Smoke Tubes

[OldMayfield]

I start my grill, get my meat ready, start my tubes, put both in at the same time. EZ

I have hangers too... only used them a couple times, mostly cuz big meat means no upper shelf.
Haven't used my brushes yet.... I wonder where they are???

Thanks Slim. I presume this means you light your tubes on a table/surface somewhere and place them in the grill with the meat?

 

[Slimpicker]

Thanks Slim. I presume this means you light your tubes on a table/surface somewhere and place them in the grill with the meat?

I open my weber gas grill and light the tubes there, standing till they are ready to go into the Traeger. Perfect place for a fireproof area in case they fall over or something like that.

Or if you have a large aluminum foil pan, you can do them in there, in case they fall over

 

[BobbyQ]

Thanks Slim. I presume this means you light your tubes on a table/surface somewhere and place them in the grill with the meat?

I wear a heavy leather fireplace glove to hold the tube at the top while I torch it. Then I stand it in a charcoal chimney that I've had forever.

 

[davwhite]

Has your tube got both ends opened, or is one end capped.

I have a round tube enclosed at one end. I pack the tube vertically with a mix of pellets and wood chips, around 80/20%. When an inch from the top I will light with a good propane burner to get a good flame. I will let it burn for a few minutes (as it stands vertically). After say, 4 mins I will blow it out and place in the middle back of the traeger. Haven't had one go out yet and they can last for a few hours. I put my meat in the Traeger as soon as the smoker tube is going, I read somewhere that smoke is attracted better to cold meat. I usually let that run for 10 mins and then start the Traeger.

 

[Wayne55]

I've used mine a couple of times now. I light it with a heat gun. Gets it cookin' in a hurry! I also put my tube on the grill in the back right corner of my Pro 780, away from the heat sensor and farthest from the smoke stack to keep as much smoke in the grill as possible.
I've heard of a technique for those of us who don't have Super Smoke where you run the grill for the first hour at 165 and adjust cooking times accordingly. As you can see from my avatar, I'm used to cooking Santa Maria style over red oak. The protein gets smoke the whole time, therefore, I'm not a fan of Super Smoke because I want the smoke the whole time.
I did baby back ribs and tri-tip this past weekend. Used the smoke tube with the Costco Gourmet blend in both the hopper and the tube for the ribs. For the last hour of the ribs and for the tri-tip, I put filled the tube halfway with hickory pellets.
I have some red oak lying around and next tri-tip I'm going to use oak chips in it.

Update: I've changed my avatar, so I have included a picture of my Santa Maria style grill.

I did use the smoke tube using the red oak chips from some red oak sticks I had left over on a "trisket". Worked really well. Tubes lasted about two hours so I refilled the tube with some embers still at the bottom and used the heat gun to get it going.

 

[DoofusOfTheDay]

I have a round tube enclosed at one end. I pack the tube vertically with a mix of pellets and wood chips, around 80/20%. When an inch from the top I will light with a good propane burner to get a good flame. I will let it burn for a few minutes (as it stands vertically). After say, 4 mins I will blow it out and place in the middle back of the traeger. Haven't had one go out yet and they can last for a few hours. I put my meat in the Traeger as soon as the smoker tube is going, I read somewhere that smoke is attracted better to cold meat. I usually let that run for 10 mins and then start the Traeger.

80% pellets and 20% wood chips?

 

[Shawnbbqman]

Decided to give a smoke tube a try, it came with caps for each end. So after lightning with a gas torch I let it burn for a bit then put the cap on and placed in the grill, FAIL it went out OK next try leave the cap off this worked sort of I had it at the opposite end to the hopper. It had very little smoke and eventually went out. Next try I lit it again and moved to the back of the grill in the centre behind the meat this worked better as I assume there was better air flow.

To the smoke tube users out there what's your tips.

I tried them too and always had problems.
Then I found the Smoke Chief cold smoker. Self contained unit that runs like your grill. Turn on the switch and you have smoke. Turn it off and in about 5min it is done. Easy and no more waste of pellets or waiting for them to be done smoking.
I run it by itself and smoke cheese or add it to the grill running for extra smoke.
Love this so much I went to the company to be a dealer for them.
If you want more info on it or want to purchase one send me a message.
Happy grilling

 

[JayHog]

Make sure you pack down the smoke tube with a metal rod or something hard. Some of the wood chips will poke out the holes when packed down.

I also use roughly 90% wood chips and 10% pellets. I use the pellets to take up any spaces between the wood chips. Stand it on its end, light and let it burn for 10 minutes before you put it in. I put the burning end toward the back. It smokes for 3-4 hours every time.

 

[DoofusOfTheDay]

Make sure you pack down the smoke tube with a metal rod or something hard. Some of the wood chips will poke out the holes when packed down.

I also use roughly 90% wood chips and 10% pellets. I use the pellets to take up any spaces between the wood chips. Stand it on its end, light and let it burn for 10 minutes before you put it in. I put the burning end toward the back. It smokes for 3-4 hours every time.

Any problem putting them underneath the grates on the bottom of the grill? Would keep them out of the way and smoke would circulate from underneath and up and out.

 

[RoadRunner18]

I elevate the end i light with a propane torch, and let it burn for 5 minutes before putting it in my smoker. I too use wood chips mixed with Pellets.

 

[sbarbrack]

I'm going to be very honest. I don't understand this thread. Are you people adding a smoke tube to your Traeger to supplement what the Traeger produces?? Thanks

 

[YYCRed]

I'm going to be very honest. I don't understand this thread. Are you people adding a smoke tube to your Traeger to supplement what the Traeger produces?? Thanks

That is correct. Traeger's have a "problem" in that they burn pellets very efficiently. That causes less smoke, and even the "Super Smoke" feature on some models doesn't operate above 225F. A smoke tube lets you add the amount of smoke flavor you enjoy - for very little cost.

 

[sbarbrack]

That is correct. Traeger's have a "problem" in that they burn pellets very efficiently. That causes less smoke, and even the "Super Smoke" feature on some models doesn't operate above 225F. A smoke tube lets you add the amount of smoke flavor you enjoy - for very little cost.

Understood.. Thanks for the explanation

 

[JayHog]

Any problem putting them underneath the grates on the bottom of the grill? Would keep them out of the way and smoke would circulate from underneath and up and out.

The only issues I can think of are (1) you wouldn't be able to access the tubes if they were to go out and (2) if the smoke tubes were to re-ignite, it might create a hot spot or grease fire. I have not had this happen, but I'm cautious of these problems after seeing the results of other folks who have had grease fires.

Since I'm adding another type of heat/fire that the Traeger was not designed for, I try to keep it away from the barrel surface, to avoid damage.

 

[JayHog]

I'm going to be very honest. I don't understand this thread. Are you people adding a smoke tube to your Traeger to supplement what the Traeger produces?? Thanks

There is also the issue of the actual flavor the smoke adds to your meat. Wood pellets burning are basically compressed sawdust burning. The smell and flavor of this is similar to what you get when a table saw is cutting a board and it binds a bit and burns the wood. When you burn actual wood (wood chips), the smell and taste are the same as what you get at a BBQ joint that is smoking meat with actual wood in their huge smoker.

Some folks like the very light smoke flavor of pellets, so they work for them. Others prefer the taste of the actual smoldering wood which is like a good BBQ restaurant. There is a difference. I view the pellets as a convenient fuel source, but not a source of good smoke. To each his own and that's what is so great about the Traeger. You can make it work either way, according to your preference.