# Pellet smoke not as strong as natural wood



## smokinfool66 (Oct 27, 2016)

I have a traeger lil Tex and I like the way it works I just wish that the smoke was as authentic as a natural stick burner..any ways of burning chips in the pellet grill?ive been told about the Amazin maze for pellets but I'm not needing more smoke it's the flavor of the smoke I'm looking for


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## wade (Oct 27, 2016)

What pellets are you using? In my pellet smoker I find fruit wood pellets quite low in flavour but something like Hickory or Pecan are fine.


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 27, 2016)

I've used them all..I've even used different brands..I just don't think that pellets are 100 percent wood which gives the smoke a more mild flavor, even hickory and misquite are mild compared to a stick burner in my opinion..that's why I'm wondering if there's a way to burn wood chips or are there smokers out there that automatic feed chips?


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## scottma (Oct 27, 2016)

Pellets are 100% wood.  The problem is some companies use filler woods like alder and then just a small amount of hickory or Mesquite.  Make sure you are using a pellet thats 100% what it says it is.  I've read some even just use flavored oils to get the "hickory" scent.  

Cookinpellets and lumberjack pellets are great have you tried either of them?  Ive been using the cookin pellets mix for a while now and have had great smoke flavor.  Its a blend of hard maple, hickory, cherry and apple.


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 27, 2016)

No I haven't  but I have tried blends before ..I like that strong hickory or misquite flavor..I haven't found any pellets that sell 100%wood like that with no fillers


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## wade (Oct 28, 2016)

ScottMa said:


> Cookinpellets and lumberjack pellets are great have you tried either of them?


I use the Lumberjack pellets too http://bbqlumberjack.com/our-pellets/. They do 100% Pecan, Oak, Mesquite and Hickory. They give me good flavour in my pellet smoker - though not as much as burning the wood itself. Pellets in the pellet smokers burn the pellets much more efficiently than wood does in a stick burner.


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 28, 2016)

Ok thank you I'll check them out!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 28, 2016)

With your Traeger you won't get stronger smoke. For smoke you need the pellets to smolder. You are burning the pellets as that is your source of heat. So that is why you only get a mild smoke. 

 You will need to supplement with an additional smoke generator. You should look at one of the site sponsors, Amaze N Smokers, the tubes work really good in the Traeger for adding additional smoke to the pit. 

I won the exact pit you have and used it a few times before selling it. I prefer to use charcoal. I also knew the short comings of the Traeger unit. My cousin has had one for years and that has always been an issue. He uses one of the tube smokers to supplement the smoke. 

As mentioned using 100% pellets will help, but it won't be as good as stick or charcoal.


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 28, 2016)

That's what I figured..between pellet smokers and stick burners there's definitely a difference in smoke and flavor


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 28, 2016)

It's the Nature of the beast...A 5" Pot of burning Pellets, versus, what, a Square Foot or more of burning and smoldering Splits. The stick burner make A LOT more TBS...JJ


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## bregent (Oct 28, 2016)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> It's the Nature of the beast...A 5" Pot of burning Pellets, versus, what, a Square Foot or more of burning and smoldering Splits. The stick burner make A LOT more TBS...JJ


I think it has more to do with the quality of the smoke rather than volume of smoke. My pellet grill puts out as much TBS as any stick burner. But because the firepot on a pellet grill is so much smaller than a firebox on a traditional smoker, it has to run at much hotter temperatures in order to get the smoker up to temp. At these higher temps, much of the aromatics in the smoke are burned up.


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## daveomak (Oct 29, 2016)

*A-MAZE-N-PRODUCTS Home > PELLETS & DUST*






  




A-MAZE-N PELLETS are made from 100% Flavor Wood. Each A-MAZE-N PELLET flavor is a 100% natural product with no added fillers, binders or oils.
For example, if you order Apple, you will receive 100% Apple Wood in a pellet, not 20%-30% Apple Wood and 70%-80% Oak or Alder.













SS smoker AMNTS.png



__ daveomak
__ Oct 29, 2016


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 29, 2016)

Thank you I'll have to try them out!


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## mowin (Oct 29, 2016)

As others mentioned, the amazin tube is what you need.  I rarely use my pellet grill without using a tube.  

I get fantastic smoke flavor and smoke rings.  I also use lumberjack 100% hickory pellets. 

Get the expanding tube for those long smokes.  Love mine.


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 29, 2016)

Thanks so you guys see a significant difference between traeger pellets and lumberjack or a maz n pellets huh?


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## daveomak (Oct 30, 2016)

Todd Johnson, that owns A-MAZE-N PRODUCTS, is a member here and got his start on this Forum...  Many members tested his products before they went to market...  we watched his business grow along with the product line....    We know his pellets are 100% what he says they are....  He's a small business owner in a tough business... we want him to have success soooooo, we support him and his family business...

As far as firing up a pellet smoker goes....  They us a LOT of pellets to create the heat...   and not so much smoke because, flame consumes smoke.....    so I would use whatever to make heat and Todd's products to create the smoke necessary for smoking meats....


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## smokinfool66 (Oct 30, 2016)

Thank you I will definitely give those pellets a try!!


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## yahoot (Nov 5, 2016)

As was said above,pellet smokers rely on pellets for both smoke and heat, and those two things are inversely related. The hotter you run, the less smoke you get. One key to pellet smokers is to smoke low and slow. I often smoke brisket, butts, etc. at 175 degrees for many hours before increasing temp to finish cooking. You can't be in a hurry or you won't get good smoke flavor (I think that is true for all kinds of smokers).

To echo others, pellet quality matters. I have used a LOT of brands of pellets (we go to trade shows and we get a lot of samples). A lot of pellets use fillers (Alder for most west coast products, Oak for east and midwest products) that don't have a lot of flavor. Unless we are sampling a new company, we only use 100% flavor woods from lumberjack (we just took delivery of  two tons last Friday). I use a lot of pecan, hickory, some mesquite, some maple. There are other great brands of 100% flavor woods, but there are a lot of "blends" out there using filler woods too (Traeger is very common in the stores, and IMHO, some of the worst. Their pellets have different fillers depending on which subcontractor they are using for your region, so no consistency even within the brand). Some brands are better than others, but I find lumberjacks to be consistently high quality and easily available. If you can't find them locally in stores, look over on pelletheads.com - there are group buys advertised all over the country pretty frequently. Most will let you buy as little as one 20 pound bag (and prices tend to be lower than you can get in stores). If you contact someone from a recent group buy near you, they may be willing to give/sell you enough to sample - If you are anywhere near silicon valley, I will be happy to let you sample from our order.

Finally - not to argue with the others above - but I disagree about tubes. Tube smokers are a great invention and wonderful for some uses. Todd is a great guy and he has given us several tubes and mazes over the years to sample. Wonderful guy, very dedicated to his craft. I use tubes/mazes on my electric smoker (he makes a maze that is designed specifically for masterbuilts that is incredible), or to cold smoke. I experimented with them on my pellet rigs and I didn't see any real benefit. IMHO, If you need to add a tube to a pellet smoker to get smoke flavor (other than for "unusual" things like cold smoking), you should step back and examine your technique or your rig. Just my opinion - but if I smoke low and slow, I can get a nice ring and plenty of flavor without a tube.

FWIW, I also like my smoke chief smoke generator. Dramatically more smoke than a tube (but it requires attention periodically). I have even rigged up gas BBQs for smoking with the smoke generator - but again,  I found it to not add much to my pellet rig.


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