Reverse Sear on the 850 PS2

the_horak · Jun 6, 2022

Hey all! My old Pit Boss responded very differently than this grill when reverse searing. I would set it to 350-400 with the sear plate and grill opened, let the fire get kicking and then sear.

I tried it yesterday and had the grill set to H, but I still had to use the Prime button to get the fire going. Is this just how it is? I didn't get the same char that I'm used to.

HuntJ08 · Jun 6, 2022

When starting the process, after vacuuming, I use the nibs and broken pieces in the bottom of the burn cup to jump start.
Cuts down on start up time. Do not have to use prime button.

the_horak · Jun 6, 2022

HuntJ08 said:
When starting the process, after vacuuming, I use the nibs and broken pieces in the bottom of the burn cup to jump start.
Cuts down on start up time. Do not have to use prime button.

I don't understand. You let the grill cool down and vacuum it before finishing with a reverse sear?

HuntJ08 · Jun 6, 2022

No. When I finish cooking I raise the temp to a higher temp 425+ to "burn off" the grates.
Then brush off and let cool down.
Then, BEFORE I cook the next time, I vacuum out the grill to start clean.
That is when I get the jump start on getting the grill going with the smaller bits after sifting. (you mentioned you kept having to hit the prime button to get it started.)

the_horak · Jun 6, 2022

HuntJ08 said:
No. When I finish cooking I raise the temp to a higher temp 425+ to "burn off" the grates.
Then brush off and let cool down.
Then, BEFORE I cook the next time, I vacuum out the grill to start clean.
That is when I get the jump start on getting the grill going with the smaller bits after sifting. (you mentioned you kept having to hit the prime button to get it started.)

Oh! I get what you're saying. I meant to say that I have to hold the prime button to continue to add more pellets so that I can get a big fire in the fire pot that's good for searing.

the_horak · Jun 7, 2022

I figured it out. Reading the User Manual, it says that when the programmable meat probe hits temp,the controller automatically turns on a 'keep warm' mode, keeping the grill at 180. I tried a dry run searing yesterday after I read that. This time, without me using the programmable meat probe, the searing flame was much better. My guess is that, unless you clear the settings for the meat probe once you hit the desired temp, you're gonna be fighting a grill that wants to stay at 180 no matter what.