How do you use a Masterbuilt 560 grill?
The Masterbuilt 560 grill has peaked a lot of curiosity from people who are looking for a digital charcoal grill and many of those people are asking the question “how do you use a Masterbuilt 560 grill”.
Being one of three choices in the Masterbuilt Gravity Series of grills, it packs a big punch with all that it offers and is easy to use.
Masterbuilt 560 digital charcoal grill is manufactured by the Masterbuilt company and has become one of the hottest selling outdoor cooking products on the market today.
This digital charcoal grill is not just a grill. It can also smoke, sear, bake, and roast food.
In addition to the Masterbuilt 560 grill, Masterbuilt is well known for its selection of electric and gas smokers, fryers, charcoal and gas grills, and related accessories.
According to Statista.com, the favorite months for people in the U.S. to fire up the grill and have a barbecue are May through April.
This explains why, as we enter the prime grilling season, we recently received several specific questions about the 560 digital charcoal grill.
While the primary question we will answer in this article is how do you use a Masterbuilt 560 grill. We also answer some other popular questions, as well as take a look at some of the general features and benefits of the 560 digital charcoal grill, and consider some alternative grill options.
How do you use a Masterbuilt 560 grill?
To break in a Masterbuilt 560 grill the right way, you always want to preseason it before cooking with it your very first time. This will help to burn off and get rid of any oils or chemicals that may still remain from when it was manufactured, and provide a seal that can help prevent or slow down the progression of rust.
You can begin this process by filling the charcoal hopper about one-quarter to one-half full of charcoal. Then follow the starting instructions for your grill.
Set the grill to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and let it remain there for 1 hour. Then crank it up for further burn-in at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes with the lid closed.
After that, you can use the shutdown instructions for your grill to turn it off and let it cool down.
Once it’s cool you can spray the inside of the grill with some cooking spray – you can use Pam spray or olive oil or wipe it down with some oil. Be sure to spray or wipe the grates, racks, and inside the lid and body of the grill.
You can add some wood chunks to the bottom firebox in the hopper to help season the grill then repeat this process at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 hours.
At this point, the grill is ready for its first cook!
How do you start a Masterbuilt 560 grill?
Start by plugging the Masterbuilt 560 grill into a power outlet and turning on the power button of the control panel.
Set the control panel to the desired grilling temperature, remove the two slides between the grill body and hopper, and hang them both on the side shelf of the grill.
Open the top hopper lid and make sure there is enough charcoal in the hopper and add more if needed.
Then open the lower hopper ash door and add a couple of fire starter sticks in a slot at the bottom of the hopper just above the firebox and just below the charcoal rack (you will see a little slot with a grate for sliding the fire starter sticks onto).
Light the starter sticks using a Bic grill lighter, torch lighter or blow torch and make sure the sticks are burning well (usually 1-2 minutes is sufficient).
Once they are burning and smoke is coming out the top of the hopper, it’s time to close both the lower hopper door and top hopper lid.
Then set the control panel to your desired cooking temperature and you should hear the fan kick on, causing the air to flow and the smoke to roll out of the grill.
How do you shut down a Masterbuilt 560 grill?
To shut the Masterbuilt 560 grill down and smother the fire in the hopper, hold down the power button on the control panel.
Take the two slides and place them back in the two slots between the grill body and the hopper. You will notice that one slide is larger than the other one. The larger slide goes in the top slot and the smaller slide goes in the bottom slot.
This will smother the fire and the grill will begin to cool down.
At this point, the cord connected to the control panel should be unplugged.
Features & Benefits: Masterbuilt 560 Grill
Heats up fast
This charcoal grill reaches 225 degrees Fahrenheit in just seven minutes and 700 degrees in thirteen minutes. It doesn’t take much time to get it started and you won’t have to wait too long before your food is ready.
Easy to use
The grill is very easy to operate. You can easily fill the GravityFed charcoal hopper with charcoal briquettes. Then, add a couple of fire starter sticks to the starting area found at the bottom of the charcoal hopper and light the grill. Instead of fire starter sticks, you can also light the grill using paper.
Once the fire has been lit for a couple of minutes, close the bottom and top hopper doors, set the precise temperature control, wait for it to reach the desired cooking temperature and you’re ready to start grilling.
Even a person with very little grilling experience will find that this grill is easy to use.
Digital control
You can control temperature and set the timer by using the digital control panel. The grill works with a Masterbuilt app that allows you to connect Wifi and Bluetooth through your mobile phone. There is also an option to set an alarm that notifies you once the desired cooking temperature is reached.
The grill also has a DigitalFan feature that helps to maintain consistent heat inside the cooking chamber and reduces the chances of burning food.
Easy to clean
The Masterbuilt grill and smoker are easy to clean. The warming racks and cooking grates can be cleaned off by brushing them with a grill brush. Any ash or charred food particles fall into the cleanout tray that can be easily pulled out from the back of the grill and emptied into the garbage.
The grease pan attached to the bottom of the grill collects the grease as food is grilled or smoked and can be removed for cleaning by sliding it out from the front of the grill.
Always make sure the unit has completely cooled down before you start the cleaning process.
To help prevent grease fires, it is important to occasionally clean the heat manifold and grill body by scraping off the build-up of particles and drippings with a plastic putty knife.
Built-in gauge
The grill has a built-in temperature gauge and meat probe thermometer. These features help make the monitoring process easier and promote consistent cooking results while reducing the likelihood of burning or overcooking food.
GravityFed hopper
The GravityFed charcoal hopper can hold 10 lbs of lump charcoal or 16 lbs of briquettes, which is enough charcoal to provide constant fuel for at least 12 hours of cooking whether you use it as a grill or a smoker.
It burns charcoal from the bottom of the hopper, allowing the charcoal to burn efficiently and providing the exact heat required for cooking.
For best results, be sure to use fresh charcoal in the charcoal hopper.
Capacity
The grill has two porcelain coated warmingsmoking racks. It also has 560 total square inch cooking space which makes it easy to cook multiple items at the same time. The grill has cast iron grates, which distribute the heat evenly and grill every piece of food similarly.
Should you buy the Masterbuilt Gravity 560?
This is a question that you will have to answer for yourself, but we believe there are plenty of reasons to consider this unit for your next grill purchase.
We believe the upside to owning the 560 digital charcoal grill far outweighs any downside you might experience.
To help bring clarity to your decision, we have pulled together a summary list to identify what we believe are the pros and cons of owning the Masterbuilt Gravity 560:
Pros:
● It heats up very quickly, saving you time. It takes just seven minutes to reach 225 degrees Fahrenheit and thirteen minutes to reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit.
● The grill is easy to operate, with a single touch control panel and a simple gauge and thermometer to measure temperature. You can even operate it with an app on your iPhone.
● It has reversible cast iron grates that are great for using at a lower heat to smoke and grill food or using at high heat to sear.
● There are multiple cooking options available with this unit – charcoal grilling, smoking, baking, roasting, and searing.
● It can hold enough charcoal for at least 12 straight hours of use.
● The proprietary GravityFed™ hopper of Masterbuilt will ensure that your fire receives a steady flow of fuel during the cooking process.
Cons:
● It is not as fuel-efficient as other pellet grills on the market.
● There is no griddle insert like with the Masterbuilt 800 grill.
● It does not have a folding stainless steel shelf or a place for cord storage like with the Masterbuilt 800 and Masterbuilt 1050 grills.
Last update on 2024-04-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Alternatives to the Masterbuilt 560 grill
Before we mention other brands, it is a good time to mention that the Masterbuilt manufacturing company has added other a couple of other digital charcoal grill options that should be considered as alternatives to the Masterbuilt 560 grill.
These two other digital charcoal grill considerations are the Masterbuilt 800 and Masterbuilt 1050. Both of these units require a little more of an investment than the Masterbuilt 560 and each one is unique in its own way.
When comparing the Masterbuilt 560 vs 800, the unique feature that makes the Masterbuilt 800 so popular with consumers is the griddle insert.
On the other hand, when making the Masterbuilt 560 vs 1050 comparison, the things that seem to bring more attractive to consumers is the additional capacity in grill area or space, the added convenience of the stainless steel shelf, and the power cord storage.
There really are no other digital charcoal grill options that are quite like the Masterbuilt. However, if you want to go outside the Masterbuilt family of digital charcoal grill products and you are willing to consider a pellet grill option, the following pellet grills are clear alternatives that are worth a look:
Camp Chef Pellet Grill
Many people seem to like the smoky, wood flavor that can be infused into their food by a pellet grill. The grill seems to be very easy to use and it has a dual digital temperature display to help read the internal temperature of both the grill and the food. The temperature settings range from 160 degrees Fahrenheit to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
It comes with an electronic auto-start ignition, a cooking space that is about the same size as the Masterbuilt 560, and an ash cleanout system. The best part of this grill is its pellet dispenser which is automatic in dispensing pellets as needed and shuts down the pellets based on usage.
Last update on 2024-04-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Z-Grills Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker
This pellet grill is very user-friendly. It comes with an automated pellet feeding system and a smart digital controller to maintain the grill temperature.
The temperature settings range from 180 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is referred to as an 8-in-1 grill and smoker that has a cooking area of 700 sq inches to help barbecue, roast, grill, braise, smoke, sear, char-grill, or bake your favorite foods.
Last update on 2024-04-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Traeger Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker
Like Masterbuilt, the Traeger name has developed a solid reputation that has been built on reliable products and customer support. The cooking space offered with this grill is 570 square inches, which is plenty of area for cooking.
It comes with a digital controller to maintain and monitor the grill temperature automatically, as well as, dual temperature probes to monitor meat temperature. The electronic pellet auger helps to distribute pellets into the fire for consistent heat.
The temperature settings for this grill and smoker range from 180 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Last update on 2024-04-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Conclusion
As one of the three grill choices in the Masterbuilt Gravity Series, the Masterbuilt 560 grill is easy to use, heats up fast, and comes with the newest technology to help maintain the temperatures that can yield perfect results.
It offers some of the benefits of a pellet grill while providing the flavor of charcoal.
When it comes to starting, using, shutting down, and cleaning this grill, we think you will find this unit among the easiest.
If you are in the market for a new charcoal smoker and grill, be sure to consider this as a finalist in your list of possible choices.
