Green Mountain Grills Jim Bowie Pellet Smoker Review

This model is being replaced by the new Green Mountain Grills Peak Prime Pellet Smoker. Click here to read our review of the new mid-size Green Mountain Ledge Prime Pellet Smoker.

The Green Mountain Grills Jim Bowie is their biggest residential BBQ model. Green Mountain includes some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers. There’s a standard meat probe feature that reports the internal temperature of what’s being cooked to the controller read-out, a low pellet alarm, a work surface on both sides, and tool hooks. The touch pad digital controller allows cooks to enjoy set it and forget ease of use. The stainless steel cooking grate measues 27.5″ x 16″. The peaked lid has 13.5 inches of headroom. Our posted MSRP is for the basic black powder coated steel model. A shiny stainless steel lid model is available for about a hundred bucks more. GMG claims the temperature range is 150 to 500F.

Green Mountain Grills used to come standard with a two piece drip pan designed with their “Open Flame Technology”. In 2018 they switched to a one piece stainless steel drip pan, however the two piece Open Flame is still available as an option. It consists of one large drip pan with a grid of small holes and a smaller heat shield on top with a corresponding grid of holes. The heat shield slides left to right. When the holes line up, one can see the flame in the firepot. This is meant to expose meat to a searing open flame. We’ve seen variations on this idea from other pellet manufacturers. It sounds good on paper, but generally doesn’t do much. Pellet firepots are small and the flames generated are not powerful enough to make much difference at the grate surface.

Options include a “turbo” mode that automatically kicks in at ambient temperatures less than 35°F to help the cooker get up to operating temperature faster. Optional Wi-Fi control lets the cook relax in or outdoors and monitor or even change what’s going on without lingering on a hot or frigid patio. Jim Bowie is the only Green Mountain model that comes standard with a built-in lid thermometer. The built-in digital thermometer will be way more accurate than this ancient heat estimator. If you want to double check your digital controller accuracy, don’t rely on the bi-metal dome thermometer which can be off by 50 to 100° F, plus it’s in the dome not down by the cook surface. You’ll need a good digital thermometer to double check. Insulation blankets and fitted covers are also available.