Pit Boss Smokers

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Shoot Summ

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My biggest worry in all of this was cooking space... But the one I have now only has 431 sq in of space it's been fine. I just want to be able to cook for bigger groups should I have the opportunity and the RT-590 has 592 sq in of space. Then I could get an additional interior shelf for even more. Fairly confident the 590 is what I should be getting.

I have the 700, it covers what I need most of the time, I think there will always be an instance when it isn't enough though. The challenge is getting enough capacity for most things so you aren't burning a lot of pellets to hear a massive grill. The inner shelf isn't very useful, sits too high IMO, the barrel shape doesn't give you much room and still keep good grill space.

I bought the kit that basically had everything in it, mat, cover, front shelf(get this), sear plates(get this), interior shelf(meh), and a gob of pellets.

I liked their pellets, but they are pricey. The best deal on pellets for grilling is Sams, 40lbs for $14.99. Otherwise it is typically $17-$18 for 20lbs for any of a number of "flavors".
 
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Okie4570

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Yes you will, been doing pellet smoking 20 years and I get a good 1/4" smoke ring on a 12 hour smoke with any beef. Poultry not so much but the skin on a bird prevents that.
I also use the wedge if I want more smoke.
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What does the wedge do? I don't consider a 1/4" smoke ring acceptable but that will vary with taste of course I guess.
 

MaddSkillz

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I have the 700, it covers what I need most of the time, I think there will always be an instance when it isn't enough though. The challenge is getting enough capacity for most things so you aren't burning a lot of pellets to hear a massive grill. The inner shelf isn't very useful, sits too high IMO, the barrel shape doesn't give you much room and still keep good grill space.

I bought the kit that basically had everything in it, mat, cover, front shelf(get this), sear plates(get this), interior shelf(meh), and a gob of pellets.

I liked their pellets, but they are pricey. The best deal on pellets for grilling is Sams, 80lbs for $14.99. Otherwise it is typically $17-$18 for 40lbs for any of a number of "flavors".

That's a great point about a bigger grill requiring more pellets even if you're not utilizing the space. Thanks for the pointers on purchasing pellets too.
 

CHenry

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What does the wedge do? I don't consider a 1/4" smoke ring acceptable but that will vary with taste of course I guess.
You fill it with pellets and start it with a torch and set it inside the smoker. It will burn itself out after 2 hours unless you add more pellets to it. A 1/4 inch smoke ring is as much as your likely to ever see. Even the pros dont get more than that and they say meat only takes the smoke in for 4 hours but not sure if thats true.
 

O4L

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I only use real hickory chunks and too much smoke will give meat a bitter taste.

Even if I have something in my electric smoker for 12-14 hours, I only add the hickory at the beginning, and it is done smoking in a few hours.

The rest of the time it is just the old tried and true "low and slow" method of BBQing.
 
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CHenry

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I only use hickory and too much smoke will give meat a bitter taste.

Even if I have something in my electric smoker for 12-14 hours, I only add the hickory at the beginning, and it is done smoking in a few hours.

The rest of the time it is just the old tried and true "low and slow" method of BBQing.
I used to only use hickory and didnt notice a bitter result. I have switched to Pecan for the first time just to try it.
 

Shadowrider

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I used to only use hickory and didnt notice a bitter result. I have switched to Pecan for the first time just to try it.
Pecan is a very good wood to smoke with, just about as versatile as hickory but milder.

And to the discussion: Meat won't really take more smoke after it hits 145 temperature or so. I've done many 8 to even 20+ hour cooks and once I hit 145 internal it's smoked. Sure, you can hammer it all the way to the end but it only builds on the outside and that's where the bitterness come in. I like a pretty heavy smoke so I hit it hard up front. After that it's just cooking. And you don't need that smoke ring to have a good meat, my Cookshack never had one even if I added a charcoal briquette to the wood tray. The food was still outstanding!
 

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