Blackstone griddle

[Faux Sean Callahan]

@Faux Sean Callahan you never post anymore

Did the Chiefs losing the Super Bowl make you sad

Yes, but I’ve been very busy this offseason as well….. so we will just go with depression brought on by the Super Bowl. 🤣

 

[greybeardedchild]

I have the Masterbuilt 800, this thing has changed my life. I've been through 2 Louisiana and got so fed up with them I was just on a gas grill, till I got this thing. Basically, you put lump charcoal, bricquets, or log chunks into the hopper on the side, start a fire, and a lil computer fan controls the airflow into the grill by whatever speed necessary. Fuel is all gravity fed, no auger bullshit like a pellet grill. Shut off the airholes when your done, the fuel smothers and quits burning, and it's ready to go next time. This thing will perfectly hold a temp for hours from 200 on up, and I've had it to 700 (just to see if I could). I can have it to 500 degrees in 10 minutes, from when I roll it out of the garage to when it's ready to cook, lighting the charcoal and everything. I smoke on it, I grill on it, and the cherry on top is that it comes with a griddle top to use. Ive made breakfast on there more times than I can count. After your done with breakfast, put some mesquite chunks in, put your ribs on and walk away. As far as I've been able to tell, the grill grates heat pretty evenly. The griddle has a little hot spot and is also slightly warped (that may be due to the aforementioned 700 degree experience). It also has a pizza oven option, but that's extra and I havent ponied up yet.
The downsides. It's heavy and immobile (my wife won't help me load it in the truck anymore after our last go-round) which also ties into point 2: it feels like it might rattle apart. I wouldn't say it's built extremely cheaply, but there is room for improvement. Probably on par with the my last Louisiana (7-8 years ago) as far as control board issues and I'm worried screws are rattling out just by rolling it around.
Can't beat a propane grill for cheap and fast, and sometimes I just don't feel like fiddling with my little torch to start the charcoal. That said, it does usually light quickly and easily if you just get a few coals glowing, and turn the fan on to do the rest.
Wi-Fi is a little hanky sometimes (only use it when I'm smoking.)
The forums say not to heat it too hot, cuz it will burn your firebox out. However, there is a healthy aftermarket for s.s. fireboxes and new wifi control panels, so we'll see.
Also seems like a lot of money for what you get, especially considering the build quality: a $3 computer fan, a manual firebox, and slightly cheap/thin materials. It's not a Yoder smoker. And I got it on sale for $750. $899 as listed seems like a lot.

All in all, I really do love it, and the actual performance is great. It did eliminate my need for a Blackstone, and it's a way better smoker than a pellet grill (IMHO), so the price could be justified if your looking for something to do all 3.

Gravity Series® 800 Griddle + Grill + Smoker

Masterbuilt makes innovative digital charcoal grills, griddles, electric smokers, propane smokers, combination grill & smokers, fryers and more. For the backyard griller or on-the-go meat smoker, master the art of cooking with Masterbuilt.

www.masterbuilt.com

 

[Toe]

I've got a Masterbuilt Gravity 800 too, but I've got some mixed feelings about it due to the build quality. It's great when it works, but I had the control unit and the A/C adapter both go bad under warranty, and now I'm out of warranty and it feels like just a matter of time until I'm buying another replacement. The switches on the hopper and lid fail way too easily, too. I took the broken ones out and just bypassed them - otherwise the unit was inoperable. The newer models use magnetic switches; think I'm probably going to buy a set for mine and retrofit them.

And I got it on sale for $750.

You call that a sale?😉

 

[Tell_Sackett]

We finally jumped on the Blackstone wagon, getting the 28" one for the wife and I since we're now empty nesters... This thing has been awesome, mostly because my wife is wanting to use the thing all of the time to cook, so I can just sit back with a beer and watch things unfold the way God intended them to.

So far, she's made:

Smash Burgers
Beef & Broccoli
Fried Rice
Hot Honey BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
Mexican Street Corn

Haven't done breakfast yet, but I'm sure we will.

Any must make recipes that anyone has?

Breakfast is great and we do smash burgers all the time. I made kettle korn on mine the other day with a dome lid just to try it. My advice, stick to a Whirly Pop.

I've had a 4 burner 36 in with the 3 air fryer drawers (2 drawers plus warmer drawer) for around 3 years now. I recently bought magnetic wind guards for the sides and it raised temps on that thing by 200 degrees and it heats out to the sides of the cooktop way more evenly now. It was previously difficult to get the cooktop edges seasoned right, and that did the trick.

Make sure you get an Infrared thermometer, and have a dome lid for eggs and anything you want to steam or isolate to cook hotter.

If you install wind guards, start on low temps and work your way up from there. I heated up on high like always the first time and about warped my cooktop.

 

[greybeardedchild]

I've got a Masterbuilt Gravity 800 too, but I've got some mixed feelings about it due to the build quality. It's great when it works, but I had the control unit and the A/C adapter both go bad under warranty, and now I'm out of warranty and it feels like just a matter of time until I'm buying another replacement. The switches on the hopper and lid fail way too easily, too. I took the broken ones out and just bypassed them - otherwise the unit was inoperable. The newer models use magnetic switches; think I'm probably going to buy a set for mine and retrofit them.



You call that a sale?😉

View attachment 56174

Haha, that is a good deal! Everyone is complaining about the switches, and I get it, but I'm just going to bypass mine the second they give me trouble. Along with an aftermarket control board, I think I'll have fixed the poor electronics it came in with. One shouldn't have to look to the aftermarket to make it work as designed though, that is true. Luckily, mine hasn't given fits yet.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

I got the pitboss ultimate griddle, no seasoning and easy cleanup lol