Pit Boss Pellet Smokers and Grills are simple to use and maintain. There’s no need to feel intimidated. I’ll go over the basics of using both a pellet grill and a pellet smoker in this article. Though I’ll reference the Copperhead Series 3 Smoker and the Austin XL horizontal pellet grill both made by Pit Boss, the procedures for starting and using nearly any pellet smoker/grill are roughly the same.

Pit Boss makes terrific pellet smokers and grills. They’re well made, great looking, and are backed with the best warranty in the business. Pellet grills function like a wood-fired convection oven and are great for grilling, baking, smoking and if you use a cast-iron skillet, you can fry and sear too. Vertical smokers are better smokers in my opinion, but you cannot grill with them.

How Pellet Grills and Smokers Work

If you’ve never used a pellet grill or smoker before, they can appear complex. They’re definitely different from either charcoal or gas grills. Wood pellets that are stored in a hopper are automatically slow-fed into a firebox that’s about the size of a large coffee mug, near a small fan that moves air around the fire and the inside of the grill or smoker. As long as you keep the hopper full of pellets, you’ll have a fire burning for smoking or grilling. Think of it as a smokey convection oven.

Pellet Grills and Smokers Need Electricity To Work

Pellet smokers and grills need electricity to power 4 key elements:

• Metal Igniter to ignite the pellets in the firebox
• Fan to blow air around the firebox where the fire burns
• Auger to transfer wood pellets from the hopper to the firebox
• Digital Control Panel to control and monitor temperatures

Your pellet smoker or grill might have some other bells and whistles on it, but this is the basic list of electronically controlled elements. No electricity, no grilling. But the amount of electricity needed is minimal after the pellets are ignited. You can run a pellet grill or smoker off of a car battery or even a solar-powered generator!

The Steps To Starting and Using Your Pellet Grill or Smoker

• Have your meat prepared and know what your time-temperature plan is.
• Make sure you have enough wood pellets in your hopper. 
• It’s a good idea to check the firebox to see that it’s empty or nearly empty of any debris or excess ash or pellets. I don’t check this every time myself, but it’s still a good idea. I check it and clean it about every 5 cookouts.
• Scrape the grates clean where your meat will go.
• Spray the grates with a non-stick cooking spray.
• Plug the grill or smoker into your energy source.
• Make sure the temperature knob is turned to the lowest smoke setting.
• Leaving the lid open, start it – usually by pressing a button. You’ll hear the fan come on first then you might hear the auger turn slowly feeding pellets into the firebox. The igniter rod will get red hot igniting the pellets. After about a minute or so, you’ll start to see smoke. Leave the lid or door open and let the pellets burn for about 4-5 minutes. The smoke should clear away after a minute or so.
• If you’re adding water, add it to your water pan or container now. Make sure the water is already hot. This is usually for low and slow smoking to keep the meat moist.
• Close the door and turn the temperature knob to your desired smoking or grilling temperature. This make take 2-10 minutes depending on how hot you want to go. You should let it get to at least 225 degrees and let it burn for a few minutes to kill off any bacteria from any previous barbecues. 
• The next step is to open the lid or door and place your meat inside. Close the door and let your grill or smoker do its thing according to your time-temperature plan.

Again, this process works for just about any make or model of pellet smoker or grill. And after you’ve done this a couple of times you’ll have it down. 

If you’re grilling steaks hot and fast, you’ll be near your grill most of the time to monitor it. If you’re doing a low and slow smoke, then you can usually leave it to do other things. But keep in mind it is fire and manmade appliances are known to have issues now and then. The fire could go out and the unit will eventually turn off. Or, the auger could overfeed the firebox and it could flame up and scorch everything. I’ve experienced both situations with two different makes and models. I’ve also left a smoker completely unattended for six plus hours and came back to perfectly smoked meat. Use caution when leaving your smoker unattended.

How To Shut Down A Pellet Grill – How To Turn It Off Properly

This is another area where pellet grills are different than other types of grills. You don’t just let it burn itself out, turn it off, or unplug it. You first want to stop feeding pellets to the flame by turning the control knob to the lowest smoke setting and leaving the door or lid open. Then, give it about 5 minutes to finish burning what’s already in the firebox. Then you can turn it off which could be by turning the knob to off or by pressing and holding the button till the lights go off on the control panel. I usually run a grill brush over the grates a few times to clear off any bits of meat while it’s still hot.

The grill or smoker may continue to make fan noise for a few minutes more before going silent. At that point, you can unplug it. It may need more time to cool down before putting a cover on it, but otherwise, you’re done and can close the door or lid and go enjoy your food. 

Check on your grease catch because it will eventually need to be emptied now and then. Other than that, keep it clean and dry and you should be able to enjoy many years of grilling or smoking.

I make all kinds of videos on my YouTube Channel detailing my smoking and grilling adventures. I invite you to check them watch, like, comment, share and subscribe to the channel if you like what you see.

Pellet Smoker Grill Videos You Might Like to Watch Next:

Are Pellet Grills Any Good? Are Pellet Smokers Worth It?
Ribeye Steak on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill
Pellet Smoker Pork Shoulder – How To Cook Pulled Pork