Pellet smoker not making meat very smoky

[timsch]

Putting my Memphis Pro through its paces, and a couple of sessions I am not happy with the smoke quality.

1st I tried my smoked meatloaf that I've really enjoyed in the past when done on my Weber Smokey Mountain. Nothing special on the Pro.

2nd was some chicken thighs. The chicken thighs in particular were pretty indistinguishable from those being done on my gas grill.

The controller is nothing more than set-the-temp and let it go. Above a certain temperature it is considered grilling, below that smoking, with the difference between the two being fans on with grilling, IIRC.

Is the secret choosing particular wood pellets? No other way that I see in how to get more smoke with this thing. I sure don't see smoke coming out of it when "smoking"

[Jerod Broussard]

Do a brisket or pork shoulder before any final judgments.

Never smoked chicken thighs myself. More of a protein to be grilled.

I load my brisket and pork shoulders straight from the refrigerator before I fire the pellet up.

[MBMorgan]

There aren't any "secrets". There ARE, however, techniques that you can employ to get the best results possible from a pellet smoker. For example, one approach to chicken thighs: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...75#post1487675

Stick around, ask VERY specific questions, and there are a bunch of experienced folks here that will be glad to help you out.

[mgaretz]

Start with the meat cold. I suggest you try some ribs or pulled pork. The lower the smoking temperature, the more smoke flavor you will get. Try 225F if you haven't. You should see a lot of smoke at that temp. Doing either ribs or pulled pork Blasphemy-style will get you even more smoke flavor. www.blasphemyribs.com

[DavidNorcross]

Been using a pellet cooker for years now. If you are looking for distinct smoke flavor you might be disappointed. For me it is perfect, but for others not so much. Good luck. I agree with others, get plugged into this group. Alot to learn from these folks.

[Jfrosty27]

While the smoke profile from my Recteq 700 is more mild than a stick burner for sure, I find it to be just right for our taste. When I want a bit more smoke I start the cook at the lowest temp setting (180 on mine) and run that way for 30-60 minutes depending on what I’m cooking and how much time I have. I then bump it to the preferred temp setting for the balance of the cook. It works well.

[treesmacker]

This is the same way I use my Rec Teq.

[treesmacker]

This is the same way I use my Recteq.

[realdocBBQ]

Smoke LOW for the first hour or two - maybe 180 if you can. Then turn temps up to cook it better.

Add a smoke tube - I've never been super impressed with these, but they can help a little bit.

After you smoke, but while the food is resting, go brush your teeth (first) and then take a shower (second). Blow all the smoke and gunk out of your nose while in the shower - maybe even do a nasal rinse while you're in there.

Pick a more aggressive flavor profile in a pellet - try a hickory or mesquite blend instead of fruitwood blends, etc. Maybe look for a pellet that specifies 100% composition of the advertised wood - are there any more of these? I don't know, I don't really check.

If possible cook one day, eat that food the next day. This is similar to the showering thing - getting away from the smoke of cooking/tending for a while (yeah, like pellet smoking requires any 'tending', lol, but you know what I mean).

[DaveD]

realdocBBQ is on the money about running at low temp for the first hour and do so with the meat cold right out of the fridge. On my Pit Boss vertical p-smoker, there's a very noticeable difference when including that low-T step. Still, one is never going to get the same smokiness with any pellet rig that one gets with wood and/or charcoal + wood, that's just a feature of pellet smoking.

Also, there are at least a couple of pellet brands available in the US that sell pellets made from 100% flavor wood, whereas the blends are usually about 50% oak or alder depending on where in the country they're made. With blends, I can't tell the difference in smoke flavor from one to the other, but I can notice with the 100% pellets. Both Bear Mountain and Cookin' Pellets have 100% varieties.

Good luck!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

What temp did you smoke those items at? The Memphis grills tend to be more focused on being grills than they do smokers and I've read the cut off point for smoke production can be a bit lower (255ish) compared to other pellet cookers on the market that smoke until 300ish.

You can try putting cold meat on a cold grill and getting a lot of that initial smoke (I don't find it dirty tasting on most proteins, but I wouldn't do this method with fish) depending how the Memphis starts up.

[timsch]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll be doing some baby-back ribs today and will use as many of these suggestions as possible. I'll definitely start @ 180F and have the meat cold to start.

[Huskee]

I haven't read all the replies above to see if this was mentioned already, but put your cold meat on your cooker before starting it. Cold cooker. That thick cloud of startup smoke is valuable, don't preheat your pellet cooker or you waste all that.

[klflowers]

This. I saw this comment from you ( I think) awhile back and I do it all the time now

[randy.56]

Having pellet grills for years, you will never get heavy smoke from one. I had burned my family out on smoked food anyway. Now the pellet grill gives a hint of smoke, happy family. The 180 is a good idea. longer in the cooker. I use a small bucket with hole's drilled in for air, park in there prelit with 6 charcoals and pecan chunks when I want heaver smoke. Smoke tube's meh, don't buy one.

[Jfrosty27]

That’s a great idea. Now this small bucket you speak of. Details?

[randy.56]

Half gallon size same as the grease bucket on pellet grill. Drill 4 - 3/8 hole's in bottom. Then around the bottom up about 1 inch, drill more holes for air. Maybe 6 to 8.
Pre burn to get all oil's and such off before cooking with it.

[Huskee]

Smart! I've placed some thin wood chunk slivers under the drip tray on top of the burn pot, as well as charcoal & some wood in a pie pan. The bucket is better!

[captainlee]

From a pellet smoker start low and slow as previously mentioned. I do my whole rotisserie chicken at 220 for an hour the finish off at 375. Try a variety of pellets too, it's a learning curve to tune in whatever smoker that you are running. That's the fun and challenge of what we do.

[glitchy]

Try some Lumberjack or CookinPellets 100% Hickory pellets. Most other ‘hickory’ pellets on the market are 60-80% oak or alder. Lumberjack uses bark in their pellets which might make it smokier, but definitely creates more ash too.

As others have already mentioned starting for an hour or two at 180-225 can help a lot as well.

[TripleB]

News Flash!! Water is Wet!

Sorry, could not help myself. It has always has been a complaint of pellet poopers. But you have now received so much good input from the Pit.