Love my Traeger, want more smoke, seek experienced input

[SBRSarge]

Last December Santa brought a Traeger Pro 780. I love Santa. I would ask her to marry me. Except we‘ve been married already for 35 years!


But I want more smoke taste than the pellet grill gives. Do I…?

-change pellets (I use Tragaer now)
-get a smoke tube
-smoke some ganja before hand so I don’t care
-something I haven’t thought of

Thanks!

 

[canezach]

Yes, the smoke tube will give you a little more smoke flavor. I have a Z Grill and it has a smoke setting, where the temp doesn't go above 190° but it doesn't produce a lot of smoke, so I start the first 2 to 3 hours of my cook sit in the smoke before wrapping and turning the temp up. If the Traeger has that option, try that. Your only other option would be to go up to a stick burner

 

[Mooseknuckles]

I started running a smoke tube in mine.

 

[JM4590]

I have two grills. One Traeger and one Big Green egg. I have found that some things, salmon, chicken wings, sausage, taste better on the Traeger. Others, such as pork shoulder, brisket, tenderloin, are better on the egg.
I usually set the Traeger on smoke for the first cpl hours if time allows, and then turn to temp to finish. This gives me enough smoke flavor. One thing I can’t distinguish is the taste between the diff pellets. Except for mesquite, I can’t taste any diff, so I buy the cheaper Traeger brand at Costco in the big bags.

 

[308ftWIN]

I've heard traeger pellets aren't very good. You may start there. Something about oils vs natural wood flavor in them. That was a while ago though. Maybe it's changed.

I'm still a stick burner guy. At least until my Brinkmann rusts away beyond repair. My end products turn out better than my friends pellet stuff, but he cooks more because he can do it and not babysit a grill more often than I can. Definite tradeoffs.

 

[Tokay444]

I've got a Pit Boss CS1600, and have been having great luck with their pellets.
The wife an kids have been thrilled with everything I've made on it so far.
I've found starting at 180 degrees for just the first few hours at least really gets the smoke flavour to set in.

 

[Maggot]

-change pellets (I use Tragaer now)
-get a smoke tube
-smoke some ganja before hand so I don’t care
-something I haven’t thought of

Thanks!

Add a glass or two of your favorite beverage and that should help.

In the early 70's I knew an old black guy from around Waco Texas who was famous for his brisket. He'd get up around 3AM, roll a hand full of joints and starr his fire. Wehn the fire was ready he'd put the brisket in, sit back and smoke doobies until it was ready for a late supper, usually around 7PM. Best I've had. Lightly moist with a good bark, and you could pick it apart with a toothpick. Didnt need or want any sides. Oh, for a plate of that brisket.

 

[vinniedelpino]

DIY smoke box and chips/chunks?

Should be an easy fix.

 

[Punkur67]

I absolutely love this thing. Pumps smoke in and you can reload it outside the grill. I also use smoke tubes but the smoke daddy smoke generator works way better

Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories

Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories

smokedaddyinc.com

 

[n2ishun]

Pellet grills are meant to be a paint by numbers thing.
Stupid simple, but it will never be a Rembrandt.

1 - Rabbit turds are not wood, they are sawmill waste
2 - A diesel glowplug is not a fire.

You can easily get better results with a $59 walmart charcoal grill using charcoal and some wood chunks.
It just takes more effort than most people want to put into it.

Don't mean to rain on parades and shit.....but the truth is the truth.

 

[Jgault]

I’ve looked at Traegers, I know they simplify the process but I just can’t, I guess for fish or something that would need very light smoke it would probably be better, but for everything I do nothing beats just a well built smoker and box with nice sticks of pecan, cherry, hickory, or apple. Besides I love just sitting out on the porch with some of Tennessee’s or Kentucky’s finest cleaning guns while I watch the smoker. From my limited use of pellet smokers I haven’t seen them achieve the same results as charcoal and wood sticks.

 

[Tokay444]

Pellet grills are meant to be a paint by numbers thing.
Stupid simple, but it will never be a Rembrandt.

1 - Rabbit turds are not wood, they are sawmill waste
2 - A diesel glowplug is not a fire.

You can easily get better results with a $59 walmart charcoal grill using charcoal and some wood chunks.
It just takes more effort than most people want to put into it.

Don't mean to rain on parades and shit.....but the truth is the truth.

It’s definitely a fire once the glow plug has started the burn, but yes. Very much the easy button. I like being able to monitor not only the grill temp, but multiple prob temps, and make adjustments from anywhere I have cell reception. My range isn’t beside my smoker, unfortunately, but I can still shoot and smoke at the same time.

 

[Fig]

I absolutely love this thing. Pumps smoke in and you can reload it outside the grill. I also use smoke tubes but the smoke daddy smoke generator works way better

Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories

Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories

smokedaddyinc.com

That thing is tits! I could replace at least three of my smokers with that thing!

 

[alamo5000]

I've never used a Traeger (or any other pellet grill), but I have tried one of these out. You fill it with pellets and light one end. It works quite good assuming you like the flavor that your pellets produce.

12" Stainless Steel Outdoor BBQ Wood Pellet Grill Smoker Filter Tube Pipe Smoke | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 12" Stainless Steel Outdoor BBQ Wood Pellet Grill Smoker Filter Tube Pipe Smoke at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[MK20]

Just as an aside, the super cheap Red Devil pellets work well and taste very good.

 

[Punkur67]

That thing is tits! I could replace at least three of my smokers with that thing!

Biggest thing is keeping wood or pellets in it to keep the smoke going. I got the medium size and need to feed it every 30 minutes or so to keep it going since you don't want it to burn down too low. Hands down the best smoke I have got in the traeger

 

[Jgunner]

So, on the same journey as the op, i recently tried a foil packet with pellets in it. Its all i had. Tossed it on the plate over the fire pot. It definetly produced more smoke, but wasnt around to see it first hand but had 2x the smoke ring on a pork loin as before. So cheap and easy and prob lasts a few times.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I’m using a 50:50 at home mix of:

Royal Oak Pellets

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

And these


CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix, 1 Pack, Brown https://a.co/d/bfZlH0f


I’m digging the combo and I feel the Royal Oak gives a much more consistent burn/temp

 

[notacos4u]

Buy a real smoker!!! Only kidding, not really….

As you’ve now realized, as stupid easy as they are to run, a pellet smoker, will always leaving you looking for a smokier flavor. I come from a competition BBQ background and there’s a reason hardly any well performing team uses pellets. With that in mind, this is one of the best performing smoking tube going, you could try to utilize multiple of the tubes to add even more smoke, I think that is going to get you the best results. You can choose how many of them you run till you get the smoky flavor you’re looking for, as these aren’t designed to add any real heat to the cook. Shop around as this might not be the cheapest place to get them. Good luck, and if you need any more or other advice, the team I was competing with was ranked the 19th best team in the world for KCBS in Ribs and we have 8 Grand Championships, 3 Reserve Grand Championships, and have been to the American Royal World Championship BBQ competition, earning 2 walks up on stage, to our credit before we stopped competing in 2020.

A-Maze-N Tube Smoker Accessory

Allows you to burn clean wood pellets for real wood flavor in any grill. Perfect for cold smoking fish, cheese and cured meats like bacon.

www.atbbq.com

 

[Punkur67]

I also run quality pellets and do a 50/50 mix with charcoal pellets. I really like the lumberjack pellets myself

 

[Mooseknuckles]

I run B and B pellets, they have been great. Ran their charcoal for years and have been happy with it.
I want to get a mix of B and B and royal oak pellets a try.

 

[Threadcutter308]

I have a RecTeq 700 (I don’t necessarily NOT recommend it, but I’m ambivalent about it). I have a Smoke Daddy “Big Kahuna” attached to it that I really like.

I’d suggest that you just buy a simple smoke tube, play with it and see if you like it.

There’s nothing wrong with smoke tubes and they’re a cheap way to figure out what your next step might be.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Waste oil = more smoke. Rotella-T is particularly spicy!

Sirhr

 

[The D]

I vote getting stoned to da bejeezus and not worrying so much

 

[Tokay444]

At 26lbs, my hopper holds enough to do two 20 hour briskets back to back. Once you hit 140° or so, you’re not imparting anymore smoke flavour, and could finish in the over, but I don’t have probes in can watch from the range in my oven.

 

[GUNNER75]

Loved my Traeger grills over the years. Currently have an 885. When it comes to real cooking I fire up my original OK JOE. Sometimes I smoke in it then transfer to Traeger for so I can monitor with phone and not baby sit the Ok Joe.
I need to get a smoke tube to just play with.
What I'd love to do is finish my plan and put a custom firebox on the back of my OK Joe that would allow me to run pellets and stick.
All my Traeger briskets were better on 12 to 16 hour cooks. Lots of babysitting those as well.

I've cooked some killer brisket on the Traeger with great smoke but I don't get it with the 885. Was better on the little Tex (or I thought so anyway).

The Ok Joe I have is one of the good ones. Weighs like 800lbs and a very interesting unit at that. Met the fella that welded it up a few years ago.

Carne Asada was Killer. Sam the Cooking guy recipe on You Tube. (Fantastic meat helped)

Clark Crew Plug......Grew up with him. Travis is a good fella.

Beef ribs on 885, killer, not cheap by any means but damn every bite was like "rope meat".

Wings on the Traeger. Love the Jalapeño salt. Reminds me of Hard 8 in Stephensville.

 

[J.J.chago]

Throw your meat on before you start the grill. The heavy smoke upon lighting will help.

 

[Im2bent]

Psssshhhhhh amateurs.....

 

[kriller134]

I use a smoke tube and A perfect mix pellets. I get good results, but it’ll never have as much smoke as a traditional smoker. If I wasn’t a poor, I’d get a Yoder smoker.

 

[HeavyAssault]

I just pay a buddy of mine (a Vet) since he's got his wood smoker dialed in better than anything. Brisket or pork it's better than buying from a local BBQ place. I hate picking up the containers/platters from his house, I got like a 20 minute ride back to my house.

 

[Nik H]

You want smoke...buy a smoker not an E Z Bake Oven

 

[CountryShooter]

I've had my Camp Chef pellet smoker for 9 years. Have used the hell out of it and am a huge fan. I noticed less smoke flavor I guess, but it never bothered me. Then I saw a smoke tube for well under $20 and decided to try it. Three smokes later and the smoke tube won't be going anywhere.

 

[Punkur67]

Psssshhhhhh amateurs..... View attachment 8162868

 

[SBRSarge]

Waste oil = more smoke. Rotella-T is particularly spicy!

Sirhr

Well, the Duramax is about due for an oil change...!

 

[SBRSarge]

Thanks everyone. Some good ideas/advice here.

I think I’ll start with a smoke tube and some experimenting with different pellets.

When I retire and have more time, maybe building a real smoke box will be a project to keep me busy. For now, I need the E-Z bake oven method.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[BScore]

I had a cheap side cart smoker back in the day, my first. Now I have a cheap pellet smoker (pit boss). The real wood smoker made better meat, but a guy really had to babysit it. I’d still have it if my wife would let me drink beer and watch the smoker on the patio all day.

 

[Fig]

I bought a 30 gal

Hunsaker Vortex Smokers

Hunsaker Smokers are competition-grade BBQ drum smokers designed and built in the USA to help you master every cook. We build quality vortex drum smokers, ugly drum smoker parts, and WSM & Kettle accessories.

www.hunsakersmokers.com

it’s sort of like a combo of an egg and a pit barrel.
You hang the meat on hooks so the drippings land on the vortex and the coals. It gives it a grilled flavor that you normally don’t get on a smoker. These have been winning comps. You run it hotter than any other smoker and it comes out fantastic. I cooked ribs in two and a half hours and my bbq friend said it was witchcraft. Runs on lump and just chunks of wood. I was skeptical about temp control when I bought it, but you get it going and fiddle with the carb till it’s on and it’ll stay that way for about eight hours, which is way longer than you need. I’ve never had to add any charcoal, and usually it’s 3/4 full when I’m done. Not as Ron Popiel as the pellet grill, but much more automatic than anything I’ve used that runs on charcoal.

i have a pellet grill at the lake, and love it because I can put shit on, go fishing, and I know it will still be perfect when I get back. Though there is something to a side-car smoker where you have to watch/tend it for eight hours drinking beer…

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Add a glass or two of your favorite beverage and that should help.

In the early 70's I knew an old black guy from around Waco Texas who was famous for his brisket. He'd get up around 3AM, roll a hand full of joints and starr his fire. Wehn the fire was ready he'd put the brisket in, sit back and smoke doobies until it was ready for a late supper, usually around 7PM. Best I've had. Lightly moist with a good bark, and you could pick it apart with a toothpick. Didnt need or want any sides. Oh, for a plate of that brisket.

And of course, the reefer made all the difference.

The last thing I want is food a fucking pothead cooked.
Filthy fucking hippies.

 

[impactaddict]

offset smokers > komado style > (ugly) drum smokers > electric pellet smokers

There is one pellet smoker that has caught my eye recently called the Camp Chef Woodwind 36 because is has a smoke box that incorporates wood chunks. Mad Scientist BBQ does a cook on one vs a high end pellet smoker. Results were impressive but if you're trying to get real deal bbq from a pellet, you're going to be disappointed.

 

[Maggot]

Dang

And of course, the reefer made all the difference.

The last thing I want is food a fucking pothead cooked.
Filthy fucking hippies., when did you get woke?

Damn, Chicki. Even if it was your favorite, Panama Red?

 

[AZLong]

I have a Louisiana Grills, works great. I can smoke 6 racks or shoulders at a time. Shoulders typically 12 hours or so. Works great, do not feel the need for more smoke.