Need a great smoker (Pellet Smoker Doesn't Smoke, Cooks too hot)

big brother smoke said:

Get a stick burner for that deep BBQ mahogney color and flavor! YMMV

Click to expand...

I am so glad you said that and not me... LOL...

I won't pretend to know the Pellet Pooppers, I don't have one, never have in the past and to be honest, I don't see one in the future... I love my stick burner and 'The Mistress' isn't going anywhere...

As for your comments on the BGE not giving enough smoke flavor, I've actually over smoked meat on it when it first arrived.

If I may be so bold, I would like to make a few recommendations...

As mentioned earlier, what kind of smoke are you looking for out of the exhaust ports? (Again, I don't know your experience level so please don't hold it against me.) If you think that you have to have a thick, white, dense smoke coming out, your going to be in for a surprise. That is the smoke of incomplete combustion and creosote. A thin, transparent, blue smoke should be your goal. This smoke shows that the combustion is more complete and the heavy oils found in the wood (pellets) is being burned so that only the flavor is passing on to the food.

Try cooking at a higher temp. It's going to be real tough to get a pork but up to 205-210* when the cooker is staying at 200*... The 225-250 range is fine and is still considered 'Low and Slow' and should produce a good smoke flavor.

Remember that while the smoke ring stops forming when the meat gets to roughly 142*, the flavor is still being absorbed by the meat beyond that point, so keep it on there...

It sounds like you are doing a fair amount of fish. The species you are talking about can handle the higher temps that other fish cannot. Again, give the 225* area a chance.

I hope this helps, and remember "Stick Burners Rule!!!!" LOL

darylrue said:

Pellets are not long.

I have no experience really. So that smoke comment was good advice. No worry's about offending me at all.

I was able to maintain 210 and 225 pretty well yesterday. It was late but I think the thin blue smoke was more prevelant at 225.

Click to expand...

I think you are getting a better burn at the 225* mark than lower... I seem to recall Billy (Fatboyz) talking about how the 'Smoke' setting on his was around 180* and it pumped out tons of white smoke... I could be wrong, but you could always touch base with him...

darylrue said:

I have two 3.5 chickens ready to roll for the morning. I am putting on at 7:40 and will be home around 5 to check on them. Can I cook those for that long on 225?

Click to expand...

That's like a nine hour cook, and for me, unless they are the size of a 25 pound turkey, is a bit long... I would go for, depending on the size, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours max....

darylrue said:

How do you get these pellet smokers to not jump to 600 degrees for about an hour after you start them? I do not want to have to get up too early to get the grill to running temp. Maybe I have to take the grates off and steel some pellets out before it gets going too hot?

Click to expand...

Again I have no direct experience, but I do recall some thing about having to cleaning the fire chamber prior to use... This may be your problem...

darylrue said:

Thanks for all the advice. I am leaning towards a big green egg but I really wish I could test one or talk to someone who primarily smokes for long hours with theirs.

Click to expand...

Check in your area for a store that sells BGE's... The one near me almost every weekend have something cooking on one...

If you want to try a different pellet, I'd suggest these....

http://www.bbqrsdelight.com/

I suggest you check out the food handling and safety section. Not all foods like 225*.
I'd also try a secondary thermometer to make sure your inside temps are really what you think they are.
Spend more time reading threads in Qtalk, a great source of knowledge shared by all.
You'll soon see it's how the cook uses the cooker to turn out good product.
Best of luck!

Keep it simple! Stick with the 225 - 250 degree range and you'll be fine. Also, forget about the thick white smoke because that's the last thing you want! Like the others have said, thin blue smoke is ideal. Smoke flavor will be attained by having the right pellets, not the amount of white smoke billowing out of the stack.

Good luck.

Hi Daryl,

Old post, but wanted to see if you found a solution to your smoke issue? I've been considering eggs, pellets, charcoal, and sticks. What you say about the pellet issue is one of the reasons why I'm steering towards something else other than pellet.

Convenience is nice, but the main goal is food flavor. Unless of course it becomes too complex (or expensive) to achieve good food flavor.

From the comments I've read here and elsewhere, seems that stick burning is the flavor gold standard. Buy a quality stick burner, and you'll have the best. Everything else is a compromise between flavor and convenience. At least that's the impression I get from my forum reading.

Jake

Interesting read...did you ever get your smoke issue worked out? I have never operated a pellet cooker, but I cannot imagine it would generate much of a smoke flavor (compared to stick burner). I have had large stick burners, gravity cookers, and Primo ceramic...I got great que out of all of them and currently do all my cooking on the primo...I have never oversmoked something in it and you do not get the same taste as on a stick burner - the sticks have a deeper smoke flavor that really gets into the meat more imo....the eggs and primo are great all around cookers - can grill, bake, bbq, cold smoke, etc and I cannot imagine not having one, but I am also going back to sticks for my main que because I like the product they put out a little better.

snakyjake said:

Hi Daryl,

Old post, but wanted to see if you found a solution to your smoke issue? I've been considering eggs, pellets, charcoal, and sticks. What you say about the pellet issue is one of the reasons why I'm steering towards something else other than pellet.

Convenience is nice, but the main goal is food flavor. Unless of course it becomes too complex (or expensive) to achieve good food flavor.

From the comments I've read here and elsewhere, seems that stick burning is the flavor gold standard. Buy a quality stick burner, and you'll have the best. Everything else is a compromise between flavor and convenience. At least that's the impression I get from my forum reading.

Jake

Click to expand...

He hasn't been back since July 5th, 2009...

huh..I thought it was this year it was posted! I guess I should look a little closer!

Obviously we're too late but if he wasn't getting a drop of smoke flavor I would suspect the circulating fan wasn't working.

darylrue said:

I used both mesquite from traeger and also 100% hardwood from oscheln farms.

Click to expand...

Change your pellets. I think the Traeger pellets are just awful. Once you try something else, you'll see.

Try ordering some of the Cookshack pellets or the BBQ Delight pellets. Both of them use a good blend of wood (you need base wood for BTU's and flavor wood for flavor).

was using cookshack happily for a year except no smoke ring and hard to get bark.

Click to expand...

Key point to bark in a CS is you want to reduce the humdity level. It's VERY high in the CS and I would open the door occassionally to dump some humidity (it will also increase the cooking time).

SR is a function of having enough nitrates to "cure" the meat and for that you need more nitrates. Try adding a chunk or two of charcoal. Works well for that.

FYI, I moderate the CS forum so if you have any questions just ask or contact me direct (or over at that forum)

Russ