Still trying to get deep smoke flavor in my Pellet smoker.

S

Shadowdog500

is One Chatty Farker
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Last summer I bought a pit boss on sale to see what pellet smoking is all about. I must admit it is a breeze to use when compared to my two WSM smokers and I can easily make the most tender, pull clean from the bones, ribs just like my WSM, but I never get that deep satisfying smoke flavor that I want in my ribs that I always get in my WSM. The smoke ring is pretty pathetic as well.

I’ve tried pit boss pellets and tregar pellets because they are readily available. I’ve tried different p-settings. I’ve tried a Litzy Q 12” tube and had so much smoke coming out of the smoker that I thought the ribs would be nasty, but it only added a little bit more smoke flavor. Yesterday I tried Lumberjack competition blend in the smoker and tube and the smoke was a little bit better but not even close to the rich deep smoke flavor that I get in my WSM. I mail ordered some Lumberjack Hickory pellets which I will try tomorrow. If that don’t give me the flavor I want I’m going back to my WSM for ribs and brisket cooks.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Chris
 
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I had the same experience as you, WSM's and added a pellet cooker + smoke tube. Smoke profile is subjective and everyone has different preferences...I never liked heavy smoke flavor from any cooker and found it to be lacking on the pellet cookers I had. I never bought one of the higher end grills, just Traeger's and Pit Boss etc. I have a feeling I'll wind up with another at some point because I suffer from G.A.D. but am much more realistic with my expectations now. What you're after just may not be attainable, with the piece of equipment you have currently.
 
cowgirl said:
I have a Memphis Pro pellet cooker. I love the thing but it has never put out the flavor I get with my wood burner.
For me, the trade off is convenience.
Click to expand...

That mirror's my results with all the peller cookers we have tried, and a Memphis is a touch act to follow.

We've had Cookshack's, Yoder, Pit Boss, Trager's, Rec-Tec's, and GMG's and out of all of them the lower priced GMG makes noticeably better food.

I attributed it to their controller and variable speed fan that acts like a bellows pulsing air at the firepot to create a more desirable pattern of combustion and smoke none of the other manufacturers we tried had a fan control system quite like that it sounds like a locomotive huffing and puffing away sometimes.

But none of them will impart the depth of flavor a stick burner or charcoal cabinet will.

Still nice to have when it's 20* out in the winter and that thing is tending a pork butt while your inside nice and cozy.
 
My Mak puts out a good smoke flavor, but the brand of pellet cooker can make a big difference.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
When I first got my GMG Daniel Boone, I noticed the lighter smoke profile and was worried that I wasted my money. As I continue to cook on it, I'm getting used to the lighter smoke taste and it's not better or worse, just different. I've cooked everything but a brisket on it and we love the food it produces.


Your Pit Boss will cook some great Q, just give it a chance. If you want the same smoke profile you get from your WSM, cook on the WSM.
 
Thanks for the reply’s, I was starting to think it was just me messing up. Now I know I may be asking for more that my $450 pellet smoker can deliver.

Big George's BBQ said:
Try putting the meat n directly from the Fridge Cold meat I believe absorbs more smoke That may improve your flavor profile Also try cooking at a lower temp so the cook last longer
Click to expand...

Maybe it would help if I put the ribs in frozen! LOL!

I say that jokingly but I know a competition team that does that for thier bulk feed consession stand at bbq competitions. They sell so many ribs that they put them in thier giant car hauler sized custom built smoker frozen with rub on them. Believe it or not the end product is excellent.

Chris
 
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start at low temps (smoke setting) for the first 2 hrs and go with 100% flavor wood, nothing with filler species.


everyone has a preference. I have a feeling if I had ribs off of your wsm I'd find them over smoked.
 
smoke ninja said:
start at low temps (smoke setting) for the first 2 hrs and go with 100% flavor wood, nothing with filler species.


everyone has a preference. I have a feeling if I had ribs off of your wsm I'd find them over smoked.
Click to expand...
This. Set on smoke for a while before you do the real cooking.
Unfortunately pellets wont give you the same flavor as wood. They're compressed sawdust I believe and dont have the same sap content (which is a kind of smoke sugar).
This is part of the reason that I bought other smokers. I still love my traeger and use it a bunch because it's easy, but it's not as good.
Smoke flavor does improve the next day though.
 
jbelson said:
This. Set on smoke for a while before you do the real cooking.
Unfortunately pellets wont give you the same flavor as wood. They're compressed sawdust I believe and dont have the same sap content (which is a kind of smoke sugar).
This is part of the reason that I bought other smokers. I still love my traeger and use it a bunch because it's easy, but it's not as good.
Smoke flavor does improve the next day though.
Click to expand...

Thanks, ill try smoke before turning up the heat up to 225. Chris
 
Shadowdog500 said:
Last summer I bought a pit boss on sale to see what pellet smoking is all about. I must admit it is a breeze to use when compared to my two WSM smokers and I can easily make the most tender, pull clean from the bones, ribs just like my WSM, but I never get that deep satisfying smoke flavor that I want in my ribs that I always get in my WSM. The smoke ring is pretty pathetic as well.

I’ve tried pit boss pellets and tregar pellets because they are readily available. I’ve tried different p-settings. I’ve tried a Litzy Q 12” tube and had so much smoke coming out of the smoker that I thought the ribs would be nasty, but it only added a little bit more smoke flavor. Yesterday I tried Lumberjack competition blend in the smoker and tube and the smoke was a little bit better but not even close to the rich deep smoke flavor that I get in my WSM. I mail ordered some Lumberjack Hickory pellets which I will try tomorrow. If that don’t give me the flavor I want I’m going back to my WSM for ribs and brisket cooks.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Chris
Click to expand...
Which pooper you own?
 
4ever3 said:
There ain’t no Swiss Army knife cooker...


If you’re expecting a cat to bark, your expectations are set too high.


I’m just sayin’
Click to expand...

But the both advertise that they bark like dogs! I should have known it was a cat in dogs clothing! :-D

I’ll try a few more things to increase the smoke flavor. Thanks. Chris
 
I bought a Camp Chef Woodwind, so so smoke flavor, upgraded to a MAK 2 Star General and it is on a whole other level. Also brands of pellets have allot to do with it. Some of these cheap pellets are not giving true wood flavor. Stick to the better brands like BBQ Delight or Lumber Jack 100%. I am using Bear Mountain Pellets and they have been great.
 
Lumberjack hickory is strongest pellet I’ve tried. So try that along with cooking at 200 or so for a couple hours and then raise temp up. That being said, I have found that 230 ’is my sweet spot for smoke flavor for some reason.


Memphis Elite





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
jermoQ said:
I concur with these guys. I have been pellet cooking 5ish years. I dont mind the lighter smoke flavor, and cook good knowing that smoke is a seasoning, not the main ingredient.
Click to expand...

I agree that smoke isn’t the main ingredient, but I’d like to have more than a trace of it in my ribs. I also agree that different people like thier ribs different ways, and that everyone has thier own taste. Heck, millions of people like the parbroiled ribs at Applebee’s. I’m just not one of them.

The main thing that I did learn from this thread is that a pellet smoker does not impart the same level of smoke as a traditional smoker, and I’m not going to get the same flavor profile as a traditional smoker no matter what I do.
 
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