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Irickster

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Brand new to the brethren with that I hope is a new take on what must be a common question.

I have been smoking on a Treager for several years, but when i compare it to local BBQ joints and or local competitions the smoke flavor does not compare.

I tried pulled pork at a local competition over the summer and the added smoke flavor was addicting!!!!! They were cooking on a reverse flow from Meadow creek I believe. That said, now the questions.

Is all this smoke flavor real or are they adding liquid smoke.
mostly genuine smoke flavor? (restaurants included) then what would you suggest for my first stick burner? did i mention addicted?? LOL

Looking at a reverse flow or h20 gravity. I have heard the temp swings form side to side may be to extreme on a offset?? I live in the pacific northwest and have looked at the following.

Lang (more recent reviews reflects workmanship is not so good any more?)
KAT BBQ
Yoder (with their new heat management system

Thoughts from the experts??

Thanks
Rick
 
That's a good question about the smoke and one that I have also.
I want to buy a FEC 120, but I'm not 100% sure that I will be happy with the smoke flavor.
I been told that I will be happy.
 
I cook on 2 FEC 240's in my restaurants and the smoke flavor is just fine. There are two ways to achieve it.

1. Cook at the smoke setting (180 degrees) for at least 3 hours.

2. Rest a MojoBrick qube or a chunk of wood at the edge of the fire bowl (not over it) so it will smolder and give you more smoke. Cookshack has their smoke enhacer. I don't know if Traeger offers a similar product.

http://www.cookshack.com/store/Accessories_3/PA026-Smoke-Enhancer

media.nl
 
At the end of the day, i don't want to spend $2-$3,000 on a smoker and then find out everyone was using liquid smoke, and I would have been fine cooking on the Treager..
 
I'll give you the descenting opinion. I had a Traeger for 18 months and had the same issue. Cooked tons of food. All of it turned out moist and tender and mildly like smoke. I would go to restaurants or even buy smoked food from the big box grocery store and be pissed they had better smoke flavor than I did.

I joined pelletheads.com forum and read and read...tried different brands of pellets, bought an A-Maze-N Tube, tried the smoke setting, tried meat cold, tried meat hot, tried basting and mopping and spraying. Never was satisfied.

3 weeks ago I bought a charcoal fed Pit Barrel Cooker after reading this forum. First cook I did ribs and chicken....both were better than anything I ever cooked on the Traeger. I know people love them for the convenience but I have never had anything come off pellets tasting with that deep smoke flavor....
 
I have a buddy who uses a traeger, it does a very good job cooking meat. Its very hands off, is almost idiot proof and yields mostly perfectly cooked food almost every time. But to me, it tastes like it was cooked in an oven. Which isn't bad, but its not smoking to me.
 
I have one and don't ever see losing it but I got other cookers too
 
Irickster said:
At the end of the day, i don't want to spend $2-$3,000 on a smoker and then find out everyone was using liquid smoke, and I would have been fine cooking on the Treager..
Click to expand...

I mean it's not everyone. Gotta be one or two guys not using liquid smoke......:becky:

Why not try something less expensive and in between a pellet and a larger stickburner? A WSM or an uds/barrel smoker both put out great stuff and are much less expensive. Heck even a Weber grill can put out amazing stuff :clap2:
 
Here are some smoke bombed ribs (and bacon wrapped jalps) on my $50 craigslist weber kettle. If you go this route you'll still have $2,950 to spend on beer an patio furniture!
 
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I believe Treager advertises the fact that there pellets provide a lighter smoke finish than otherwise. And would just like to say I love shots of liquid smoke as a chaser with my favorite brew
 
I've got an FEC100, the higher the temp you cook at, the less smoke you'll have. To get more smoke, run at a lower temp for a while. For long cooks, I add the Amazen tube smoker for some extra smoke every now and then. That being said, FEC100's win a bunch on the competition circuit.

Want more smoke out of your Traeger, just change your technique a bit.
 
I seriously doubt that any competition teams are using Liquid Smoke. It has a very distinct taste that would almost assuredly receive low scores from judges.
 
I own a pellet smoker. I'm selling it on CL right now because they just don't produce a very good smoke flavor.
 
I get a great smoke in the food with my little PK, lump charcoal and, today, apple chunks. I think it's really just a matter of how much wood flavoring smoke the food comes into contact with.
 
pvcollie said:
I seriously doubt that any competition teams are using Liquid Smoke. It has a very distinct taste that would almost assuredly receive low scores from judges.
Click to expand...

Have you ever had Head Country sauce :mrgreen:

Instead of spending thousands of $$$ on a new smoker, as Jason said why not try a WSM and see what you think. Depending on your area of the country, you can find them on CL for $100+ off retail.

BTW i think WSMs are the best smokers for the $$ hands down. Haven't tried a PBC yet but I hear those are good too

My $0.02
 
I have been doing this over fifty years,but by no means know it all,I learn something new all the time. I have cooked on them all and no doubt the stick burner is the best tasting q to me. No matter what you do on other cookers the final product just don't seem to come up to the stick burner. About two years ago I come across The Pit barrel Cooker and checked out the videos. I bought one and it has turned out the best tasting Q I have had since my stick burner. The little barrel will cook up to 10 racks of ribs at a time.
 
I have known around a dozen or so folks who own, or owned, BBQ restaurants around here. None used liquid smoke on their meats. They all cooked using wood. Now, a few might've used smoke flavoring in their sauces, there's a few ways to do that too.

I'd listen to Big Mista, he's using pellets in his restaurants these days and doing pretty good from what I've heard

I have been looking at the KAT Cookers a lot lately. I really like Shirley cookers, but, they are in Alabama, and I am within delivery range of Modesto (I think).
 
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I do my briskets and pork butts on my Old Country Wrangler until they reach the color I like then move them to my Green Mountain pellet smoker until done.

I get the smoke flavor I like but still cuts down on half of the work.
 
landarc said:
I have been looking at the KAT Cookers a lot lately. I really like Shirley cookers, but, they are in Alabama, and I am within delivery range of Modesto (I think).
Click to expand...
If I lived in CA, KAT would be at the top of my list, the Pits he's posted on here all have looked top notch.
 
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