Verdict is in, my Pit Boss 850 DX gets a gold star. Royal Oak charcoal pellets get a bronze / silverish star. We cooked 3 burgers (1lb of fresh chop meat) and 2 hot dogs. The 850 cooked like a champ. The flame broiler function passed with flying colors. I was able to control the cook & heat. Eventually the burgers did char (no grill marks) when the juices started to flow with each side charing up nicely. The dogs cooked as expected. As for the Royal Oak Charcoal pellets - after the original pellets, BM gourmet pellts, burned out of auger - i could smell them. Approx. 15 minutes. The Royal Oak had plenty of smoke but lacked a charcoal smell, out of the smoke stack. As for taste, there was a charcoal flavor in the burgers & dogs. Say 60% of what I would get with my smokey Joe. This was my very first cook with the flame broiler. I like it. Not a huge cooking area but it works. Another note, i left the SLB diffuser in durring the cook and was pleasantly surprised how the heat was dispersed and with the flame broiler open there was sufficient heat at 375 degrees to cook with. An overall success! Love my 850 DX. Off to a 9 -13 lb brisket labor day weekend !
