We saw Nexgrill announce a new gas and offset smoker hybrid recently, now Pit Boss has put another hybrid grill on the market. Their hybrid, or combo grill as they call it, is the Pit Boss 1230 Charcoal Pellet Combo grill. As the name would you lead you to believe, it’s part pellet grill, part charcoal grill.
Features and Specs
- Retail price of $599.99 (check price), sold exclusively at Tractor Supply
- 1,230 square inches of total cooking area
- Temperature range of 180°F to 500°F
- 12 lb pellet hopper
- Flame Broiler lever on the pellet grill side, for flames from the fire pot
- Porcelain coated steel grates
- Folding front shelf
- 2 meat probe ports on the controller, with 2 meat probes included
Charcoal Pellet Combo
Hybrid, or combo grills are meant to make up for the shortcomings of one fuel source with another. For pellet grills, it’s to get the convenience of a pellet grill with the additional smoke flavor or searing of another source.
The charcoal and pellet combination doesn’t seem like the best way make up for the shortcomings, while still having convenience. It would make more sense if it was a shared cook chamber because you could add in some charcoal for additional flavor, rather than switching between grills. It seems like if you liked the convenience of a pellet grill, you’d also want gas for searing because it’s easier.
On the other hand, it does give you options if sometimes you want to charcoal grill and sometimes use pellets. It’s also more compact for storage than having two separate grills.