More smoke flavor with a Yoder?

[Callahan-que]

I don't get it. I do butts on either of my my Pit Boss pellet grills using hickory pellets and I get plenty of smoke flavor.

The first one I did really surprised me because I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was because of all the crap I've read and previous cooks were on my stick burner.

 

[ttkt57]

I'm probably naive and asking a stupid question, but here goes anyway.

Is there any relation between the depth and vividness of the smoke ring you get in your meat and the amount of smoke flavor? Can you get a great smoke ring and no smoke flavor? Or little smoke ring but great smoke flavor?

Do y'all who are dissatisfied with your pellet cookers' smoke flavor also find yourselves dissatisfied with the way meat looks? Or are these issues unrelated?

Put it another way. If we put a stick burner, a pellet grill whose owner gets enough smoke flavor, and a pellet grill whose owner doesn't get enough smoke flavor into a comparison cook, could you predict the intensity of smoke flavor by looking at the smoke rings on meat coming out of each cooker?

 

[TravelingJ]

The smoke tube worked for me. I have a Copperhead vertical smoker, so the trick was finding a spot where the fan wasn't making it burn too fast (so I couldn't set it on the bottom) and where fats wont drip on it to put it out. For us it is the perfect amount of being able to taste the smoke, without it being a turnoff with reminder belches for the rest of the day.

 

[AClarke44]

Very true... New Pellet Grill Owners often times approach it the wrong way. To get a decent smoke flavor profile from a pellet grill alone, you have to start the cook on Smoke mode or a temp of 200* degrees or lower. If the Pellet Grills temp is set above 250* degrees and especially if it’s above 300* degrees, it’s like cooking in your oven. After finding out the hard way, they search the Web for help and answers and windup here...

This in my opinion is one of your best answers. You MUST start out on the lowest setting to get good smoke. The other and equally important (maybe even more important) is the brand of pellets and type of wood they are. I use Lumberjack 100% Hickory. I’ve read a lot of reviews from both forums and professionals, one “professional” writer even went so far as to say the pellet type and brand may be more important than the actual brand of pellet cooker for smoke flavor. In his opinion the more expensive cookers were just better with temp control/consistency and longevity of parts etc.

Like every cooker though, pellet cookers aren’t for everyone. The flavor profile you’re use to might just require something different.

Edit: I wanted to add that recteq recommends placing a handful of pellets on top of the heat diffuser along with the other things I mentioned above.

 

[-Chris-]

Like every cooker though, pellet cookers aren’t for everyone. The flavor profile your use to might just require something different.

Edit: I wanted to add that recteq recommends placing a handful of pellets on top of the heat diffuser along with the other things I mentioned above.

Yeah, in my stickburner I used to use oak or hickory for beef and apple or cherry for pork/chicken. It does not seem like that applies to pellet grills.

I have used lumberjack in the past and am trying to arrange another group buy, but now I am using Cabelas pellets that I think are made by LJ. I will have to step up to the harsher woods to see how that affects it.

I placed some pellets on the diffuser and they seemed to smoke pretty well, I will have to experiment with that a little more.

Chris

 

[busmania]

I'm probably naive and asking a stupid question, but here goes anyway.

Is there any relation between the depth and vividness of the smoke ring you get in your meat and the amount of smoke flavor? Can you get a great smoke ring and no smoke flavor? Or little smoke ring but great smoke flavor?

Do y'all who are dissatisfied with your pellet cookers' smoke flavor also find yourselves dissatisfied with the way meat looks? Or are these issues unrelated?

Put it another way. If we put a stick burner, a pellet grill whose owner gets enough smoke flavor, and a pellet grill whose owner doesn't get enough smoke flavor into a comparison cook, could you predict the intensity of smoke flavor by looking at the smoke rings on meat coming out of each cooker?

I had two stock burners and sold one (Yoder Wichita) to buy a Yoder 640. I’m about 6-7 cooks in and close to selling it. The last beef ribs I made looked amazing. Great smoke ring, nice dark bark. But when I bit in, disappointment. No smoke flavor. I’ve been using a smoke tube to supplement smoke. It helps a little.

I do like the convenience of the pellet but again, I may sell it because now I find myself being lazy and mot wanting to fire up the stick burner and I keep getting disappointed in the food I make on the pellet.

I may try just putting chunk of wood on top of the diffuser plate. Has anyone tried that? Does it smoke decent?

 

[Marquez]

I may try just putting chunk of wood on top of the diffuser plate. Has anyone tried that? Does it smoke decent?

I tried it on my MAK, and thought I could taste a difference. Maybe it was conformational bias since the MAK makes plenty of smoke, and has plenty of smoke flavor for me and my guests.

That was before my Shirley was delivered, so I did not have an idea of the difference in smoke flavor between pellet and stick.

With only a few cooks on the Shirley, I perceive the difference to be that the smoke from the Shirley is more like the perfume of the wood, and from the MAK to be from the burning of wood.

The MAK does have a in its profile intermittent times where smoke is billowing, and then seems to clear up. Frankly, I like that and think it contributes to it being a terrific cooker, however it is a reach to say that its flavor profile is like a stick burner.

Both cookers have their place in my patio and complement each other well.

 

[ttkt57]

With only a few cooks on the Shirley, I perceive the difference to be that the smoke from the Shirley is more like the perfume of the wood, and from the MAK to be from the burning of wood.

Fascinating. I would love to hear more from you about this. "Perfume of the wood"? Is that the aroma of the wood before it burns?

 

[Marquez]

Fascinating. I would love to hear more from you about this. "Perfume of the wood"? Is that the aroma of the wood before it burns?

To me its that the smoke aroma from the meat is similar to the wood I used for the cook. I've used two varieties in the Shirley, maple and oak. The smell of the meats from these cooks seem to be different, and similar to the wood I used for that cook.

When I cook on my pellet grill, I do not get the same smell in the food. I do smell that the food was smoked though. I have not been able to discern the flavor variety I put into the hopper.

This of course could be confirmation bias, and might not really happening. Its my observation, and yours could be different.

Hope that makes sense.....

:blah:

 

[RCAlan]

Yeah, in my stickburner I used to use oak or hickory for beef and apple or cherry for pork/chicken. It does not seem like that applies to pellet grills.

I have used lumberjack in the past and am trying to arrange another group buy, but now I am using Cabelas pellets that I think are made by LJ. I will have to step up to the harsher woods to see how that affects it.

I placed some pellets on the diffuser and they seemed to smoke pretty well, I will have to experiment with that a little more.

Chris

Chris, on your next Brisket cook next week, use the Pellet Smoke Tube mixed with 50% wood chips of your choice and 50% Lumberjack Char-Hickory wood pellets if you have any. Make sure it’s well lit and producing good smoke... Also, another inexpensive option to try at the same time is to add a Smoke Basket to your Yoder during your Brisket cook.
Load it with already lit lump charcoal and add the Hardwood Chunks and Chips of your choice. Your should get about 2 hours of good real lump charcoal and hardwood smoke from using a Smoke Basket for your brisket. Start your cook at 200* degrees or lower for the first 2-3 hours and spritz every 45 mins to an hour. This will enable your grill to produce the most pellet smoke possible while adding true hardwood smoke and not have the smoke blown out of the grill by the Yoder’s fan because the set temp was to high. I know a lot of current and former Pellet Grill Owners, would always chase and crave that real hardwood smoke flavor profile that many of us grew up with. I’m one of them. Some people may say, why not go back to using a Stick Burner... I actually like the ability to Set it and Forget while bbqing and with Pellet Grills, when operated correctly, Pellet Grill Owners can enjoy bbqing without a lot of babysitting. With my Pellet Pro Austin XL, I made it into a type of Hybrid Pellet Grill, in that I use the Smoke Basket option when I want to and I also have installed the SD Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator on it as well. That option is not for everyone since keeping the Canister clear is very important and for some, that’s extra work.. lol.. but I like the ability to enjoy Real Hardwood Smoke at anytime and at temps above 300* degrees from my pellet grill and also being able to enjoy pellet smoke, charcoal smoke and real hardwood smoke all at the same time as well or just go strictly pellets... The options I have now are endless. I can dial the Smoke back and have it light or I can increase the smoke to any level too my liking. Going on over a year now with my current setup and I have no complaints. Is it a little more work ? Yes, but it wouldn’t be real bbqing without a little work from time to time. I know a lot of Pellet Grill Owners won’t go to the lengths I did with my pellet grill too find that Pot of Gold.. ie. Real Hardwood Smoke. It’s possible. Even “Ironside Smokers” is coming out with Pellet Assist Stick Burner Grill this year.
Sorry, that’s for another thread... lol.. Give the Pellet Smoke Tube mixed with wood chips/pellets and the Smoke Basket option a try and the lower grill set temp to start your Brisket cook next week a shot and post back how it turns out... Good luck

 

[gtsum]

Definitely try smoking at 180-200 for a couple hours then Ramon it up and see if that helps

I could tell my food was smoked off my Yoder and my Memphis, but it it wasn’t that sweet, deep smoke flavor from an offset. I can tell a difference on my stick burner between using oak and hickory and switch back and forth depending on what I’m cooking (pork gets hickory, beef gets oak, and other gets a mix).

I tried a lot of pellets on my pellet coolers and settled on lumberjack 100% hickory to get the most flavor I could. Sometimes I used a tube at times but not often as I thought it tasted more like a camp fire smoke vs a perfumed taste (like mentioned above). Also give your taste buds time to adapt to the pellet flavor profile. They do put out some good food, but sometimes people just want more smoke


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[Marquez]

Chris, on your next Brisket cook next week, use the Pellet Smoke Tube mixed with 50% wood chips of your choice and 50% Lumberjack Char-Hickory wood pellets if you have any. Make sure it’s well lit and producing good smoke... Also, another inexpensive option to try at the same time is to add a Smoke Basket to your Yoder during your Brisket cook.
Load it with already lit lump charcoal and add the Hardwood Chunks and Chips of your choice. Your should get about 2 hours of good real lump charcoal and hardwood smoke from using a Smoke Basket for your brisket. Start your cook at 200* degrees or lower for the first 2-3 hours and spritz every 45 mins to an hour. This will enable your grill to produce the most pellet smoke possible while adding true hardwood smoke and not have the smoke blown out of the grill by the Yoder’s fan because the set temp was to high. I know a lot of current and former Pellet Grill Owners, would always chase and crave that real hardwood smoke flavor profile that many of us grew up with. I’m one of them. Some people may say, why not go back to using a Stick Burner... I actually like the ability to Set it and Forget while bbqing and with Pellet Grills, when operated correctly, Pellet Grill Owners can enjoy bbqing without a lot of babysitting. With my Pellet Pro Austin XL, I made it into a type of Hybrid Pellet Grill, in that I use the Smoke Basket option when I want to and I also have installed the SD Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator on it as well. That option is not for everyone since keeping the Canister clear is very important and for some, that’s extra work.. lol.. but I like the ability to enjoy Real Hardwood Smoke at anytime and at temps above 300* degrees from my pellet grill and also being able to enjoy pellet smoke, charcoal smoke and real hardwood smoke all at the same time as well or just go strictly pellets... The options I have now are endless. I can dial the Smoke back and have it light or I can increase the smoke to any level too my liking. Going on over a year now with my current setup and I have no complaints. Is it a little more work ? Yes, but it wouldn’t be real bbqing without a little work from time to time. I know a lot of Pellet Grill Owners won’t go to the lengths I did with my pellet grill too find that Pot of Gold.. ie. Real Hardwood Smoke. It’s possible. Even “Ironside Smokers” is coming out with Pellet Assist Stick Burner Grill this year.
Sorry, that’s for another thread... lol.. Give the Pellet Smoke Tube mixed with wood chips/pellets and the Smoke Basket option a try and the lower grill set temp to start your Brisket cook next week a shot and post back how it turns out... Good luck

Very interesting...

Do you have pix of your set up and more details about the Smoke Basket?

Great info for adding to the pellet smoker technique!

Thanks

 

[Marquez]

I may try just putting chunk of wood on top of the diffuser plate. Has anyone tried that? Does it smoke decent?

BTW, have you seen this post from a fellow Colorado Brethren?

Very interesting hybrid that he built!

 

[RCAlan]

Very interesting...

Do you have pix of your set up and more details about the Smoke Basket?

Great info for adding to the pellet smoker technique!

Thanks

Here’s some pics of the modifications I did to my PB Austin XL.. Hopefully the pics will upload without any problems.

The pictures are not uploading... I hope this is ok.. I’m can’t post the link here, but if you Google Pit Boss Owners Forum and then go to the Pit Boss Mod section, I have a posting about adding real hardwood smoke to Pellet Grills with pictures and details. Good luck

 

[JWFokker]

Run low as possible, 225F max until the meat stalls, only use hickory or oak pellets, add a pellet tube filled with wood chips. It's the only way to run pellet burners.

 

[jermoQ]

I know this is not helpful, but I have had a pellet grill for 7 years and added a copperhead a couple of years ago. I like the idea (could just be in my head?) that in the vertical Copperhead, all of the smoke flows past the meat on the shelf adding maximum smoke flavor. I also have a favorite Q joint in Missouri, that had a large commercial vertical Traeger on a trailer,, outside the building. I am not sure that the way a fan blows in an offset style pellet grill, allows all of the smoke to go past the meat or just flow around toward the exhaust and leave. I have smoked small things on it with good flavor, and large things low temp with decent flavor.
I grew up eating bbq that made you burp smoke 4 hours later. So, I was dissapointed with pellets early on. Then I gained BBQ maturity, when I came to understand that smoke is a seasoning, not the main ingredient...unless you are trying to preserve your brisket and pork butts :shock:. You don't want your bbq to taste like mostly salt, or mostly pepper, or mostly mustard. They are seasonings. You want to taste meat with seaoning.

 

[SaySmoker]

In my opinion, pellet grills produce really good BBQ. However, they do not produce strong smoke flavor no matter what you try - low temps, pellet tubes.... etc. If you are looking for a stronger flavor, try a different style smoker.

 

[amalik]

In my opinion, pellet grills produce really good BBQ. However, they do not produce strong smoke flavor no matter what you try - low temps, pellet tubes.... etc. If you are looking for a stronger flavor, try a different style smoker.

One confusion I have is -- if your pellet grill doesn't produce any smoking flavor, is it really just equivalent to a gas grill that you can set exact temps on? I'm trying to understand the marketing perspective as I look to buy a pellet grill.

 

[Sooner21]

In my opinion, pellet grills produce really good BBQ. However, they do not produce strong smoke flavor no matter what you try - low temps, pellet tubes.... etc. If you are looking for a stronger flavor, try a different style smoker.

Not necessarily true. I get just as good smoke from my MAK as the other 5-7 cookers I've had over the years. Less than my drum, but that's because the fat drips on the coals, which I'm not a huge fan of that flavor.


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[DanB]

Smoke

Hi All When all else fails, try adding wood chunks on the heat deflector/heat diffuser temps have to be 300+ to get the chunks going.
You have nothing to lose.
DanB