While there are many ways to cook food, using a grill is by far one of the best methods to cook delicious and juicy meals, even more so if you’re cooking for friends and family. There’s just something about the combination of cooking food in a hot grill while cracking open some cold ones in good company, and that never never gets old. One major benefit of cooking food in a grill instead of cooking it in a stovetop or an oven is that your food will cook relatively quicker. Furthermore, cooking with a grill will also make most foods crispy on the outside while keeping them moist inside, all while also adding a rich, smoky flavor to your meal. That goes especially for charcoal grills, which can smoke food significantly better than gas grills or electric grills due to their source of fuel being charcoal. For a top-of-the-line and hassle-free grilling experience, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 is an outstanding choice to go with.
The Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 is a portable digital charcoal grill and smoker which comes equipped with all-terrain wheels, heavy-duty cast iron cooking grates which have a large 545 sq.in. (3,516 cm²) cooking area, an internal charcoal MiniHopper which holds 5 lbs. of lump charcoal or 7 lbs. of briquettes allowing for up to 8 hours of use, and a DigitalFan which precisely maintains grilling or smoking temperatures from 250°F to 650°F (121°C to 343°C). It also integrates a digital control panel from which you can easily set desired cooking temperatures for grilling or smoking, a QuickStart Automatic Ignition button for quickly lighting its fire starter, while also featuring compatibility with up to 4 meat probes, coming with 1 probe already included. It also boasts both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to control its operation from anywhere via the Masterbuilt App, through which you can set and monitor its cooking temperature, view session graphing, check the temperature of any meat probes connected to it, and also have access to delicious recipes. The grill also comes with some handy accessories including a removable QuickSear hopper cast iron griddle plate for searing or sautéing your favorite foods, a FoldAway warming rack to keep food warm while cooking, 2 side shelves with utility hooks (1 folding shelf), a slide-out grease tray and a removable ash pan for easy cleanup, plus an enclosed bottom cabinet for storage.
With this portable digital charcoal grill and smoker, you can grill outdoors with ease just with the push of a button and prepare delicious meals and barbecues with a distinct smoky flavor anywhere, whether you’re out in your backyard, while camping, by the lakeside,or even at the beach.
For a full run-down of everything this digital charcoal grill and smoker has to offer you, check out below our full review of the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the grill’s size, this charcoal grill and smoker has a relatively small footprint, measuring exactly 46.5 inches long by 24 inches wide by 43.8 inches tall (118 x 61 x 111 cm), so you can be assured it won’t take up much space when setting it up.
On top of its sleek form factor, this grill is also designed with portability in mind, as the grill comes equipped with a set of rugged all-terrain wheels which provide incredible stability while transporting as well as and setting it up on any type of terrain.
The Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 also sports a rustic and really cool-looking outdoors-inspired design, for which its body comes in a neat Black metallic color with Light Grey accents for its lid’s handle, the outer edges of its side shelves, and the handle for its storage cabinet.
Moreover, this portable charcoal grill and smoker also packs an ultra-sturdy construction, as its entire cart frame is built of heavy-duty powder-coated carbon steel, so you can rest assured that it is built to last.
Moving on to the grill’s different components. For its cooking area, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 comes equipped with a set of heavy-duty cast iron cooking grates which have a large 545 sq.in. (3,516 cm²) cooking area, providing you with more than enough space to cook up a large amount of food for a big group of people.
While its cooking grates are the ideal cooking surface for achieving distinctive sear marks on foods such as meat, fish, and vegetables, know that the grill also comes equipped with a removable QuickSear hopper cast iron griddle plate that you can use for searing or sautéing your favorite foods.
In addition, this charcoal grill and smoker also comes with a FoldAway warming rack that sits directly above its cast iron cooking grates, which you can use to keep food warm while you’re cooking the rest of a meal.
Furthermore, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 also comes equipped with two (x2) side shelves (for which its right shelf is foldable) which provide you with extra space where you can easily prepare your food like cutting meat or fish, chopping up veggies, mixing sauces and glazes, or even holding your drink while you focus on cooking. Both of its side shelves are also equipped with 3 built-in utility hooks each where you can hang your cooking utensils and keep them easily accessible.
What’s more is that this grill also comes equipped with a slide-out grease tray integrated at the bottom of its cooking chamber that safely collects excess grease while you’re cooking.
Not only that, but it also integrates a removable ash pan that allows for an easy cleanup of its charcoal hopper.
Best of all, the grill also comes equipped with an enclosed bottom cabinet which provides you with a large storage space for storing the grill’s many accessories, as well as your bags of lumps of charcoal or briquettes, and any other cooking accessories that you enjoy prepping food with.
When it comes to its cooking method, know that this digital charcoal grill and smoker utilizes a high-end DigitalFan which makes it capable of precisely maintaining either grilling or smoking temperatures within a range of 250°F to 650°F (121°C to 343°C).
As for its fuel source, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 integrates an internal charcoal MiniHopper (installed directly at the right-side of its cooking grates) which can hold up to 5 lbs. of lump charcoal, or alternatively, up to 7 lbs. of briquettes (depending on your preferred choice of charcoal bits), either allowing for up to 8 hours of use, whether that’s for grilling or smoking food.
INTERFACE / CONTROL PANEL
For controlling its operation, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 integrates a digital control panel that’s built into its left side shelf which features a very user-friendly interface.
Starting at the left-side of its control panel, we have a set of button controls, consisting of its dedicated Power On/Off button, a Set Temperature button (for setting the cooking temperature for grilling or smoking), a Countdown Timer button (for configuring specific cooking times), a Set Meat Probe Temperatures button (for quickly reading the temperature detected by each of its meat probe slots — if having a meat probe connected to them), and a Bluetooth / Wi-Fi pairing button.
Integrated at the very center of its control panel, there’s an LED screen that displays either its set cooking temperature, the remaining time from its Countdown Timer Mode (if set), or the tracked temperature of any of its meat probe slots.
Finally, integrated at the right side of its LED screen, there’s also a control knob for accurately adjusting your target cooking temperature or the time for its Countdown Timer Mode.
Further to the right, the grill also integrates a set of four (x4) meat probe jacks to which you can connect up to 4 meat probes (comes with 1 probe already included), followed by a QuickStart Automatic Ignition button that’s used for quickly lighting its fire starter.
CONNECTIVITY
For establishing a wireless connection with its mobile App, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 boasts both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The Masterbuilt App
As an alternative to controlling the grill’s several functionalities via its built-in digital control panel, users can install the Masterbuilt App on their smartphone (available to download for free for both iOS and Android devices), which will allow you to control its operation from anywhere.
Via the Masterbuilt App, users can set and monitor the grill’s cooking temperature, view session graphing, check the temperature of any meat probes connected to its meat probe slots, and have access to delicious recipes which they can easily prepare by following the detailed cooking steps that are provided.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 makes for an awesome charcoal grill for cooking food outdoors. It’s incredibly durable, offers you tons of space to cook food, lots of versatility for prepping and cooking meals in many different ways, and even gives you the convenience of controlling it remotely via its App.
If you’re interested in purchasing it, know that each unit is currently priced at $499.99, and each purchase also comes accompanied by a 1-Year Warranty. You can order it online, either directly from Masterbuilt’s official shopping page, or alternatively, from selected US retailers such as Lowe’s.
