Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker review

I’ve spent years smoking meats on wood-fired smokers. When I get the itch to smoke a large beef brisket, I know I’m in for a full day of tending to a fire and hanging around the back yard to make sure the meat’s temperature stays within an ideal range. The Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Smoker and Grill takes away a lot of that babysitting and guesswork.

It’s a true set-it-and-forget-it option that’s ideal for those home chefs who are new to smoking meats, or for those who just want to throw their meats on the grill and walk away. With the concordant app, you can monitor everything from the comfort of your living room.

I enjoyed using the AutoIgnite 545 for exactly this reason. Once it’s up and smoking, it’s easy to get tasty food with little effort. But I do wish the minimum temperature could be set lower for a true low-and-slow smoking experience.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Price and availability

The Masterbuilt AutoIgnite 545 costs $500 and is available for purchase now. You can purchase the grill directly through the Masterbuilt website to take advantage of financing through Affirm, as well as free shipping.

The AutoIgnite 545 is also available for purchase at other retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Amazon, and more.

Masterbuilt offers a 1-year warranty with the purchase of the AutoIgnite 545.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Design

The AutoIgnite 545 is built around 545 square inches of cooking space. Inside the main chamber, you’ll find cast iron grates and a steel second level warming shelf. The steel shelf also folds out to add even more cooking space.

On the bottom right side of the main body, you’ll find a hatch door into which you’ll feed your starter material. Masterbuilt sells starters that work perfectly with the unit. Just place it in the starter holder, push the starter holder into the hatch, and the starter will light automatically.

The hopper in which you’ll feed charcoal and/or wood sits on the right side of the main body. Masterbuilt says the 7-pound-capacity hopper holds enough fuel for up to 8 hours of smoking. It features a cast iron lid that you can also use to sear meats.

The bottom of the hopper has an opening that connects to a fan, which feeds smoke into a distribution chamber at the bottom of the grill body. The chamber then allows smoke to drift upward, thereby smoking the food placed within. The fan can adjust the grilling temperature from 250 degrees Fahrenheit up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit.

The fan controls the temperature automatically. Once you set your desired temperature, the fan will increase speed to raise the heat, and slow down to lower heat.

There are two platforms on either side of the grill body, which gives you space for cutting boards, prep, or whatever else you want to have at hand. There are hooks on either side where you can hang your cooking implements, too. The right side platform folds down for easier storage.

On the left side platform, you’ll find the control panel. This is where you’ll turn the grill on, initiate the starting process, and set your temperature. It’s also where you’ll plug in your meat probes for real-time monitoring of meat internal temperatures. Downloading the app opens up even more control opportunities.

The cooking chamber is held up by a steel body. Two stationary legs complement two legs suspended by wheels so you can move the grill around the yard easily. A door beneath the cooking chamber reveals a storage compartment, which offers ample space for cooking accessories or fuel.

Finally, there’s a removable ash pan, and a removable grease tray. This makes it much easier to clean the unit after each use.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Smoking performance

It took me about an hour and a half to unbox and build the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite 545. During the assembly process, I found that some of the materials are quite thin and bend easily, so be sure to support all the parts before they are tightened down with bolts. Also, be sure to to a pre-burn session by lighting the grill and letting it run at medium heat. This will burn off any chemicals, or paint chips that might come loose when you’re tightening the bolts during assembly.

Once built, the unit feels sturdy and it’s easy to move around using the wheeled legs. The prep platforms on either side are big enough for cutting boards, though if you’re prepping a lot of food, it’s possible you’ll run out of space pretty quickly. The right side platform folds down for storage. In the extended position, I found that the platform did not sit quite level; the outer edge pointed upward just a bit. It didn’t turn out to be much of a problem, but it was visually a bit annoying.

Masterbuilt did not include its Masterbuilt starters with my test sample. So I ended up using a concoction of my own, which was basically balled-up newspaper and twine. Consequently, it took me a long time to get the charcoal started properly. Your best bet is to use Masterbuilt’s starters, or something similarly dense that will burn long enough to get the charcoal burning. Otherwise, be sure to put some dry wood at the bottom of the hopper to help the fire get started more quickly.

Once I got the unit started, I let it warm up to 250 degrees. It did not take more than ten minutes once the charcoal really got going. But since I intended to smoke some meats, I wanted to set the temperature level around 160 degrees. That’s not really possible with the AutoIgnite 545; 250 degrees is the minimum temperature you can set, both on the unit itself and through the app. That means your meats will cook faster, and you’ll need to adjust your habits if you’re coming from a manual smoker.

For my first smoking experience with the AutoIgnite 545, I prepped a 5-pound beef brisket, and a 3-pound elk backstrap. With both of those on the grilling surface, there was very little room for anything else on the cast iron grates. I could have gotten more meats or vegetables on the warming rack, though, so there really does seem to be plenty of space as long as you’re not putting the entire farm on the grill at one time.

Usually, a 5-pound brisket takes about eight hours to smoke at around 160-185 degrees, the way I usually smoke. On the AutoIgnite 545, my 5-pound beef brisket was done after about five hours, and the corners of it had overcooked slightly. If you’re used to smoking at lower temperatures, you’ll need to be hyper-aware of the adjusted smoking times.

Conveniently, Masterbuilt includes a thermometer probe that plugs into the control panel. Just put the probe end into the meat you’re cooking and get a constant readout on the app. That helps ensure you won’t overcook your meat.

But for my first session, I could not get the probe to work. I plugged it in and got an error on the app. I tried everything I could think of to reset it, but the error persisted. It worked fine the second time I used the grill, however.

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I was pleased with the smoking capabilities of the AutoIgnite 545 overall. While Masterbuilt says the hopper will hold up to 8 hours worth of fuel, I found myself refilling the hopper every two hours or so. That was fine, because then I could tailor my mixture of wood and charcoal anyway.

One nitpick: In order to feed the hopper, you need to open the grill. That lets out all of the heat from the main chamber. It’s not a huge deal, but if you want the most consistent temperature possible for your smoked foods, you’ll have to make a concession here.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Grilling performance

The first time I used the 545 for grilling, it was easy to get the grill up to 650 degrees and it took about fifteen or twenty minutes. I grilled some foods at that temperature, but it didn’t seem as hot as 650 degrees on my propane grill. It took a bit longer to cook my food than it normally would, and getting a good char took some effort. But it got the job done and I had myself a decent meal.

The second time, I went to Home Depot to buy some Masterbuilt starters. Yet I had a much more difficult time getting the grill started and eventually I abandoned the AutoIgnite feature altogether in favor of simply building a fire in the firebox myself. That was very disappointing, and according to customer reviews, it’s a fairly common issue.

Once I finally got it up to 650 degrees (which, again, took about ten minutes), I cooked a cut of tri-tip. Since the fire is offset, and the meat isn’t cooking over an actual flame, this feels less like grilling and more like baking. But I still got some decent char on the meat, and the meat thermometer worked perfectly this time so I knew exactly when to take the tri-tip off the grill.

Ultimately, the Masterbuilt 545 impressed me with its ability to cook as a grill, even though the flame isn’t directly beneath the food. You still get a smoky flavor thanks to the fuel hopper, and you can reach high temperatures to cook beef. The sear suffers a bit, but not so much that I’d be discouraged from using this as a dedicated grill.

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It does take a bit of dedication to really get the fire going, though, especially if the AutoIgnite feature isn’t working properly. So for quick dinners, this might not be ideal. But if you’ve got some time to get the fire going and want to cook a nice cut of meat properly, the 545 does a nice job.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: App

Having spent much of my smoking experience with a manual smoker, I really enjoyed having an app to control and monitor the grill’s temperature remotely. I didn’t have to hang around the back yard babysitting a fire, which was excellent.

The app worked well for me. It gives you relevant information only — grill temperature, meat temperature via the meat thermometer probe, and temperature over time. I got it connected to my WiFi quickly and easily, and had no connectivity problems throughout the smoking session.

Some user reviews do note that the app has connectivity issues. But again, I did not experience this.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Accessories

My test unit came with a Masterbuilt Gravity Series and AutoIgnite Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker Grill Cover ($69.99), as well as a two-pack of Masterbuilt Lump Charcoal ($44.99). This bundle was supposed to include fire starters, but I did not find those anywhere in the box.

Other compatible accessories include a Masterbuilt Pizza Oven ($179.99), a Gravity Series 800 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker Griddle ($69.99), a rotisserie kit ($99.99), and of course, Masterbuilt Fire Starters ($12.99).

How does the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 compare?

There are a lot of grills and smokers in this price range. The Weber 18-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker is a charcoal-fired smoker that costs $419. Unlike the Masterbuilt, however, it’s not nearly as convenient for regular grilling at higher temperatures. Also, its bullet shape means the heat source sits right below your food.

Char-Griller’s AKORN Kamado Charcoal Grill and Smoker is less expensive than the AutoIgnite 545 at $329. But like the Weber, the heat source sits right below your food. There are also no WiFi-enabled controls, so you’ll need to monitor your heat more closely.

There are a slew of dedicated smokers, too, but few that can truly smoke at low temps and cook at high temps. In that sense, Masterbuilt’s lineup of grill/smokers is unique. Many pellet-style grills advertise the ability to sear at higher temperatures, but they often fail at this. They’re made to really shine at lower temperatures.

Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 review: Verdict

For pure convenience, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker really shines. It’s easy to set the temperature and forget it, and monitor your food from the comfort of your living room.

It does fail to deliver on some of its promises, though. The AutoIgnite process is great when it works, but it’s a pain when it doesn’t. And while you can fill up the hopper to the brim, it probably won’t get you the advertised 8 hours of fuel.

My biggest nitpick is the high minimum smoking temperature. I wish I could smoke at 160-185 degrees instead of the 250-degree minimum.

But if you’re new to smoking meats and want something that can also function as a grill for backyard burgers, the AutoIgnite 545 performs quite well. It’s built well enough to withstand many years of regular use and it pumps out some tasty smoked foods. It’s great for those looking for a low-effort smoker option that can occasionally serve up tasty bbq standards at higher temperatures.