I am coming from a Traeger Little Tex, to the Pit Boss 1150PS2. I owned the Traeger for > 12 years, and just needed additional space. When checking prices, the Pit Boss was very much more economical for similar sizing. Saved almost $800 going with the Pit Boss.
Anyway, there is a learning curve.
The Traeger had a much more thorough heat spreading capability and no real hot spots. I believe this was due to the additional heat shield over the burn pot, under the grease tray. I got used to putting a spatched chicken on the grill @450 with a probe in the breast. I would turn the chicken when the breast read 90DegF, and turn the heat down to 350DegF. Once it reached 165DegF in the Breast, I'd take it off and rest it for 10-15 min. This resulted in perfection, crispy skin with a juicy interior. Tried it exactly the same way in the Pit Boss, and burned the skin. And before anyone asks, I did not have the Sear Plate "open". It was closed. Of course, I just peeled the skin off and it was good anyway, just no delicious skin.
What I learned, there is a definite hot spot directly over the burn pot even with the sear plate fully closed. I need to take care and avoid that area of my grill, thereby reducing the effective cooking area of my grill. A little disappointing to be sure. Are there any tried and true methods for shielding the direct heat on this grill? Picture to show it was not ruined completely, just lost the skin on the breast meat.
Anyway, there is a learning curve.
The Traeger had a much more thorough heat spreading capability and no real hot spots. I believe this was due to the additional heat shield over the burn pot, under the grease tray. I got used to putting a spatched chicken on the grill @450 with a probe in the breast. I would turn the chicken when the breast read 90DegF, and turn the heat down to 350DegF. Once it reached 165DegF in the Breast, I'd take it off and rest it for 10-15 min. This resulted in perfection, crispy skin with a juicy interior. Tried it exactly the same way in the Pit Boss, and burned the skin. And before anyone asks, I did not have the Sear Plate "open". It was closed. Of course, I just peeled the skin off and it was good anyway, just no delicious skin.
What I learned, there is a definite hot spot directly over the burn pot even with the sear plate fully closed. I need to take care and avoid that area of my grill, thereby reducing the effective cooking area of my grill. A little disappointing to be sure. Are there any tried and true methods for shielding the direct heat on this grill? Picture to show it was not ruined completely, just lost the skin on the breast meat.
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