Summer in Canada is affectionately known as barbecue season. For many, that involves days and nights of tossing brisket, racks of ribs, whole chickens, burgers, sausages, hot dogs, wings, vegetables, and more onto a smoker for a delicious meal. Several years ago, we got a Masterbuilt Gravity 560 smoker and have enjoyed trying everything from brisket to ribs, a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, even pizza. We have cooked small amounts for the family and large amounts for big gatherings. Masterbuilt recently launched a step-up Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT, which I had the chance to preview at CES 2024 earlier this year. Now that summer is here, it’s time to try it out for myself.
What is the Masterbuilt Gravity XT?
The Masterbuilt Gravity XT is the latest flagship in the line. What sets Masterbuilt smokers apart from others is that they include a hopper on the side where you can load lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes: you don’t have to constantly feed it, since it effectively feeds itself. This makes cooking effortless. Making it even easier, you can monitor the cook and temperature from a companion app, which it connects to over Wi-Fi.
Available in Canada for $2,000, the Masterbuilt Gravity XT has a 1,260 square-inch grill and smoker surface that can fit enough food to feed the neighbourhood, from up to 16 racks of ribs to up to 20 full-sized chickens, 33 burgers and hot dogs, and wings, galore for your hot sauce challenge party. Digital fan control manages the GravityFed Hopper, which can accommodate enough charcoal to last for 24 hours of grilling or smoking time. So yes, go ahead and start the brisket at 4 a.m. and nod back to sleep for a few hours without worry.
New to this version is an advanced control panel with graphing and alerts. The fuel saving hopper also provides more heat and moisture retention, delivering a 33% longer burn time than other Gravity Series grills, says the company.
The XT in the name doesn’t just refer to the size: this grill is also extra tough, made with strengthened materials. It also has a fiberglass mesh gasket, U-shaped manifold to minimize flare ups, easy clean-up grease tray, and four full body stainless steel warming racks.
Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT Set-Up and Design Upgrades
Setting up the Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT will require about 1.5-2 hours of your time and at least two people. This includes time to transport it to the location where you need it, unbox, organize all the parts and pieces, and set up. I was lucky enough to have two people to help (let’s be honest: I just supervised!) and the process went relatively smoothly. But keep in mind that there are a lot of parts, pieces, bolts, and screws. There are also easy to follow instructions to guide you along the way. But if you’re not particularly handy or not able to put this together yourself, I’d advise buying it from a retailer that offers delivery and assembly, even if it’s for a small fee.
It was immediately evident that this model boasts a much better build quality than the previous generation model I have. It almost looks like an industrial smoker you’d find at the back of your favourite Southern barbecue restaurant in the heart of Texas. This is clearly a heavy-duty, serious smoker for serious outdoor cooks (enthusiasts welcome, too.)
There are notable upgrades in terms of the design and features that make this model a step above. For example, there are stones inside the hopper, which helps keep the heat at a more even temperature. The grill is stainless steel versus cast iron, making it durable, less prone to chipping and warping, and thus potentially longer lasting as well.
The shelves are fully adjustable so you can make them double deep for four racks of ribs or single depth to keep strips of bacon, hot dogs, baked potatoes, or corn on the cob warming at the back of the top shelf while cooking dozens of burgers on the double-sized surface on the bottom rack.
The front of the unit adds useful details, like a screen with graphing and a full GUI versus just numbers. This shows the temperature for each probe individually. Speaking of which, there’s space to hold four probes and the smoker comes with two to get you started.
Other great additions include a flip-up tray at the front, which is handy when you’re trying to lift out two or three racks of ribs or slide a homemade pizza off a peel. Flip it up when you need it or flip it down when the side shelf will do and you want to get closer to the grill. Speaking of which, the paper towel rack under the side shelf is such a small but appreciated feature.
One issue we had with the older model was a spotty Wi-Fi connection. The app would constantly lose connection with the smoker, which defeated the purpose of having one in the first place. With this model, however, the Wi-Fi antenna is on the outside of the chassis versus the inside, which affords a better signal. It’s a small design change that makes a big difference, showing better attention to the tech aspect of this smoker.
What don’t I like about this smoker? The previous-gen model we have has a switch for the hopper and ash area, and you can open the lid to instantly stop the fan. This one doesn’t have a similar switch for the lid. If you open the lid while a cook is on, the fan will still spin and blow, which makes it tougher to keep things at the same temperature.
The other strange design choice is that while there’s a drawer on the side for holding outdoor utensils, it’s only accessible if you remove the entire drawer and place the tray on top of the side shelf. It would have been easier to use if it was on rails to slide in and out. The paper towel roll holder on the side, however, is, as noted, more useful than you might realize.
Cooking With the Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT
What better way to test a grill and smoker than to put it through its paces with a glorious selection of meats? For the May 24 long weekend, we grabbed a brisket, racks of ribs, chicken breasts, and thick cut bacon for a feast. (Side dishes were made in the kitchen). Admittedly, my partner is the outdoor cook of the family, but he relayed his thoughts to help me with this review.
In terms of the way the unit operates, heats up, and cooks, it works similarly to the previous-gen model we have been using. Everything cooked beautifully in a reasonable amount of time with the perfect level of smokiness. Thick cut bacon slices, which we used for homemade potato salad, mac and cheese, and leftovers, were to die for. The ribs, however, were the star of the show. They were fall off the bone and flavourful after about five hours of slow cooking.
The first brisket we made was slightly dry but a second time around, it was perfection.
We topped off a filling meal one afternoon with S’mores for dessert, and I tried making these on the smoker, too. While I left them in a bit too long (partly because I was rushing to take this photo!), this grill is a nice alternative if you don’t have a firepit: you might have to play with timing and temperature, though, to get it melted and browned just right
The following weekend, we wanted to test the smoker’s handling of ultra-high heat, so what better way to do that than with homemade pizzas? Cranking the temperature to 700°F, we made six mini pizzas, which could have easily all fit on the grill at once if we had more pizza peels to remove them quickly. Masterbuilt offers a dedicated pizza oven attachment for this smoker, which would be worth investing in for those who plan to make homemade pies often.
Each pizza took about 7-8 minutes to cook, affording a lovely crispy texture and beautiful bubbles with charred bits on the ends of the crusts – just the way it should be. It was almost like we were right back in Italy…almost.
With a few other meals that included sausages and hot dogs, burgers, and smoked bacon, we went through about four large bags of charcoal (including a brisket that cooked for 11 hours). All in all, this model uses about the same amount of charcoal as the previous model. But you need to refill the hopper less frequently since it’s larger and thus holds more.
The app is a lovely touch that makes it easy to keep an eye on temperatures and timing, and even see a comprehensive graph for low and slow cooked items; and get a notification when it’s ready for the next stage.
Should You Buy the Masterbuilt Gravity XT?
The Masterbuilt Gravity XT might be more than you need, but isn’t that the name of the game when it comes to a smoker? Having extra space when you don’t need it is worth having so much space when an unexpected gathering pops up. This smoker can hold a ton of food, enough for a massive event. If you entertain often, you’ll absolutely make use of it. If you don’t, this smoker might be the perfect excuse to start! And a reason to call the neighbours over to show them your shiny new toy and watch them salivate over it.
Even for small family meals, this smoker is perfect for cooking everything you’d need, like a brisket, bacon to go with a side dish, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and more. You might not always use the massive cooking surface, but you’ll appreciate having it.
With that said, the Masterbuilt Gravity XT doesn’t come cheap. But if you’re serious about smoking and experimenting, you’ll get your money’s worth and then some. The improvements compared to the model we already own from a design and functionality perspective are night and day. Those features alone make this model worth the upgrade.
It’s also worth considering that since this smoker also works as a charcoal grill, it can effectively replace your barbecue, too. You’ll have to keep an ample supply of charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal on hand, but it’s no different than having to constantly refill propane tanks (unless you have a gas barbecue).
When it comes to an easy to use, effortless smoker with a tech twist thanks to the app and digital controls, the Masterbuilt Gravity XT takes the cake, or rather the brisket. Fire it up, call your neighbours, and puff your chest with pride as you’ll become the envy of the block.
Find the Masterbuilt Gravity XT for about $2,000 in Canada.
