not enough smoke flavor from my 850

I think RayClem summed it up pretty well. Pellets have almost no moisture and burn much more cleanly than wood. Some pellets are better than others but they can never approach the flavor from a real wood fire. Smoke tubes and other smoke devices are the only ways to impart more smoke flavor.
 
MidwestSmoker said:
I think RayClem summed it up pretty well. Pellets have almost no moisture and burn much more cleanly than wood. Some pellets are better than others but they can never approach the flavor from a real wood fire. Smoke tubes and other smoke devices are the only ways to impart more smoke flavor.
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Maybe this is crazy, has anyone hit their pellets with a light water mist? I’m guessing this is a no-no, and that even damp dust will gum up the inner workings.

Would be good to know if any pellets exist that are less processed than others - like pellet sized pieces of wood, vs pressed powder.

Though again, I don’t have an issue with the amount of smoke, I don’t think anyhow. It’s that the end result looks smoked, but only sort of tastes like it.

I am also very curious to know if people have more luck imparting smoke flavor if they keep the meat on the damp side. Not sure who I saw that wrote that, but is an intriguing idea.
 
RayClem said:
I think those who have used wood-fired offset smokers have become accustomed to the smoky taste.

Cured wood has a much higher moisture content than pellets and the pieces of wood are much different in size and shape. Thus, wood burns differently than pellets. I have read some speculation that the variation in cooking temperatures as you tend a manual feed firebox might also contribute to the flavor.

I have never owned an offset smoker. Sometimes the smoky flavor of Traeger is too much for my wife and I, but I can understand that coming from an offset smoker experience is quite different.

You might be interested in this thread about adding a Smoke Daddy generator to your grill. That might be the only way to replicate the offset smoker experience on a Traeger.

www.traegerforum.com

Traeger Pro 780 + Smoke Daddy Magnum PIG cold smoke generator = HEAVEN

Full disclosure: This will be a pretty comprehensive review that will be updated over the coming year as I gain more experience using it. I bought the Smoke Daddy Magnum PIG to modify my Traeger Pro 780, which is a fantastic pellet grill and highly recommended - that offers little to no smoke...
www.traegerforum.com www.traegerforum.com
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I appreciate it. Honestly, I’m not trying to replicate the offset smoker flavor - I knew going in, once I ditched the offset for the Traeger, I would be leaving some flavor behind.

I’m definitely not trying to replicate the experience of tending a fire all day, haha! Cooked a couple chickens and a small pork shoulder on the Traeger this past weekend, and had all kinds of free time - I’ll stick with that! They were fine - I’ll tweak as I go, was only my second cook.

Mostly, I’m just curious if anyone has any suggestions to help the meat take more smoke flavor, or knew of any pellets that imparted a bit more.
 
There was a comparison done between six brands of pellets planned by the Mad Scientist of BBQ. The results were evaluated in a blind taste test by several people.


The Knotty Wood plum pellets came in last because they had a flavor that folks were not used to.

Traeger pellets came in first, a result that was not expected . If you have not tried Traeger pellets, you might want to do so. Personally, I do not like them because they are too crumbly and generate a lot of dust. I do not know whether they are not pressed as tightly or whether the moisture content is higher. They might make them burn differently.
 
RayClem said:
There was a comparison done between six brands of pellets planned by the Mad Scientist of BBQ. The results were evaluated in a blind taste test by several people.


The Knotty Wood plum pellets came in last because they had a flavor that folks were not used to.

Traeger pellets came in first, a result that was not expected . If you have not tried Traeger pellets, you might want to do so. Personally, I do not like them because they are too crumbly and generate a lot of dust. I do not know whether they are not pressed as tightly or whether the moisture content is higher. They might make them burn differently.
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You might have just gotten some that were handled roughly. I’ve seen this sorta thing with all sorts of pellets and charcoal. It’s almost always the handling. Pellets can get old too. The freshness of the stock you are buying from can be a factor.
 
RayClem said:
There was a comparison done between six brands of pellets planned by the Mad Scientist of BBQ. The results were evaluated in a blind taste test by several people.


The Knotty Wood plum pellets came in last because they had a flavor that folks were not used to.

Traeger pellets came in first, a result that was not expected . If you have not tried Traeger pellets, you might want to do so. Personally, I do not like them because they are too crumbly and generate a lot of dust. I do not know whether they are not pressed as tightly or whether the moisture content is higher. They might make them burn differently.
Click to expand...
Traeger pellets are what I used - definitely a lot of dust. Smelled great, but did not impart a ton of smoke flavor - though I plan to try a few things. Really just two cooks in, and the first was wings only (didn’t have a lot of time, but had to take it for a spin haha).
 
swizzlesticks said:
Traeger pellets are what I used - definitely a lot of dust. Smelled great, but did not impart a ton of smoke flavor - though I plan to try a few things. Really just two cooks in, and the first was wings only (didn’t have a lot of time, but had to take it for a spin haha).
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If you cook at higher temperatures you will get very little smoke. I normally cook at 225 F and get sufficient smoke flavor for my personal taste. If you cook at even lower temperatures, you should get even more smoke flavor.

Generally , recipes tell you to preheat your grill before adding the protein. However, if you add the protein as soon as you ignite the grill, it will be exposed to the white smoke that develops during the preheating process. You might like that flavor, but you might not.

Traeger makes two types of pellets. Most of their pellets are made from natural hardwoods. However, the hickory and mesquite are flavored hardwood pellets. Thus, the later two will not contain actual hickory and mesquite sawdust, but will be made of other species of wood like alder and oak that have been flavored with natural extracts of the target species. The pellet mills on the West Coast use alder as the base. The pellet mills on the East Coast use oak as the base.
 
mkappy said:
I have an Ironwood 650, and I just ordered the Big Kahuna cold smoke generator:

smokedaddyinc.com

Big Kahuna Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories

Big Kahuna Cold Smoke Generator - Smoke Daddy Inc. - BBQ Pellet Smokers, Cold Smokers, and Pellet Grill Parts & Accessories
smokedaddyinc.com smokedaddyinc.com

Has anyone used, this, and if so where did you mount it?
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Most people mount it near the bottom of the barrel on the side of the controller. That way it’s opposite the stack. If you don’t have a stack I would definitely mount it opposite the controller so it’s out of the way. Since you have an ironwood I’d go with opposite the hopper/controller. Opposite what’s shown in this picture.

1657802436355.png
 
Word of caution on the big kahuna. It can billow out a TON of smoke. If not prudent you can ruin certain cooks IMO. Just have to monitor what you’re doing.
 

JPSBBQ, thanks for your reply. The ironwood 650 doesn't have space by the control or the hopper to mount the Big Kahuna. I'm thinking I'll either have to sneak it underneath the shelf by the grease trap, or just completely take off the shelf to make room.​


Do you know if the outside canister of the Big Kahuna gets hot while it burns?

1657893554512.png
 
mkappy said:

JPSBBQ, thanks for your reply. The ironwood 650 doesn't have space by the control or the hopper to mount the Big Kahuna. I'm thinking I'll either have to sneak it underneath the shelf by the grease trap, or just completely take off the shelf to make room.​


Do you know if the outside canister of the Big Kahuna gets hot while it burns?

View attachment 9801
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Put it opposite of the hopper (left side), down under the drip tray. I would assume it get warm/hot but prolly not exceedingly hot as if it were to burn too efficiently it wouldn’t produce much smoke either. The manufacturer recommends using mostly wood chips and some pellets. He says that all pellets will snuff itself out due to lack of airflow. They just pack too tightly.
 
This thread is about the installation of the "Smoke-It" smoke generator on a Timberline 850, but you may still find it helpful:
www.traegerforum.com

Add a "Smokin-It" Cold Smoke Generator to Timberline 850

I thought I'd consolidate all my information on this mod to my Timberline 850. This can be adapted to most any model grill. Cold Smoke generators were new to me, a small external firepot that just makes smoke which is fed into a larger cold box. This is used to smoke cheese, fish, salt and...
www.traegerforum.com www.traegerforum.com
 
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