Chicken Wings with Lexington Red Sauce
January 11, 2024
Carne Asada Tacos
March 10, 2024
The New Masterbuilt AutoIgnite 545 Review
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive a Masterbuilt 545 Autoignite to review. I have seen a lot of interest in the new model and was excited to see how it lived up to the hype. The AutoIgnite was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions on the cooker are my own. To prepare for this review, I cooked on the AutoIgnite 545 about a dozen times and cooked a variety of foods including steaks, wings, ribs and burgers.
I have been a fan of the Masterbuilt Gravity fed systems since they released in 2020. The Masterbuilt Gravity Fed 1050 is my favorite smoker (I currently own three of them) since pretty much the first time I used it. When firing up the smoker for the first time, I had that same feeling you get when listening to a new album from your favorite band. I was so afraid that it would let me down. As it turns out, this is not something I needed to be worried about.
The AutoIgnite is fundamentally similar to the Gravity Fed Series of smokers, but pivots mostly in its intended use. While the Gravity Fed Series is primarily a smoker with searing capabilities, the AutoIgnite 545 is a grill, with the capacity to smoke.
What stood out to me the most though is that Masterbuilt has obviously focused highly on listening to its users, when designing the AutoIgnite 545. The Gravity fed series has some limitations (They have fixed many of these issues in later releases) but these are all solved with the AutoIgnite 545. Gone are the hopper and lid switches and the AutoIgnite 545 features a double manifold which greatly reduces flareups from grease and dripping food.
Specs
To start off with, lets run through some of the specs:
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- Retail Price: $499.99
- Warranty: 12 months
- Cooking space: 545 Sq inches
- Fuel Capacity: up to 5lbs of Lump Charcoal or 7lbs of Briquettes. Wood can be added to the hopper for smoke
- Height: 43.8 inches
- Width: 46.5 inches
- Depth: 24 inches
- Weight: 89 lbs in box
- Temp Range: 250F-650F in 5 degree increments
- Made in: China
- Includes: The cooker includes an internal ambient probe and space for up to 4 internal food probes. One is included with the AutoIgnite 545.
Key Features
Double Manifold
One of the biggest issues people have when using the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed series smokers is flare ups, which are primarily caused by the central manifold.
The smokers are designed with the cooking grate directly above the manifold where all of the heat is directed. When grease, sugar and fat drip directly onto this manifold, it doesn’t take long for flare ups to occur and as anyone who has been less than diligent in cleaning their smoker can tell you-flare ups at best can give food a funny taste. At worst it can ruin it.
Masterbuilt certainly listened to this feedback for the AutoIgnite 545 and created a double manifold system. To combat flare ups, the fluted manifold sits atop the standard one. This means that grease or fat never directly touches the very hot, lower manifold and means less problems for you.
Cook Time
Masterbuilt states that the AutoIgnite 545 will maintain cooking temperature for up to 8 hours of use with a full hopper. On all of my cooks I used Jealous Devils Lump charcoal or Jealous Devils briquettes. I use this charcoal because it runs hot, is good quality and burns steadily. I find it the most reliable fuel for testing.
When smoking on the lowest temperature settings, I averaged about 7-8 hours depending on how well it was packed and the conditions of the day (Temperature, wind, etc). I agree that their claims of up to 8 hours is accurate. Under good conditions with great charcoal, this is definitely doable. One cook went for almost 8.5 hours at 250F.
At higher cooking temperatures this is obviously reduced. When running at 650F, the Autoignite 545 ran through the fuel in less than two hours. (There was still burning charcoal and significant heat, but it was no longer able to maintain 650F).
Temperature Management
The AutoIgnite 545, features a digital panel and fan to maintain consistent temperatures. Temps can be set as low as 250F and as high as 650F, with 5 degree increments. This is controlled on the cooker itself using the digital control panel, or manageable through the Masterbuilt app using Wi-Fi.
During all of my tests, I found that the AutoIgnite 545 maintained its set temperature well. The digital Panel would show small peaks or valleys above and below the set temperature by 2-3F maximum, before being quickly corrected. This is pretty standard across all digital thermometer systems I have used including Pellet Smokers and the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed 1050.
After opening the lid, the temperature inside the cooker would dip pretty significantly, but would be back to the set temperature within 3-4 minutes. Again, I would consider this fairly comparable to other cookers that use this kind of temperature control.
I would rate the control panel and the temperature management system up there with all others that I have used and certainly very good for the price point of the cooker.
Auto Ignite
The AutoIgnite 545 comes equipped with the Auto Ignition feature which is it's namesake.
To utilize this, simply open the fuel slide on the right of the cooker, add your Masterbuilt Firestarter and press the Auto Ignite button. The cooker then ignites the fire starter, and you are on your way.
For me this is a semi handy feature. It is definitely cool the way it works, and I didn’t have any issues getting it to ignite.
Right now, I’m not yet convinced it is a particularly impressive feature when compared to everything else that the cooker brings to the table. The same thing could be achieved by just igniting the fire starter yourself.
If the Auto Ignite feature was someday able to jump start the charcoal without the need for the Firestarter, I would without a doubt give it all the thumbs up it deserves. For right now though, for me, the jury is still out on if this feature holds enough of a candle against the other impressive features of the cooker.
I guess it saves on matches?
Extras:
The AutoIgnite 545 includes a foldaway warming rack. It's a simple design but is actually impressively sturdy when extended to its full width.
Using it as a warming rack when searing makes sense. For me, I think it’s value really comes when smoking on the AutoIgnite. The warming rack allows you to create more distance between the food and the fuel, so you can get a more consistent smoke without overcooking.
The AutoIgnite 545 also includes a removable, QuickSear Hopper, cast iron griddle plate which sits atop the mini hopper. It functions like the lid on the hopper and is made of thick, sturdy cast iron. It is designed to be used as a cooking surface, but I prefer placing a cast iron skillet on the hopper myself-It’s just easier for clean up-but if you don’t have one or don’t want to, there is nothing holding you back from cooking directly on it.
How It Works
Similar to the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed series, the AutoIgnite 545 works by filling an internal mini hopper with fuel, adding a Masterbuilt fire starter into the ignition chamber and pressing the Auto Ignite button. From there the cooker ignites the fire starter and an internal fan adds fuel to the fire, until it has hit your desired cooking temperature. It takes about 20 minutes to reach temperature once ignited.
This temperature is selected either on the digital panel, or by using the Masterbuilt App. As the fuel burns, the AutoIgnite 545 automatically adds more oxygen as needed, or holds off on adding oxygen when temperature is hit. By doing this, it maintains a consistent temperature as long as there is fuel to burn.
Adding new fuel is simple. Simply open the cooker, flip open the mini hopper lid (Which also doubles as a searing surface) and add the additional fuel. Close the mini hopper and the cooker will continue to manage the internal temperature.
If you have ever used a pellet smoker, the concept is more or less the same. Gravity pushes the fuel towards a constant burning fire and the fan helps to keep that fire burning at your desired temperature.
The heat from the hopper is pushed through the internal manifold which runs the center of the cooker and pushes the heat up to the food on the grill grate above it.
Unlike a traditional charcoal or gas grill, the flame doesn’t physically touch the food above it. Unless you are running ultra hot, the flames are more or less held inside the manifold and just the heat is connecting with your food.
Unlike the Gravity Fed Series, the AutoIgnite 545 has a small hopper, which means that it also functions like a propane or gas grill. The AutoIgnite feature means you don’t need to physically ignite the fire starter yourself (Although you do still need a Firestarter) and then you essentially set and forget your cooking temperature. It is the convenience of a gas grill or pellet grill-but using charcoal, which gives so much more and better flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I fired up the AutoIgnite 545 for the first time, filled with trepidation-but it was 100% unnescasary.
The AutoIgnite 545 has all of the best qualities of the Gravity Fed series, but with none of the same limitations.
For the price point, I think this is a great grill/smoker and is perfect for someone who wants to do some smoking, but primarily is grilling and searing.
It is sturdy, simple to use and cooks food with that fantastic flavor that only comes from using charcoal.
If you are on the fence about picking one of these up, get off the fence right now and go and pick one up for yourself. you will be hard pressed to find something comparable at this price point.
