Pit Boss 850 from Lowes Review

[fstellab]

Hi Folks,
Lowes put together and delivered my 850. I checked over all the parts no issues. Startup and burn in worked as described in the manual, although when the auger turned on I heard a clicking sound, like the auger was rubbing against some thing. After the 1hr burn in, I connected the meat probe and placed it on the top grill with most of the probe in open space. I then played with setting different temps. The set temp, grill ambient temp and meat probe were all with in 15 degrees.

This grill is plenty large for just my wife and I, I saw in a video the Pit Boss claims the this grill can hold 45 hamburgers, I don't believe that, but it can hold enough food for 6 - 8 people.

So far so good, then I downloaded and connected the smoke it App via my home internet, no problem. I played with setting various temps, it worked ok. Two issues I have with the smoke it, there was no way to start the Grill (Yes I had it plugged in), you need to go out to the grill and push the start button. 2nd issue is that you cannot shut down the grill even though there is a shutdown button. I will still try and use it but I am wary after hearing all the complaints.

I love the grill, very heavy construction, the shelfs in the front and side and the vents that allow for direct heat grilling. I got a cover for $29 from Amazon. I would give this grill an A++ .

Tonight I am going to try to cook beer can Chicken as my first try.

 

[michaelbell317]

Hi Folks,
Lowes put together and delivered my 850. I checked over all the parts no issues. Startup and burn in worked as described in the manual, although when the auger turned on I heard a clicking sound, like the auger was rubbing against some thing. After the 1hr burn in, I connected the meat probe and placed it on the top grill with most of the probe in open space. I then played with setting different temps. The set temp, grill ambient temp and meat probe were all with in 15 degrees.

This grill is plenty large for just my wife and I, I saw in a video the Pit Boss claims the this grill can hold 45 hamburgers, I don't believe that, but it can hold enough food for 6 - 8 people.

So far so good, then I downloaded and connected the smoke it App via my home internet, no problem. I played with setting various temps, it worked ok. Two issues I have with the smoke it, there was no way to start the Grill (Yes I had it plugged in), you need to go out to the grill and push the start button. 2nd issue is that you cannot shut down the grill even though there is a shutdown button. I will still try and use it but I am wary after hearing all the complaints.

I love the grill, very heavy construction, the shelfs in the front and side and the vents that allow for direct heat grilling. I got a cover for $29 from Amazon. I would give this grill an A++ .

Tonight I am going to try to cook beer can Chicken as my first try.

I just recently got the PB850 from Lowe's as well. It's also just the wife and I and occasional guests/family. The Smoke IT app works just fine for me for shutting the grill off, but no, it's designed not to turn the grill on for safety reasons. I don't like that the app makes no sounds (not on my iPhone) when either the grill temperature or the probe temperature (especially that one) gets achieved. I slow smoked a brisket overnight and my first set temperature of 160° was achieved after 5 hours in the smoker. My other BBQ temperature probe sounded the alarm for me to wake up to. I had an alarm set, but the meat got to temp an hour before it was due to sound off. I've got ribs going today. So far, I'm very happy with it. I do wish the temperature increment was 5° instead of 10° for more control, but then again, I'm not a professional so do I really need that precise of control? I think it'll work out just fine.

 

[Cowboy1955]

I have a 820 and I smoked 2 pork butts and 20 burgers on mine.
Roll that smoke!
I used to smoke beer can chicken but found if if split one side, put your rub on it and lay it flat it will be very juicy and cook easier.
good luck on the yard bird
Welcome to the group!

 

[Mr.coon]

My father has the 850. We threw down on it last night for him and my mom's golden wedding anniversary. Word of caution, you can get flare-ups with this much bacon on the grill, LOL.

3 racks of baby backs, goose kabobs, and stuffed goose breast wrapped in bacon.

 

[Cowboy1955]

My father has the 850. We threw down on it last night for him and my mom's golden wedding anniversary. Word of caution, you can get flare-ups with this much bacon on the grill, LOL.

3 racks of baby backs, goose kabobs, and stuffed goose breast wrapped in bacon.

Looks awesome. All I’d need would something to drink lol

 

[dbarne03]

Quick question - I also got a new Pro850 and have used it a couple of times now. Got an analog temp gauge in it that I put right next to the meat. If the digital readout says 200 or 250 on the pit boss, my analog temp gauge is usually 35 to 40 degrees lower than that. Even after leaving it in there for 30 to 45 minutes untouched. Thoughts on this? Normal? #Noob

 

[michaelbell317]

Quick question - I also got a new Pro850 and have used it a couple of times now. Got an analog temp gauge in it that I put right next to the meat. If the digital readout says 200 or 250 on the pit boss, my analog temp gauge is usually 35 to 40 degrees lower than that. Even after leaving it in there for 30 to 45 minutes untouched. Thoughts on this? Normal? #Noob

The temperature probe that provides the digital readout on the grill is against the wall on the left hand side of the cooking space. Where did you have your second probe in relation? I had a second probe inside mine to check for consistency and the spread between the two was much less than 35°.

Smoked a pork butt just the other day at 240 degrees and had a second ambient probe on the left side of the meat, closer to the chimney and it was still only 7 to 10 degrees cooler than the grill's ambient probe. There was a bit of a breeze so I attributed the 3 degree swing to that. The secondary probe clips onto the cooking grate and is suspended about one inch above the grate.

 

[Gary Steward]

Hi Folks,
Lowes put together and delivered my 850. I checked over all the parts no issues. Startup and burn in worked as described in the manual, although when the auger turned on I heard a clicking sound, like the auger was rubbing against some thing. After the 1hr burn in, I connected the meat probe and placed it on the top grill with most of the probe in open space. I then played with setting different temps. The set temp, grill ambient temp and meat probe were all with in 15 degrees.

This grill is plenty large for just my wife and I, I saw in a video the Pit Boss claims the this grill can hold 45 hamburgers, I don't believe that, but it can hold enough food for 6 - 8 people.

So far so good, then I downloaded and connected the smoke it App via my home internet, no problem. I played with setting various temps, it worked ok. Two issues I have with the smoke it, there was no way to start the Grill (Yes I had it plugged in), you need to go out to the grill and push the start button. 2nd issue is that you cannot shut down the grill even though there is a shutdown button. I will still try and use it but I am wary after hearing all the complaints.

I love the grill, very heavy construction, the shelfs in the front and side and the vents that allow for direct heat grilling. I got a cover for $29 from Amazon. I would give this grill an A++ .

Tonight I am going to try to cook beer can Chicken as my first try.

I have a 1600 pro, after I shut mine off it can take 15-30 minutes to shut off it has to cool down and I keep a paint stirring stick in top of the pellet box every time I use the smoker I push the stick up and down on top of auger so pellets don’t bridge up

 

[fstellab]

Folks,
I have cooked three meals on the Grill, first was the Beer Can Chicken, the white meat was great but the skin was very tough and chewy, I think might have got the wrong type of Chicken.

The 2nd meal was hamburgers, they came out great, nice grill marks, they tasted great. I set the temp at 475 degrees with the grilling vents open. Only problem is that the burgers created a mess on the grates, and some on the fat dripped through the open vents and into the bottom of the grill instead of going in to the grease bucket. I vacuumed what ash I could and wiped out the grease with paper towels.

The third meal was a thin porterhouse steak, this time I kept the grill vents closed, set the temp to High and used a meat probe. The stake came out great, but there were no grill marks.

I guess I need to get more experience and do more reading, I am also thinking about get something called "Grill Grates" a replacement for the grates.

To sum up the food was good but the cleanup was a bit time consuming.

 

[MikeInFla]

Chicken with skin can be tricky. I have failed on numerous occasions with rubbery chicken skin so I doubt you had a wrong chicken. You just have to increase the heat near the end to get it crispy. I've had success with skin maybe 3 times out of 10 where it was good and crispy. The other times it was like rubber or it was over done and dried out.

There are several more videos on YouTube of how to get it just right and I need to watch some myself the next time I do a whole chicken or a chicken breast.

 

[dbarne03]

The temperature probe that provides the digital readout on the grill is against the wall on the right hand side of the cooking space. Where did you have your second probe in relation? I had a second probe inside mine to check for consistency and the spread between the two was much less than 35°.

I set it right next to the meat hanging from the top shelf. I just found it interesting that there would be such a difference in temp. I need the ability to raise the temps by 25 degrees at a time but you can only do that up to 300 and then it jumps to 50 degrees at a time.

 

[BigO58]

I have a 820 and I smoked 2 pork butts and 20 burgers on mine.
Roll that smoke!
I used to smoke beer can chicken but found if if split one side, put your rub on it and lay it flat it will be very juicy and cook easier.
good luck on the yard bird
Welcome to the group!

I have cooked a couple of spatchcock chickens on my PB Pro 850 - juicy & delicious!

 

[Elfcane]

Yummy! Which rubs???

 

[BigO58]

Yummy! Which rubs???

I use a homemade rub for chicken - 2T kosher salt, 2T paprika, 2t garlic powder, 1t cayenne pepper. That’s the base & I have been experimenting with adding other spices - onion powder, cumin, thyme, & oregano.