My New Santa Maria Grill From Blackstone (Mod # 6061 Bronco)
There was a conversation posted last week about a S/M attachment for a Weber kettle. I thought that might be good to have so I went to the internet to see what was available and in the process, I discovered that Blackstone made a S/M grill sold only through Walmart. Out of stock at Blackstone but one of my local Walmart's had two. Price was the same on-line and in the store ($494.00 + tax) so I brought one home. Charcoal / ember rake, grill cover and 4 heavy duty locking casters were included. Spent about 5 hours putting it together today and hope to do a burn-in tomorrow. Looking forward to some cooks in the not so distant future.
Lonestar Grillz 24x36 offset smoker, grill, w/ main chamber charcoal grate and 3 tel-tru thermometers - left, right and center
Yoke Up custom charcoal basket and a Grill Wraps cover.
22.5 copper kettle w/ SnS, DnG, BBQ vortex, gasket and stainless steel hinge kit.
Napoleon gas grill (soon to go bye bye) rotting out.
1 maverick et-733 digital thermometer - black
1 maverick et-733 - gray
1 new standard grilling remote digital thermometer
1 thermoworks thermopen mk4 - red
1 thermoworks thermopop - red
Pre Miala flavor injector
taylor digital scale
TSM meat grinder
chefs choice food slicer
cuisinhart food processor
food saver vacuum sealer
TSM harvest food dehydrator
That’s really nice looking. Congrats.
Can’t tell build quality from the pictures, but at that price point it looks like you have a winner.
One question, does the front open up so you can move the embers over to the cooking side?
Yes... Great question. The full front panel is hinged and drops down once a spring loaded latch (right side and left side) is pulled. In the pictures above they are just behind the handle mounting brackets. 😊
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Haven’t seen one in person, but for the price it looks really well made. Live fire cooking is my preferred grilling method, so I’m currently in the market for a Santa Maria grill.
For the same price Home Depot has a Santa Maria grill from Even Embers. Currently, my research has it ahead of the Blackstone, but there’s still time for you to sway my vote.
Last edited by Santamarina; May 12, 2026, 10:11 AM.
Yes, I saw this one also but like you I couldn't see either one live. The Blackstone was in very short supply (only 3 available in Spokane and none at Blackstone) so after some you tube vids, I decided to pull the trigger while I could. I plan on posting a bunch of pictures and my review sometime tomorrow. I did a small pre-burn off today (25 briquets and 1 small split) just to get a feel for this machine... 😊
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
I can’t wait to see your cooks on this thing! I saw this on YT a few weeks ago and never posted on it! Glad you picked one up!!!
And will love seeing your review! Will you. Be able to post videos as well? If you have a YT profile, you can host the videos there (set up for only those that have the link if you want to control view) and then share the links here for all to see.
Here's what I know / think so far... Hopefully the pictures will post correctly (let me know if they don't) and I may have to post the pics in 2 sets to get them all on. This unit model 6061, which Blackstone calls an "Open Flame Grill" nicknamed "Bronco" sells at a low price point of $494.00 + tax. I think that this is a good starter grill for someone that wants to explore S/M type cooking. That's what I was looking for and couldn't justify spending a ton more for something that I didn't know how much it would get used. I do think that it will hold up well under heavier use also. I'm hopeful that this review will help those fellow pit members that may be interested in this type of grill with their research and their go / no go decision. I don't work for Blackstone nor Walmart so no skin in the game other than to my fellow pit members...
The included cover is very good. Heavy duty, quick disconnect buckles instead of Velcro and double layer padding on the corners of the upper brace assy. The included coal rake is fine but I like the Weber one a little better.
The 4 casters are heavy duty, all swivel and with locks. The front door is hinged and drops down for easy access. Chrome plated grill grate. The ash pan is fairly small. The 2nd pic is what's left of 25 briquets and 1 small wood split. A full load for a long cook would require several dumps.
Last edited by Ace; May 20, 2026, 07:40 PM.
Reason: Description Correction: Chrome plated grill grate.
The Brasero is heavy duty. The locking break is a little tight to move but I suppose that's so it doesn't disengage on it's own. I did coat the arm and bolt with liquid graphite and that seemed to help a little but it's fine either way.
Also, I didn't like the mounting bolt for the crank wheel as I thought it should have a larger bolt head. I solved that by installing a plastic washer behind the bolt head. So far I like this unit for my expected use and I'll be posting some cooks in the near future.
The entire West will probably be on a ban. Large fire burning in AZ now. We are about to get a good wet snowstorm tonight. We will have gotten more snow here in May than the entire winter.
That’s what has prevented me from getting one. Not a ban per se but just knowing the conditions where I live. And I have it on pretty good authority that burning down a neighbourhood is considered quite rude.
Then there’s the fact that I would probably only use it for tri tip anyway. A lot of real estate for a one trick pony. I see them and MCS absolutely ROARS to the surface…and then I come to my senses. Usually…well, with regards to fire anyway. LOL
MAK 2 Star pellet
Big Green Egg
Fuego gasser
Pitboss ceramic griddle
Eastman Outdoors wok burner
Ooni 16 pizza oven
Cast iron chimenea with pizza steel
Breeo smokeless fire pit, with Titan rotisserie and Titan Santa Maria style adjustable grate
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
So, it turns out that Yakima's West Valley WalMart has 2 of these puppies in stock. I touched the boxes. Did not buy (a miracle in itself). Also in stock were their Expert. Grill clones of Hasty Bake, $300.
Entering our 4th year of drought. Burn bans expected. But I think our Fire Marshall now thinks cookers which use propane or electricity in some way are permissible.
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