What if you could get the set-it-and-forget-it convenience of a pellet grill — but still cook over real charcoal and wood? That’s the promise of the Giant Huntsman by Spider Grills, and after several cooks on mine, I’m ready to give you the full rundown.

Who Is Spider Grills?

Spider Grills came onto the scene in 2019 as a grilling tech company, best known for the Venom fan controller — an add-on that attaches to the bottom of a Weber Kettle and automatically manages your cooking temperature. No more babysitting vents. The Venom proved popular, and in 2024, Spider Grills launched their first fully produced grill: the original Huntsman, a 22-inch kettle/kamado-style cooker.

The original Huntsman stood out for a few reasons: a 5mm carbon steel build, a hinged lid, the Venom controller included, and 363 square inches of cooking space — more than a standard Big Green Egg’s 262 — at a price several hundred dollars cheaper.

I had a feeling that if the original did well, they’d follow it up with something bigger. They did. The Giant Huntsman bumps cooking space up to 502 square inches, putting it in the same league as a 26-inch Weber Kettle or a large Kamado Joe.

The Venom Controller: The Star of the Show

The single feature that defines this grill is the Venom controller. If you’ve used a pellet grill, the concept will feel familiar: you set your target temperature, and the controller’s fan does the work of holding it there.

What makes it stand out:

• App and reminder guidance. The controller walks you through setup step by step — for example, reminding you to close the draft door so the fan can do its job during a low-and-slow cook.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can control everything from the display itself or from your phone.
• Exhaust guidance. The app even tells you how far to open the top vent — a quarter open, halfway, or wide open depending on your target temp.
• Probe flexibility. An ambient probe monitors chamber temperature (with two placement options), and two meat probes let you track your food’s internal temp right from the controller.

The big difference from a pellet grill: you’re burning lump charcoal and wood chunks, not pellets. To me, that’s a more authentic, traditional barbecue experience — and you don’t give up any of the ease.

Build Quality and Features

The Giant Huntsman is built like a tank thanks to that 5mm carbon steel. A few things I appreciated on the walk-around:

• Hinged lid with a latch system — easy to open and close, and it seals tight.
• Ash cleanout — works like a Weber Kettle, pushing ash down into a removable bowl.
• Mid-cook fuel access — you can add charcoal or wood chunks during a cook, something you can’t easily do on a standard Weber Kettle.
• Spider-web grill grates — heavy duty, and designed so you can spin the grate to move food from the hot side to the cool side without lifting it (similar to a Slow ‘N Sear setup).
• Heat deflector plates — for indirect cooking, just like you’d find on a Kamado Joe or Big Green Egg.
• Multi-level cooking grates — stack a second grate for more capacity, or to place food closer to or farther from the fire.

One more thing worth noting: fuel efficiency. After a roughly 9–10 hour cook, I had plenty of lump charcoal left over. With the Venom controller managing airflow, it sips fuel rather than guzzling it.

My Startup Hack

Here’s a tip I learned the hard way. Spider Grills recommends lighting a single corner of your unlit charcoal and letting the grill come up to temp from there. For me, that took over an hour — too long.

What I recommend instead: start with a bed of unlit coals, then dump a chimney of fully lit charcoal on top. Once those ashed-over coals settle in, the fan gets you up to temperature quickly. Big time savings.

How It Compares to a Big Green Egg or Kamado Joe

This is the comparison most buyers are weighing, so let’s be direct. The Giant Huntsman gives you:

• More cooking space than a standard Big Green Egg (502 vs 262 square inches).
• A comparable size to a large Kamado Joe or large Big Green Egg.
• A lower price than either of those premium kamados.
• Built-in automation (the Venom controller) that neither the BGE nor the standard Kamado Joe includes out of the box.

If you’ve been eyeing a premium kamado but hesitating at the price — or you want temperature automation without going the pellet route — the Giant Huntsman makes a strong case.

Why I Added It to My Arsenal

Two reasons sealed it for me:

1. Pellet-grill-style control with real charcoal flavor. I get all the convenience and automatic fire management, but I’m cooking with charcoal and wood chunks for that authentic taste.
2. Size at an affordable price. A 26-inch cooking surface comparable to the big premium kamados, without the premium kamado price tag.

Final Verdict

The Giant Huntsman by Spider Grills delivers on its core promise: charcoal and wood cooking with pellet-grill ease. The Venom controller has been rock solid, the build quality is excellent, and the value — especially against a Big Green Egg or Kamado Joe — is hard to argue with. It’s earned its spot in my backyard.

Want to see it in action? Check out my full video walkthrough above, and if you caught my recent Poor Man’s Brisket cook, that was done right on this grill.

Got questions about the Giant Huntsman, or want to see a specific cook or comparison? Drop a comment on the video — I read them all.

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