GMG Daniel Boone Pellet Grill Review

At around $599, the Daniel Boone Wifi Pellet Grill is a competitive option in the pellet grill market. GMG and your local dealers will even run specials at times, which can lower the price even more. As the market gets a bit more competitive, you can find other “non-brand” grills that are lower in price but a bit richer in features. I had my Green Mountain Grill Daniel Boone Pellet Grill for years and it served me well.

Considering the features and elements we’ll discuss below, I give the Daniel Boone GMG a 90% rating on price and value.

Construction & Material

The Daniel Boone pellet grill functions perfectly and is built well overall. A big majority of the grill (everything except for the lid) is built using 14-gauge steel—the lid uses 13-gauge steel—which is why it comes in at 155 LBS. The steel construction and weight really make the pellet grill feel like it was built well to last, but the stand itself feels weaker than other pellet grills on the market. The 4-wheel construction could also be improved as it’s harder to move on anything less than a flat/concrete surface.

The Daniel Boone Green Mountain Grill is not “overbuilt” but it’s not super cheap construction either.

In terms of construction and material, the weakest part of the grill is the outside finish when exposed to water and sun. It is NOT recommended to expose the grill to these elements for long periods of time as the grill will have areas of surface rust. GMG does typically offer paint for these types of issues but it’s never the same.

Instead, protect your investment with a $50 grill cover—you’ll thank me later.

Durability

You can purchase from Green Mountain Grills knowing that their customer service team would help correct any legitimate issue, even if it was beyond the 3-year limited warranty. They’ve been known to back their products.

If you take care of your grill and keep it out of rain & sun, this grill will last you years. In terms of internal parts, all signs point to a long-lasting product with a good brand backing it up if anything happened to go sideways.

Size & Shape

The Daniel Boone Pellet Grill has 458 sq in. of cooking space and is 51”H x 56”W x 24”D. The size of the grill is large enough for briskets, whole chickens, whole turkeys, several racks of ribs, and more.

Exterior

The Daniel Boone Pellet Grill has a nice, flat black exterior finish, giving it a nice aesthetic. As has already been mentioned, however, the exterior paint has questionable durability.

Interior

Overall, the parts on the inside of the grill are of high quality and long-lasting. The design of the inside of the grill makes cleaning it fairly simple, with just a handful of parts to take out.

By default, the Daniel Boone does NOT have a 2nd shelf, which other grills offer, even in this price range and size.

Portability

Coming in at 155 lbs., the GMG Daniel Boone grill is not designed to be a portable grill. You’ll likely keep this grill on your patio and rarely move. Could you load this on the back of your truck or trailer, yes, but it’s not recommended. Again, while the build quality is good, I wouldn’t want to port it around much in fear the wear and tear would be a bit much on the frame or interior moving parts.

If you’re looking for a portable pellet grill/smoker, try taking a look at the Traeger Ranger or Camp Chef Portable Smoker.

Using the Daniel Boone Pellet Grill daily and/or on weekends was a pleasure. Even when I had extended time in between cooks, I was always happy to see that the grill cranks up just as it did the first time I turned it on. Most importantly, the Daniel Boone Pellet Grill does a fantastic job smoking meat. At this point, I’ve done countless pork butts, a couple of briskets, numerous hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken breasts, and even some veggies.

Easy to get started & operate

Getting the grill ready for your first smoke is a piece of cake. Green Mountain Grills, of course, provides a very professional and detailed manual explaining how to get started, but they went the extra mile to provide a handy quick-start guide so you can get to smoking your first rack of ribs sooner rather than later. Operating the grill on a regular basis is easy, straightforward, and enjoyable.

The grill Grilling Co. purchased was already assembled, but assembly doesn’t seem very hard. In terms of getting started for your first cook, the burn-off process was a breeze.

WiFi & GMG Amp

The Daniel Boone WiFi opens up a new world in the grilling/smoking arena. You can control the grill temperature, monitor the internal temperature of your meat with the provided meat probe, set up cooking programs, and set timers. The GMG app is basic with no frills but pretty reliable in and of itself.

Connecting to WiFi is easy, but connecting to the “cloud” is not and is very unreliable. When you’re connected to the grill via WiFi, your phone or device is disconnected from the internet. So, while you can control your grill wirelessly, you’re limited to controlling it within proximity of its WiFi signal unless you switch it to the cloud. Again, I never found switching to the cloud easy and always had failed attempts. This is why I give the GMG app and WiFi a 70% score.

Low Pellet Warning

When your hopper is running low on pellets, not only do you hear an alarm on your pellet grill, but if you’re connected to the app, you’ll also get notifications that you’re running low as well. I can’t tell you how handy this feature is. Keep in mind that the alarm or the app will not tell you how much left you have, just that you’re running low.

I will say that the alarm it makes is super annoying, but isn’t that the point?!

Shelves & Racks

With the GMG Daniel Boone, you do get an optional shelf to the right side of the grill, and I’ve found myself using the top of the hopper as another small shelf. This grill does not have a bottom shelf, nor does it have a front shelf, which is one of the largest usability cons, in my opinion.

While there are some usability options I’d like to see added, the Daniel Boone Pellet Grill gets a 90 out of 100 usability rating.

Temperature Control

The Daniel Boone Pellet Grill is a pellet grill, which means it uses wood pellets for its heat source combined with a fan to manage the interior temperature of the grill itself. Everything on this grill is digital. You turn it on, click the “up arrow,” and the ignition process starts. The grill will then automatically heat up to 150 degrees, where you can then adjust the grill to whatever temperature you desire, up to 500 degrees.

During cooks, the Daniel Boone saw regular temperature swings of around 5-10 degrees, but I’ve found it to be relatively steady. Granted, Grilling Co. is located in Arizona, where temperatures are a bit more stable or hot by default vs. super cold. However, I have used the GMG Daniel Boone grill on some cold Arizona nights, and it maintained the temperature nearly perfectly.

Opening the lid does change the temperature quickly, and it takes a bit of time for the grill to stabilize again. The grill uses 14 gauge steel (13 gauge on the lid), so it’s not the thickest material on the market, and you’ll notice that in the temperature control when compared side by side. Regardless, this grill can smoke some incredible meat, and I’ve rarely had temperature control issues.

It’s worth noting that, like most grills, the GMG Daniel Boone pellet grill has areas that get hotter and thus cook faster than other parts of the grill. Since this grill has a chimney on the right side, the heat is naturally hotter on that side, which took some getting used to.

Efficiency

This is where the GMG Daniel Boone pellet grill doesn’t shine the brightest. After using a more expensive pellet grill, I can tell you with 100% certainty that this grill uses double the pellets that my much more expensive grill does. This is primarily due to the fact that you have 14-gauge steel (only) and no other insulation to keep that heat production in the barrel of the grill.

On a typical pork shoulder at 225 degrees, I’d burn through at least one bag of pellets, maybe two.

Taste/Flavor

The GMG Daniel Boone does a great job at smoking BBQ, giving your meat the smokey flavor you’re after. I’d say the impact on taste and flavor has more to do with meat preparation, the smoking process, and the meat itself than it does the shortcomings I could call out on this pellet grill. If set side-by-side with a more expensive pellet grill, I’ve been able to tell a difference in the smoke flavor, but the difference is probably not noticed by most.

As you can see in the pictures, the Daniel Boone produces a LOT of smoke. However, it leaves me wanting more of that smoke to stay inside the grill vs. pouring out the chimney, the sides of the lid, and the grease catch.

Fuel Source

The Daniel Boone grill is a pellet smoker that uses a heating rod combined with wood pellets as its fuel source. I’ve used all types of pellets in this review and found that the GMG Daniel Boone had no issues with any of them. Here are a few that I tried and loved: Traeger Hickory and Apple, GMG Fruitwood, and Pit Boss (various flavors).