Tuesday that was by us in Richmond, but they did have really good ribs. I would get the full rack and take 1/2 home. They were consistently better than most BBQ places. I wonder how they would be now?

 

[MartinB]

In Food Networks show, BBQ USA, in the episode from Texas comp, there's a short shot of someone cooking with a MB1050. And there's a fella from Texas over on the Smoking Meats " Charcoal Smoker " forum who uses one in comps.

There's a lot of ugly drum smokers out there competing too. I know a guy on a team that uses Gateway smokers... Which are just built out $1200 drum smokers. Prices really jumped in the last couple years. But, as Harry Soo says, it's always the Pitmaster.... Never the pit. Mastering what it takes on different cookers can be easier or harder though, for sure. But in the right hands they're all capable of producing winning excellent food...... Air and smoke management is more important than a lot of people give it credit for.... Some people like really smoky food..... Other have discovered that less is more

 

[Lynn Dollar]

On the Smoking Meats Forum they were buying something like this , instead of making a grate for the firebox.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OPHA0S/?tag=tvwb-20

 

[Joe D - BBQ Joe]

I saw this smoker/grill at Costco yesterday for $399. It does look like an interesting concept, simplifying the process quite a bit. Probably not for me as it would duplicate what I already have, but maybe for my daughter as an entry level cooker.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I saw this smoker/grill at Costco yesterday for $399. It does look like an interesting concept, simplifying the process quite a bit. Probably not for me as it would duplicate what I already have, but maybe for my daughter as an entry level cooker.

I'm guessing that was the 1050 ? Which would be a great price and what I've been looking for.

But still a discount on the 560 which has an MSRP of $500. I found mine at WalMart for $250. And I honestly just bought it to play around with and thought I would sell it. I've been pleasantly surprised.

 

[MartinB]

I've looked closely at the Old Country GF. I think the air flow in the MB would be much better. But I've not cooked on an OCGF. My local Academys rarely have a OCGF in stock, and when they show they do on the web site, I've never found them on display so I could even look at one in person.

I've become a GF believer.

I got a chance to look over the old country gravity feed pretty good in the store. And most of what I read was seen . The top rack on one didn't fit in, the door did not open to 90° without some effort, enough effort to turn the smoker on its wheels, etc. Shipping damage... You have to really look at them individually because there is no quality control. I had read on barbecue brethren forum that the mfg said simply was no quality control at the price academy wanted them for.... Seems to be true. The good thing is academy seems to be willing to knock the price down if you point out damage and problems.

Low price makes it somewhat attractive still. You can fix a lot of stuff for$1000- $1,500 difference with the next comparable item.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I got a chance to look over the old country gravity feed pretty good in the store. And most of what I read was seen . The top rack on one didn't fit in, the door did not open to 90° without some effort, enough effort to turn the smoker on its wheels, etc. Shipping damage... You have to really look at them individually because there is no quality control. I had read on barbecue brethren forum that the mfg said simply was no quality control at the price academy wanted them for.... Seems to be true. The good thing is academy seems to be willing to knock the price down if you point out damage and problems.

That's what I've heard.

At first glance, why spend $1500 on a smoker that ya have to work on to get right. Then ya find that Academy will knock the price down for defects.

Then compare the OCGF to Assassin 17 ( $3,200 ) , Southern Q Limo Jr ( $2,400 ) , or even a similar size Stump or Myron Mixon ( way high priced ) ................ and for half the price and a little work ya might be getting a quality smoker.

But I still have questions about the OCGF as to how even it cooks side-to-side and grease management.

 

[Brian B Atlanta]

I saw this smoker/grill at Costco yesterday for $399

Costco has the Masterbuilt 800 it does not have the griddle and manifold required for it if you care about that and if I remember Joe did care about it. It can be purchased separately, thats a great price they must be clearing them out they had been on sale a few times during the summer.

 

[Brian B Atlanta]

There's a lot of ugly drum smokers out there competing too.

I don't compete but I built a UDS probably 12 years ago I think it cost me 130 bucks which included a knockoff Weber Kettle from Walmart which I used the hinged dome lid and grate from it. I found a new barrel from a local company in Atlanta think it cost me 20 bucks. They are extremely efficient and easy to dial in temp wise no foil needed under your meat nor a water pan cause of the design. I smoke ribs maybe 4 or 5 times a year, do a Turkey at Thanksgiving repaint it with high heat on the outside every 3 or 4 years can't kill the thing.