How to switch between sear and smoke mode on the Rider DLX Pellet Grill

The Oklahoma Joe’s® Rider DLX Pellet Grill has a unique heat baffle that enables instant switching between sear and smoke. All you have to do is slide a lever to switch between maintaining consistent temperatures throughout the cook chamber and focusing concentrated, high heat at the grate level.

Print How-Tos > How to switch between sear and smoke mode on the Rider DLX Pellet Grill

Pit Control System
Flex Grate: The round, central grate gets red-hot ready for high-heat searing.
Heat Baffle: The rotating baffle opens and closes to switch between low-temp smoking and high-heat searing.
When in SEAR mode, the baffle is open and the central grate becomes a DIRECT high-heat searing surface while the side grates offer a lower-heat area. As such you have two distinct heat zones.
In SMOKE mode, the baffle is closed and the heat is evenly distributed across the grate to create an even smoking, or INDIRECT grilling area, across the cooking surface.

There is a heat baffle on every pellet grill to distribute heat for indirect cooking. A special baffle on the Rider DLX allows users to switch between cooking modes for smoking or searing. Sliding the SEAR SMOKE selector to SEAR mode opens the heat baffle, giving the heat a direct path to food. Contrastingly, sliding it over to SMOKE mode closes the heat baffle for cooking with indirect heat. If you set the selector somewhere in between SEAR and SMOKE, you partially open the baffle to cook with more options than entirely open or entirely closed.

Can you use a Pellet Grill as a Smoker?

Yes. Pellet grills, also known as pellet smokers, are excellent smokers. This is because they are versatile, automatically maintain temperatures and provide delicious smoke flavour.

How is the temperature controlled?

Our Pit Control System uses exclusive algorithms to automatically maintain your set temperature while avoiding wide temperature swings. Once you set your desired cooking temperature using the control knob, the Pit Control System takes care of the rest.

HOT TIP -- The Pit Control System is equipped with two guidance features to keep track of cooking times and internal meat temperatures.

Timer Mode: Set the countdown timer to monitor cook time and alert you when the time has elapsed.

Temp-Probe Mode: Use up to two integrated temp probes simultaneously to monitor internal meat temperatures and alert you when your target temperature is reached. One temperature probe is included with the Rider DLX.

Do Rider DLX Pellet Grills really get hot enough to sear?

Yes. The Rider DLX reaches temperatures up to 650+°F with more concentrated heat in the central searing zone.

How do you switch between smoke and sear mode?

Switching between smoke and sear is achieved using these three components:

Selector: To switch the baffle between SEAR and SMOKE modes, move the selector from the left to the right.

Are you supposed to remove the heat baffle for searing?

No. Do not use your pellet grill without the baffle in place. You should only remove the baffle for cleaning.

Can I use the heat baffle in smoke mode while using the high temperature setting?

Yes, although we recommend using this configuration for limited times. Long-term usage of the grill at HIGH temperatures with the baffle in SMOKE mode concentrates a lot of heat at the bottom of the grill, which can potentially damage the paint.

If you experience paint damage from grilling at HIGH temperatures in SMOKE mode, the area can be repaired using either of the following methods:

Use commercial-grade, high-temperature black spray paint to clean and repaint the damaged area.
Coat the area where paint has flaked off with vegetable oil and perform a burn in to create a dark, protective layer.

WARNING: Never paint the interior of your grill. Paint on the interior of the grill is NOT food safe.

For pellet grill recipes and answers to your most frequently asked questions, go to oklahomajoes.com.