Is the Memphis Grills Beale Street the Best High-End Pellet Grill?

Memphis Grills is well-known for producing high-quality wood pellet grills that are designed, engineered, and tested in the United States.

The Beale Street is their entry-level grill, meant to compete with luxury brands such as Yoder.

After spending the previous several months cooking on Beale Street, I can definitely tell that nothing about this grill is entry level.

Continue reading to find out what I thought of this grill and if it was worth the money.

Memphis Grills provided me with this grill for free in exchange for an honest assessment. My views and opinions are all my own.

Memphis Grills Beale Street review overview

Let’s start with the fundamentals. The Beale Street is a freestanding pellet grill that is 26 inches in length and is built of 430 stainless steel for excellent heat retention.

The cooking area is 558 square inches, but it can be increased to 817 square inches with an extra grate.

With many pellet grills, it seems that you must choose between the newest technology and a well-built grill.

I’m delighted to say that Beale Street accomplishes both.

You techies will like the WiFi clever temperature control, which allows you to regulate the temperature of your grill from your phone or tablet.

Specifications:

Many pellet grills struggle to properly sear. Memphis Grills circumvents this by providing an optional add-on Direct Flame Insert. This allows you to sear steaks or burgers over an open flame.

What I like:

• I have tested smoking. Switch it on. Set the desired temperature. Take a step back. Simple as that.Simplicity: This is the simplest grill to use.
• Construction Quality: Dual wall construction. 430 stainless steel throughout. Oh, the construction quality of this thing. It’s simply amazing. This grill will survive for many years while also looking beautiful.
• Thick Stainless Steel Grates: These thick stainless steel grates are fantastic. These are designed to last a long time. They provide a wonderful sear to meals and are simple to clean.
• smokers This is the most efficient one I’ve tried so far. This model’s PID controller excels when it comes to regulating the auger and fan systems to get the most out of each pellet.Burning Efficiency of Pellets: Others may think this is foolish or boring, but out of all the grills
• Memphis Grill App and WIFI connection: Talk about instant control. The Memphis Grills App allows you to manage almost every aspect of your barbecue.

What I don’t like:

• Price/size ratio The size is enough for most people and enables the grill to run properly, but for the price, you receive a smaller pellet barbecue. The 558 square inch grill area can be expanded to 817 square inches, but compare that to the Traeger Timberline, which has 1300 square inches of grill space.

Apart from that, I couldn’t think of anything I didn’t enjoy about this grill.

This grill is priced at the premium end of the market for a reason. It is very well-made, using higher-quality materials than other grills on the market.

It also has a plethora of strong and high-tech capabilities, such as high heat direct flame searing and adjust from your phone internet access.

Setup & core features

I’ll go into more detail about my experience with the Beale Street, from assembly to cooking on it, in the remainder of the review.

Ease of assembly

The grill came in a huge cardboard package that had been wrapped for days! That is, nevertheless, a good thing. The grill sections were properly shielded not just from outside threats, but also from one another.

There is a plenty of cardboard, foam wrap, and protective sheet.

With a few basic tools, assembly took 42 minutes.

This was me taking my time and moving at a slow pace. This grill was simple to put together, and the directions were simple to follow. I was only checking to make sure I hadn’t scratched anything.

The sheet metal corners are often rather sharp. As a result, I took my time and donned gloves just in case.

It’s also worth mentioning that after the cabinet is constructed, the upper firebox component of the grill will need two persons to sit on top of it.

Using the Beale Street

This grill is very simple to use. It’s the simplest pellet grill I’ve ever used.

You load the hopper, plug in the grill, turn it on, press the up or down arrow to the desired temperature, and walk away.

Thats it!

The grill begins its starting routine automatically and boosts the temperature to the setting.

And, like other pellet grills, it may be used to cook in almost any method you want: grill, smoke, bake, roast, etc.

Temperature accuracy of grill and probes:

The grill probe is situated in the center of the grill, towards the rear. This probe measures the grill temperature as shown on the display.

This probe, on the other hand, is calibrated to measure its position and then translate what the temperature of the grill would be at the center of the grill.

I measured the consistency by doing few tests at various temperature settings.

Temperature Consistency:

• Grill set to 180°F; actual temperature range: 183.9-215.7°F
• Grill set @ 350F: actual temp range: ~318.4-345F
• Grill set @ 550F: actual temp range: ~538-572F

While monitoring each set temperature, keep in mind that the temperature ranges given are merely the maximum and lowest temperatures.

The grill appears to have minor temperature changes from minute to minute.

Also, we’re dealing with a live fire, not a super-insulated, well regulated oven. Controlling live fire to this extent is astounding, particularly in an outside setting with an uncertain wind variable.

Pellet consumption and cleanout

The Beale Street is very efficient in terms of pellet use due to its superior construction and somewhat smaller size.

When it comes to managing the auger and fan systems to get the most out of each pellet, the PID controller truly shines.

• On lower temperatures (250 or less), about.3-.5 lb per hour. On higher temperatures, around 1-1.5 pounds per hour.
• On high, around 2-2.8 pounds per hour (direct flame frying).

This is advantageous since the hopper is tiny.

There is no particularly built rapid cleanout function on this grill for individuals who want to totally wipe out all of the pellets after each cook or transition from one pellet flavor to another.

However, it is still simple to achieve. Simply unscrew the two Phillips head screws that keep the pellet hopper guard in place. The hopper may then be emptied with your hands. This doesn’t take long since the hopper only contains 12 pounds of pellets.

VETERAN TIP: If you don’t load the hopper completely each time you cook, you won’t have many pellets to clean out. This also makes changing pellet flavors more easy.

Grill technology

This grill connects to your wifi network and is fully controllable through the Memphis App on your phone or smart device.

What exactly do I mean? I mean, you can literally CHANGE the grill’s temperature setting, set a timer, modify your meat probe’s target temperature, receive text message notifications, and even turn the grill off ALL from your phone or smart device.

Build quality

When I say the build quality of this Memphis Beale Street grill is perfect, I mean it.

I examined every inch of this grill, searching for a defect, a scrape, a sloppy weld, or a corner.

Nothing. Nada. This grill is a gleaming stainless steel work of art.

Cleaning

Cleaning the grates is simple with a grill brush and a high heat source.

A paint scraper is the finest tool for cleaning the flame diffuser plate that lies above the burn pot.

I periodically run the grill on high heat for approximately 30-45 minutes and then use the scraper to remove any remaining food bits. It just peels off.

You may use dust trays on both sides of the grill or a shop vac. It is incredibly fast and simple if you have a shop vac. You may either use a brush, similar to a paint brush, to brush all of the pellet dust into the grease in the burn pot and surrounding area.

I also use a moist cloth followed by a dry towel to clean the exterior of the grill. Cleaning this grill isn’t really tough.

Customer service

Even with a high-end equipment like this Memphis Beale Street Grill, anything may go wrong, particularly when electronics are involved.

I stumbled across a few of troubles while first trying this grill. The initial issue was a faulty WiFi connection between the grill and the Memphis App.

The second problem was with the timer, which would go off if it wasn’t set.

A company’s excellence, in my opinion, should extend beyond its product.

It occurs. No matter how effective your quality control is, things don’t always function as they should. It’s more important to me how a corporation handles consumer complaints when anything goes wrong.

Having said that, I am pleased to say that Memphis Grills’ customer service was quite helpful in getting me up and cooking.

My grill was linked to the Memphis App after a phone call and a few emails, and a replacement component was on its way.

They supplied directions that were extremely clear and straightforward. If you decide to buy one of these grills, you can rest certain that this company’s customer care will be there to help you if you need it.

Optional Accessories

Direct Flame Insert

This is a must-have for steaks and burgers, at the very least. When employing the direct flame insert, the Beale Street grill’s tremendous heat and searing capabilities are increased.

The photographs below show how the insert transforms the centre of the grill into a suitable searing zone.

This attachment comes with the more costly Memphis Grills, so I’m guessing they kept it off Beale Street to save money.

If you simply intend to smoke and bake, you won’t need it.

Heavy Duty Meat Probe

I would also consider this a must have.

This is the most powerful flesh probe I’ve ever seen.

Aside from that, it unlocks new features for this grill. You may adjust the meat probe temperature using these meat probes, and an audible alert will sound when it reaches the preset temperature.

When the appropriate temperature is attained, the grill’s temperature is automatically reduced to a low level to keep your meal warm. How cool is that?

Extendable Grate Kit:

Was not put to the test. However, I feel that this is a take-it-or-leave-it item. I believe the grill already has enough of cooking space. However, if you believe you may benefit from greater room, go for it.

Genie Tool:

Optional, but recommended. You are not need to have this one, but it is a useful tool.

It aids in scraping grates, moving grates, and lifting the flavorizer insert for cleaning or replacing with a direct flame insert.

It also accomplishes a few more things. An all-around useful tool to have.

Grill Cover:

A must-have. It’s critical to preserve the investment in good condition! It’s a good fit. It seems to be a high-quality cover.

Who should buy this grill?

The Beale Street is a high-end pellet grill that is ideal for the majority of individuals.

It is not the biggest grill available, so if you need to serve a large group, you should look elsewhere.

However, if you want a flexible, high-quality grill, the Beale Street is an excellent choice. You get the excellent build quality that Memphis Grills are renowned for without having to spend upwards of $5,000.

The grill works well, is easy to use, includes WiFi for convenience, excellent searing possibilities for a pellet grill, and will last a long time.