# Propane smoker results underwhelming



## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

I recently bought a Masterbuilt propane smoker. I love the idea that all I have to do is turn a knob and get smoke. I just wanted something easy to fire up on a week night after work. Unfortunately I have been very dissapointed with the smoke flavor of the food. I've done st lous ribs, salmon, and on Easter I did turkey breast. I see and smell LOADS of clean smoke coming from the vent but the food has absolutely *zero* smoke flavor. I have been barbecuing on an offset for years and for the life of me I can't understand how this is possible. I even tried spritzing with apple juice (which I never needed to do on my offset) to make the food take more smoke but have had no luck. I leave the vent wide open to encourage smoke flow. The wood I've been using has been a combination of oak chunks and apple chips. The food itself is cooked perfectly.... even better than I can usually achieve on my offset, but NO smoke flavor. Is this a common theme with propane? Are there any tricks to getting more smoke flavor from propane? I never had any unrealistic expectations that the smoke was going to be as good as my offset, but I didn't expect this. Even people at work have said they taste and smell no smoke or very little from the stuff I've cooked. I was really excited about this smoker and just can't express how dissapointed I am.


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## JC in GB (Apr 22, 2019)

Wow, that sounds like a nasty issue for a smoker to have.  You said you have the airflow at max, what happens when you restrict the airflow?  Are you using dry chips or soaking them?

From my experience you don't need a ton of wood or a stack pouring smoke to get good smoke flavor.

Is the wood igniting after a time?  Perhaps the wood is not getting hot enough?

Hope you get some answers to this.  I am looking forward to hearing what you come up with as a fix.


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

JC in GB said:


> Wow, that sounds like a nasty issue for a smoker to have.  You said you have the airflow at max, what happens when you restrict the airflow?  Are you using dry chips or soaking them?
> 
> From my experience you don't need a ton of wood or a stack pouring smoke to get good smoke flavor.
> 
> ...



I don't soak the wood. I've always read that does more harm than good. I have not tried closing the vent. I feel like that would decrease flow. Yes the wood does burn after a little while. Some times I have to actually turn of the gas completely because the wood is providing enough heat on it's own. I even put a gasket in the doors to help direct the flow out the vent better. I'm telling you this is the most perplexing thing I've ever seen. Is this common for gas smokers? I think the only solutionis to swap it out for an electric.


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 22, 2019)

I would think the opposite. The smoke wood igniting before it made smoke from smoldering. This was a common problem with chips and the gasser chip pans being too close to the burner. Guys raised some, used Cast Iron Pans and Chunks or eliminated the pan and made smoke with an AMNTS, Tube filled with pellets...JJ


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> I would think the opposite. The smoke wood igniting before it made smoke from smoldering. This was a common problem with chips and the gasser chip pans being too close to the burner. Guys raised some, used Cast Iron Pans and Chunks or eliminated the pan and made smoke with an AMNTS, Tube filled with pellets...JJ


In my experience soaked wood doesn't actually smoke at all until the wood dries out enough to burn, and even then the parts that are still wet make the burning parts produce bitter smoke. So while the wood "lasts longer", the smoke that is produced is not as good as good old hot burning, dry wood. At this point though I'm will to try just about anything.


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

JC in GB said:


> Wow, that sounds like a nasty issue for a smoker to have.  You said you have the airflow at max, what happens when you restrict the airflow?  Are you using dry chips or soaking them?
> 
> From my experience you don't need a ton of wood or a stack pouring smoke to get good smoke flavor.
> 
> ...


BTW if you're a Packers fan, as a Bears fan I don't think I'm allowed to associate with you. 9/5/19 GO BEARS!

;)


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## bregent (Apr 22, 2019)

How much wood are you loading into it?  I've never had a problem with a lack of smoke in my GOSM, and have used  chips, chunks and pellets. I've ended up over smoking the food too many times!


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

bregent said:


> How much wood are you loading into it?  I've never had a problem with a lack of smoke in my GOSM, and have used  chips, chunks and pellets. I've ended up over smoking the food too many times!


I'm using a combination of chucnks and chips. The chunks are oak and the chips are apple. Again, there is lots of smoke pouring from the out-vent and the food chamber is packed with smoke, but the food just _tastes like it was baked in my  kitchen oven_ at very low temps.


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## solman (Apr 22, 2019)

i've never had this problem with my gasser that i modded to automatically maintain set temperature. the only thing i can think as a possibility is that the "smoke" you see coming out of the vent isn't actually smoke but condensation off the meat. after a cook, how does the wood chips/chunks look? are you left with nothing but ash? blackened like lump charcoal with little to no ash? or mostly wood with just little black charring on the edges?


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## JC in GB (Apr 22, 2019)

thekolnik said:


> BTW if you're a Packers fan, as a Bears fan I don't think I'm allowed to associate with you. 9/5/19 GO BEARS!
> 
> ;)


No worries.  I like the Bears too. Great rivalry and if the Packers don't make it in the playoffs, I'm rooting for da Bears....


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

solman said:


> i've never had this problem with my gasser that i modded to automatically maintain set temperature. the only thing i can think as a possibility is that the "smoke" you see coming out of the vent isn't actually smoke but condensation off the meat. after a cook, how does the wood chips/chunks look? are you left with nothing but ash? blackened like lump charcoal with little to no ash? or mostly wood with just little black charring on the edges?


Smoke definately is smoke and not steam. It actually smells like smoke. Even more funny is that I had to shower twice before church last week because I some of the smoke got on me! The wood is completely consumed and there is nothing left but delicate white ash powder. No black pieces left over.


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

JC in GB said:


> No worries.  I like the Bears too. Great rivalry and if the Packers don't make it in the playoffs, I'm rooting for da Bears....


Same here. Love the rivalry. 100 years! And I definately root for NFC north teams in the playoffs.


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## solman (Apr 22, 2019)

thekolnik said:


> I'm using a combination of chucnks and chips. The chunks are oak and the chips are apple. Again, there is lots of smoke pouring from the out-vent and the food chamber is packed with smoke, but the food just _tastes like it was baked in my  kitchen oven_ at very low temps.



another thing i just thought of is the wood you're using. have you tried different brands/types of wood? my understanding is that the flavor of wood is much more dependent on where it's grown or sourced, than the name of the wood type. so not all apple wood is the same.


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## indaswamp (Apr 22, 2019)

Propane with wood chunks is close to a stick burner, but you will not achieve the same results as a stick burner. But you can come close. Wood fire puts out hundreds of chemicals and flavor compounds. And when using all wood as your heat source, the concentration of those compounds is a lot higher. propane burns very clean, and makes only H2O, CO2, CO, and very little else...

The only thing you can do is use more wood chunks, and lower the propane to a very small blue flame and use the propane just to moderate the temps and keep it even. This is how I use my propane smoker to get great results and a deep smoke on my meats. I'm a smoke hound...so for me, no such thing as over smoked as long as it's the right sweet smoke and not a bitter smoke.


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## indaswamp (Apr 22, 2019)

...and I have stopped using chips on my CI pan. Too much billowing white smoke and too hard to control to get good smoke. Does not last long either. I use almost exclusively chunks now for warm and hot smoking....but I do add the charcoal leftover from the previous smoke to get a quick fire started.


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

indaswamp said:


> ...and I have stopped using chips on my CI pan. Too much billowing white smoke and too hard to control to get good smoke. Does not last long either. I use almost exclusively chunks now for warm and hot smoking....but I do add the charcoal leftover from the previous smoke to get a quick fire started.


I was thinking about smoke "concentration" today. Specifically that the production of the wood gases is definately much lower than when  I use my offset. I'm thinking of closing the vent to about 10% flow. I'm thinking that will allow the lower concentration of smoke gasses to contact the food longer. I think of smoke particles as sort of like rain drops in a storm. A lot of storm wind (smoker air flow) with a lot of rain (smoke particles) will leave me (the food) drenched with water (smoke flavor). But even with a lot of wind, if there is not much rain I'm still not going to get wet. I think if I cut down the flow but still allow some that will help. And I will just try to use more wood also.


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## thekolnik (Apr 22, 2019)

solman said:


> another thing i just thought of is the wood you're using. have you tried different brands/types of wood? my understanding is that the flavor of wood is much more dependent on where it's grown or sourced, than the name of the wood type. so not all apple wood is the same.


I agree that the wood source matters. As far as that goes the apple chips are just Western brand and the chunks are from an oak tree that blew over in a hurricane a few years ago. Basically it's all the same wood I use in my offset when I have great results.


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## chilerelleno (Apr 22, 2019)

I smoke in a propane burning CCSV24, I burn chunks and have no problem what so ever with smoke flavor.

I start with a high flame/heat to get the chunks burning and/or smoldering heavily, then lower the flame and smother it with the vents if needed.
Then once smoldering a nice smoke I make final temp adjustments and start cooking. 
Whenever I check my meat, I give a good shake or three to my wood pan and that gets the ash off the chunks and generates fresh smoke.


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## thekolnik (Apr 30, 2019)

So restricting the air flow worked. Still not as smoky as my offset but a fair tradeoff for the convenience of turning a knob and have my food cooked perfectly. I have to say, with the smoke issues aside, the gasser cooks food way more tender and produces consistently better food. My offset requires so much attention and the results aren't even as good. I think I'm going to love this gasser.
Also, I figured out that the out-vent serves a similar purpose as on my offset. The difference is that the combustion source on my gasser doesn't depend on oxygen so closing the out-vent does little to affect temps. However, closing the out-vent DOES smother wood from burning in the wood pan (unless of course the gas is all the way up), causing wood to simply smolder, and purely because of the gas flame beneath. Leaving the vent wide open causes the wood to fully combust, causing temp spikes. By leaving the vent open about 10% I have a balance of burning wood and consistent temps.


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## smokinstubbs (May 1, 2019)

thekolnik said:


> BTW if you're a Packers fan, as a Bears fan I don't think I'm allowed to associate with you. 9/5/19 GO BEARS!
> 
> ;)





JC in GB said:


> No worries.  I like the Bears too. Great rivalry and if the Packers don't make it in the playoffs, I'm rooting for da Bears....





thekolnik said:


> Same here. Love the rivalry. 100 years! And I definately root for NFC north teams in the playoffs.



There's only one division in football. The Black & Blue division! Da Bears!


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## South Central PA Smoker (May 16, 2019)

I have a masterbuilt thermo temp and I have the opposite problem...smoke flavor and ring is great but meat is often over done and dry. I use western chunks and chips (chips give me a quick smoke source while waiting for chunks to ignite...when I’ve neglected checking the wood for a while). I keep my upper vent in the fully closed position, which is actually only 50% closed. There are 4 oval holes and when the slider is fully closed, 2 are still wide open. I also don’t use the chip pan that came with it. I put a small grill grate right over the burner and picked up a small cast iron pan from Wally World for about $8. Does great for chunks although I think it consumes them a bit faster than it should. Gotta feed it every 1-2 hours depending on how the burn is going. Hope this helps, happy smoking!


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## pineywoods (May 16, 2019)

I replied to your other thread about overcooked and dry in your other thread.

What are you getting for smoke? What you want is TBS (thin blue smoke) not billowing white smoke. TBS is light blue smoke or just a little whisp of smoke or even not seeing smoke but in all those cases you should smell the smoke. If you can smell the smoke so can the meat. White billowing smoke often leads to creosote which doesn't taste good at all usually the first clue your producing creosote is when eating the Q the flavor is off a little and it makes you tongues numb. You can also get creosote by closing the vents down or closing them to much to allow for proper draft. If you find your not getting enough smoke flavor for your tastes instead of trying to produce more smoke and getting the white billowing smoke change types of wood. Generally fruit and citrus woods produce a light somewhat fruity flavor. Then pecan and oak produce a deeper smoke flavor. Then hickory is a deeper flavor yet. If you still don't have enough try mesquite. Some people also like to mix types of woods together.

With every propane type smoker every time you open the door your loosing most of your heat and it has to get back up to temp after you close the door which if your opening it often is adding a lot of time to your smokes. Some say if your looking you ain't cooking and that comes from the fact of opening the door drops the temps so bad in the smoker.
There is debate among a lot of people as to the purpose of the "Water Pan" some will say it's there to add moisture to the smoker others will say it's a heat sync to help keep temps more even. Some say maybe some of both. Others will tell you to put sand in the pan and aluminum foil over that to keep it from getting nasty. Personally I think it's more the heat sync than anything but maybe it does provide some moisture after all your smoking above boiling point and that water vapor from the boiling water has to go somewhere like out the vent. Many people decide to fill the "water pan" with things like apple juice, beer, wine, and a host of other things thinking they will get that flavor in the meat however it doesn't work and I don't know of any of them that have come back and said they got that flavor in the meat. If you want that flavor when eating your Q I suggest you drink it while eating the Q 

Many of our members have found a much better way than chips or chunks to produce smoke. It's called an Amazen Smoker and it holds pellets which when lit produce a good amount of smoke for a long time. You would want to use the Amazen Smoker tube smoker in a propane smoker and for most smokes you would fill and light it at the beginning of the smoke and it would last the entire smoke.

Sorry for the novel but you asked lol by the way I first started smoking with a propane smoker and had a couple of them


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## mike243 (May 17, 2019)

Like the electric smokers the chunks and chips only last somewhere around 1-1.5 hrs and will need to be reloaded, 3 hours minimum for smoke on most larger cuts imo ,trying to make it on 1 loading never worked for me unless it was small chicken parts that were done in 3 hrs or so


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## jokensmoken (May 17, 2019)

I use a smoke tube in mine and run lumberjack competition blend pellets hickory maple cherry mix...works very well
I also have two large square patio bricks wrapped in foil I set in place of the water pan...
These work great as a heat sink and helped me get much more uniform cook chamber temps from front to rear and side to side..They also speed the temp recovery rate from opening the door...
There is a learning curve with a gasser but if you stick with it you can learn to get some really good results.
One issue I had was that my pellets wouldn't stay lit no matter what I tried...
My solution was...I positioned the tube almost tight along one side of the smoker  at floor level lifted just off he bottom about an inch by proping both ends up with couple of small pieces of steel...I then drilled three small holes about 1/4 inch in diameter spaced out the length of the tube...this let in just enough air for the pellets to smolder good...with the added patio bricks my results improved dramatically. 
Hope this helps a bit...
Good luck and dont get discouraged...
With a bit of practice you'll get really good results.


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## Smokin Okie (Jun 13, 2019)

pineywoods said:


> I replied to your other thread about overcooked and dry in your other thread.
> 
> What are you getting for smoke? What you want is TBS (thin blue smoke) not billowing white smoke. TBS is light blue smoke or just a little whisp of smoke or even not seeing smoke but in all those cases you should smell the smoke. If you can smell the smoke so can the meat. White billowing smoke often leads to creosote which doesn't taste good at all usually the first clue your producing creosote is when eating the Q the flavor is off a little and it makes you tongues numb. You can also get creosote by closing the vents down or closing them to much to allow for proper draft. If you find your not getting enough smoke flavor for your tastes instead of trying to produce more smoke and getting the white billowing smoke change types of wood. Generally fruit and citrus woods produce a light somewhat fruity flavor. Then pecan and oak produce a deeper smoke flavor. Then hickory is a deeper flavor yet. If you still don't have enough try mesquite. Some people also like to mix types of woods together.
> 
> ...




How do you get thin blue smoke from smoldering wood ?

It seems to me, that if the wood is not engulfed in flames,  then there's not complete combustion,  and the wood is smoldering.    

If ya gonna burn splits and they're going to be flaming, then why not just use a stick burner ?


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## Smokin Okie (Jun 13, 2019)

I think this article from Meathead pretty much covers smoke.   Scroll down a good ways, to where they put the cotton pads in the smoker.   One pad is dry, one is oiled, and the other is wet with water.    He explains how water attracts and holds smoke.   Which is why , IMO, ya should have a water bowl or pan in your smoker along with spritzing in order to get smoke on the meat and help build bark.

https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...iring/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and


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## thekolnik (Jun 13, 2019)

Smokin Okie said:


> I think this article from Meathead pretty much covers smoke.   Scroll down a good ways, to where they put the cotton pads in the smoker.   One pad is dry, one is oiled, and the other is wet with water.    He explains how water attracts and holds smoke.   Which is why , IMO, ya should have a water bowl or pan in your smoker along with spritzing in order to get smoke on the meat and help build bark.
> 
> https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...iring/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and


Thanks for the reply. I solvef the issue by closing the out vent to about 25% or so.

In regards to BBQ King Meathead, I've read his entire website probably 5 times and the article you referenced even more! It just took me a little while to learn about gas smokers, where the "heat" source is from propane... not charcoal or wood. So my theory in a nutshell is that I need to slowdown the outflow as much as possible and still keep a clean burn. In other words, I need the dirty end of the scale of clean smoke to make the smoke flavor stronger without making it taste like creosote, because the "concentration" of pure clean smoke isn't as high as a pure charcoal/wood-burning smoker.


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## Smokin Okie (Jun 17, 2019)

Well, I just offered that up.

And so many barbecue " truths "  that are not true at all,  get repeated in forums and social media.   

I hesitant to offer any advice unless my experience has proven it to me or I can provide a qualified source.    I always have a water pan in my cook chamber unless I'm doing a short high heat cook,  where the meat is not gonna get much smoke, anyway.

Glad you found an answer that you're happy with,  cuz that's all that counts.


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## thekolnik (Jun 17, 2019)

100% agree with you in regard to "truths" in BBQ. There is so much junk and misinformation on the internet it makes my head spin. Also, there are many things in BBQ that are subjective, what works for one person may not work for me. I do appreciate your post and the article you referenced. Happy cooking to you!


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