Pitts and Spitts Maverick 850 Pellet Grill - American Made Pellet Smoker
Made in the USA This Pellet Grill is made to last with Texas heritage and quality.
The carbon steel cooking chamber is made of 7 and 10 gauge carbon steel. This grill comes standard with our signature 304 stainless steel lid and work shelf.
STANDARD ACCESSORIES
- Trap door drip pan
- PID controller for superior temperature control
- Smart Meat Probe Meat Probe available here at Smokey Mountain Fireplaces
- Wi-Fi Capable - Wifi Module is available here
- 35 pound hopper
- Stainless steel hopper lid
- Expanded metal rack on bottom to hold pellets
- Hand crafted hardwood handles for the stainless steel lid
- Rubber covered maneuvering handles
- Stainless steel working surface
- Paper towel rack
- Cooking area 850 In Sq
- Cooking Chamber Length: 30″
- Cooking Chamber Diameter: 18″
- Pit Width: 52″
- Pit Height: 50″
- Pit Depth: 27″
- Hand Welded in the USA - Outstanding quality
- (3) Tool hooks for hanging cooking utensils
You can set this custom made digital controller in 5ºF increments from a low of 180ºF all the way up to 600ºF. When I first fired it up, the fan cycled on and the cooker temp went to 225ºF in 2 minutes (with the lid down). The fan actually cycled off at about 200ºF and then on and off to slowly reach 225ºF without overshooting the mark, which gives you an idea of how finely tuned the controller is. I clipped a ThermoWorks Smoke thermometer to the center of the grill and temps were consistently within 5ºF of the controller readings. When you open the lid, add cold food, or the weather changes outside, heat recovery is rapid. The fan cycles on and off as necessary—and very frequently—to maintain temp. That constant cycling also produces more steady smoke throughout the cook. In some pellet cookers, you get a few puffs of smoke every 5 minutes or so when the controller kicks back in, but this is a hardworking PID. You get constant smoke similar to (although a bit lighter than) what you see in a stickburner.
PITTS & SPITTS HAS BEEN A LEGEND IN THE BBQ BUSINESS FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS. IN THAT TIME, PITTS & SPITTS HAS BEEN MIXING TEXAS TRADITION WITH NEW WORLD TECHNIQUES TO CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE THE BEST-LOOKING, BEST-COOKING SMOKERS & GRILLS.
Heavy duty construction
The Maverick 1250 I tested has a carbon steel cooking chamber. They also offer a completely stainless steel version that is way more expensive. But you’ll never have to worry about rust! Either way, the cooking barrel is made of 7 gauge steel, which is thicker than what you find on most pellet cookers (for instance, the cooking chamber of the Yoder YS640, another premium pellet grill, is made of slightly thinner 10 gauge steel). That gauge matters. Thicker steel retains heat better, delivers more heat, and recovers heat better, giving the smoker an edge at maintaining a steady temperature throughout the cooking. Better heat retention also means better efficiency because you’re using less fuel.
Pitts & Spitts doesn’t cut corners on other parts, either. The deflector plate over the firepot is made of 7 gauge steel. The drip pan is 10 gauge, and the work table, smokestack and various parts are constructed with solid steel as well. All those steel parts to help spread and maintain the heat very evenly throughout the smoker. Overall, you’re looking at 7 and 10 gauge steel in this cooker, compared to slightly thinner 10, 14 or 16 gauge steel in other premium pellet grills. The Maverick is built like a tank.
The heavy deflector plate separates the fuel from the grease. And the drip pan over the deflector plate sits on an angle, directing drippings to a nice big grease chamber on the right. You actuate grease cleanout with a brass ball valve, another nice touch that allows you to open the valve as much or as little as you like for precise control of the airflow, and the grease flow.
Two cooking grates rest on welded rails and slide out easily for a total cooking area of 1250 square inches (the larger Maverick 2000 has 3 cooking grates). I’m not crazy about expanded metal grates for cooking. I prefer cooking on steel rods. But the diamond grates are okay and pretty standard on heavy duty smokers like this one. It’s just takes a little more elbow grease to get them clean.
Assembly
How hard is it to put together this heavy-duty smoker? Not very. The Maverick arrived bolted to a shipping pallet and wood frame constructed by the manufacturer. Under the shipping wrap, all the edges were protected with thick styrofoam buffers. The packaging was very solid and there was no damage during shipping. Assembly consists of bolting on the wheels and attaching the work shelf. Place the deflector plate and drip pan in place, and you’re ready to fire up. For the initial startup procedure, you run it empty at 375ºF for 30 minutes and spray it with oil to season the interior like you would a cast-iron pan. Once that’s done, you never have to do it again.
Here is one of Many recipes. This is the Brisket from Pitts and Spitts