Southern Pride MLR-150 Review
The wood burning Southern Pride MLR-150 is one of their smaller smokers meant for BBQ catering, competition and tailgating. The rotisserie design features four hangers with three 10″ x 22″ cooking racks per hanger. SP claims it can handle 16 butts (recently renamed Boston Roasts), 24 slabs of Saint Louis Cut Ribs (120 with 12 rib racks), 48 chickens or 8 beef briskets. Construction is all top grade 304 stainless steel inside and out.
A 10 gauge steel firebox with a 65,000 BTU electronic pilot gas burner eliminates the need to manually ignite the wood. The burner fires into the firebox, igniting wood or charcoal and assuring 100% combustion. The burner initially brings the internal oven temperature to the set point and continues to cycle as needed to maintain a constant temperature.
The racks move slowly on a rotary carousel as a single convection fans circulates heat and smoke around them. Not only does the rotary motion promote more even heat, it allows meats to self-baste as drippings are recirculated to the racks below. A foot pedal to advance the racks when the doors are open comes standard. There is an easy access convection fan door to facilitate removal of built up creosote. The video below is salesy, but informative and shows how these commercial capacity smokers operate.
Our posted MSRP is for the standard unit on heavy duty casters. A “four wheel competition turf cart” and glass display door (shown left) are available along with other cool extras like digital cook and hold control which allows you to program cooks by time. When the duration of the cook is reached, the unit can be set to automatically shut off or drop down to a set hold temp. A Competition Switch is available to comply with competition rules that don’t allow gas. After the wood or charcoal is ignited, flip the switch. It disables the gas burner but still allows the blower fan to work in conjunction with the digital thermostat. Pretty nice! Since a solid fuel wood fire tends to be dryer than gas, they offer a “moisture system” for additional humidity.
Warranty is one year for parts and labor.
Southern Pride does not sell direct. They have a network of distributers and service providers.
- Model:MLR-150
- Item Price:$ 15111.00
- Made in USA:yes
- Review Method:Looked Closely At It
We have seen this product up close and we have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources. - Primary Function:Smoker
- Fuel:Charcoal, Logs
- BTU:65,000
- Heat Flux:24.62
Heat Flux is the BTU per square inch and is a more useful measure of how much heat a grill delivers than BTU alone. - Main Burners:1
- Primary Capacity:2640 square inches
Extra Large and Commercial (about 130 burgers)
Southern Pride BBQ Pits and Smokers
Southern Pride manufactures a range of units – small, medium, and large – for any size restaurant. Some are electric, but most are gas fueled. You’ll find them in such famous restaurants as Sweet Baby Ray’s, Famous Dave’s, Smoky Bones, Sonny’s, and County Line. All models can be ordered mounted on trailers. Many of these restaurants also have BBQ Teams who love to haul their Southern Pride cookers to competitions. They even have a “Competition Switch” that over rides the gas burner to comply with competition rules.
Southern Pride began in 1973 when Mike Robertson built an oven to improve efficiency at his BBQ restaurant, The Hickory Pit in Decatur, IL. It worked and by 1976 Mike had teamed up with his dad, B.B. Robertson to start building and selling the first Southern Pride Smokers.
Application of leading edge technology to consistently produce high yield authentic BBQ while realizing operational efficiencies is Southern Pride’s claim to fame. They now operate a 117,000 square foot, high tech manufacturing facility in Alamo, TN. Their equipment is UL, ULC, ULEPH and NSF approved. To address the mission critical needs of their commercial clients, they offer 24/7 tech service.
Southern Pride does not sell direct. They have a network of distributors and service providers.
Manufacturer:
Published On: 9/12/2014 Last Modified: 7/26/2021
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