I use a smoke tube with mine. Just add the pellets in the tube and light one end and once it flames out I add it to the Pellet smoker.
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I sure hope you did not make a mistake because then that would mean that I did as well. I have a new Grilla Silverbac that just arrived yesterday and am hoping to test very soon. In my limited experience the advice you have received so far is spot on.Comment
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Post oak is a light smoke flavor to start with so I might try other/better pellets. The Candy’s Competition Mix from BBQRS Delight are my favorite, and I’m not sure why I buy others (local need versus optimum pellets).
that and all the other stuff people have said.Comment
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I do a couple things to boost smoke flavor. I put a chunk or two of wood under my drip try on top of the diffuser (the shroud overtop of the burn pot). I also will not EVER pre-heat it before adding the meat. No, instead put that cold hunk o' meat right on the cold cooker, then start it up. Don't waste any of that thick beautiful startup smoke.
That said, I do not use my pellet cooker for butts or brisket. I did when testing them, and for knowledge and experience. If a person only had a pellet cooker, my advice is to use the many tips above or to acquire a Weber kettle w/ a SnS or a WSM or similar to get your charcoal/wood flavor fix.
Since you have a stickburner too, give it a couple hrs in that then when you're tired of the attention needed for it, plop it in your Traeger and enjoy the rest of your day.Comment
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I have 2 pellet smokers and a WSM. I was finding that I wasn’t loving the food from my WSM and thought that I was tasting too much of the charcoal flavor. I I also never wrapped anything I did on my WSM and I always thought the food (ribs and pork shoulder) were a little too dry sometimes. Then I got a Traeger and now a Grilla Silverbac. Love both of them and now that I’ve played around with my WSM a little this year I find myself with a new appreciation for it. But it took time and the right wood chunks and pellets.Comment
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radiodome21 Well said, I watched a youtube video of Mad Scientist BBQ, Jermy Yoder cook good brisket in the cheapest ~$100 offset smoker he could find at a big box store. It verifies that it is the cook and not the cooker.
Last edited by bbqLuv; August 4, 2021, 06:20 AM.
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Smoke?
what smoke???Comment
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I haven't seen anyone else mention it, so I'll add my two cents. I use one of the hexagon shaped smoke tubes, but instead of loading it with pellets, I chop a piece of charcoal in half and put it in the bottom of the tube. Then fill the tube the rest of the way with wood chip in your choice of flavor. Use a plumbers torch to light the charcoal. Once the charcoal is burning decent, stand it up vertically on the grate. The charcoal help keep thing going early on, and also helps with any bridging that might happen before the wood chips have enough heat to sustain themselves. I try to keep it diagonal form the chimney, but also not right next to the RTD. Where this trick really shines is cooking at temps above 250° where you get a big drop off in smoke output from pellets alone. Despite what the FGC crowd thinks, pellet pooper chicken with crispy skin and good smoke flavor is the undisputed best is hard to beat.Comment
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Good info and tips in here. Right now I am on the fence with selling my XL BGE for a Traeger or other good pellet smoker. I bought a nice Weber gas grill which I find myself using way more than the BGE for everyday meal needs. With 3 kids in activities it's hard to find the time to get a fire going and do all that. I also find holding temps on my BGE a real challenge for long smokes without a $300-$400 accessory to help you. I am in a place where I need some more simplicity and time saving in my life and I think a good pellet smoker checks that box.Comment
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I was in the same situation a number of years ago chasing kiddos everywhere. Pellet grills are perfect there. However, since you already have a BGE and a gasser, buying a Fireboard 2 Drive and fan doesn’t seem that expensive unless you’re going to get enough money from it to fully cover the pellet grill. Keep in mind, pellet grills don’t usually preheat, nor cook as fast as a gasser being indirect. I’d also recommend CampChef, Grilla, or Recteq over Traeger if you don’t go American.
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YupComment
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Good Morning/Afternoon.
There have been a lot of really good replies. I hope this doesn't duplicate too many of them and has a nugget or two you didn't know about...
I have a RecTeq RT-680. I had a similar result the first time I smoked anything. I actually sent an email asking their support if I had done something wrong because the 'bark' wasn't even a whimper, and the smoke 'flavor' was non-existent. I was a bit shocked when I received a call from one of the owners to help me diagnose the 'problem' that I was having. We talked through a number of things (some of which I had never considered being a newbie and all). After the conversation, I had a few things to try. Again, this isn't the same smoker, but you may be able to use these to your advantage.
- I needed to 'add' some additional wood to get more smoke. The burn pot is in the center of the RT smoker and it has a heat shield. The suggestion was to put a couple of chunks of (in my case Apple) directly on the shield (between the pot and the drip pan) to let it generate a bit more smoke. The good thing about this, is I now run just a generic 'competition blend' pellet and can tailor my flavor profile by how much and which type of wood I put on the heat shield.
- Close down the smoke stack a bit to 'stall' the smoke from running away. Living in Virginia, it can be 28F/30% humidty or it can be 105F/99% humidity. This makes the evacuation of smoke from the chamber to the environment very different. Even on hot days, if the humidity is low (rare) it is a balancing act trying to get the right 'flow' of smoke out of the smoker. Colder days typically mean closed a bit more. Hot Days it can be a bit more open. Really humid days, I want to keep it closed a bit more.
- Cook even lower. Instead of the typical 225F for 'x' hours. I moved to 205/210F depending on the thickness/fat content of what I am cooking.
- Spritz more / colder meat / bigger granules My first rub was all the ingredients put into a blender and turned to a fine dust. Put onto a pork shoulder that was 'brought to room temperature' and only had a bit of water on the surface to bind the rub. Nowadays, I bring it out of the refrigerator and slather it in Mustard, rub left as big as possible, and every 30-45 minutes I am out there spraying a bit of water / apple juice onto the surface. The cool, wet surface and the larger area for smoke to grab hold have yielded me a much better bark. Almost a crust.
- Cover the smoker with a welding blanket. Even though this 'trick' is used more for keeping your smoker at a regular temp when it is cold outside, it really helps in all weather. Keeping a consistent temp in the chamber seems to me at least to provide a more consistent cook and a more predictable cook. (gonna get shot down by the BBQ gods for that one). I have two smaller welding blankets that I use rare earth magnets to attach to the top of my smoker. These layers of insulation prevent the heat from flying out through the metal, and by retaining some of that heat, it helps with the circulation inside the chamber. <- I cannot prove this, it is just my opinion.
Keep giving it your time and attention and you may find you have not made any mistake, you just needed to do some more experiments. =)Comment
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