Pit Boss Austin Xl Vs Oklahoma Joes Rider Dlx
Right, now lets look at how the best Oklahoma Joes currently has to offer in the Rider DLX compares to one of the most popular Pit Boss grills on the market right now, the Austin XL.
The Rider DLX retails for $599, and I have seen the Pit Boss Austin XL at that price point. However, Ive also seen Walmart price it at $499 in some cases, so just bear that in mind.
So how does one of the most popular Pit Boss pellet grills the Austin XL compare against the highest-specification Oklahoma Joes pellet grill the Rider DLX?: PitBoss-Grills.com and
In terms of temperature control, its really a similar situation to the 700FB and Rider 900. Pretty basic control panels which can be set to a maximum of 500 degrees. I do believe the Rider DLX control panel will be a bit easier to read due to the larger display and the fact its higher up on the grill and angled upwards.
Hence, you wont have to bend down to set/adjust and monitor the temperature within the pellet grill. Importantly both of these pellet grills do feature direct-flame access and cast-iron grates. I actually think the Rider DLX has a better implementation of the direct-flame feature, more on that below.
How Pellet Grills Work
- Hopper – Contains the pellets until needed for cooking.
- Controller – The “brains” of the operation, it is an electric controller that monitors the temperature inside the cooking chamber and controls the fan and auger.
- – A type of Archimedes screw that moves the pellets when needed from the hopper to the burn pot.
- Burn pot – A small pot where the pellets drop and burn, creating heat and real-wood smoke.
Oklahoma Joes Rider Dlx 1200 Overview And First Impressions
The Rider DLX 1200 looks like an Oklahoma Joes pit. Its all black, and the traditional wagon-style wheels have been upgraded. They are rubber-coated and are paired with casters.
It smokes well as a pellet grill should, but what really sets it apart is its ability to do a fantastic sear. Very unusual for a pellet grill!
Oklahoma Joes made searing a priority for this pit. Pellet grill manufacturers have tried to make their grills sear in different ways, but Oklahoma Joes is one of the best sear zones Ive seen.
It comes with plenty of cooking space to handle whatever you need. It features a primary cooking area of 578 square inches and a secondary cooking space of 656 square inches for a total of 1,234 square inches.
Theres the smaller Rider 900 which is a bit cheaper if you dont need as much space.
The Rider DLX also has a side table for you to put dishes and food on as well.
Heres a full rundown of the specs of the Rider DLX 1200:
| Cooking Area |
| Check Latest Price |
One of the notable upgrades is that the Rider DLX 1200 comes with a PID controller that is adjustable in increments of 25 degrees. You can see on the display the system read and react both with the fan and the auger.
What really sets this PID controller apart is the Pit Control 2.0 system that uses two temperature sensors in the cooking chamber. The display will show two different temperatures corresponding to each sensor.
What I liked:
What I didnt like:
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Why You Should Trust Me
I have been writing about Barbecue & Grilling for 25 years. I have cooked on almost every grill or smoker ever built. In that time, I have endeavored to match people with the grill or smoker that is right for them. I believe that the right product is the one that you find easy to use, capable of doing everything you want, and reliable for the long haul. If you have a good first experience, you will be back for more. In this way, we grow barbecue for the next generation. I want you to make the memories that your children will cherish.
Oklahoma Joes Rider Dlx Pellet Grill Review
By Christie Vanover | Published February 11, 2020 | Last Updated July 11, 2022
When you think of a pellet grill, you probably dont think about fire-kissed steaks, but Oklahoma Joes has changed the pellet grill game with the Rider DLX.
Disclosure Oklahoma Joes compensated me for this review. Opinions are my own.
Pellet grills all work in the same traditional fashion. A box, called the hopper, is filled with wood pellets. Once the grill is on, the pellets are fed through an auger to a fire pot where an electric heat source burns the pellets, creating smoke.
With standard pellet grills, you can raise and lower the temperature of the grill, and your meat is protected by a metal diffuser plate that blocks the direct heat.
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Traeger Tailgater Vs Oklahoma Joes Rider 900
Below Im just going to discuss the highlights of each pellet grill and how they compare on the main features. You can learn more about the Traeger Tailgater in my portable pellet grill article and I have a detailed article on the Oklahoma Joes pellet grill range. Now really, these two pellet grills are designed for different purposes/uses.
However, they are both available for under $500, therefore lets discuss what you get from each pellet grill. First off, the Traeger Tailgater, as its name implies, is for transporting around to tailgating events and also camping/fishing/hunting trips. Though as I discuss in my Traeger accessories post, you will need an inverter to run the Tailgater from your vehicles 12 DC supply.
The Tailgater is Traegers largest pellet grill for under $500: Image Traegergrills.com
In terms of cooking area, the Traeger Tailgater provides 300 square inches. Which according to Traeger means you should be able to fit 2 chickens, 3 racks of ribs or 12 burgers on the grill. Now, all grill manufacturers make statements like this. And while technically you might be able to fit that amount of food on the grill you wouldnt want to as you wouldnt have enough room to move the food around properly during the cook.
Oklahoma Joes Rider 900 pellet grill is available for under $500: Image
What Can Be Improved
The Rider DLX has a side shelf and the top of the hopper could be used as well but the lack of a front shelf was a bummer. I didnt realize how much I used and liked having a shelf directly in front of the grill until it wasnt there.
The control panel allows for low and slow cooking between 180-300 degrees and then switches to low, medium, and high setting for 300+. I found the low setting on BBQ mode was 400+ degrees creating a fairly large temp window that cannot be used. This excluded the ability to use the Rider DLX to cook casseroles or slow cook and then bump up the temp.
This is a really small list wish list of improvements for an otherwise excellent grill
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Oklahoma Joes Rider Dlx 900
Cooking surface: 906 total sq in. | Hopper capacity: 20 lb | Temperature range: 200° F to 650° F | Recorded high: n/a | Temperature probes: 2 provided, accepts 4 | Sear zone: Yes | Wi-Fi/app compatibility: No
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX 900 Pellet Grill
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX 900 Pellet Grill
- Comes with a front and a side shelf
Cons
- New version is more expensive than previous model
Which Offers The Larger Cooking Area
Well, its a similar situation to that discussed above really. While the Pit Boss Austin XL is marketed pretty heavily as having over 1,000 square inches of cooking area thats not representative of the main cooking grate which is actually 649 square inches.
What about the Rider DLX? Well, Oklahoma Joes are stating over 1,200 square inches, but as before, that doesnt tell the whole story.
The Rider DLX is quite a tall grill , which means that the cooking area is provided over 3 racks. As a result, the main cooking surface is actually 578 square inches on the Rider DLX.
Hence, while looking at the headline figures you may think the Rider DLX has a larger grilling surface, thats not really true at all.
Better Integration Of Direct-Flame Functionality
The Austin XL from Pit Boss features the same sliding grease tray to let the flames through that several other Pit Boss models use. Its functional, the downside is you have to remove the cast-iron grates to be able to slide it open and closed.
The Rider DLX, by comparison, has a much better external lever to select either Smoke or Sear. However, as I discuss in my article on when to clean a pellet grill, on pellet grills with direct-flame access you want to clean it frequently to avoid the chances of a grease flare-up/fire.
The rotating grease collector/sear function on the Rider DLX pellet grill: Image
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A To Z List Of Pellet Grill/smoker Brands
Back in 2007 when I first become aware of pellet grills and smokers the only brand I was really aware of was Traeger. Traeger is really where this whole concept of cooking with pellets started in the 1980s. It was a slow burner but since the 2010s is really when pellet grills and smokers started to get mainstream awareness, discussed alongside gas and charcoal grills. There are now over 30 pellet grill/smoker brands that Im aware of, and the link above goes to my A to Z list of brands article.
Now, you may already be aware of a few of the other brands such as Pit Boss, Camp Chef, Z Grills and Im sure you are aware of Weber, though you may not have known they have entered the pellet grill game. However, they are now many, many more brands to look into. Some may be what are commonly referred to as Traeger clones, but many others are offering their own unique designs and features.
Understanding The Pit Control Panel
The heat controls on the Oklahoma Joes are a little different than other pellet grills. Instead pushing buttons to change the degrees, it comes with a dial. And to be honest, the dial was a little confusing to me at first.
It goes to 300F degrees, but then after that, it has a setting that shows low, medium and high in orange letters. Sometimes, I like to set the smoker above 300F degrees. I wasnt sure how to pull that off with this dial, so I called the team over at Oklahoma Joes.
To understand the Pit Control Panel, you have to understand the temperature indicators on the digital display screen.
When you turn the control knob and set the temperature, the digital temperature will appear on the screen. Next to that number, youll see three possible icons. If the smoke icon is showing, the display is showing the temperature of the air in the cook chamber.
So for instance, if you set the knob above 300F, when the indicator light shows the smoke icon, youll know what your cooking chamber temp is.
If the small flame icon is showing, this is the temperature of the actual porcelain coated cast iron grill grate when your heat baffle selector handle is set to smoke. Youll find that the grill grate is likely hotter than the grill chamber, especially since cast iron holds heat so well.
If the large flame icon is showing, this is the temperature of the grill grate with the selector handle set to sear.
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A To Z List Of The Best Bbq Wood Pellets
A pellet grill/smoker is only as good as the BBQ pellets you put into it. The type/quality of the BBQ wood pellets you use will impact temperature performance and smoke flavour. There are many pellet flavours including Apple, Hickory, Mapel, Oak and Walnut to name but a few. However, some brands are hardwood blended pellets whereas others are 100% single wood species.
In this article, I provide details on over 20 brands of BBQ wood pellets, their range of flavours, whether they are 100% single wood species or hardwood blended pellets, their typical price and where they are available. I also provide tips on how to get the best deal when buying BBQ wood pellets and how to test pellet quality. Finally, I discuss the new kid on the block, charcoal pellets and their special attributes compared to all other hardwood BBQ pellets.
Final Thoughts On The Traeger Pro 575 Vs Oklahoma Joes Rider Dlx
The Traeger with its D2 PID control panel can regulate its temperature to within a 5-degree range, whereas the Rider DLX can only hold its temperature within a 25-degree range. Therefore, the Traeger will provide more accurate temperature control over the Oklahoma Joes Rider DLX.
Furthermore, the Pro 575 benefits from WiFire, which I think for its current feature set is the best WiFi/App solution on the market today. Therefore, if you are looking for ultimate convenience to be able to leave the pellet grill to do its thing the Pro 575 has a clear advantage over the Rider DLX which does not benefit from a PID control panel or WiFi.
However, as noted above the Rider DLX provides significantly more cooking area and can sear at much higher temperatures compared to the Traeger. Furthermore, Im yet to discuss the price difference between these two pellet grills. Going off the prices on the manufacturers websites the Traeger Pro 575 retails for just under $800, whereas the Oklahoma Joes Rider DLX retails for just under $600.
Therefore, if you are on a tight budget that $200 is not insignificant. Besides the price difference, it comes down to choosing temperature control and WiFi functionality over a larger cooking area and better searing performance. Though I should note, a set of GrillGrates on the Traeger would greatly improve its searing performance.
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The Pellet Bucket Mount
I like using different pellets for different meats. Cherry, hickory and oak are great with beef, and hickory, pecan and apple are awesome with pork.
Changing pellets isnt always easy though. Ive had other pellet grills that have a tiny hole in the back that you can open to empty the hopper, but the pellets always fly all over the place.
The Rider DLX comes with a pellet bucket . When you want to empty the hopper, you slide the bucket into the bucket mount under the hopper.
Then, you pull the side handle and a door opens on the bottom and empties all the pellets into the bucket. Pop the lid on the weatherproof bucket and you can store that blend for another cook.
Cooking On The Rider Dlx Gen 2
Ive smoked chicken and ribs and did a reverse-sear on a tri-tip, and this pit handles it all like a champ. Some pellet grills might not deliver a very smoky flavor, but this pit isnt lacking in smoke flavor.
What really sets the Rider DLX 1200 apart from other pellet grills is the sear zone I mentioned earlier.
In the middle of the primary cooking space is the sear zone where you can remove the heat baffles to expose the fire pot. There you can get temperatures of 650°F to get a beautiful crust on steak or that tri-tip.
When you want to sear, just switch the controllers fire focus to the temp probe right at the back of the sear zone. That will give you the best reading for your searing temperatures.
Just like I did with the St Louis ribs I smoked, make sure you rotate your protein if youre cooking more than one thing at a time.
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How Well Each Held Temperature Over Time
The Camp Chef and Traeger grills kept the temperature fairly tightno surprise, given they have excellent PID controllers. The Cuisinart also uses a PID, but its temperature fluctuated more than the others, largely due to its cavernous volume. The grills from Oklahoma Joes, Pit Boss , and Country Smokers all use standard controllers. Youll see that their temperatures bounced up and down a bit more than the others.
*Were still gathering numbers on the Z-Grills, Nexgrill, and Recteq models to add to this chart.
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Cons
The Woodwind Wi-Fi 24 is an attractive, versatile grill that fits better in tight spaces due to its vertical legs and small footprint. We tested it with a nice propane-fueled griddle attaches to the side , which runs independently of the pellet grill controller. Heat distribution was even, equaled only by the Traeger. And the sear zone was perhaps the easiest to use, with a slide that pulls out to expose the center of the cooking grate to the direct heat of the flame. The color LCD control screen allows you to set the temperature and the amount of smoke produced. We appreciated all the features and the addition of the Sidekick, but they add to the costthe Woodwind Wi-Fi 24 runs $900 without the griddle. You can buy the Sidekick separately for $239.99 if you decide later that you want to add it, or get the bundle for $1,150.
Pit Boss 700fb Vs Oklahoma Joes Rider 600
So lets look at how the cheapest option available from Oklahoma Joes the Rider 900 for $399 compares against a comparably priced Pit Boss pellet grill the 700FB.
These are very small pellet grills, hence would really only suit a couple or a small family. First off, in terms of temperature control, both of these grills are using time-based controllers as opposed to PID which you would find on higher specification Pit Boss Platinum Series grills. The maximum temperature setting on each pellet grill is 500 degrees.
On the left is the Pit Boss 700FB and on the right is the Oklahoma Joes Rider 600: Images PitBoss-Grills.com and
However, the Pit Boss 700FB does offer direct-flame access via a sliding grease tray which will potentially reach 650 degrees at the cooking grate.
Disappointingly though, unlike larger Pit Boss pellet grills such as the Austin XL discussed below the 700FB does not have cast-iron cooking grates which hold their heat much better than the relatively thin wire racks found in the 700FB.
The Oklahoma Joes Rider 600, on the other hand, does not feature direct-flame access and does benefit from a cast-iron grate. Therefore, the grilling/searing performance of both of these pellet grills may actually be quite similar.
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