Pit Boss 700FB Pellet Grill Review

Proper searing is something that most pellet grills struggle with. The Pit Boss 700FB addresses this issue with a smart sliding plate design that provides genuine flame searing.

We put the Pit Boss 700FB pellet grill through its paces in this hands-on assessment to see how well it worked and whether it could truly sear a steak.

Pit Boss provided me with this barbecue for free in exchange for an honest assessment. My views and opinions are all my own.

Pit Boss 700FB Review Overview

The Pit Boss wood pellet grill is excellent for a party of four to six people, with 700 square inches of cast-iron cooking surface and a second layer rack.

Its cooking temperature varies from 180 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, providing a consistent range to guarantee you may cook anything you desire.

The FB model comes without a side shelf or a bottom cabinet, but both may be added as extras for a small fee.

The LCD readout thermostatic controls and standard flame broiler allow you to personalize your preferred cooking ways.

Set it and forget it for low and slow cooking, or move the dish over an open flame to sear meat.

Pit Boss 700FB Specifications

• 700 sq in total cooking surface
• 21lbs Pellet hopper capacity
• Porcelain-coated wire cooking grids
• The burn mechanism of the Pit Boss wood pellet barbecue is digitally regulated.
• Fueled by 100% hardwood pellets
• Ideal for using to cook for 4 to 6 guests
• Temperature range for cooking is 180-500 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Thermostatic controls have an LCD readout
• Made with heavy-gauge steel components
• Searing over an open fire pot is possible with the flame broiler design.

The barbecue runs on wood pellets made entirely of natural hardwoods.

It’s simple to use, with straightforward controls and big pieces. This outdoor cooker is built to endure with heavy-gauge steel components, total structural strength, and durability.

What I Like:

• The scorching zone This feature creates a delicious sear on a steak! You’re incorrect if you believe a pellet barbecue can’t sear a steak. This one can, and does it rather well! At times, maybe too well. I burnt the tops of several chicken thighs after just briefly searing them.
• Grill grates made of porcelain coated cast iron are nonstick and simple to clean. All that is needed is a little brushing.
• Quality of construction The grill looks to be well-made of thicker gauge steels. I anticipate a long grill life with few replacement components.
• The kitchen The grill features a large cooking surface. The 700 square inch grill grate size is enough for cooking burgers or smoking briskets.

What I Don’t Like:

• Position on the second layer of the rack It’s tough to cook anything below it because of how it’s positioned. On rival models, the top rack seems to be positioned a bit farther back, making access to the cooking area underneath the rack a little more accessible.
• Handle for the lid The lid’s handle may protrude a bit more from the lid. Because the grill’s lid opens so wide, my wrist came into touch with the scorching lid many times when opening it all the way.

It’s worth noting that the basic 700FB model lacks a side shelf and a bottom cabinet.

My previous barbecues all featured a side shelf, occasionally two. I never gave them much consideration until I bought a barbecue that didn’t have one.

It’s quite inconvenient not to have a spot to set a dish, hang tongs, or lay your meat thermometer. So I ended up purchasing the Pit Boss add-on for this barbecue.

If you want to keep your barbecue accessories beneath the grill, it’s worth it to pay a little more for the model with the bottom cabinet.

The bottom line:

The Pit Boss 700FB’s control and simplicity of use are excellent.

Want to flame kiss a steak? You can do that.

Do you want to slow-cook a pork butt for 14 hours? You can do it as well.

On the Pit Boss 700FB, you may grill, smoke, bake, roast, sear, braise, barbecue, or char-grill with ease.

Unboxing and packaging

Pit Boss clearly went to considerable lengths to ensure that none of these grill pieces were damaged while shipment.

There was cardboard and foam and taping galore!

I was blown away. It took nearly the same amount of time to unpack everything as it did to build the barbecue.

Assembling and getting the Pit Boss ready to cook

The 700FB was the simplest full-size barbecue I’ve ever put together.

The majority of the grill is already constructed. All I had to do was attach the legs to the body, add the lid and a couple handles, and it was done.

I used a cordless drill to complete the assembly in approximately 20 minutes.

Many aficionados like the concept of the authentic wood-fired flavor and ease of pellet grilling, but they sometimes struggle to get the desired results.

If you want to be successful in the Pellet Club, you must follow a few guidelines.

• Pellet Club’s first rule is that you must not discuss about Pellet Club! Okay, I’m joking. The first guideline is to read and follow all directions for priming, igniting, and preheating your pellet grill. I cannot emphasize this more. These actions are essential for success. There are no quick fixes.
• The second rule is to go back and read rule #1 again! A brief synopsis: Start the grill on smoke for a full 10 minutes. The oven should then be preheated at 300-350F for 20-30 minutes. THEN AND ONLY THEN may you change it to your chosen cooking temperature. If all of the pellets from the previous cook were burnt out of the grill, the auger system must be primed with pellets again BEFORE initiating the starting operation. This is critical!
• 3rd rule: Eat, drink, and be merry.

If you follow these instructions and still have issues, it is probable that something is wrong with your grill, and you should contact customer service for more help.

These guidelines are based on my research of pellet cooking forums and my own firsthand experiences.

Clean up

Except for the diffuser plate if you’re smoking anything particularly fatty, like a pig butt, cleaning is typically a breeze. This diffuser plate was a nightmare to clean after all that fat had baked onto it.

If you’re not going to utilize the searing zone, I suggest wrapping the whole diffuser plate with aluminum foil before cooking, especially if you’re planning to smoke meat.

Even chicken thighs will lose a significant amount of fat. Cleanup will be a snap thanks to the aluminum foil.

While the pellet drop chute approach is not without merit, I believe that the drop chute design on my Pit Bosss vertical smoker is superior. I’m shocked they didn’t use the same design for both.

The only problem I had with this was that the drop chute cover was often difficult to remove from the chute.

Build Quality

Heavy gauge steel is used for the grill body and diffuser plates. Porcelain coating is used on the grill racks.

I thoroughly examined every element of this grill and found practically no flaws. Paint was missing on one of the legs in a small place approximately the size of a pen tip.

I searched for a long time before I found anything.

When you pick up the bits, you can see they are not very thin sheet metal pieces.

For the price of this grill, the quality is excellent.

Temperature accuracy of grill and probes:

On the grill, there are two temperature displays: a gauge in the lid and a digital display positioned on the left wall within the firebox area.

When compared to my Thermoworks smoke temp probes, the Pit Boss gauges registered quite precisely, ranging from dead on to 10F off.

I feel this is fairly acceptable given that the gauges are in somewhat different positions and are influenced differently by streams of hot air spinning about in the grill.

Cooking on the Pit Boss 700FB

I grilled a variety of various foods to test the Pit Boss’s searing and low and slow performance.

Pellet consumption:

• About 1 lb per hour on lower temps (250 or less)
• About 2 lb per hour on higher temps.
• About 2.5 lbs per hour on high

I’ve added a couple photographs below to show you the end product.

Temperature fluctuations (and why good customer support is important)

To be honest, I had a difficulty with the grill at first.

Temperatures ranged from 50 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. While this had no effect on cooking while I was grilling at high temperatures, it was producing issues when I tried to smoke meats at low temperatures like 225-250F.

I called Pit Boss customer care (on a Sunday, no less).

They led me through various troubleshooting tests to figure out what was wrong.

While they couldn’t identify the problem since all of the tests came back normal, they advised changing the control board and temp probe just in case to see if this will solve my problem.

They shipped it everything out for free, no questions asked, no problems. It also supplied colorful step-by-step instructions for replacing these pieces. These pieces took me around 20 minutes to replace.

The grill has been performing well since those components were replaced!

When set to 300F, for example, the temperature range would be 306-318F on average.

At lower temperatures, it seems to average around the same temperature swing ranges.

Given that my home oven has a temperature fluctuation of roughly 11, I think that’s very good for live-fire control!

Pit Boss offers some of the greatest customer service I’ve ever encountered, particularly when it comes to outdoor cooking equipment. They were incredibly educated, courteous, and eager to assist me in getting back to grilling.

Should you buy the Pit Boss 700FB?

This is an excellent entry-level pellet grill with plenty of options at an affordable price.

Pit Boss, I think, turns a lot of heads with their rates and keeps their clients by providing excellent performance and customer service.

Personally, the lack of a side shelf is an issue for me. If you want a built-in shelf, I suggest investing a little more money on the Sportsman 820, which has a detachable side shelf and a front shelf.

If you can’t afford the Sportsman right now, or if you find a good bargain on a 700FB, you can still go for it.

One more thing. I also bought a grill cover for the 700FB. You should acquire a grill cover if you want to safeguard your investment and keep your barbecue looking great. Consider it an essential grilling equipment, similar to a spatula or a thermometer.

If you want to try your hand at pellet grilling and smoking, this is an excellent grill to start with.

There are many other grills available with same characteristics, but they are far more expensive.

Extra notes

• Upper-tier shelf: I remove it off the grill unless I’m grilling burgers or poultry. It’s just simpler now that it’s out of the way. I just use the grill to store it or to heat up buns. In any case, it’s simply a little annoyance. It’s not a huge deal.
• Lid Handle: This is a simple one. When I open the lid, I either wear gloves or pay special attention. A little burn once or twice and you won’t do it again, I guarantee!
• Side Shelf: Follow my example. Purchase the optional side shelf. Every cent was well spent. In addition, when you purchase a barbecue from Pit Boss, you will get a 25% discount on accessories. Make use of that coupon!
• Below the Grill Shelf: There isn’t much you can do about this one. Down there, I keep my grill brush. All of my other grilling gear have been moved inside. I suppose you might keep an airtight bucket of pellets or an extra bag of pellets on that shelf. That is also a viable alternative.