I love shrimp and I love grilling so, of course, grilling up skewers of shrimp is one of my favorite tricks when I fire up my Weber gas grill.

This recipe is how I make Grilled Shrimp Scampi.  Give it a try and I am sure you will love it!

Marinate the Shrimp Before Grilling

Start with some decent sized shrimp, preferably in the 16-20 count per pound range.  Make sure that the shrimp are already peeled and deveined before they go into the marinade.

Marinated the shrimp for 30 minutes at room temperature with:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco

[Read more…]

If you are looking for ideas on what to put in your smoker this weekend then this list has you covered. All of these meats work great in traditional offset smokers, pellet smokers and even electric smokers!  Some of these cuts are small and lean quick cookers that will be done in a little over an hour while others are huge cuts that can take 10-15 hours to finish.

This list includes the classic cuts for pulled pork, a few takes on ribs, brisket and brisket alternatives as well as my absolute favorite steak to put on the pit. 

Whether you are a beginner looking for some easy to approach meats or a seasoned pro looking for some new ideas this list has something for everyone.

[Read more…]

I spent weeks watching videos from Guga Foods on YouTube as he cooked picanha steaks.  His description of the “Queen of Steaks” had me drooling and I had to try grilling some of these myself.

I headed out to the grocery stores in my town and quickly learned that this is not a standard cut of beef in my region and if I wanted to find one then I was going to have to do some more digging.  

If you are in a similar boat and are looking for a place to buy picanha then I have found a couple of online resources for you.

If you would like to learn more about this cut before you buy one then check out this article, “What is Picanha?“

Where to Buy Picanha Online

The easiest way to buy a picanha is to order one online.

There are three sources for this steak listed below and each one provides a distinctly different type of beef.

• Vermont Wagyu: 100% Wagyu Beef 
• Snake River Farms: 50% Wagyu, 50% Angus
• Porter Road: 100% Angus

The links below are affiliate links.

Porter Road

If American Wagyu beef is out of your price range then take a look at Porter Road, a great outfit out of Nashville that sells beef from small farms in Tennessee and Kentucky. 

The cattle on these small farms are raised and pastured outdoors and treated humanely.  If you care about how your beef was produced then these are the guys you want to work with.

The cattle are Black and Red Angus and the beef flavor is delicious.  They only sell steaks that have the highest marbling possible.  When you buy from these butchers you will get an amazing steak from a cow that lived a happy life.

These steaks are dry aged for a minimum of two weeks.

 

Picanha from Vermont Wagyu

The folks over at Vermont Wagyu run a small family farm and raise 100% pure blood Wagyu beef.

They focus on creating a stress free pastured environment for their cattle with the motto:

Healthy cows = Happy cows = Better Marbling 

Snake River Farms.

When you get to the Snake River Farms site do a search for “Coulette” and it will take you to the best steaks you will see.

The beef comes from American Wagyu cattle which are a cross between Wagyu and American Angus.  This cross provides some of the richness of Wagyu combined with the traditional beefiness of Angus.

These steaks are wet aged for 21 days and while they are not cheap they are pretty amazing 🙂

 

Picanha for Sale at Costco

I noticed towards the end of 2021 that my local Costco was selling a two pack of picanhas for around $7 per pound.  The packages weigh a little over four pounds so plan on spending about $35 total.

The roasts are USDA Choice and are labeled as “Top Sirloin Cap”.

I suspect that Costco started carrying this inexpensive cut in response to rising beef prices so their customers could still find  great beef at a reasonable price.

I am pretty lucky as my local Costco is now selling tri tip and picanha so I always have two great roasts to choose between.  Once you get your steaks be sure to check out my recipe for Picanha Grilled on a Weber Kettle!

 

I was fortunate enough to find a local butcher that could hook me up with a picanha steak and it was fun learning about this classic Brazilian style cut of beef. 

Prepare the Picanha for the Grill

The steak I was working with was a two and a half pounder with beautiful color and a substantial fat cap.  The trick to grilling these steaks is to cook them in such a way that the fat cap does not cause massive flare ups.  Sure, you could cut the fat cap off but that would do a disservice to this wonderful cut of beef.

While I kept most of the fat cap intact I did I trim some of the hard fat before slicing the roast into three individual steaks.  I sliced the roast “with the grain” so that after they were grilled I would be slicing the individual steaks “against the grain” for increased tenderness.

These guys were beauties. (For more general information about this cut check out this article on What is Picanha?)

Season the Picanha

The steaks were seasoned with a liberal coating of salt and pepper and were rested at room temperature for an hour.

You could go with a more complex steak rub but I wanted to keep things simple to enjoy the pure flavor of these steaks.

Set Up Your Weber Kettle for High Indirect Heat

The game plan for these steaks was to cook them to a perfect Medium Rare.  My approach was as follows:

• Grill with High Indirect Heat to 120F.
• Move the steaks to Direct High Heat and sear.
• Sear the steaks to an internal temperature of 135F.

I set up my Weber kettle for Indirect High Heat with a full chimney of lit charcoal banked on the left side of the grill and the steaks placed on the right side of the grate.

After the steaks had been cooking for about 30 minutes they reached a temperature of 120F.

I moved the steaks over to the hot side of the grill to give them a nice sear.  The fat cap rendered fast and put on a heck of a show as it flamed up.  You have to be paying attention at this step and keep the steaks moving!

Pro Tip: Using a set of GrillGrate panels makes this part super easy.

I think this was the first time in my life where I put down a set of grill marks on a fat cap 🙂

When the steak reached an temperature of 135F they were pulled from the grill and allowed to rest about 10 minutes before being sliced and devoured.

This steak was very tender with a deep, earthy flavor.  It is traditional to serve this steak with a chimichurri sauce, rice and beans.

Picanha manages to strike what might be the perfect balance between being naturally lean but incredibly juicy.  There were some bites that had a distinctly sirloin type flavor while others that felt like the could have been a tri tip.

If you are trying to figure out the difference between a Weber Spirit 310 vs the Spirit 315 then there is a good chance that you are a bit confused as their are six different grills to sort through.

These six grills are:

• Spirit E 310
• Spirit II E 310
• Spirit E 315
• Spirit S 315
• Spirt EX 315
• Spirit SX 315

Why does Weber make things so confusing??

Don’t worry though as I have already done all of the hard work for you! This guide will walk you through all of the differences so you can buy exactly the right one for your needs.

Let’s get started!

[Read more…]

This Smoked Frozen Meatball recipe is something that I have want to try for about a year and for some reason never got around to making.  Well, it turns out that I have been missing out on something easy, fast and delicious to cook on my smoker!

These meatballs are ready in under two hours and are absolutely delicious.  If you are looking for an easy to make appetizer then keep reading and I’ll take care of you!

Start with the Right Frozen Meatballs

I started with a 1.5 pound bag of frozen, fully cooked, Johnsonville Homestyle meatballs and they were perfect.

Why these meatballs?

I wanted the meatballs to be fully cooked so it wouldn’t mater if I heated them up to 145F or 165F.  This gave me lots of flexibility in how I approached this recipe that wouldn’t have been there if I started with uncooked meatballs.

I went with the “Homestyle” flavor because I have found that I am not a fan of smoked Italian style sausages.  I love Italian style sausages/meatballs on the grill but don’t really care for how they taste when combined with smoke.

Lastly, I just like the Johnsonville brand.  You are welcome to chose whichever brand you prefer 🙂

Smoke the Meatballs at 225F

I placed the meatballs into an aluminum foil pan in a single layer.  The pan went onto my Z Grills pellet grill set at 225F which was burning hickory pellets.

If you wanted a heavier smoke flavor you could run your smoker at 180F and cook the meatballs a little longer or add a smoke tube of smoldering pellets beside the tray.

I went with 225F as it seemed like a nice balance between time and smoke.

I smoked the meatballs at 225F for one hour.

Every 15 minutes I opened the lid and shook the pan to move the meatballs around.

After an hour the meatballs had taken on some nice color and were completely heated through with an average internal temperature of just under 160F.

Add Sauce to the Smoked Meatballs

After the meatballs have smoked for one hour add about a half cup of barbecue sauce to the aluminum foil pan and shake it around to completely coat the surface of the meatballs.

I used Head Country Hot and Spicy barbecue sauce but you can use any sauce you like.  I have seen some people go a completely different route and coat the meatballs with melted pepper jelly.

After the meatballs have been coated in sauce close the lid and let the meatballs cook for 15 more minutes.

After 15 minutes remove the meatballs from the smoker and serve.

How to Serve Smoked Meatballs

I served the meatballs as an appetizer with some pretzel sticks.  It was pretty easy to stab the meatball with the pretzel and it made for a great two bite snack.

You could easily serve the meatballs in a hotdog bun along with some cheese.

Another option is to slice a couple of them in half and serve on a King’s Hawaiian roll as a meatball slider.

I suspect the most popular option is going to be to leave them in the pan and devour them on the kitchen counter!

 

Nexgrill entered the griddle market in 2019 with two flat tops that look like clones of Blackstone griddles. In 2022 Nexgrill launched their next version griddles, the Daytona Series, that include a built in lid.

The Nexgrill products, sold exclusively through Home Depot, at first glance look like fine griddles. However, when you take a closer look at real world data it appears that Blackstone makes the better product.

The TL;DR version is that the original Nexgrill griddles appeared to have a problem with excessive warping and rusting.  My belief is that these issues are cause by the use of lower grade steel (Hot Rolled) compared to what is used for Blackstone griddles (Cold Rolled).

Nexgrill Daytona Griddle Updates

The Nexgrill Daytona griddles come in three versions:

• 1 burner: 270 sq in, 12,000 BTU
• 3 burner: 630 sq in, 45,000 BTU
• 4 burner: 756 sq in, 60,000 BTU

Let’s take a closer look at the 3 and 4 burner options.

Still Use Low Grade Steel

The advertising literature still proudly states that the Daytona griddles are made with Hot Rolled Steel.  I guess they think that it sounds sexy?

There are not a lot of reviews for these products on the Home Depot website yet but of the few that are there I saw the word “warped” mentioned in several of them.

If you want to learn more about Hot Rolled vs Cold Rolled steel then scroll to the bottom of this article for a more thorough explanation.

Poor Grease Trap Design

For some reason Nexgrill decided to ditch the tried and true rear mounted grease drain and replaced it with convoluted side mounted drains.

After reading the customer reviews on the Home Depot website as well as the comments from several YouTube videos it looks like folks are not crazy about the new design.  The placement takes up griddle space, it is easy for food to fall in and the funnel that feeds the collection system is easily clogged.

The Lid is Nice

On the positive side, the Daytona griddles have a built in lid which is a nice touch and provides a level of protection for the griddle surface.  I still would go ahead and buy a separate cover though as the lid does not appear to completely seal the griddle against the elements.

Bottom Line

The Nexgrill Daytona Griddles look nice but I do not see a compelling reason to buy one instead of a Blackstone.

Original Nexgrill Griddles Overview (2019-2021)

These griddles are complete knock offs of the Blackstone 28 and 36 inch griddles which are pretty dang nice products.

The griddles have heavy steel cook tops (7 gauge for the 4 burner, 10 gauge for the 2 burner) that come pre-seasoned.

Just like the Blackstone these griddles have a rear grease drain for easy clean up.

The griddles come with a five year warranty on the burners and a limited one year warranty on all other parts.

4 Burner Griddle Overview

The 36 inch griddle offers 732 square inches of griddle area that is heated by four 15,000 btu/hr burners.  That works out to a heating capacity of 82 btu/hr per square inch.  Nexgrill says this is enough room for grilling 36 burgers at a time so you can easily feed over 20 people.

The four burners are straight tubes that let you dial in the exact temperature zones you want.

The griddle has two fixed caster wheels and two swivel wheels so it rolls about pretty easy but can be locked into place once you get it where you want it, has dimensions on 26 x 36 x 64 inches, and weighs in at 122 pounds.

Everything about this griddle LOOKS identical to the Blackstone four burner but there is a big difference in the griddle itself that makes the Blackstone better.

2 Burner Griddle Overview

The 28 inch griddle offers 514 square inches of griddle area that is heated by two 19,000 btu/hr burners. That works out to a heating capacity of 74 btu/hr per square inch.

The griddle has two fixed caster wheels so you have to lift one end up by the handle and push it around if you want to move it.

The griddle has dimensions on 24 x 33 x 46 inches and a weighs in at 68 pounds.

The dual burners are actually horseshoe shaped to enable a more even heating of the griddle surface.

The equivalent Blackstone griddle has two “H style burners” but other than that detail the Nexgrill LOOKS identical to Blackstone (but isn’t).

Nexgrill vs Blackstone

When you look at the real world reviews for these grills it is apparent that people like their Blackstone griddles more than they like the Nexgrill product.

I compiled all of the reviews for the Blackstone 36 and 28 inch griddles posted on the websites from Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon and Blackstone.  I ended up with 1,776 reviews for the four burner griddle and 3,484 reviews for the two burner griddle.

I then compared the compiled Blackstone reviews with the reviews for the Nexgrill products posted on the Home Depot website.  The amount of reviews for the Nexgrill products (190 reviews, 4 burner, 248 reviews, 2 burner) are lower than what I found for the Blackstones but I believe it is a large enough data set to make meaningful comparisons.

Here is what the data looks like (compiled and current as of June 17, 2020).

4 Burner Griddle Reviews

 

 

4 Burner Griddle	Nexgrill	Blackstone
5 Star	66.84%	81.82%
4 Star	16.84%	7.65%
3 Star	4.74%	3.18%
2 Star	4.74%	1.05%
1 Star	6.84%	5.73%

Blackstone has a clear advantage in 5 star ratings at 81% vs 66% for Nexgrill.  Even when you combine the reviews of all happy customers (5 Stars + 4 Stars) Blackstone still has the edge with an 89% positive rating compared to 83% for Nexgrill.

2 Burner Griddle Reviews

 

 

2 Burner Griddle	Nexgrill	Blackstone
5 Star	60.08%	78.29%
4 Star	18.55%	11.08%
3 Star	6.45%	3.94%
2 Star	6.85%	1.84%
1 Star	8.06%	4.85%

The data for the two burner griddles is extremely similar to the data for the four burner griddles.

Blackstone has a clear advantage in 5 star ratings at 78% vs 6o% for Nexgrill.  Even when you combine the reviews of all happy customers (5 Stars + 4 Stars) Blackstone still has the edge with an 89% positive rating compared to 78% for Nexgrill.

Why Do People Like Blackstone Better Than Nexgrill?

I dug through all of the negative (1 and 2 Star reviews) for the brands to find out what the problems were and two issues emerged.

The primary complaint about both brands is excessive rusting of the cooking service.  While the complaint is common to both brands it appears to be a more common issue for Nexgrill.

The second complaint was unique to Nexgrill and especially for the two burner griddle.  Several Nexgrill owners were unhappy because the griddle warped.  Again, I did not see anyone complain about warping on the Blackstone.

I have two theories as to why the Nexgrill griddles occasionally warp.

Theory #1: There are three V Shaped Stiffening Bars underneath the griddle (both Nexgrill and Blackstone) that are designed to prevent warping.  These bars are attached to the griddle by multiple tack welds.

I have visually compared the welds on the Nexgrill and the Blackstone and the welds on the Nexgrill do not look as strong.  There is a chance that some of the welds on the Nexgrill stiffening bars are failing and allowing the griddle to warp.

Take that theory with a grain of salt as I have only inspected a few griddles and am not a welding expert.

Theory #2: The lower grade steel that Nexgrill is using for their flat tops is more prone to warping.

At first glance the steel used for both brands looks identical.  The four burner griddles both use 7 gauge steel while the two burner griddles both use 10 gauge steel.  The difference between the steel is not in thickness but in what the metal is and how it was processed.

• Blackstone uses Cold Rolled Carbon Steel for the cooktops.
• Nexgrill uses Mild Hot Rolled Steel for their cooktops.

The steel used by Nexgrill is a cheaper, lower grade material than the steel used by Blackstone.  The lower grade steel has two main drawbacks that I am aware of.

Drawback #1: According to a 2008 University study, mild steel corrodes faster than carbon steel under acidic environments.  Based upon the material of construction is it safe to assume that the Nexgrill cooktop would get attacked faster by acidic marinades (anything containing vinegar) than Blackstone’s.

Drawback #2: According to Reliance Foundry: “cold rolled steels are typically harder and stronger than standard hot rolled steels. As the metal is shaped at the lower temperatures, the steel’s hardness, resistance against tension breaking, and resistance against deformation are all increased due to work hardening.”

I cannot say for sure that Nexgrill’s warping and rusting issues are entirely because of the lower grade steel but it seems like the most probable cause.

 

The Teres Major steak, also called the Petite Tender, is the best bang for your buck in the world of steak.  These steaks are HARD to find so if you come across some then buy every single one and stick the extras in the freezer.

You will thank me later.

What is a Teres Major Steak?

This is a flavorful and INCREDIBLY TENDER steak that comes from the beef chuck primal.  These steaks are a whole muscle that weigh about a pound and there are only two steaks per head of beef.

That means for a 1,000 pound steer these steaks are only 0.2% of the animal.  Additionally, the location of this muscle makes it difficult to remove.  Many packing houses don’t bother to harvest the cut and end up grinding it into hamburger.

Here is what it takes to harvest a Petite Tender.

The steak is just slightly less tender than the filet mignon and has much more flavor.  The kicker is that the Petite Tender, on a per pound basis, is 1/3 the cost of a filet mignon.

Like a filet mignon, this is a very lean steak with no external fat cap and limited internal marbling.  Despite the leanness of this steak the flavor is amazing.

This steak is a no-brainer.

I think the reason that this steak is so cheap is because it is so rare and people just don’t know enough to drive up the price.  The petite tender really is one of those Butcher Secret Cuts.

How to Grill a Teres Major Steak

I will show you two ways of grilling this steak but the big trick is to use a digital thermometer to make sure you don’t over cook it.

These are small steaks so they cook fast.  Stay by your grill and pay attention to temperatures.

You can season these steaks with just salt and pepper and they will be amazing.

I used the following rub for all of these steaks:

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons fresh diced garlic
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tsp Accent (MSG)

Grilling With High Indirect Heat

I set up my Weber kettle for High Indirect Heat by dumping a full chimney of lit charcoal on the left side of the grill and placing the steaks on the right side of the grill.

After about 20 minutes of indirect grilling the steak hit an internal temperature of 120F and took on some beautiful color.

The steaks got moved directly over the coals and were turned frequently to get a nice char on the meat.  This will only take a few minutes.

Check the internal temperature with a instant read digital thermometer often and take it off the grill the moment the internal temperature reaches 130F.

Let the steak rest for a few minutes then slice against the grain and devour.

Grilling With High Direct Heat

An alternative way of grilling this steak is to cut it into medallions and grill them quickly over Direct High Heat.

I was able to get four nice 1.5 inch medallions out of this steak along with two tasty end pieces.  These were grilled directly over high heat using a GrillGrate panel.

The steaks were grilled for one minute, rotated for grill marks, then grilled another minute before flipping.

The steaks were basted with butter and grilled another three minutes until an internal temperature of 130F was reached.

Once the target temperature was reached the steaks were taken off the grill and sliced up to reveal a steak that was so tender and flavorful that it should have been illegal.

Seriously…it blows my mind that this steak is so freaking incredible and cheap at the same time.

Where to Buy Teres Major Steaks

This is a specialty cut and you will usually have to order it in advance from your butcher.  If you are in the US you should ask your butcher for either a Teres Major or Petite Tender.

The easiest way to buy a Teres Major is to order one online.

Petite Tender Steaks from Snake River Farms.

The Petite Tender steaks from Snake River Farms are some of the most amazing steak available in the world.

The beef from Snake River Farms comes from American Wagyu cattle which are equivalent to Japanese Kobe.  The marbling on these steaks is simply incredible.  Wagyu beef always grades much higher than Prime and is a delicacy that everyone should try at least once.

If you have ever wanted to try American Wagyu then this is one of the most affordable and delicious ways of doing so.

Here is the link to Snake River Farms.

Petite Tender Steaks from Porter Road

If Waygu beef is out of your price range then take a look at Porter Road.

Porter Road is a great outfit out of Nashville that sells beef from small farms in Tennessee and Kentucky.  The cattle on these small farms are raised and pastured outdoors and treated humanely.  If you care about how your beef was produced then these are the guys you want to work with.

The cattle are Black and Red Angus which are the next best option from Waygu.

Porter Road is a small operation that cuts all their steaks by hand.  They only sell steaks that have the highest marbling possible.  When you buy from Porter Road you will get an amazing steak from a cow that was raised like it was supposed to.

Here is the link to Porter Road.

The Pit Boss Copperhead Vertical Pellet Smokers are an interesting product line.  The smokers look handsome, are relatively affordable and have massive capacity.  If you are looking at the Copperheads then the four main questions you need to ask are:

• What Do You Get with A Copperhead Vertical Smoker?
• Are the Copperhead Vertical Smokers Good?
• Should You Buy the 3, 5 or 7 Model?
• What About the Copperhead vs Sportsman?

Keep reading and I will make a case that you should skip the Copperheads and the only model you should consider is the Pit Boss Sportsman 5 Series.

And for the record, there are zero affiliate links on this page.  I have absolutely no financial interest if you buy any of these products.

Three Versions of the Copperhead Pellet Smoker

Pit Boss makes three versions of the Copperhead, the Series 3, Series 5 and Series 7 and they are all covered by a five year warranty.  All three versions are similar and the only meaningful differences between the models are outlined in the table below.

Model	Cooking Grates	Grilling Area (sq in)	Hopper Capacity	MSRP
Copperhead 3	4	721	40 lbs	$549
Copperhead 5	5	1,513	55 lbs	$659
Copperhead 7	6	1,815	55 lbs	$799

Here is a look at the smoking space inside the Pit Boss Copperhead Series 5.

All models of the Copperhead have a water pan/grease tray above the fire pot and an easy access front pull out ash pan.

 

Pit Boss says the 5 Series can hold:

• 16 whole chickens
• 18 racks of ribs
• 16 pork shoulders

I have talked with a few folks that have told me the practical capacity of these smokers is less than stated because they found the temperature at the bottom rack, closest to the fire pot, was significantly hotter than the other racks.  As a result they use the bottom rack to hold another water pan for increased moisture and improved temperature distribution.

Real World Pit Boss Copperhead Reviews

I compiled the reviews for the 3, 5 and 7 series vertical pellet smokers from the following sites:

• Walmart
• Pit Boss
• Amazon
• Lowes

As of July, 2022 these amounted to 471 reviews.  The number of reviews for each model are:

• Series 3: 102 reviews
• Series 5: 311 reviews
• Series 7: 14 reviews

Here is what the data looks like for each model.

The percentage of five star reviews is low enough to be alarming (58-36%) as are the percentage of one star reviews (22-14%).

When you combine the data sets from all three models it looks like this:

I am a fan of the Pit Boss brand and I love how they are fighting Traeger in the pellet grill wars (see Pit Boss vs Traeger for more information) so it is disturbing for me to see the low ratings on this smoker.  Pit Boss is an excellent Traeger alternative and I want to see them succeed.

Why Does the Copperhead Get Poor Reviews?

I read through all of the 1 and 2 star reviews to see if I could find some recurring themes about customer dissatisfaction.

One trend was several people were upset that their smoker arrived damaged.  However, I see those complaints for every model of grill from every manufacturer.  Sometimes accidents happen in shipping and from what I read Pit Boss was very good at sending replacement smokers.

The real issue that emerged was reliability.  Review after review talked about getting error codes after just a few uses.  Control panels were burning out and circuitry was failing.

Here is an excellent video from one very frustrated owner of a Series 5 model where he walks through how he has attempted to fix some issues but is still having massive reliability problems.  If you read the comments below the video there are about 70 people who responded that they are having the same issues.

At first the reliability issue was confusing since the Copperhead has the same control panel as the Pit Boss Austin XL.  The Pit Boss Austin XL has a 68% 5 star rating which is considerably better than what we see for the Copperhead.

One reviewer left a suggestion that makes the most sense to me.  The reviewer pointed out that the control panel on the Copperhead is located directly below the fire pot making it exposed to higher temperature conditions than normal.  Looking at the location of the control panel below I can understand how it might become problematic.

More support for the idea that the controller location is the reason for the reliability issues comes from the newest vertical pellet smoker from Pit Boss, the Platinum 5 Series Brunswick pictured below.

The Brunswick has an upgraded PID control panel with WiFi and Bluetooth capability.  I noticed that for this upgraded vertical smoker that the control panel is located on the TOP of the smoker where conditions will be coolest.  This design feature was also mimicked in the Pro Series 4 vertical pellet smoker at Lowes where the control panel is located on the side of the smoker near the top.

Most People Love Their Copperhead Vertical Smokers

Everything is not gloom and doom for the Copperhead and there are a lot of folks who love theirs.  When you combine the 5 and 4 star ratings you see that about 70% of buyers are pretty fond of this smoker.

These are massive, affordable, beautiful looking smokers and, when they work properly, can be used to make amazing barbecue.  Pit Boss has excellent customer service and these smokers are covered by a 5 year warranty (you need to register your smoker first).  If you do end up needing a new control panel then you can simply call Pit Boss up, describe the problem and they will send you a replacement.

Replacing the control panel is pretty simple and here is a video that shows you exactly how to perform the installation.

If this will be your only smoker or if you do not feel like you would want to deal with the hassle of replacing a control panel then this is not the smoker for you.

If this is going to be a secondary smoker or if you can grab one of these on a clearance sale then I would go ahead and take a chance.  In the worst case scenario you will need to do some repair work every now and then and in the best case you might get an amazing smoker with no problems whatsoever!

Should You Buy the Copperhead 3, 5 or 7?

When it comes to choosing between these three models the decision comes down to capacity and budget.  Personally I think the best option for most people is to go with the 5 Series.

Copperhead 3 vs 5

One of the main reasons to get a vertical smoker is capacity and, in my mind, it does not make sense to get a “small large smoker”.

While the 3 series has 721 square inches of cooking space you need to realize that the space is spread across four small grates.  While each grate is big enough to handle a couple of five pound pork butts they are not big enough to fit a full size packer brisket.

Check out the video below as the guys have to use a foil wrapped brick to get a small, 10 pound brisket to fit into a Series 3 smoker.

I spent some time searching through this YouTube channel to see what else he was doing with the Series 3 smoker and the biggest thing I learned was that he upgraded to a Sportsman 5 Series.

Copperhead 5 vs 7

While I believe that the 3 is too small I will make the argument that the 5 Series is big enough.

The 7 Series costs about $150 more than the 5 Series and all you get for the extra money is a slightly taller smoker with one more cooking grate.

The 5 Series has plenty of room to handle five briskets at once.  How many times are you ever going to need the capacity to cook even more than five briskets at a time?

Another downside with the 7 series is that since it has a larger internal volume than the 5 series it will take longer to get back to temperature after you open the door and will burn more pellets to maintain the same temperature.

Pit Boss Copperhead vs Sportsman

Pit Boss has another product line of vertical pellet grills, the Sportsman Series.  The Sportsman and Copperhead grills are identical in terms of capacity, functions, etc and simply have different badging so they can be sold in different stores.

The reason that I would buy a Sportsman 5 Series instead of the Copperhead 5 Series is because I think the Sportsman looks sharper and it comes with a set of 5 meat hooks and 5 sausage hooks.

If the smokers are identical in price and function then it seems silly not to get the one with the extra accessories thrown in 🙂

This article was originally published in 2018 and was last updated in July, 2022.

 

 

The Pit Boss Pro Triple Function Combo Grill is sold exclusively through Lowes.  The grill, which used to be called the Pro 1100, has a wood pellet fired chamber on the left, a propane gas fired chamber on the right along with a side burner. 

Let’s take a look at some of the specifications and features of this grill to see if it is right for you.

Key Features of the Pit Boss Pro Series Combo Grill

Combo grills are great options for people who want the flexibility to do slow cooking with wood smoke and be able to do some quick grilling over an open flame.

Here is a promotional video for the earlier version of this grill (Pro 1100) from Pit Boss.  The only meaningful difference between the older model and the current model is the upgraded controller on the pellet grill side (we will cover that in more detail below). 

Large but Fragmented Cooking Area

The cooking area on the Combo grill is equally distributed between the pellet and gas fired chambers. 

Both sides have a primary cooking grate with 352 square inches of space and a secondary cooking grate offering 200 square inches.   The combined grilling surface comes up to be just over 1100 square inches inside the main chamber.  You also get another 130 square inches of grilling space with the side burner.

While the 1,230 total square inches of grilling space sounds like a massive grill, the fact that it is broken into so many sections makes the effective grilling area much smaller. 

For example, on the pellet grill side of the smoker you can fit two slabs of baby back ribs on the primary grate and a third slab on the secondary elevated grate.  While the capacity to smoke three slabs of baby backs is perfectly fine for most people it is less than one would intuitively expect from a grill with 1,230 square inches of cooking space.

Temperature Control (Pellet + Gas)

The temperature control for the pellet side of the grill has been updated to a PID system with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.  

The PID controller is a mixed blessing.  PIDs are great for maintaining a steady temperature but, because they are so steady and clean, are notorious for producing low levels of smoke flavor.  This is common across all brands of grills with PID controllers and is not a “Pit Boss Issue”.

The reviews on the WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity and the associated SmokeIt app are mixed.  The early reviews for the system, when it came out around 2020, were pretty bad.  However, this is really just a software issue and it sounds like major upgrades were made in subsequent updates.

The temperature control on the gas fired side of the grill is manually controlled through the burner knobs for the three independent propane fired burners.  Each burner is rated for 12,000 BTU/hr for a combined heat output of 36,000 BTU/hr.  This heat is spread across 352 square inches on the primary cooking grate for a specific heating value of 102 BTU/hr per square inch.  That is a seriously hot grill!

Pellet Hopper and Ash/Grease Management

The Combo has a pellet hopper with a 22 pound capacity.  I like the size of this hopper because when you get down to just a pound or two of pellets then you can dump the full contents of a 20 pound bag of pellets into the hopper.

Each cooking chamber has its own grease management system.  The pellet grill drains into a drip bucket underneath the grill while the gas fired side of the grill has a removable grease try that slides out from the side of the grill.

There is no advanced ash management system for this Combo grill so you will need to use a Shop Vac to clean out the fire pot and the body of the chamber after every few uses.

Other Features

The grill comes with two stainless steel meat probe thermometers that plug into the control panel so you can monitor the internal temperature of what you are smoking.  I do not believe the leads are long enough to use on the gas grill side of the Combo.

There is an adjustable Smoke Control Lever between the pellet side and gas side of the grill which lets you add smoke flavor to the gas side while you are grilling. I suspect with a little creativity you could also use this arrangement to do some cold smoking.

The pellet grill side of the Combo has a slidable heat shield that allows you to directly grill your food over an open wood fire if desired.

This grill has dimensions of 66 x 50 x 32 inches and weighs in at 172 pounds after assembly.

The Pro Series 1100 Combo is backed by a five year warranty on all components.

The Pro Series 1100 Combo is a Lowes exclusive product and currently retails for $799.

User Reviews of the Triple Function Combo Grill

I searched the web for the best reviews that I could find and broke them out into two categories.  The first category is the 5 through 1 star reviews provided by people who have purchased the grill and the second category are the video reviews on YouTube.

Reviews From Grill Buyers

I compiled all of the reviews left for this grill from the Lowes website.

This grill has over 400 reviews available which I consider to be a large enough data set to be reliable.  

The grill has received 63% 5 star and 14% 4 star reviews which combine to give a Customer Satisfaction Rating of 77% which is pretty standard for Pit Boss products.  On the flip side, when you combine the 1 and 2 star reviews you find that 16% of people hate the grill.

The biggest complaints about the grill fell into three main categories:

1. Grills are dented/broken inside the box.
2. Unable to get the pellet grill controller to function (ERP codes)
3. Long term reliability

Some of the representative negative reviews are posted below.

Absolute junk. Bought this grill 2 years ago (seems to have changed slightly). The gas side started giving problems after about a year and then stopped working. Kept using the pellet side until the auger quit this week. The metal is burning through and really all the internal parts are falling apart. Can’t believe I paid this much and it only lasted 2 years.

This grill has now broken 3 times in the past 6 months and is not even a full year old. I’ve had to do multiple repairs myself, all a waste of time because of this sub par product.

 

Hands On YouTube Video Reviews

Video #1

Video #2

Should You Buy the Pit Boss Combo Grill?

This is not a grill that I would consider purchasing.

The grill looks great and the idea of a combo grill is seductive.

The reality is that if you buy this grill then you will spend a LOT of money to get a small pellet grill that is okay and a small gas grill that is subpar.

I think you would be much happier if you bought a mid sized Pit Boss like the Classic or 700FB1 for smoking and then got a nice gas grill like a Weber Q or Traveler.  The total cost would be the about the same and you would have a much nicer setup.