# Newbie help - pellet smoker



## CrownPoint210 (Sep 17, 2019)

Hi all!

I upgraded from an electric Masterbuilt smoker to a Smoke Hollow wood pellet smoker. Put the thing together and it works but I am confused by the instructions and cannot find anything on YouTube.  There is a "smoke" setting that is used to start the smoker but it only goes up to 180 degrees or something. 

1. When using it just go to my desired temperature and go from there or...
2. Let's say I'm cooking a pork butt...do I leave it on "smoke" for an hour or two then crank it up? That would add more cooking time which is undesirable.  

Not sure what to do....are other grills similar?  Thank you!


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## bregent (Sep 17, 2019)

I don't have a Smoke Hollow, but I've found that running at 180F for a few hours does not significantly increase overall time for a low and slow cook. In my experience, pellet grills usually cook food considerably faster than electric smokers so overall it will take less time. Of course, you can just run at 225 - 250 and see if that gives you enough smoke flavor.


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## oldsmokerdude (Sep 17, 2019)

CrownPoint210 said:


> do I leave it on "smoke" for an hour or two then crank it up?


That is exactly what you want to do. Leaving it on the smoke setting for a couple hours will not significantly increase your cook times. This works because most of the smoke flavoring is received in the first couple hours.


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## Carvendive (Sep 17, 2019)

I don't have yours. Mines a RecTec but I'm sure the concept is the same.

Sometimes I'll do something that cooks quick like pork shots. I'll sometimes want a smokey flavor so I'll set it for extreme smoke and do the first 30min there and then set it to 250 for the remainder where I get less smoke but higher heat to kinda Crispen the bacon.


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## kruizer (Sep 17, 2019)

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.


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## CrownPoint210 (Sep 17, 2019)

oldsmokerdude said:


> That is exactly what you want to do. Leaving it on the smoke setting for a couple hours will not significantly increase your cook times. This works because most of the smoke flavoring is received in the first couple hours.



Thank you for the input, I will do just that. And great to hear from a NW Indiana Hoosier!  Born and raised in Crown Point!


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## CrownPoint210 (Sep 17, 2019)

kruizer said:


> Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.



Thank you I look forward to learning from the great resources here.


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## WaterRat (Sep 17, 2019)

CrownPoint210 said:


> Hi all!
> 
> 1. When using it just go to my desired temperature and go from there or...
> 2. Let's say I'm cooking a pork butt...do I leave it on "smoke" for an hour or two then crank it up? That would add more cooking time which is undesirable.
> ...



1) On my pellet smoker I just go straight to 225° or 250°F. I end up with a heavy enough smoke for my taste.

2) You certainly can do that, all about your personal taste.

Oh, the "smoke" setting is adjustable, but if you go too low your fire may go out.

Good luck!

"edit" my comments are for long cooking meats like butts and ribs.


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## Khaymanbb (Sep 26, 2019)

On a pellet smoker, the "smoke" setting is for smoke with little to no heat.  If you want to smoke cheese or fish without cooking it, the smoke setting is perfect.  I like to put steaks on my Pit Boss top rack, put on smoke setting, and smoke them for about 30-45 minutes before grilling them.  When it gets cool out, then the cheese gets rolling.  Even on "smoke" setting, the sun can heat the grill up too high for cheeses, so it's best to smoke them in cooler months.


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## CrownPoint210 (Sep 26, 2019)

This is great info and thought I would need a cold smoker...thank you for the tips!


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## Khaymanbb (Sep 26, 2019)

CrownPoint210 said:


> This is great info and thought I would need a cold smoker...thank you for the tips!


Keep your cheese on the top rack if you have a multi-rack setup.  And between that and the heat source, a tray filled with ice water right below the cheese.  Helps keep them from getting too hot.
-EDIT:  spelling


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