Not sure if already mentioned, but another advantage of the PG500/1000 is the way the smoke is routed. It's the only grill I know where the smoke exits below the grate level, forcing all smoke that was generated to pass over the food on the main grate. Most other grill designs have a drip tray blocking most of the smoke generated from below.

On the MAK, the smoke exits through vents at the back, just above the bottom grate. So if you want the smoke exiting below your food, you can cook on an upper rack.

Use your pellet grill to cook/smoke. Sear on gas or charcoal. No pellet grill will do it as well.  My gas grill is my "searing station".

Sorry, but this is just a silly statement!  You have obviously never owned a pellet grill that will.  Not only will it do it better, it does it better with wood smoke!

Use your pellet grill to cook/smoke. Sear on gas or charcoal. No pellet grill will do it as well.

Sorry, but this is just a silly statement!  You have obviously never owned a pellet grill that will.  Not only will it do it better, it does it better with wood smoke!

Use your pellet grill to cook/smoke. Sear on gas or charcoal. No pellet grill will do it as well.

I stand corrected

Sorry, but this is just a silly statement!  You have obviously never owned a pellet grill that will.  Not only will it do it better, it does it better with wood smoke!

Use your pellet grill to cook/smoke. Sear on gas or charcoal. No pellet grill will do it as well.

Ever do it this way?  Here is a video of me with the weed burner ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1iTmpmhvk

Yep, I have, just like I did with the chilis.

Yep, I have, just like I did with the chilis.

I haven't tried yet it with chilies. it's on my list. Bet it works good.

Use your pellet grill to cook/smoke. Sear on gas or charcoal. No pellet grill will do it as well.  My gas grill is my "searing station".

Lotsa pics on PF that show excellent searing with pellet grills. With either direct flame or indirect. 

Not sure if already mentioned, but another advantage of the PG500/1000 is the way the smoke is routed. It's the only grill I know where the smoke exits below the grate level, forcing all smoke that was generated to pass over the food on the main grate. Most other grill designs have a drip tray blocking most of the smoke generated from below.

On the MAK, the smoke exits through vents at the back, just above the bottom grate. So if you want the smoke exiting below your food, you can cook on an upper rack.

OK, I probably didn't describe it very clearly. The benefit of the design of the PG is not that smoke exits below the food, it is that the smoke is forced to pass over the food on the main grate before it exits. In other grill designs, smoke is generated below the drip pan, and makes it's way to the cooking area from gaps around the pan. Much of that smoke has the potential to exit through the exhaust without ever coming in contact with the food. Of course, turbulence in the chamber does allow some smoke to contact the food, but not as much as with the PG design. At least, that's what folks that own them say. 

Not sure if already mentioned, but another advantage of the PG500/1000 is the way the smoke is routed. It's the only grill I know where the smoke exits below the grate level, forcing all smoke that was generated to pass over the food on the main grate. Most other grill designs have a drip tray blocking most of the smoke generated from below.

On the MAK, the smoke exits through vents at the back, just above the bottom grate. So if you want the smoke exiting below your food, you can cook on an upper rack.

OK, I probably didn't describe it very clearly. The benefit of the design of the PG is not that smoke exits below the food, it is that the smoke is forced to pass over the food on the main grate before it exits. In other grill designs, smoke is generated below the drip pan, and makes it's way to the cooking area from gaps around the pan. Much of that smoke has the potential to exit through the exhaust without ever coming in contact with the food. Of course, turbulence in the chamber does allow some smoke to contact the food, but not as much as with the PG design. At least, that's what folks that own them say.

Don't forget some of the CampChef Grills have vented diverter/drip pans that allow smoke thru past the meat.  However I'm still not fully happy with the smoke flavor.

>Don't forget some of the CampChef Grills have vented diverter/drip pans that allow smoke thru past the meat. 
>However I'm still not fully happy with the smoke flavor.

The Weber uses 'flavorizors' instead of a drip pan which theoretically allows a lot more smoke to permeate. Folks here and elsewhere have reported that it produces some of the strongest smoke flavors for a pellet grill. However, it has it's share of problems due to that design.

I just put a brisket on my camp chef. I’ve never done a brisket, but it’s my favorite BBQ meat so I really want to get good at it. Hope it turns out!

The low overnight is 23 degrees F. It’s about 27 right now. I’ve got the pit running in high-temp smoke mode, which is supposed to be about 220 with lots of smoke. It’s bouncing between like 195 and 220, but I know from experience that if the wind picks up at all, it can lose about 30 degrees.

This is also sort of part of my evil plan to convince my wife that we need a new smoker. If it doesn’t turn out, I can point to the lack of temperature control as a suspect. Mwa-ah-ah.

Incidentally, this was the smallest brisket they had at Costco when I went looking. It’s 15 pounds and measures about 19 inches wide after trimming. To you PG500 owners, would I be able to fit this sucker in the indirect zone? It seems like it might fit diagonally...

Wish you well on your brisket.  Hard to beat those from Costco. Show us the end product please. 

The brisket actually turned out very well for a first effort. I overcooked it a little, so the flat was a little dry (though still tender) and the point was falling apart a little. I think the fact that I was cooking a USDA prime brisket saved my bacon.

So, my evil plan was a failure, and dinner was a success. I’ll take the success.

I did notice the smoke ring and flavor were weak. Weaker than I usually get. Maybe a water pan would help?

Picture of the brisket sliced up.