Pit Boss Pellet Smoker

[kp33]

looking at getting one if these...anyone use these or have any info on them. I have always you wood in an offset smoker...never used wood pellets...do they give the same smoke as good old chunks if wood. Does the traeger keep the heat consistent. Ine thing that I dont like about my offset is it is a pain to keep heat consistent...its a brinkman smoke n pit, it has been good to me for years but time to move on. Any info on the traeger would be helpful. Thanks all.

[Txdragon]

Some will say that pellets don't provide the same smoke ring or flavor, I say it just takes practice! Temps are certainly more consistent. I'm gonna be fully honest here and say temp consistency is probably to a fault. If you're not careful, you can easily overcook some ribs and go from perfect bite, to falling off the bone before you know it. Some comparisons.. first brisket was done on my Pit Boss pellet thing..

This next one was beef dino ribs done on a stick burner..

[kp33]

Some will say that pellets don't provide the same smoke ring or flavor, I say it just takes practice! Temps are certainly more consistent. I'm gonna be fully honest here and say temp consistency is probably to a fault. If you're not careful, you can easily overcook some ribs and go from perfect bite, to falling off the bone before you know it. Some comparisons.. first brisket was done on my Pit Boss pellet thing..

20200605_151100.jpg

This next one was beef dino ribs done on a stick burner..

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The put boss is that Lowes version of the traeger? Do you like it...is there much messing with the heat. Or set the temp and kinda let it do it thing?

[Txdragon]

The put boss is that Lowes version of the traeger? Do you like it...is there much messing with the heat. Or set the temp and kinda let it do it thing?

It's great! It is almost set and forget. If you wanna spritz or mop, that's about the only attention you need give it when cooking. Keep it clean and you won't have any flareup issues. Wife gave me the Pit Boss Austin XL as a Father's Day gift and it has been my favorite cooker to date.

[kp33]

The put boss is that Lowes version of the traeger? Do you like it...is there much messing with the heat. Or set the temp and kinda let it do it thing?

It's great! It is almost set and forget. If you wanna spritz or mop, that's about the only attention you need give it when cooking. Keep it clean and you won't have any flareup issues. Wife gave me the Pit Boss Austin XL as a Father's Day gift and it has been my favorite cooker to date.

Lowes version of the traeger?

[Txdragon]

Lowes version of the traeger?

Full disclosure: I've no clue. Lol! Walmart carries them, I've have also seen some at Home Depot and Lowe's.

[kp33]

Lowes version of the traeger?

Full disclosure: I've no clue. Lol! Walmart carries them, I've have also seen some at Home Depot and Lowe's.

20200513_163656.jpg

Haha...ok thanks...so on these the heat is under the food?....ive only used offset smokers before so I'm used to the heat being off to the side not directly under the food if I understood you correctly.

[Txdragon]

The heat is under, yeah, but there is a hefty diverter in place. I just recently made some buckboard bacon using a low smoke setting; 170-185 degrees and had the pork butt about directly over where the fire is and after 5 hours, no burn at all on the meat.

[kp33]

The heat is under, yeah, but there is a hefty diverter in place. I just recently made some buckboard bacon using a low smoke setting; 170-185 degrees and had the pork butt about directly over where the fire is and after 5 hours, no burn at all on the meat.

20200715_163221.jpg

So as it needs heat the unit adds pellets on its own as long as there are pellets in the box? Is that the idea behind it?

[Txdragon]

Yuppers! It uses an auger feed chute that sends them from a hopper into a cup on the bottom of the cook chamber. In this cup, there is a small electric ignitor that gets some pellets smoldering while a fan brings the temp up to the set point. The auger continues to feed as needed to keep the temp stable. I've noticed on mine that temps stay pretty darn consistent; within +/- 10 degrees, and dead on 95% of the time.

[kp33]

Yuppers! It uses an auger feed chute that sends them from a hopper into a cup on the bottom of the cook chamber. In this cup, there is a small electric ignitor that gets some pellets smoldering while a fan brings the temp up to the set point. The auger continues to feed as needed to keep the temp stable. I've noticed on mine that temps stay pretty darn consistent; within +/- 10 degrees, and dead on 95% of the time.

And your happy with the smoke flavor and color you get...the brisket pic looked pretty good. Do you ever use it to grill steaks at high heat...os that when you move the diffuser you were talking abou to get flames for steaks and burgers.

[Txdragon]

Absolutely! I've done steaks, burgers, and wings as well. This thing does AMAZING chicken.. I was concerned about smokiness at first but that passed really quick. Lol! There are several options for pellets, I prefer single offerings; mesquite, pecan, hickory.. There are blends available and I'm not impressed there. I've found the better flavor from the single wood bags, instead of blends.

[Txdragon]

Color.. As for color.. Well..

Crispy skin, moist bird for sure!

[kp33]

Color.. As for color.. Well..

20200602_171803.jpg

Crispy skin, moist bird for sure!

Looks good...im gonna check these out....easy to clean?

[Txdragon]

Color.. As for color.. Well..

20200602_171803.jpg

Crispy skin, moist bird for sure!

Looks good...im gonna check these out....easy to clean?

Not hard at all. I clean it every other cook. Remove the grates, remove the diverter, scrape and brush that off, shop vac the ash cup, empty the drip pail, and that's that. Keep up with it and it's a 15 minute process.