What's on the smoker today?

[Nick87]

Do it yourself burnt ends almost. I have one left to do. I'll probably do it in the pellet grill to see how they compare. Plus, I can do it overnight and not have to feed the fire!

I've had enough issues with the pellet that I still don't like doing the unattended smokes anymore. Speaking maybe @Addicting can help me here but this oit boss cabinet just doesn't get enough smoke flavor for me compared to other smokers. Hell of a smoke ring but it just doesn't seem to absorb the smoke. Could it be the pellets? Idk

 

[noharleyyet]

I've had enough issues with the pellet that I still don't like doing the unattended smokes anymore. Speaking maybe @Addicting can help me here but this oit boss cabinet just doesn't get enough smoke flavor for me compared to other smokers. Hell of a smoke ring but it just doesn't seem to absorb the smoke. Could it be the pellets? Idk

I’m ok with the ‘mild’ pellet smoke flavor til I use the offset stick smoker…then I’m ruin’t again.

 

[Addicting]

I've had enough issues with the pellet that I still don't like doing the unattended smokes anymore. Speaking maybe @Addicting can help me here but this oit boss cabinet just doesn't get enough smoke flavor for me compared to other smokers. Hell of a smoke ring but it just doesn't seem to absorb the smoke. Could it be the pellets? Idk

Can’t help, I have been happy with everything I’ve made. I honestly can’t tell the difference between different types of pellets or smoke.

Only difference I’ve seen is burn time. The cheap ones from Blain’s worked but burnt faster leaving less smoke. The temps were harder to control as well, it ran hotter. I went back to the treager ones and just use the competition ones.

 

[Nick87]

Can’t help, I have been happy with everything I’ve made. I honestly can’t tell the difference between different types of pellets or smoke.

Biggest difference I’ve seen is burn time. The cheap ones from Blain’s worked but burnt faster leaving less smoke. The temps were harder to control as well, it ran hotter. I went back to the treager ones and just use the competition ones.

Hmm. My step dad's traeger has excellent smoke flavor. My pit boss very mild. But that's grill vs cabinet so idk. Biggest thing with pellets I've found is some of them are very dirty as in tons of sawdust in the bag. The suck up moisture real easy that way.

 

[Dave N]

Very light smoke on my roast but it was only exposed for maybe 3 1/2 hours or so before wrapping. There may be a setting to increase the flow of pellets to increase the amount of smoke. At least I think there was something in the manual about that. I'll have to look.

I had seen LOTS of reviews saying Bear Mountain pellets were great and very low dust. Was going to give them a try and when I got to Walmart to buy some I caved and bought Pit Boss instead. Got a 40 pound bag of Competition blend for $15 instead of a 20 pound bag of Bear for the same price. Haven't seen the bottom of the bag yet to verify how much dust is there but what I poured out seemed pretty clean. Tomorrow I'll weigh out how much it takes to replace what I burned for the chuck roast. It sure doesn't seem like it would be much. May be a reason for the light smoke. Don't know, I'm still green at this.

 

[Addicting]

Very light smoke on my roast but it was only exposed for maybe 3 1/2 hours or so before wrapping. There may be a setting to increase the flow of pellets to increase the amount of smoke. At least I think there was something in the manual about that. I'll have to look.

I had seen LOTS of reviews saying Bear Mountain pellets were great and very low dust. Was going to give them a try and when I got to Walmart to buy some I caved and bought Pit Boss instead. Got a 40 pound bag of Competition blend for $15 instead of a 20 pound bag of Bear for the same price. Haven't seen the bottom of the bag yet to verify how much dust is there but what I poured out seemed pretty clean. Tomorrow I'll weigh out how much it takes to replace what I burned for the chuck roast. It sure doesn't seem like it would be much. May be a reason for the light smoke. Don't know, I'm still green at this.

They just don’t use that much per hour for pellets. I buy 10 bags at a time when they are on sale at Home Depot. Then you get the better per bag price plus the sales. I have a couple old coolers I throw the bags in. That will last me 2 years. I make snack sticks, salami, and briskets. All of which smoke for 8+ hours. Takes maybe half a bag each time if it’s really cold out.

 

[Dave N]

They just don’t use that much per hour for pellets. I buy 10 bags at a time when they are on sale at Home Depot. Then you get the better per bag price plus the sales. I have a couple old coolers I throw the bags in. That will last me 2 years. I make snack sticks, salami, and briskets. All of which smoke for 8+ hours. Takes maybe half a bag each time if it’s really cold out.

I burned for about 5 1/2 hours I think and would offhand guess I used less than 2 pounds.

 

[Addicting]

I burned for about 5 1/2 hours I think and would offhand guess I used less than 2 pounds.

I know there is some science to it but seems meat can only take so much smoke before the pores are full. A 3 hour smoke ring and a 12 hour smoke ring are visually about the same depth.

The bark gets better but that’s about it. Not sure at 5 1/2 hours how it wasn’t smoked enough.

 

[Dave N]

I'm also used to burning Hickory in my offset so it makes sense that it would taste different.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I know there is some science to it but seems meat can only take so much smoke before the pores are full. A 3 hour smoke ring and a 12 hour smoke ring are visually about the same depth.

The bark gets better but that’s about it. Not sure at 5 1/2 hours how it wasn’t smoked enough.

I've read somewhere that 3 hours is about all the time meat is able to absorb the smoke flavor.
The first time I used an electric smoker I tried to smoke a chicken. I smoked it for WAY too long and too much smoke.
My wife and I agreed that it tasted like a chicken that died in a house fire.

 

[Exhausted]

I'm also used to burning Hickory in my offset so it makes sense that it would taste different.

You can always set the smoker temp to the lowest setting for the first couple of hours too if you want heavier smoke flavor. I think my recteq will run about 170 at the lowest and puts out a ton of smoke. Then kick the temperature up to finish when you have enough.

 

[Dave N]

You can always set the smoker temp to the lowest setting for the first couple of hours too if you want heavier smoke flavor. I think my recteq will run about 170 at the lowest and puts out a ton of smoke. Then kick the temperature up to finish when you have enough.

Yes, I looked in the manual and it's variable at the lowest temp setting.

I also weighed out how much to refill after my cook. Roughly a 5 1/2 hour burn used right at 4 pounds of pellets. Less than 1 pound per hour. Not bad. I'll see how it goes on a longer cook.