Talk Me Out Of A Pit Boss

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Is there any reason I don’t want to buy a Pit Boss?

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Get a recteq instead

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I already have a Kamado for grilling. I just want a pellet smoker for long unattended cooks. I have heard lots of pros and cons for pit boss and Trager.

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Just curious, I thought Kamado cookers could smoke for 12 hours unattended. If that’s true why the desire for a pellet grill?

I have had one for about 3-4 years. It has held up extremely well. My two big gripes...

1. Can only select certain preset temperatures

2. The temperature seems to vary quite a bit throughout the cook

I have adapted to both issues, and turn out some wonderful food, but I would tell someone looking to consider another brand

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Just curious, I thought Kamado cookers could smoke for 12 hours unattended. If that’s true why the desire for a pellet grill?

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That’s not true.

I love my Kamado but I don’t trust it enough to leave it unattended more than an hour or so.

Don’t get me wrong, I have smoked for 12 hours with it and it puts out a great product. I just want something that I can throw a brisket in at 8pm and have it for lunch the next day while I get a good nights sleep. I want something that I can set some ribs on after work and then go to dance or soccer practice with my kids and come back with no concerned that I had a flame go out of control.

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I love my Kamado but I don’t trust it enough to leave it unattended more than an hour or so.

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Get a fan/temp controller. I like ThermoWorks, but they have a lot of other options out there. I have no problems leaving my Kamado unattended for 10-12hrs.

I would then get a Blackstone Griddle using the gift cards.

I absolutely love my Masterbilt Gravity Series 1050 and Academy sells it.

I’ve had it for one year now and it great. I like that I can use lump wood charcoal along with wood chunks so it still gives off a great traditional BBQ flavor while smoking the hell out of meats. I actually just used lump wood and pellets together for the first time instead of chunks on NYE and it was the best smoke I’ve ever achieved.

As it burns, the fuel falls and you simply reload it from the top. A full hopper lasts about 8 hours on a 225° smoke.

I have had the 1250 from Academy for a little over a year, like someone else said, keep it cleaned out and it holds temps and it pretty consistent across a cook. Use good pellets. The only problem I had with it was when I was trying to do enough boston butts for 100 and I was tight on room. But for regular family cooks it works just fine.

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love my Kamado but I don’t trust it enough to leave it unattended more than an hour or so.

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I do briskets overnight all the time and sleep peacefully with my Weber Kamado locked in at a temp I want without any temp controllers. It isn’t hard to do.

I tried one and could not connect it to my wifi and the app was clunky. Most likely owner-operator error or dumbassery on my part.

Something to think about if you're a caveman and your knuckles still drag the ground.

Unga bunga.

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That’s not true.

I love my Kamado but I don’t trust it enough to leave it unattended more than an hour or so.

Don’t get me wrong, I have smoked for 12 hours with it and it puts out a great product. I just want something that I can throw a brisket in at 8pm and have it for lunch the next day while I get a good nights sleep. I want something that I can set some ribs on after work and then go to dance or soccer practice with my kids and come back with no concerned that I had a flame go out of control.

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Do what you want, but... you can absolutely do all of this on a kamado. You just need to learn how to use it better. I have a Kamado Joe and i smoke many things on it, unattended. You need to have the dampers in the right spot. But, a brisket is a shorter cook on the kamado compared to a pellet or offset because of how well it is insulated. It's essentially, an outdoor over with some slight pressure cooking. I've cooked many whole briskets that took 8 or 9 hours and tasted fantastic.

A pellet is a lot more hands off, though. But, if you know your kamado well enough, it just takes a little bit of work in the beginning and you can set and forget.