What is blue smoke and why you want it
When it comes to barbecue, not much can beat a cut of meat smoked to perfection on your Pit Boss wood pellet grill.
We like to think of smoke as another type of seasoning for food. So, more doesn’t always mean better. In fact, if you get too much, it will overpower your dish.
Getting not only the right amount of smoke, but also the right type, used to be a tricky task, requiring a lot of trial and error. However, Pit Boss wood pellet grills coupled with the right fuel allow you to dial in to just the right temperature and produce that thin blue smoke for optimal wood-fired flavor.
What is blue smoke?
Blue smoke is what you want to achieve for the most flavorful cooks.
Thin, blue smoke is nearly invisible, appearing as a subtle shimmer coming off the top of the grill. This indicates a clean burning fire.
The harder you have to look to spot smoke, the better.
When you first fire up your pellet grill, you’ll see a bit of rolling white smoke as it gets going, which should dissipate once it reaches temperature. At this point, your grill should start producing that clean, blue smoke.
Why do you want blue smoke?
Blue smoke adds the most (and best) flavor to your food. Since it is the product of a clean burning fire, you will get delicious wood-fired flavor.
The goal is to compliment the flavor of the meat or dish, not overpower it.
What you don’t want is billowing white smoke coming from your grill or smoker. This happens if you use wood pellets with bark or added flavor oils, which will infuse a bitter flavor into your food and litter your grill and food with ash.
How to achieve blue smoke
The easiest way to achieve blue smoke is to use a pellet grill. That’s because these units eliminate the extra work of adjusting airflow and monitoring a fire while you cook.
With a Pit Boss, you simply adjust your grill to the “smoke” setting, which will have you cooking at the optimal temperature for consistent smoke. To properly smoke on your pellet grill, you don’t want to go beyond 250°F.
In fact, between 180 to 230°F is the sweet spot for your grill to add pellets to the fire pot slow enough to maintain your desired temperature while putting off consistent smoke.
You also should fuel your grill the right way – with Pit Boss hardwood pellets.
Our pellets are made from the highest quality food grade hardwood and NEVER contain artificial flavors, spray scents, glues, oil, or chemicals. Locally sourced hardwood is pressurized at extreme heat to create compact pellets held together with the wood’s natural lignin.
With Pit Boss pellets you get a hotter, cleaner burn every time you fire up your grill, resulting in flavorful “blue” smoke and minimal ash. This infuses your food with natural, wood-fired flavor, without making a mess of your grill.
FAQs
Raising the P-setting to P-5, P-6, or P-7 increases the pause time for the auger. It will lower the temperature of the Smoke setting and can create more smoke since the pellets will smolder longer before another batch of pellets feeds in and the fire reignites.
Is there a griddle and smoker combo? ›
The Gather Grills Solution: Your Ideal Fire Pit Griddle Grill Combo. Gather Grills has combined all the best parts of outdoor cook tables into a single epic charcoal cooking device. It is a grill and skillet, smoker and fire pit, plus a cook table where your guests can actually sit.
Are Pit Boss smokers good for the money? ›
Final verdict. It's hard to argue that the Pit Boss doesn't give you better value for money. For less than the Traeger, you get a larger grill, front shelf, side shelf, storage rack, larger hopper with a window and the Flame Boiler for direct searing.
Can you use a Pit Boss pellet grill as a smoker? ›
To do this, you would simply set up your grill as recommended in the “Pellet Grill Setup” portion, leave it on the “smoke” setting, and track the progress using a remote thermometer or a meat probe. In addition to smoking and “low and slow” BBQ, a Pit Boss Pellet Grill can get hot enough for you to grill and sear.
Why does my Pit Boss smoker not smoke? ›
Temperature: Verify that you are running your smoker at an optimum temperature. If your smoker is too hot, it will produce less smoke. In general, you should smoke meat between 220 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Jammed auger: Wet wood and debris can clog your auger, hampering smoke production.
How to get more smoke from a pellet grill? ›
Start everything out on low or the special “smoke” setting. Pellet smokers produce more smoke at low settings and less smoke as the temperature increases. If you want more smoke flavor, start out as low as it will go for about 30 minutes to an hour then turn it up to 225°F or 250°F after that to finish.
What is better, a grill or a griddle? ›
So a griddle is the best choice when you're looking for heat consistency. If you need a fast way to sear steaks, a grill is still the best way to do it. Those structural differences lead to griddles vs grills being used for different cooking styles. You can't beat a classic grill for searing steaks and pork chops.
Should griddle smoke when seasoning? ›
Turn the heat back on to high and let the griddle heat up until it starts smoking. This is when the fatty acids oxidize at the smoke point of the oil, and it means the oil has bonded to the griddle top. You'll want to repeat this 2-3 times or until you have a nice, even, dark surface across your griddle top.
Is the Pit Boss kc combo worth it? ›
If you're looking for a combo grill that does it all, it's hard to argue that there's any grill on the market that has the versatility of the KC Combo. If you like to smoke, grill, griddle, saute and you're looking for a grill that will keep up with you, there's really no need to look any further.
Which is better, a Pit Boss or a Traeger? ›
If you're looking for the biggest cooking area, Pit Boss is the way to go; if you need something in the middle range, one of Traeger's pellet grills is more likely to meet your exact needs. But because we can't account for your desired amount of cooking space, Pit Boss gets the nod on maximum area.
Today, Pit Boss is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Manufacturing of all Pit Boss products takes place in China.
Is Pit Boss owned by Traeger? ›
In 2018, Joe and Brian Traeger were hired by Danson's, which owned several grill companies, including Louisiana Grills and Pit Boss Grills.
What is the difference between a pellet grill and a pellet smoker? ›
Both are defined by the variety of fuel used. But pellet grills are more versatile because they can be used as both grills and smokers. Pellet smokers are only smokers, but they have a higher edge when it comes to performance.
Can you leave pellets in a Pit Boss smoker? ›
Do: Empty your hopper after using your grill. Leaving unused pellets in your hopper can cause them to rot since they will be exposed to the elements of your outdoor environment. Most Pit Boss Grills have a hopper clean-out feature which allows for easy cleaning and swapping pellet flavors.
Should the chimney be open or closed on Pit Boss? ›
Is it better to have the Pit Boss chimney open or closed? When cooking at lower temperatures, a bigger hole allows for improved airflow, according to the Pit Boss manual. If your Pit Boss has a chimney, keep it open at all times. When you lower or close the cap, the airflow is restricted, and less heat is…
Why is my smoked meat dry? ›
Meat has a tendency to dry out while sitting in the heat of the smoker for long hours. To help keep the meat from drying out it is good to apply a mop every hour or so which can be as simple as apple juice, melted butter, or even plain olive oil.
How do you adjust the chimney on a pellet smoker? ›
To adjust your chimney's height, just twist the chimney cap to raise and lower it to your desired height.
