Tell me again how they don't smoke?


 
LMichaels said:
Keep seeing all these things ranting on how pellet grills don't smoke and only stick or coal burners can. And how you gotta use a smoke tube. Well here we are rolling coal :D at 225 and it's not just in little "puffs". It's been rolling steady as she goes all night and all morning.
View attachment 91249
Click to expand...
10-4.

Cooked up a 9 lb. pork butt yesterday, using Head Country Original rub, on the Traeger. Set on Smoke with the P setting at 4. Ran between 165 and 180 and put out steady smoke, though the level did vary some, until I wrapped and cranked it up to 300 to finish it off. Turned out great and definitely had a nice level of smoky goodness and a nice smoke ring. (Sorry, no pics) Smoke from the Traeger was sporadic and imparted very little flavor until I upgraded to the PID controller. After playing around a bit, figured out how to get it to pump out some good smokey love.
 
Oh, and temps are holding rock solid. The ambient in my Temp Spike is keeping right around 240 (it's up near the top of the grill housing) so is reading a little higher than the grill's own ambient. But both are holding withing +- 5
 
Bob Bailey said:
10-4.

Cooked up a 9 lb. pork butt yesterday, using Head Country Original rub, on the Traeger. Set on Smoke with the P setting at 4. Ran between 165 and 180 and put out steady smoke, though the level did vary some, until I wrapped and cranked it up to 300 to finish it off. Turned out great and definitely had a nice level of smoky goodness and a nice smoke ring. (Sorry, no pics) Smoke from the Traeger was sporadic and imparted very little flavor until I upgraded to the PID controller. After playing around a bit, figured out how to get it to pump out some good smokey love.
Click to expand...
I've noticed the "P" settings on my Member's Mark will smoke steady but volume will be sporadic as you mentioned. I think that is simply the nature of the "P" settings
 
Yep. Higher P settings increase the time the auger pauses between 15 second on cycles, so the temperature varies more on higher P settings. This causes the pellets to smolder more and produce more smoke. I probably could have used a higher P setting once the ambient temperature warmed up but was satisfied with the results at 4.
 
Having used a WSM, RecTeq, OKJ Bronco, Masterbuilt Gravity and SF I agree that pellet cookers definitely produce visible smoke but the flavor is not as intense. You can definitely go overboard with wood flavor but for me personally the flavor produced by my OKJ Bronco is my favorite. It's hard to beat charcoal and smoldering wood chunks. The SF produces some decent smoke flavor for a pellet cooker though.

Smoke rings are just for looks IMO. It's just a chemical reaction and doesn't indicate smoke flavor intensity.
 
LMichaels said:
Keep seeing all these things ranting on how pellet grills don't smoke and only stick or coal burners can. And how you gotta use a smoke tube. Well here we are rolling coal :D at 225 and it's not just in little "puffs". It's been rolling steady as she goes all night and all morning.
View attachment 91249
Click to expand...
If you like very light smoke they're great. If you actually like traditional smoke they ain't got it. The LSG is the closest to old school you can get for smoke profile on a pellet. Side by side testing proved this to be true. A stick LSG vs their pellet. Still not as much as a stick burner or coal, but real close and lot less work. Big box pellet not even in the same ball park. Guy at work has a treager and it ain’t close to my WSM. I think Yoder may also be pretty good, but they had so much trouble people got gun shy. Cook shack also pretty good.

There's not 1 pellet that can sear a steak like a kettle. No disrespect, but every time I see a pale looking steak I just think they have no idea what a steak should be like when seared correctly. Pellet grills just don't get hot enough for a correctly seared steak.

I'm glad you're happy, but I'll take a hard pass.
 
Chad-Burnt to a T said:
If you like very light smoke they're great. If you actually like traditional smoke they ain't got it. The LSG is the closest to old school you can get for smoke profile on a pellet. Side by side testing proved this to be true. A stick LSG vs their pellet. Still not as much as a stick burner or coal, but real close and lot less work. Big box pellet not even in the same ball park. Guy at work has a treager and it ain’t close to my WSM. I think Yoder may also be pretty good, but they had so much trouble people got gun shy. Cook shack also pretty good.

There's not 1 pellet that can sear a steak like a kettle. No disrespect, but every time I see a pale looking steak I just think they have no idea what a steak should be like when seared correctly. Pellet grills just don't get hot enough for a correctly seared steak.

I'm glad you're happy, but I'll take a hard pass.
Click to expand...
I would NOT call the profile "light" in any way shape or form. If it got any more smoke I might as well go outside and gnaw on my Oak and Maple trees.
 
To me, SEEING smoke is not the measure of things, it's rather the QUALITY OF SMOKE & INTENSITY OF SMOKE FLAVOR produced. This is the thing about smoke flavor, for some people just a kiss of smoke flavor is perfect, while for others they want a more intense smoke flavor. And I can guarantee that people don't agree on what's a kiss and what's more intense. All that matters is that you like the taste of your end product.

As for searing a steak, the intensity of sear can be evaluated visually and steaks from different types of grills could be ranked from good to great. Maybe folks want to post some of their sear photos and we could do a little poll for the best one. :)
 
LMichaels said:
Well here we are rolling coal :D at 225 and it's not just in little "puffs". It's been rolling steady as she goes all night and all morning.
Click to expand...
That is fake smoke.

1716052122873.png

I don't have a Z but I do have a SmokeFire. I have never said to myself "I will smoke this on the M1 with splits instead of the SmokeFire because I want more smoke." For my palate, the SF embeds enormous smoke in our food. Further for my palate, I can only say the M1 with splits results in somewhat a different flavor, not a more robust nor intense flavor. So given my experience, I would agree with you that there is nothing light about smoke from pellets.

More important than anything else today: you're celebrating very special events with family. Enjoy!
 
Bob Erdman said:
Different smokes, for different folks. I prefer the SmokeFire over my WSM for smoking.

SmokeFire can't sear a steak?

View attachment 91267
Click to expand...
I agree that the Smokefire and many other brands of pellet grills provide a nice smoke flavor.
But I have to say the steak photo above, with only a few darker lines from the cooking grate, is not what I would call a seared steak. I’m sure it tastes great but it’s definitely not a good example of a seared steak. I cooked a couple tenders recently. I don’t even consider this a strong char but it’s nicely roasted steak over medium coals.
IMG_7274.jpeg
IMG_2370.png
 
Last edited:
Thing is if my food got any more smoky (on foods I am purposely putting smoke on) then it would be like eating wood. So much so I actually have had people say it was a little "over the top". I am more than happy with the levels from both pits. And while one day when I build my patio I may turn to a more traditional one..................it would NOT be for more smoke. It would only be for "sport". But not for one moment because I am unhappy with the quality of the cooks.
Case in point. Just pulled the brisket off. It has incredible crust, is probing like a hot knife through warm butter, and the aroma? Absolutely amazing
 
The best smoke, sear, texture, flavor or anything else cooking related is subjective. Many feel their wants and needs are met with just one appliance and many use several. It all comes down to wallet, and palate, much like rubs & sauces.

I believe in having cookers that complement each other and using the best one for the task. I don't do hot & fast cooks on the pellet grill. They're done on one of my kettles, sometimes with the Santa Maria attachment, or on the gasser. All work great for searing. If I want a sear on something cooked on the pellet pooper, I fire up my flame thrower. It also works great for roasting peppers and other veggies.

When smoke is the star of the show, for things like smoked salmon, trout or cheese, I'll break out the Big Chief. When I just want smoke as part of the flavor profile, the pellet grill or a kettle gets the nod. Haven't used an offset for 30+ years. It was great when I had a couple acres of oak, and not much money, but I no longer find the need for one.

That's me! How about you?
 
The profile I look for is I want to taste the "product" first. I know some like to be hit in the face with smoke. Not me. I've tasted that kind of Q. Other than texture you would not know if you were eating beef, chicken, pork, or road kill. Unless it's venison. Venison does not hide from my schnoz or taste buds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top