First smoke on PB Vertical pellet

[tprice]

Well my trusty old MES bit the dust last year and been debating what to replace it with . Finally settled on Pit Boss Vertical. Like the vertical because I do a lot of venison summer sausages and just like the ability to hang them .

Was skeptical about pellet smoker but more I read seemed like way to go

Picked one up at Lowes couple weeks ago and have not had time to do initial burn and smoke anything . Picked up bag of hickory pellets and bag of applewood

Did my initial burn, watched several YouTube videos to learn operation , and had picked up some 2 1/2” thick center cut bone in pork chops at Publix

Used hickory pellets and set temp to 250, wish I had gone with 225 . Had used nice rub on chops earlier in day and had them in fridge for several hours .

Popped them in smoker and took off to deer stand for quick pm hunt, thought I would be back in 2 hours but deer were moving and I got a little delayed . 2 1/2 hrs , got home and meat probe was at 195. Preferred 155-160

Very impressed by my first smoke with it, wife commented she went outside couple times and saw steady stream of smoke . Something I never got with MES.

Chops turned out very good, was worried they would be too dry but not bad at all. Next time I will not go off and leave them like that.

Read lot of review on PB and like anything more reviews you read more confused you get so just went with my own research. Talked to couple folks that really liked theirs and went with that .

Looking forward to doing a turkey this weekend

 

[jcam222]

Glad it went well. They look like well built units.

 

[RCAlan]

They work better and settle into a good stable temp setting with a proper preheating... PB Pellet Smokers don’t come with PID Controllers, so doing a preheating before every cook for 15-20 mins at 300* degrees is very important. Don’t get into a habit of just plugging your Smoker in and setting the temp. Always preheat for for at least 15-20 mins. and once the temp settle in on 300*, then You can set your PB to your desired temp. Doing the preheating really helps PB Smokers, oh and during wet rainy seasons, always keep your smoker covered... Water and Pellets are a bad mix. Enjoy Your new Smoker..

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[JWFokker]

If you want good smoke flavor set it low as it'll go for a couple of hours, then turn the heat up. Pellet cookers don't make much smoke above 225F.

 

[tropics]

I like mine it does the sausages nicely.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-kielbasi.291215/
Richie

 

[mike guy]

If you want good smoke flavor set it low as it'll go for a couple of hours, then turn the heat up. Pellet cookers don't make much smoke above 225F.

I’ve seen this posted a lot and have a hard time agreeing with it. It must be smoker brand, or pellet brand, dependent because it’s not my experience. I cook spatchcocked chicken about once a week at 275-300 and get plenty of smoke. It’s less than at 225 for sure but it’s plenty enough flavor for the 2-3 hour cook.

Maybe I’m the outlier here but I think this is one of those things that gets repeated that maybe shouldn’t.

 

[tprice]

Had PLENTY of smoke at 250, PLENTY

 

[JWFokker]

I’ve seen this posted a lot and have a hard time agreeing with it. It must be smoker brand, or pellet brand, dependent because it’s not my experience. I cook spatchcocked chicken about once a week at 275-300 and get plenty of smoke. It’s less than at 225 for sure but it’s plenty enough flavor for the 2-3 hour cook.

Maybe I’m the outlier here but I think this is one of those things that gets repeated that maybe shouldn’t.

Chicken takes on smoke easily. Try it with a brisket. There is a reason why manufacturers recommend it or even implement a low temp Smoke setting. The higher the temp, the less smoke is produced. Simply how pellet burners function.

 

[mike guy]

I already cook brisket and beef ribs at 275. Comes out pretty close, relatively, to my offset if I really babysit the fire and make sure it’s a clean burn.

At 275 using hickory lumberjack pellets I get plenty of visible and smelling smoke. And it tastes smoked.

my expectations for smoke flavor maybe different than most after spending many cooks learning how to get a clean burn. This isn’t a knock on anyone, but I get the impression most people are used to the more oxygen deprived smoke flavors and that sets an expectation.

Or maybe it’s cooker and pellet choice. I am not sure, but I just can’t agree that 275 doesn’t put out decent to good smoke.

cheers!

 

[jeepdiver]

Pellet selection does matter. I've had some (forget the brand, it was when I first started) that produced almost no smoke flavor. The Grill can make a difference as well. On my PG500 I can get smoke at almost any temp, up to 450 or so, by adjusting the LHT/HHT settings. The difference is the higher temps will take a bigger swing up and down from the set point.

At 200-275 I can keep the grill temps within 5-10 degrees all day long and get as much or more clean smoke as a stick burner.

I do think some people are so use to over smoked food from bad fires, they don't know what a clean fire with TBS really taste like.

 

[bregent]

I’ve seen this posted a lot and have a hard time agreeing with it.

There are probably a few things going on here. Smoke definitely diminishes a bit as temp goes up. But higher temp also means faster cooking, so less time in the smoke. And several pellet grills, like mine, changes modes - below 300 and the fan cycles on and off to produce more smoke and keep in the chamber longer. Above 300 and the fan runs continuously.