Memphis Elite Pellet Grill Review And Rating – Memphis Grills Elite Wood Fire Pellet Smoker

Turning an outdoor grill into a quality convection oven that can match or beat the one you have in your kitchen is no easy task—not usually, at least.  With Memphis pellet grills, however, the Intelligent Temperature Controller that automatically feeds wood pellets to the fire pot gives you more control than other smokers and performs just as well if not better than most kitchen ovens.

Make no mistake that the Memphis Elite isn’t cheap.  However, you have to realize that you’re getting more than just a grill.  The many different ways you can cook on the Elite makes it versatile beyond belief.   Not only is it a smoker, but it can also grill, braise, bake, roast and even allows you to BBQ directly over an open flame for that seared, char-crusted grilled goodness.

It also comes standard with a variety of must-have features that other grills don’t.  You’re getting what you pay for and then some, which means that the grill pays for itself sooner rather than later.

Product Quick Facts

Product Name: Memphis Grills Elite Wood Fire Pellet Smoker

Made By: Memphis Grills

Top 3 Features:

• Intelligent Temperature Control controllable via Wi-Fi
• Dual convection fan
• Dual hopper with a 24-pound capacity

Benefits of the Memphis Elite Pellet Grill

If you can get over the sticker shock there are a lot of benefits to be had with this grill.  Memphis wood pellet grills are on the higher end of the spectrum with respect to cost, but there’s a reason for that.  The price tag seems exorbitant until you consider the many useful features you get and the longevity of the grill.

Benefits like…

Memphis Grills Provides A Quality Build

The Memphis Grills brand takes pride in the fact that their pellet smoker is made entirely in the USA, and it’s honestly likely that its origins have something to do with how cutting edge it is.  Other countries enjoy outdoor cooking—see Australia, for example, and you’ll find awesome BBQ enthusiasts all over the globe—but nobody gets down on the grill like folks from the United States.  We don’t play.  It’s as if the Memphis Elite Pellet Grill is specifically designed to fulfill every desire and solve every problem every grill master has ever had.

No More Hovering Over The Grill (Unless You Want To)

To give you further range of movement, the grill comes with a Wi-Fi controller fully integrated and ready to go.  Use it with the Memphis Mobile app, which is not only available for both iOS and Android devices, but which is also free.  It gives you free reign to roam around the house or lawn while the ribs smoke away.  You can still keep an eye on the temperature, plus you have the option to receive email or text alerts, so you’ll know the food’s done even if you popped down to the corner market to grab a cold one or two.

Memphis Grills Offer Superior Temperature Control

In fact, this beast is all about temperature control, which is impressive for something so powerful.  A variety of features ensure that you never under- or overcook your food.  It’s practically a smart grill, with its temperature sensing auger pellet feeder, because it will even slow down the feed to simply keep the food warm when its reached its desired temperature.

The Memphis Elite Has The Size To Host The Yearly Block Party And More

The size of the cooking surface is impressive. You can easily grill an entire meal without running out of space, from protein to vegetables and starches.  The massive 844 square inch cooking area ensures that everything has room to breathe.  All told, you can have 23 burgers going at once—probably three times as many hot dogs.

Using the Memphis Wood Pellet Grill

In spite of what a powerful behemoth it is, the Elite is one of the easiest to use of all the Memphis pellet smokers.  The pellets are the only fuel you need.  The grill has two hoppers, each one capable of holding 12 pounds.  Fill them using the wood chips of your choice—you can even mix and match flavors—and, using the clear and concise control pad, set the temperature you desire. The Memphis Elite has a temperature range of 180 degrees to 700 degrees Fahrenheit and can be set in 5-degree increments.

The design of the grill allows the pellets to be fed straight into the burn pot, where ignition happens automatically.  Each hopper has its own auger, which is also automatic.  As a result, the pellets feed into the firebox as needed to maintain your temperature.  While all of this is going on, the dual fan convection system stokes the fire, thereby creating a convection oven.

Memphis Pellet Grill Description and Key Features

A full list of the Elite’s features is impossible. I’d write for pages, and we’d be here for days.  The Memphis Elite Pellet Grill just has so many positive things going for it.  Even the highlights seem too good to be true, but they’re the real deal.  This is why it’s not worth it to waste energy on sticker shock.

Here is a description of the Memphis Grills most useful features.

The Build

Let me start out by saying that it’s obvious this grill was made with pride.  Made from 304-stainless steel construction inside-and-out, this pellet grill is extremely well built and designed.  The seals and finish on this grill are flawless.  It is built just like a high-end kitchen appliance.

The heavy-duty, dual walled cooking chamber does an excellent job of retaining heat and is barely affected by cold or windy weather conditions.  The lid is also dual-walled and provides a tightly sealed construction with its industrial grade oven gasket.  All of this ensures grill longevity and excellent cooking performance.

It is hard not to be impressed by even something as simple as the cooking grates.  Just the size of the rods used to make them is impressive.  The 6mm nickel-plated steel cooking grates are some of the thickest and heaviest I have ever seen.  They are built to last just like the rest of this grill and are excellent for transferring heat.

Even Heating

You can’t discount the Elite pellet grill’s convection system.  It basically eliminates the flare of hot spots, which is the number one cause of meats being unevenly cooked.  It distributes the heat in such a balanced fashion that you can put on three steaks at the same time and be assured that they’ll all come off with the same cook.  Barbecue enthusiasts who have trouble reaching medium rare can henceforth become grilling gurus who never miss.

Precise Temperature Control (The Controller)

So, you know you can control the temperature via the free app, right?  Wi-Fi temperature control is the wave of the future—there’s nothing more convenient.  However, the Elite doesn’t stop with that.  There’s an Intelligent Temperature Control unit (PID) mounted directly to the grill.  It’s the brains of the system and responsible for instructing the automatic augers to slow down or speed up on the pellet feed so that the temperature remains consistent.  This Memphis grill comes with dual automatic augers that self-feed the pellets into the firebox when needed for even more control.

In tests, heat fluctuation was within +-5°F of the set temperature even in cold and windy conditions.  This is better than most indoor ovens, which can actually fluctuation up to 25°F or more.

When used in conjunction with a probe to monitor thick cuts of meat, the results are practically can’t miss.  One food probe comes standard and integrates with the Intelligent Temperature Control on the grill.  The ITC can accommodate two additional probes, which can be purchased separately.

Dual Convection Fan

With not one but two convection fans stoking the fire with oxygen, heat is evenly distributed over the entire 844 square inches of main cooking area.  Your food will cook faster and all hot spots will be eliminated, making this one of the most even cooking grills on the planet.

The Best Temperature Range Of Any Pellet Grill

With a temperature range that can be set anywhere from 180 degrees up to blazing 700 degrees Fahrenheit, you can do it all.  From low and slow to hot and fast and everything in between, this grill has got you covered.  Many other pellet grills claim they can sear your meat, but in actuality, they just don’t get hot enough to really do so properly.  Only the Memphis Elite can reach temperatures up to 700 degrees to truly sear your food.

Genuine Wood Fire

With the ability to cook directly over the real wood fire, the Memphis Elite Pellet Grill will give you the rich, smoky flavor found in Roman wood-fired pizza ovens, as well as American, Argentinian, and Japanese steakhouses.  FYI, with your purchase, you receive a free bag of natural wood pellets. You also have the opportunity to experiment with different flavors and types of wood pellets.

The Perfect Sear

Sear steaks, roasts, or anything else with the Direct Flame Insert, which gets hot fast to create the perfect sizzle. You can leave the insert in the grill or remove it, depending on what you’re doing.  Better still, you can even remove it in the middle of a cook using the included Genie Multi-Tool.

24 lb Capacity Pellet Hopper

The Elite includes two 12 pound capacity hoppers able to hold up to 24 pounds of pellets at a time.  When completely filled, you’ll get 62 hours of nonstop cooking time.  That is crazy long.

Storage and Mobility

It’s easy to move the Elite from space to space with it’s four heavy duty locking casters.  The side shelves are not just for holding your plates full of food.  They also open up for additional storage for all your BBQ tools and accessories.

Who Is the Memphis Elite For?

Frequent grillers, BBQ enthusiasts, outdoor chefs, professionals, semi-professionals, enthusiastic amateurs—these are all cooks who will benefit from owning this grill.  If you spend more than a third of your summer cooking outside, you can justify the cost.  It’s also the ideal splurge when you’re designing a new outdoor kitchen area as the Elite also comes in a built in model.

Why You Should Think Twice

Because of the cost, the Memphis Elite is not for casual chefs or grillers. You don’t want to spend that much money on something you don’t use often.  Its size and price tag might end up intimidating you, as well.  Wait on it a while and upgrade at a later date.

Pros And Cons

Price and Warranties

In case it bears repeating, the Memphis pellet grill costs $4,999 from most retailers. You can sometimes find it on sale, and at that level, any savings are worthwhile.  Memphis Grills offers some fairly decent warranties, though, so at least you know that most of your investment is covered.  You get a 7-year limited warranty to cover defects with the workmanship or material. The electrical components have a 3-year replacement warranty. The limited warranty doesn’t cover the burn pot, the grill cover gaskets, or corrosive damages but this is pretty standard on most grills.

The Bottom Line

Aside from the price, the Memphis Elite Pellet Grill has no real negatives.  If you can justify the price, you can’t do any better.  There are a lot of good pellet grills on the market today, but the Memphis Elite is the most versatile and of the highest quality of any of them.  The temperature control is just incredible and it’s efficiency and quickness to get to a high heat are impressive.  This grill is a work of art and you won’t be disappointed.

If you would like to leave a comment or have a review of your own to share on the Memphis Elite Pellet Grill, please do so below.  We always welcome your input and I would love to hear about your experiences with it.

Cheers,

Patrick

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