# pellet / pan quantity equivalent for Big Chief



## blackbear22 (Mar 29, 2021)

What makes sense for an equivalent amount of pellets to put in the Big Chief to match a "full pan" of chips as mentioned in the Big Chief recipe book?

Background is that I think maybe I over-did it by using two full cups of pellets per pan, but I'm very new to this. I bought a bunch of pellets for my Smoke Chief (that I can attach to my Big Chief for cold smoking) and I want to use them to hot smoke in the Big Chief.


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## cmayna (Mar 29, 2021)

Try just one cup.  Time how long it generates smoke, then adjust.  Use your Smoke Chief for hot smoking?


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## Fueling Around (Mar 29, 2021)

I wouldn't use the pan for pellets.  I think that chips burn too fast and produce an off flavor smoke.
Why don't you just use the Smoke Chief and plug in the Big Chief?

I was planning to use a pellet tube in my Big Chief to finish some fish, but after 5 minutes the GFCI tripped.


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## blackbear22 (Mar 29, 2021)

cmayna said:


> Try just one cup.  Time how long it generates smoke, then adjust.  Use your Smoke Chief for hot smoking?


I use an inkbird on the big chief for 84F Nova Scotia lox with the smoke chief attached.
Today for hot jerky (and hot salmon) I want the hot smoke out of the big chief pan I think


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## thirdeye (Mar 29, 2021)

The Big Chief and Little Chief smokers were around  before pellets, (I got my first one in 1974)  and they marketed their own product line of chips the entire time.  Even though the instructions mentioned a full pan of chips I had much better luck with 3/8 to 1/2 pan of chips, and not emptying the ashes.  This gave me a much more even burn, with noticeably milder or gentler smoke.   Does their current instruction booklet even mention pellets?  I would think not since they sell a $100 smoker, but you buy chips for the rest of your life.  Don't get me wrong, chips work fine, they just encourage you to use more than you should. 

That said when flavor pellets came on the scene I switched to them and never looked back. They are superior to chips in my opinion.  I start with about 1/4 cup and let them burn for 15 minutes or so before adding my food.  I mostly use Chief's for smoking fish, hot smoking bacon, ham hocks and the like.  I still don't empty the pellet ashes and add between 1/4 cup and 3/8 cup of new pellets when needed.   I do use the A-Maze-N brand of pellets as they have no filler and produce a better quality smoke compared to pellets designed for pellet grills.  So give your pellets a test drive in the Big Chief.  

An overall tip which applies to pellets and chips.... don't be afraid to block the lid open if you are smoking delicate things like small trout fillets.


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## blackbear22 (Mar 29, 2021)

thirdeye said:


> The Big Chief and Little Chief smokers were around  before pellets, (I got my first one in 1974)  and they marketed their own product line of chips the entire time.  Even though the instructions mentioned a full pan of chips I had much better luck with 3/8 to 1/2 pan of chips, and not emptying the ashes.  This gave me a much more even burn, with noticeably milder or gentler smoke.   Does their current instruction booklet even mention pellets?  I would think not since they sell a $100 smoker, but you buy chips for the rest of your life.  Don't get me wrong, chips work fine, they just encourage you to use more than you should.
> 
> That said when flavor pellets came on the scene I switched to them and never looked back. They are superior to chips in my opinion.  I start with about 1/4 cup and let them burn for 15 minutes or so before adding my food.  I mostly use Chief's for smoking fish, hot smoking bacon, ham hocks and the like.  I still don't empty the pellet ashes and add between 1/4 cup and 3/8 cup of new pellets when needed.   I do use the A-Maze-N brand of pellets as they have no filler and produce a better quality smoke compared to pellets designed for pellet grills.  So give your pellets a test drive in the Big Chief.
> 
> An overall tip which applies to pellets and chips.... don't be afraid to block the lid open if you are smoking delicate things like small trout fillets.


Thank you, I'm going to try your method next time. I don't recall any mention of pellets but I will have to look more thoroughly at the instructions/recipes book.


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