# Extra smoke flavor for pellet smoker



## SmokingUPnorth (Sep 2, 2020)

I recently did wings for the first time on my Traeger and noticed I didn’t get that much smoke flavor. And was wondering. Do you guys use tubes or anything with more pellets for better smoke flavor? I have the AMNPS tray and was wondering if I can run that also with a longer cook like pork butt or ribs?


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## TNJAKE (Sep 2, 2020)

I always use my tube on long smokes and even chicken smokes. 
	

		
			
		

		
	







	

		
			
		

		
	
Was a game changer for me. Not to mention you can use it for cold smoking. I really like the added smoke the tube adds


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## forktender (Sep 2, 2020)

Same here, I always run at least one Smk tube and often two S.T's one with hickory and the other with either apple, oak or pecan and I still don't get enough smoke for my liking, I switched from an offset to the pellet pooper because I got tired of getting up and down all night to tend to coals. Now I set the pooper with an inkbird thermo that has a high/low temp alarm, it works great for long smokes.


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## Chasdev (Sep 3, 2020)

Your complaint is standard on all pellet spitters, the one thing they can't do is match real wood smoke flavor.
One way to improve smoke flavor is to run it at lower temps for a few hours and then turn it up to finish cooking.
I have three smoke adding gizmo's and they just don't work worth a darn.
The above is the reason I bought a Masterbuilt gravity cooker so I can get wood smoke flavor in briskets.
Pellets work fine on yardbirds and pork ribs but that's about it IMHO.


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Sep 3, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> I always use my tube on long smokes and even chicken smokes. Was a game changer for me. Not to mention you can use it for cold smoking. I really like the added smoke the tube adds



I might try that on brisket this weekend.  I was just going to go low smoke for few hours.  Do you have any problems with air flow or certain position to put on smoker?


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## TNJAKE (Sep 3, 2020)

Brian Trommater said:


> I might try that on brisket this weekend.  I was just going to go low smoke for few hours.  Do you have any problems with air flow or certain position to put on smoker?


I just sit it on the grates. Doesn't really matter the position


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## chopsaw (Sep 3, 2020)

I don't have a pellet smoker , but have been using the tube for awhile now . 
Depending on what I'm doing , I'll mix  wood chips in the tube with the pellets . 
Also use the u-bolt mod . I just have the clamp on the front . Works good for me . 





						U-Bolt mod for the AMNTS
					

I've been doing this since I  bought my first MES 30.Makes using the tubes more convenient and much easier to handle.Fits great in the bottom left of a MES.  More than one person has asked me why pitched?Keeps the pellets from falling out and you get a slower more consistent burn rate,which...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## smokerjim (Sep 3, 2020)

I use the tube in mine , trays don't like to stay lit in the pellet smokers.


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Sep 3, 2020)

smokerjim said:


> I use the tube in mine , trays don't like to stay lit in the pellet smokers.


Trays don't like to stay lit without dust for me!  The only time I use tray now is for cold smoking with dust.


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## bregent (Sep 3, 2020)

I don't really like the flavor that smoke tubes add. I get good smoke flavor on low and slow by using 100% hickory pellets. Regarding wings, I cook them at 425F and not really going to get any smoke flavor at those temps.


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## fefish (Sep 26, 2020)

What brand pellets are you using?  I bought a used Traeger Timberline for a song because the original owner said that he couldn’t get smoke on anything.  He was using Traeger pellets.  Apparently, Traeger pellets suck.  I bought the 100% hickory pellets from Lumberjack and have had no complaints.  I even sent the guy a picture of my food and he asked how I got smoke.  When I told him, he cursed, and said that he was going to have to buy another pellet cooker.


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## BBQBakas (Nov 6, 2020)

Brian Trommater said:


> I might try that on brisket this weekend.  I was just going to go low smoke for few hours.  Do you have any problems with air flow or certain position to put on smoker?


how did it turn out?


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## BBQBakas (Nov 6, 2020)

Pellet tubes are about $13 on Amazon so it's not much to experiment. Going to try the idea of mixing pellets with wood chips.


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Nov 6, 2020)

BBQBakas said:


> Pellet tubes are about $13 on Amazon so it's not much to experiment. Going to try the idea of mixing pellets with wood chips.


If you open the lid for very long the chips will start on fire.  They last about 2.5 hours but enough to give it that extra smoke flavor.  My buddy did a Pork butt with it last weekend and said this is the answer.


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## shaneyb72 (Nov 7, 2020)

I always use a smoke tube in my RT-700.  The air flows from left to right...so I place it on the grates on the far left end and the smoke flows nicely over the meat on it way out the chimney.  Works great and adds great flavor.


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## JWFokker (Nov 7, 2020)

Always use a tube in the pellet burner. Even at super low cook temps the pellets in the firepot don't make enough smoke, even running Lumberjack hickory. Pellet smoke just tastes bland and indistinct compared to stick burner smoke. I don't worry about what pellets I use as fuel for the cooker, I put the good stuff in the tube. Better than pellets are wood chips. The aroma is 100% better than pellets and I can see coloration on the pellicle when I use pecan and cherry chips. Burns faster (1.5 hours) but puts more flavor on the meat.


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## mike243 (Nov 7, 2020)

Anybody that thinks pellets are not real wood needs to study some,  the smoke they produce is real smoke from real wood, the thing is they burn clean and you dont get much smoldering smoke as a stick burner not being ran clean or a charcoal with chunks,


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## BBQBakas (Nov 7, 2020)

JWFokker said:


> Always use a tube in the pellet burner. Even at super low cook temps the pellets in the firepot don't make enough smoke, even running Lumberjack hickory. Pellet smoke just tastes bland and indistinct compared to stick burner smoke. I don't worry about what pellets I use as fuel for the cooker, I put the good stuff in the tube. Better than pellets are wood chips. The aroma is 100% better than pellets and I can see coloration on the pellicle when I use pecan and cherry chips. Burns faster (1.5 hours) but puts more flavor on the meat.



Do you soak the chips first, and/or do you ignite them with a torch or do you just let the heat do its thing? Just got my tube today and I've got some chips. Thinking of doing ribs tomorrow.


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## BBQBakas (Nov 7, 2020)

mike243 said:


> Anybody that thinks pellets are not real wood needs to study some,  the smoke they produce is real smoke from real wood, the thing is they burn clean and you dont get much smoldering smoke as a stick burner not being ran clean or a charcoal with chunks,


This gets into some geeky science I've wondered about. Does the sawdust in the pellets equal actual wood? From a science point of view I would say they are different forms of wood that result in different types of smoke flavor. Really would love to see an experiment done where we measure data to really understand at a molecular level what each provides the meat.


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## mike243 (Nov 8, 2020)

water can be steam but its still water, wood can be dust but its still wood, the method of burning wood is what changes taste , pellet smokers require a fan which stokes the fire and burns the pellets hotter/cleaner, look at the new regulations for wood stoves, you will see that they have to burn cleaner to meet EPA standards so guess what? they burn hotter in order to do so, somebody already has done the science imo.


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## JWFokker (Nov 8, 2020)

BBQBakas said:


> Do you soak the chips first, and/or do you ignite them with a torch or do you just let the heat do its thing? Just got my tube today and I've got some chips. Thinking of doing ribs tomorrow.


I don't soak chips. Serves no practical purpose. I use a propane torch to light them or a starter cube if I'm out of propane, same as with pellets.


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## JWFokker (Nov 8, 2020)

mike243 said:


> Anybody that thinks pellets are not real wood needs to study some,  the smoke they produce is real smoke from real wood, the thing is they burn clean and you dont get much smoldering smoke as a stick burner not being ran clean or a charcoal with chunks,


The hotter the fire, the more degradation of flavorful chemical compounds. The smoke flavor comes from combustion byproducts. You can get wood to burn so hot that little to no smoke is produced, but that's not useful if you actually want to _smoke meat_. This is why pellet burners don't make much smoke above 250F and practically nothing at 400F. Too hot, too clean = no flavor. 

And I dispute that pellets are equivalent to other wood fuel like chunks and chips. They do not burn the same for the simple reason that they have turned the wood into dust and compressed it, like a charcoal briquette. Lump and briquettes don't burn the same. Pellets don't either, and this impacts flavor.


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