Opinions of Smoke Level?

[Jon B]

Another approach to increasing smoke flavor (and bark) comes with the newer Camp Chef Woodwind Pro. It includes a slide-in box in which you put wood chunks and/or even charcoal. The reviews are pretty impressive. The SmokeFire achieves its results in a large part, I think, because of the unconventional open aspect between the grates and firepot that comes from using flavorizer bars in place of the solid shield most other pellet grills have. It seems to work well based on so many great cooks we have seen here. There are challenges this design brings, though. The Woodwind Pro keeps the conventional metal shield that handles grease more reliably and rather relies on the slide in box to deliver the extra real smoke.

I would love to see a cookoff between the latest SmokeFire and Woodwind Pro!

I really liked the CC innovation and I tried to get a XXL Pro from CC. The first one was damaged in shipping. The second one had defective welded hinges so the chamber door could not shut without leaving large gaps. I decided to stop trying my luck.

I admit I wrote off the SF when it first came out, but it was compelling to me that Weber took care of the initial purchasers who suffered through that roll out and kept improving on it. Not only that but I began to notice that more than a few reviewers with just about every pellet grill under the sun used the SF as their go to grill. The Henry Soo torture tests were pretty compelling too.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Too bad about the Camp Chef issues. I would love to have heard your opinion of how it cooked. I have a Recteq RT-700 which is totally reliable, very predictable, and even a little stylish with those bull horn handles despite having the now out of favor smoke stack and grease pail on the side. It’s hard to find a fault with it, but I admire Weber’s efforts to make something innovative rather than “merry too.” Despite all the teething issues, a lot of great food done on the SmokeFire. Jeremy Yoder, the BBQ Mad Scientist, once commented how close the SmokeFire got to offset results after finding out the identity in one of his blind tests.

Likewise, I think Camp Chef is on to something, too. Jeremy and some others all comment on the amazing bark and near offset taste it delivers.

I sure wish someone would do an all out comparison test of these two grills.

 

[Shane - glitchy]

Glitchy that's quite a compliment to the SF. It's amazing it has taken these pellet grill designers so long to innovate. It's almost like they kept copying each other over and over and over again. If the SF put too much smoke on a frozen pizza at 450 then it must be quite capable at lower temps.

Others have been innovating in the pellet world since Traeger’s patent ran out. Most people just don’t want to pay for it. Weber just has more volume to spread the innovation costs across and uses cheaper materials than the other real innovators. Not saying Weber isn’t a real innovator, saying what others that sell pellet grills in the sub $1000 range do isn’t really that innovative. Heck, CampChef’s new Pro is just a stolen idea from others put into a stock model versus a third party accessory or insider user hack. I know a few people that have been throwing wood chunks on the heat diffuser for years. I think it’s SmokeDaddy that has been selling a heat deflector that holds pieces of wood on the sides for years.

 

[Jon Tofte]

@Shane - glitchy,

I have certainly thought it would be nice to figure out a way to mod my Recteq in a similar way. I need to check out SmokeDaddy.

Give Camp Chef credit for putting the package together and offering it at a decent price in a decent low/mid market pellet grill. I agree that Weber make a very large mistake in compromising the quality of materials they used trying to keep the price down while offering a new approach. They would have been way better off charging more but making the grill of higher-grade materials.

 

[Jon B]

Others have been innovating in the pellet world since Traeger’s patent ran out. Most people just don’t want to pay for it. Weber just has more volume to spread the innovation costs across and uses cheaper materials than the other real innovators. Not saying Weber isn’t a real innovator, saying what others that sell pellet grills in the sub $1000 range do isn’t really that innovative. Heck, CampChef’s new Pro is just a stolen idea from others put into a stock model versus a third party accessory or insider user hack. I know a few people that have been throwing wood chunks on the heat diffuser for years. I think it’s SmokeDaddy that has been selling a heat deflector that holds pieces of wood on the sides for years.

I always thought the fly in the ointment to the SmokeDaddy deflector was adding wood. I know I would never take the food off during a cook, take the grates out and take the heat deflector off. BUT, I never used one so that may be an overly simplistic view of how it works.

If CC patented the wood / charcoal drawer idea that might prove challenging to others to copy.

 

[LMichaels]

I always thought the fly in the ointment to the SmokeDaddy deflector was adding wood. I know I would never take the food off during a cook, take the grates out and take the heat deflector off. BUT, I never used one so that may be an overly simplistic view of how it works.

If CC patented the wood / charcoal drawer idea that might prove challenging to others to copy.

Not overly simplistic. It is how it works. Their idea is to put a large enough split in there from the get go to last long enough. Honestly I've felt it's a bit of a gimmick. You can only take so much "smoke" before it begins to be over powering anyway. I feel the level of smoke has more to do with the design of the oven more than whether or not a deflector is used. Otherwise folks who own the SF would be sorely disappointed in their performance if using a sheet pan drip tray but yet you don't see that complaint. I feel it's the rear vents and the enclosed grease system most responsible for the good flavor performance. After all you have fire in a burn pot, you have smoke in a "closed" chamber. Whether or not there is a grease deflector. After all the deflector does not seal the grill up

 

[Shane - glitchy]

I always thought the fly in the ointment to the SmokeDaddy deflector was adding wood. I know I would never take the food off during a cook, take the grates out and take the heat deflector off. BUT, I never used one so that may be an overly simplistic view of how it works.

If CC patented the wood / charcoal drawer idea that might prove challenging to others to copy.

From most of what I understand, the vast majority of your smoke comes in the first few hours of cooking. I wouldn’t be opening it up to add more wood mid cook, but like @LMichaels says add enough at the start to get that boost where it really matters. I also know people that put their food on pellet grills before starting them to get that extra boost from when it first lights. I have no need for either with the MAK or when I had a SmokeFire. Some of the others along the way I thought about it.

There‘s tons of factors in the final product too. Putting food on cold helps. Cold surfaces attract or take more smoke. Pellets matter. Cookers differ, etc. Spritzing can help too, though I usually only do that on ribs.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Another option is the Masterbuilt Gravity series. I can run it on almost any ratio of charcoal to wood. I have put splits in it and wood chunks in the ash catcher for a lot or just a few in the ash catcher for less smoke. The best thing is you still get the charcoal flavor and nice thin blue smoke with a lot less effort than my WSM that I loved but had a hard time getting clean smoke from.

 

[Darian Hofer]

Not overly simplistic. It is how it works. Their idea is to put a large enough split in there from the get go to last long enough. Honestly I've felt it's a bit of a gimmick. You can only take so much "smoke" before it begins to be over powering anyway. I feel the level of smoke has more to do with the design of the oven more than whether or not a deflector is used. Otherwise folks who own the SF would be sorely disappointed in their performance if using a sheet pan drip tray but yet you don't see that complaint. I feel it's the rear vents and the enclosed grease system most responsible for the good flavor performance. After all you have fire in a burn pot, you have smoke in a "closed" chamber. Whether or not there is a grease deflector. After all the deflector does not seal the grill up

Let’s be honest. The pellet grill, if working correctly, is a set and forget cooker that will give anyone using it a pretty good final product. Does the Smokefire produce an award winning smokehouse bbq restaurant profile? Hell no. I get 2-3 times the clean smoke flavor on my offset. Just like any high dollar bbq joint. But it takes MUCH more work tending the fire and little versatility. And truthfully, I don’t like that much smoke even if it’s a nice clean stronger smoke flavor. So for me, I like the Smokefire‘s fairly mild smoke flavor. But most of all I like the fact that it takes very little skill and time to produce a fairly good end product. It’s nice to toss something on and walk away. Except for leveling the pellets in the hopper.
I like the speed of cooking on the Smokefire. I love the real pit smoke flavor of my offset when I have the time and want larger quantities. I love the efficiency and moisture retention of my Kamado grills. Costs me half as much to smoke with lump charcoal on my Kamados compared to my Smokefire. And I really like grilled chicken on my Weber Kettle. They all have their place and time.

 

[Darian Hofer]

Another option is the Masterbuilt Gravity series. I can run it on almost any ratio of charcoal to wood. I have put splits in it and wood chunks in the ash catcher for a lot or just a few in the ash catcher for less smoke. The best thing is you still get the charcoal flavor and nice thin blue smoke with a lot less effort than my WSM that I loved but had a hard time getting clean smoke from.

The gravity smoker is one of the only smokers I have no experience with. But I hear so many good things about them.
‘Cheers

 

[Joe Anshien]

The gravity smoker is one of the only smokers I have no experience with. But I hear so many good things about them.
‘Cheers

The only potential down side is longevity as it is not built to last forever like kettles or aluminum cast grills. But expect mine to last as long as a Smokefire as I treat mine as a smoker. It is also nice that there are so many aftermarket parts, mods, and add-ons for it. You can even buy a Fireboard replacement controller for it if you want. It also has a rotisserie;-)

 

[Jon B]

Another option is the Masterbuilt Gravity series. I can run it on almost any ratio of charcoal to wood. I have put splits in it and wood chunks in the ash catcher for a lot or just a few in the ash catcher for less smoke. The best thing is you still get the charcoal flavor and nice thin blue smoke with a lot less effort than my WSM that I loved but had a hard time getting clean smoke from.

I looked closely at this one (MB 1050) and ALMOST pulled the trigger. After looking at lots of different reviews it seems like the reviewer ended up replacing many different parts, had a few grease fires, but still really liked it and used it a lot. I just didn't want to deal with the inevitable failures, even if fixable, and would have been too uneasy to leave it for any length of time.

 

[Joe Anshien]

I looked closely at this one (MB 1050) and ALMOST pulled the trigger. After looking at lots of different reviews it seems like the reviewer ended up replacing many different parts, had a few grease fires, but still really liked it and used it a lot. I just didn't want to deal with the inevitable failures, even if fixable, and would have been too uneasy to leave it for any length of time.

I understand. That is the way I felt after using the Smokefire 3 times. It went out, pellets kept filling the grill, pellets stopped feeding, wrong temps, etc. I think they have mitigated most of those issues, but that was my first experience with a pellet grill and totally soured my taste for one. Also for me, BBQ is meant to be charcoal and wood, not pellets. Grease never even hits the bottom of my MB as I smoke on the middle and top racks with a foil lined pan under. In over a year my drip tray is still clean.

 

[LMichaels]

Did a half slab of St Louis ribs yesterday. They needed another hour to render more. Had more "chew" than I typically get. But, as far as flavor? Honestly, any more smoke on them would have been over kill. Flavor was incredible.

 

[Darian Hofer]

Before someone jumps me for posting photos of another cooker on a Weber forum, bare with me.
I cooked a couple 1 3/4 pound meatloaves on my Cast Iron Kamado. I added about 4 smallish chunks of hickory to the lump. Smoke was clean and smelled great the entire cook. The flavor profile was consistent with a good smokehouse bbq joint. Hickory is strong and it was as much smoke flavor as I would ever want. Wife on the other hand gave me “the look” and asked why I didn’t use the pellet cooker. The smoke lever was above what she likes. And I’m also ok with less smoke.

 

[LMichaels]

Looks great! I know I have been eyeing those Komado type cookers as well. I'm just outta space. Though that may change. I am thinking about building either a second lower level deck or concrete patio next to my raised deck (exposed basement so house is ground level at front and up at back). But I'm getting the "hankering" to do a lower level one. This would open up a lot more square footage for more toys

 

[Joe Anshien]

Hickory can be really strong to some people. Oak is a little milder. Fruit wood I usually use for poultry and fish. Also different strokes for different folks

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah, hickory can be a touch assertive not so much as mesquite. I like to cut both back with some cherry when I am using chips in a smoke box. Find them a good mix. If mesquite I'll use only about 25% and the rest cherry. If hickory about 50/50

 

[Jon B]

We love smoked food. The Smokefire is so good at what it does and easy to use often that I can see that I might want to tailor the pellet mix to a milder "everyday" mix and pour it on for longer brisket or pork butt cooks. I've never had a pellet grill before where the pellet choice actually made a difference.

That meatloaf look great. I've never smoked one before and have to add that to my list.

 

[Bob Erdman]

Meatloaf is on the menu today.