Welcome back to Cooking For Profit! Today, we’re diving deep into the Gilla Mammoth, a pellet smoker that promises to deliver on all fronts. I’m Gordon Ramsay from Cooking For Profit, and I’m here to walk you through every detail of this beast to see if it’s the right fit for your smoking needs.
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First Impressions and Assembly
Let’s start with the basics. The Gilla Mammoth arrives with minimal assembly required—just a few feet to attach, and you’re good to go. This is a big win in my book, especially when you’re like us at the lab, putting together 70 to 80 grills a year. A quick and easy setup is always a relief.
A Tour of the Gilla Mammoth
Now, let’s get into the meat of it—quite literally. Opening the door, you’ll find multiple racks, including a top rack for hanging sausages and five stainless steel grates for your meats. There’s also a water pan at the bottom, perfect for adding moisture to your cook with water, apple juice, or even beer.
One of the features that caught my attention is the sloped grease diverter. This is designed to help grease flow down into the drip cup efficiently, preventing buildup and making cleanup easier. You’ll also find a slot on the right-hand side for draining grease, with an easy-to-remove drip cup.
The pellet hopper is massive, holding up to 40 pounds of pellets. This means you can set it up for a long cook and not worry about constantly refilling the hopper. The control panel features a full-color display and Wi-Fi connectivity, making it easy to monitor and adjust settings from your phone.
Seasoning the Smoker
Before cooking, you need to season the smoker. We set the Gilla Mammoth to 400°F and let it run for 45 minutes. Once that was done, it was time to get down to business—an overnight brisket cook.
Overnight Brisket Cook
For our first test, we cooked a brisket overnight. After minimal trimming, we set the smoker to 195°F and placed the brisket inside. The next morning, the internal temperature was around 154°F, so we decided to turn up the heat to 250°F to finish it off.
By mid-morning, the brisket had developed a beautiful color, so we wrapped it in peach paper and continued cooking until it reached an internal temperature of 205°F. The result? A tender, juicy brisket with a great smoke ring—exactly what you want from a long, slow cook.
High-Heat Chicken Thighs
Next, we cranked the temperature up to 450°F for some bone-in chicken thighs. The Gilla Mammoth handled the high heat like a champ, delivering crispy skin and juicy meat in just under an hour.
Final Thoughts on the Gilla Mammoth
The Gilla Mammoth is a fantastic smoker, offering a large cooking capacity in a relatively compact footprint. Its double-walled construction makes it efficient with pellet use, and the massive hopper means you can cook for days without needing to refill.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Mobility: While the Mammoth has locking wheels, it’s quite top-heavy and not ideal for moving across uneven terrain. A handle for easier transport would have been a nice addition.
- Rib Hanging: The included S-hooks are great for sausages, but not ideal for ribs. I’d recommend purchasing specialized rib hooks if you plan on hanging ribs frequently.
- Wi-Fi App Notifications: The app lacks notifications for probe temperatures, which could be a downside if you’re not using a secondary thermometer. Hopefully, this is something that can be improved in future updates.
Is the Gilla Mammoth Worth It?
If you have $999 to invest in a smoker and need the capacity to cook for large gatherings, the Gilla Mammoth is an excellent choice. Its efficiency, capacity, and overall performance make it a strong contender in the pellet smoker market. Just be sure to protect your investment with a cover or store it under a roof to prevent rust.
Have you tried the Gilla Mammoth or are you considering it? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Let us know what you’d like to see tested next, and we’ll keep putting the Gilla Mammoth through its paces here at the lab.
Thanks for joining us today at Cooking For Profit. Until next time, happy smoking!
