# Thin blue smoke, possible?



## LarryNJ (Mar 20, 2021)

I've had the Smokin It #2 for about 1 year, coming from a Weber Smokey Mountain.  It makes decent Qs, every bit as juicy as the Weber but I've always found the smoke flavor a little off.  I use the wood chunks from Smokin It, two pieces wrapped in foil for ribs.  They give plenty of smoky flavor but the flavor isn't quite right, probably due to the lack of thin blue smoke.  The smoke is a medium thicknes gray.  My Weber gas grill makes much better tasting Qs, but it's a pain to use.  I'm not sure if it's possible to get thin blue smoke from an electric smoker.  Can you share what you've done to improve the smoke quality?


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## Fueling Around (Mar 20, 2021)

This is an Amazon Smoke tube and similar to what I use for 6 hours of thin blue smoke in my kettle or pellet pooper.

My electric Big Chief is out of action for a bad element.  I found it was easy to over smoke using the pan over the heating element.


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## chef jimmyj (Mar 20, 2021)

Try a different wood source. It may be the Smokin-it wood. Gray smoke is not necessarily a bad thing. Try adding smoke for a shorter period and see if that makes a difference...JJ


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## normanaj (Mar 21, 2021)

LarryNJ said:


> I'm not sure if it's possible to get thin blue smoke from an electric smoker



I get hours upon hours of TBS in my MES burning dust in my Amazen tubes.


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## chopsaw (Mar 21, 2021)

I was looking into getting a smoking it 3 . A lot of stuff I read says 1 chunk of wood was plenty . 
I've never had , or used one though . 
Try using less wood . You don't have to see smoke to get the flavor .


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## Bearcarver (Mar 21, 2021)

LarryNJ said:


> I've had the Smokin It #2 for about 1 year, coming from a Weber Smokey Mountain.  It makes decent Qs, every bit as juicy as the Weber but I've always found the smoke flavor a little off.  I use the wood chunks from Smokin It, two pieces wrapped in foil for ribs.  They give plenty of smoky flavor but the flavor isn't quite right, probably due to the lack of thin blue smoke.  The smoke is a medium thicknes gray.  My Weber gas grill makes much better tasting Qs, but it's a pain to use.  I'm not sure if it's possible to get thin blue smoke from an electric smoker.  Can you share what you've done to improve the smoke quality?




Personally I think too much is made of the  Thin "BLUE" smoke.
My smoke is generally a combination of Thin Blue, Thin White, and Thin Gray Smoke----The Main word there is "THIN".
I'm a firm believer of "Many Many Hours of Light, or "Thin" smoke is a good thing, but even a short time of "Heavy" Smoke can be a bad thing. And this goes for "Blue, White, or Gray".

BTW: I use the AMNPS "Tray" for up to 11 hours of perfect smoke in my MES40.
When I used to try the Tube, it was always too much smoke for my liking, no matter what I did, so I just stuck with the Perfect AMNPS---For the Last 10 years!!


Bear


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## IMAVGAN (Mar 21, 2021)

LarryNJ said:


> I've had the Smokin It #2 for about 1 year, coming from a Weber Smokey Mountain.  It makes decent Qs, every bit as juicy as the Weber but I've always found the smoke flavor a little off.  I use the wood chunks from Smokin It, two pieces wrapped in foil for ribs.  They give plenty of smoky flavor but the flavor isn't quite right, probably due to the lack of thin blue smoke.  The smoke is a medium thicknes gray.  My Weber gas grill makes much better tasting Qs, but it's a pain to use.  I'm not sure if it's possible to get thin blue smoke from an electric smoker.  Can you share what you've done to improve the smoke quality?




Try running the smoker empty for 20 minutes with the wood in before placing meat in the cooker. I find that usually works well on my Cookshack


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## LarryNJ (Mar 21, 2021)

I thought about an A Maze N tube.  Does it really produce thin smoke?  I may get one to use in the gas grill.  The Smokin It has very little airflow.  The vent hole is the size of a quarter, the intake is smaller than a penny.  Not sure if it's appropriate to use a smoke tube in such environment.

I may try cook with just 1 piece (2 oz) of wood at a time and refill a few hours into a smoke (the idea is lighter smoke for longer time) instead of loading it just 2 pieces at the start.


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## old sarge (Mar 21, 2021)

As I posted on another site, same question, I get wispy smoke.  That equates to thin. I don't get heavy smoke. Flavor is always good. Never bitter.


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## Fueling Around (Mar 21, 2021)

LarryNJ said:


> I thought about an A Maze N tube.  Does it really produce thin smoke?  I may get one to use in the gas grill.  The Smokin It has very little airflow.  The vent hole is the size of a quarter, the intake is smaller than a penny.  Not sure if it's appropriate to use a smoke tube in such environment.
> 
> I may try cook with just 1 piece (2 oz) of wood at a time and refill a few hours into a smoke (the idea is lighter smoke for longer time) instead of loading it just 2 pieces at the start.


I use a cheap knock off of the A Maze N tube.
It produces a nice steady smoke that pairs well with the airflow in a kettle or the pellet pooper.
I'm actually going to try a second tube in the pooper due to the forced airflow.

A Big Chief has a lot of airflow for an electric.  The problem is the chip/chunk pan sits directly on the heating element.  It produces too much smoke.  I was planning to use a smoke tube on my tuna smoke, but discovered the element was fried.

Re-read 

 Bearcarver
 post on his comments of tube versus tray


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## normanaj (Mar 23, 2021)

The tube as is loaded with pellets will produce a lot of smoke.A modified tube,front elevated,burning dust will produce beautiful thin smoke.Click on the link in my signature for a more detailed read on this.


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## browneyesvictim (Mar 23, 2021)

I think you are right Larry. I don't think the smokin-it has enough airflow venting to sustain either a tube or tray of pellets. If it were me I would consider some sort of mailbox mod or even a smoke pistol that is external and pipes the smoke in. When my MES dies, I will be upgrading to a Smokin-it and already see I will be in your shoes so I will be watching what you come up with.


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## LarryNJ (Mar 23, 2021)

browneyesvictim said:


> I think you are right Larry. I don't think the smokin-it has enough airflow venting to sustain either a tube or tray of pellets. If it were me I would consider some sort of mailbox mod or even a smoke pistol that is external and pipes the smoke in. When my MES dies, I will be upgrading to a Smokin-it and already see I will be in your shoes so I will be watching what you come up with.



Well if you can get a "real" smoker I'd go with that.  I only use the Smokin It because I'm not allowed to use charcoal or wood burning smokers where I live.  The Smokin It is the only electric smoker I've used, and in my opinion it just doesn't produce the same result as the other fuel types I've used.


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