New Pit Boss

[vailt1]

just fired up my new Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 today. Did some wings and burgers.

Going to get a pork butt going later tonight. I’d appreciate any tips

 

[pigbark]

Get a plan together before you cook it.
what kind of Pork do you want? Pulled or Sliced ? 2 different finish temps..

 

[vailt1]

I have my plan, doing pulled pork. Just looking for advice using a pellet grill.

Used an MES for a few years

 

[pigbark]

i use a water pan on everything i cook in mine.. the heat plus the fan seems to dry the meat out faster imo..

 

[siege]

I got my Pit Boss 1100 in June. I may need to adjust the P control, as my cooks seem to be done a little faster than expected. The Pit temperature is right, and I have been very happy with everything I have done. The probes are right on, and I rely on them. Cook by temperature !
First cook was a spatchcock chicken. 10 degrees before target temperature, I opened the slide burner, and the skin crisped up beautifully. Last night I did a tri tip, fat side down, right on the grate, then reverse seared. It was awesome. I have also done ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, eye round, chicken thighs, burgers, pork chops, stuffed mushrooms, corn, asparagus, pineapple, and nectarines. I have been smoking for many years, but still learning, from people like those on this forum. Tons of good info available right here.
If there is anything specific I can help you with, please just ask. Like most things, the more you use it, the better it gets. Ask lots of questions. You will enjoy using it, have fun with it.

 

[drdon]

I’d appreciate any tips

Invite us all over....sounds great.
Don

 

[jac63]

I got my Pit Boss 1100 in June. I may need to adjust the P control, as my cooks seem to be done a little faster than expected. The Pit temperature is right, and I have been very happy with everything I have done. The probes are right on, and I rely on them. Cook by temperature !

I bought a PB820fb in March and this could be my exact story. I can't explain it but compared to my other smokers (UDS & homemade electric) food just cooks faster for some reason. The results are awesome the ease of using has made the other 2 smokers almost untouched. It took me a bit to learn the how to control the temp swings but once figured out they are very manageable at maybe 10-15* +/-. Very happy with my purchase.

 

[texomakid]

No pics? it never happened

 

[siege]

I bought a PB820fb in March and this could be my exact story. I can't explain it but compared to my other smokers (UDS & homemade electric) food just cooks faster for some reason. The results are awesome the ease of using has made the other 2 smokers almost untouched. It took me a bit to learn the how to control the temp swings but once figured out they are very manageable at maybe 10-15* +/-. Very happy with my purchase.

I think it's due to the fan. The air circulation may have the same effect as using a convection oven.
It's also been quite hot here all summer. Before I start making changes to factory settings, I will get a few cooler weather smokes in. The finished product has not suffered, so I guess getting done early is not a problem, but a bonus LOL

 

[vailt1]

Thanks all.

So I cooked some wings and burgers and everything went well.

I put the pork but on at 1 am and set to smoke on P4 for an hour and a half and then set it to 225 at 2:30. I checked it at 7:30 and the fire had gone out. I looked in the hopper and it appeared that the pellets weren’t sliding into the auger which led to the fire going out.

Unfortunately I could salvage the pork. I figured this was most likely due to user error as I should have filled the hopper full prior to going to bed.

I bought a bunch of pellets today and plan to give it another try next weekend.

I do plan to do a beer can chicken this week.

Any tips for preventing this again would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jac63]

One thing I would change on my 820 is the hopper design. I'd like it bigger (mine's only 18#) and steeper into the auger. I've never run out of pellets during a smoke but have had to rake them down several times. Sorry you lost your butt because of it.

 

[siege]

One of the nice features of the 1100 is a 35# hopper. I keep a dowel by the smoker to stir the pellets.
I believe someone sells a hopper extension, or one could easily be made out of a piece of sheet metal. A HVAC shop could fabricate one pretty inexpensively. Add a few inches to the height of your hopper and use the original lid.

 

[Little-m]

One thing I learned about the beer can chicken is not to use a full can - drink 2/3's of it first. Liquid boils quicker and you end up with super moist meat.

 

[smokerjim]

may want to get a lo/hi temp alarm and keep it by your bed, might save you some headaches

 

[RCAlan]

Thanks all.

So I cooked some wings and burgers and everything went well.

I put the pork but on at 1 am and set to smoke on P4 for an hour and a half and then set it to 225 at 2:30. I checked it at 7:30 and the fire had gone out. I looked in the hopper and it appeared that the pellets weren’t sliding into the auger which led to the fire going out.

Unfortunately I could salvage the pork. I figured this was most likely due to user error as I should have filled the hopper full prior to going to bed.

I bought a bunch of pellets today and plan to give it another try next weekend.

I do plan to do a beer can chicken this week.

Any tips for preventing this again would be greatly appreciated.

It’s always best to keep your Hopper full of pellets and stirred to help the pellets flow, especially if you’re going to step away or be doing an overnight cook. Also, excessive pellet dust in the hopper can impede the flow of the pellets and can cause flameouts as well. And as SmokerJim shared, it’s always wise to have a high/low temp alarm near by and especially if You plan on grabbing some Z’s during an overnight cook... Good luck and enjoy your new grill.

PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[vailt1]

7.66 lb pork butt. Did an hour on smoke setting at P4 and finished at 225. Didn’t wrap and spritzed every hour. About 12 hours. Turned out pretty darn good.

 

[siege]

Great looking bark ! I bought a little 2 gallon shop vac on Amazon for about $30. I vaccum out the burner area after every 3 or 4 cooks, and reverse the hose and blow out the dust at the same time.

 

[Rmartinez2]

I have the same pitboss. I removed that thin flimsy grid thats on top of the hopper. that way i can just easily push the pellets if/when needed. For loooong cooks do as you said and fill it up to the max. I will say i'm a little more obsessed with the cleaning. I purchased a shop vac when we got the smoker and I vacuum it out before every cook.