Pit Boss 820

[bret]

I've had the grill all season now and love it. For Oktoberfest, I've always smoked a great big pork loin on my homemade vertical charcoal/wood chunk smoker with fantastic results. I did it on the pit boss this year and wasn't as happy. The prep was the same but the taste was a little boring and it wasn't quite as tender. Has anyone else experienced similar results?

 

[ravenclan]

I have a PitBoss 700FB and it is totally different then my other four smokers, But there again my other smokers are different from one another. I did have to watch the PB and figure out the in's and out's of this new pellet smoker.
But if smoking meat was easy everyone would be doing it.

I did finally figure the pellet smoker out enough to get my ribs, Brisket and chicken back to what i like and yes it took some time to get it all worked out.

 

[oldsmokerdude]

but the taste was a little boring

I'm assuming you are referring to the amount of smoke flavoring added during the smoke? Pellet smokers are a different beast. Not better or worse, just different. It will take you a little while to learn how to coax the best smoke flavoring out of your particular smoker. Some things to try include, smoking at a lower temp which will give you more smoke and longer exposure to it, supplement the smoke with one of the Amazin' products or similar, try different pellets as it does make a difference, etc.

Let us know how your progress goes.

 

[bret]

Thanks guys. I think I'll try some Lumberjack pellets as soon as I can get some. If that doesn't work, I'll try a tube. I can't believe I miss the charcoal taste!

 

[ab canuck]

You can also dial up or down the "P" setting to give you more or less smoke flavor. I have been using an 820 at work and a 700 at home now for close to 2 yrs. Love them. Being up here in Canada to use a stick burner where I live is not easy. Just to get an decent hardwood here is near impossible.

 

[RCAlan]

You can also dial up or down the "P" setting to give you more or less smoke flavor. I have been using an 820 at work and a 700 at home now for close to 2 yrs. Love them. Being up here in Canada to use a stick burner where I live is not easy. Just to get an decent hardwood here is near impossible.

Two items You might want to check out to add more real hardwood smoke flavor to your pellet grills are.. The Jen-u-wine Jerry™ stick burning system retrofit kit.
https://jenuwinejerry.com/our-products/

And the Heavy D stick burning heat diffuser by Smoke Daddy inc.
https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/the-heavy-d-stick-burning-heat-diffuser/

Just two additional items to check out and research for those wanting to add that extra real hardwood smoke and charcoal flavor to there pellet grills... Check out their videos online as well... Always use 100% real hard pellets like lumberjack pellets when possible too.. Lower temps equals more smoke... “Smoke Mode” level temps on up to 250* degrees is the best temp range to get the most and best smoke profile. Good luck...

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

 

[BKING!]

For large cuts I use lumberjack hickory or pecan and leave on smoke mode for at least an hour before cranking up the temp. Also put the meat in cold if your aren’t already. Cold meat attracts more smoke

 

[mike243]

I have found moist meat will have more smoke stick to it,ymmv

 

[bret]

I have found moist meat will have more smoke stick to it,ymmv

 

[bret]

All right, I tried it again. We bought my Mom and Dad an 820 from Lowes last weekend. They messed up the delivery, so I went to pick it up. They assembled it but it was supposed to be in the box. They spent 45 minutes trying to find me an unopened, unassembled 820. That was Thursday night and the pork loin had to go on Friday for birthdays. They gave me a heck of a discount for my trouble; the cost was just $360!

I used Lumberjack 100% apple pellets on smoke for a while, then 200, then 250, and finished at 350. I pulled the first half off @ 140 IT and left the second half until it reached 160. The first was juicy, but a little boring as before. The second was a little more flavorful but drier. The eaters preferred the second half. Both were fine, but still didn't taste as good as the loins I'd smoked on my old smoker. I'll keep trying.

Next up is the turkey. Happy Thanksgiving.