Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you buy a product through an affiliate link, we may receive a commission at no cost to you.
Green Mountain Grills (GMG) is a pellet grill company that’s not as well known as other brands, but it should be. GMG sent me a Ledge Prime 2.0 pellet grill that I’ve been cooking on over the past handful of months and it’s easy to love.
On other pellet grills there’s always a handful of little things that I wish they did differently. That’s not the case with the Ledge. Instead, that inner dialogue changes to “that’s really smart that they did it that way”.
That makes for an enjoyable cooking experience. Plus, it does a great job of cooking. It holds temps well and seems smokier than other pellet grills. It also has some of the best accessories in the industry to make it a do-it-all cooking machine.
Features and Specs
- Retail price of $999 (check price locally or available at BBQGuys)
- 530 square inches of cooking space
- 20 lb hopper capacity
- Wide temp range of 150 degrees F to 550 degrees F
- WiFi connectivity to control with the GMG app
- Includes two meat probes to monitor your cook
- Comes with a folding front shelf and a side shelf
Assembly
It was really easy to put together the Ledge. Instructions for assembly are on a video that shows exactly how to put it together.
If you’re intimidated by putting things together, you’ll really like the guided video. I’m pretty handy, so I did miss having paper instructions to follow along with.
One big plus with this grill is it comes with a nice tool for screwing in all of the hardware. Other grills come with a small, cheap wrench or screwdriver, this one has a T-handle, which just sets the tone for the experience overall.
Everything with assembly is straight forward, but I do have a couple tips. To put the back legs on the grill, the video shows you propping up the grill and putting the bolts in underneath.
It’s easier to just put all the other bolts in for the legs, then stand the grill up, and you can just put the bolts in from behind. There is a little risk that the holes won’t line up, but you should be able to wiggle them in. They lined up perfectly for me without any effort.
The other thing is I didn’t see in the video where you use the cotter pins that come in the blister pack. The place where those would have to go is in the bracket that holds the side shelf to the grill.
First Start-Up
One thing that’s a little different that other pellet grills is how you prime this grill after you put it together. There’s an auger (looks like a screw) on a pellet grill that pulls wood pellets from the hopper into the fire pot where they’ll be burned.
On other grills there is a prime setting that you turn on until pellets start dropping into the fire pot. On this one you power it up, let it cycle the auger, unplug the grill, and then repeat a few times. It’s very easy to do, just not as easy as a setting for it.
Stainless Steel
One of the best things that GMG did for durability on this grills is they made the internals of the grill stainless steel. That’s the cover for the fire pot, the heat deflector, and the cooking greats.
Those are all parts that touch high heat, grease, and ash, so it’s great that they’re made out of stainless. That’s a step up from many pellet grills on the market.
Cooking
The reason why pellet grills are so popular is their easy to use. That’s the case with the GMG Ledge.
Turn the power on, let it warm up, then set the temperature that you want to cook at. It couldn’t be simpler. The GMG app works well for changing temperatures on your phone and for seeing the internal temp of your food from anywhere.
I like the simple digital display on the Ledge, but it is a little hard to see in sunny conditions. It’s nothing that just holding your hand over it doesn’t solve, or using the app.
Once the temperature is dialed in, the Ledge does a great job of maintaining it. I saw a little more variability when grilling at max heat, but at lower temperatures, it kept the temperature within a few degrees.
It also reacted quickly when I’d increase the temperature of the grill. This is helpful when doing things like reverse searing where you go from a low temperature to a high temperature. It was noticeably faster at heating up than other grills.
I was really happy with the level of smoke on this pellet grill. Others that I’ve cooked on just don’t seem as smokey, which is a common complaint.
Interior Light
Am I really making a whole section of this article dedicated to a light? Absolutely! It’s such a simple thing, but it makes a world of difference.
There’s a light inside of the grill that you turn on with a physical switch. If you cook in the fall or spring, or if the day just gets away from you, having a light makes your life easier. No more fumbling with flashlights or looking like a coal miner.
Physical Buttons
Maybe it’s a sign I’m getting old, but in a world of touch screens, I love a good button or switch. I don’t always want to go through menus or get grease on my phone when I’m cooking. The Ledge has physical buttons on the controller for turning it on and for changing the temperature.
Little Things
The little things are what make the GMG Ledge really special. Beyond the aforementioned interior light and stainless steel components, they just did a great job engineering this pellet grill.
Some grills use a rubber grommet for the hole that you pass your temperature probes through. It always comes out, and rips when you’re using it. This grill has a metal cover for the hole that rotates to open. It’s great way to solve the problem.
On other grills with external grease catch buckets it can be easy to accidentally knock of the bucket, creating a big mess. This grill has a cover on the slot where the bucket rests, locking it in place.
If you’re looking you aren’t cooking, but that’s not the case with this grill. There’s a viewing window to look inside while you’re cooking, so you don’t have to open the lid and let the heat out.
It’s all the little things like that which make this pellet grill enjoyable to cook on. You can tell a bunch of thought went into designing it.
Accessories
I’m currently testing all the various accessories for the Ledge, and I’ll have a whole separate article on them. There’s that many and they’re that transformative for the grill.
Just to touch on it though, the accessories really take this grill to the next level. How many pellet grills can use a rotisserie? This one can. It’ll create delicious chicken that will save you from impulse buying at Costco.
People complain that pellet grills can’t sear. This one even without accessories, does a decent job with the standard stainless steel cooking grates. There is a side burner sear station that you can get for this though that will sear as good as a gas grill.
GMG makes a pizza oven accessory that’s way better than other brands. It isn’t just a stone that sits on the grates and makes mediocre pies, this one has a conduit directly to the fire pot to get legit pizza oven temperatures.
There’s a rack system for this grill to transform the amount of space in the grill and make it easier to cook different food. It has things like chicken leg hangers and rib racks, so you can really pack in the food.
Pros
- Stainless internals for durability
- Great engineering
- More smoke and flavor
Cons
- Display can be hard to see in some lighting conditions
- No paper instructions for assembly
Dealer
It’s easy to like the Ledge pellet grill, but it’s also easy to like the company Green Mountain Grills. They support local businesses by selling through grill stores in your town. They’ve been committed to this model throughout their history.
Conclusion
There’s lots of competition for your dollars in the pellet grill space. It’s easy to just buy the brands that everyone knows of, but the GMG Ledge Prime 2.0 is a different beast. It’s comparably priced to what’s on the market, but it’s design makes it a better value and a better grill.