No Smoke on my smoker

smokerhunter

New member
Messages
2
Grill(s) owned
  1. BFG
I recently got a RT 2500 and decided to smoke some wings and some beef ribs.


Wings were cooked at 250° until internal was 167. The wings skin came out chewy and leathery. The meat was cooked beautifully. Yet no smoke flavor. No brine just used a dry rub. They tasted like they were oven baked.

Cooked the ribs at 250° until internal was about 206. The ribs barley had a smoke ring and smelled
/tasted like I cooked them in the oven. Again no smoke flavor.

I’m using Bear Mountain gourmet blend pellets.

Also I keep seeing a “super” smoke setting online but can’t for the life of me find it anywhere on the grill.
 
Crank it counter-clockwise, should say "Lo" - that's super-smoke.
Run it 30 minutes or so to smoke the wings a bit - then crank it clockwise to 400.
167 is an overcooked breast, the rest of the chicken should go to at least 185.
Bear Mountain is good - they're probably not part of the problem.
One other thing I've seen recently is smoke penetration can be hindered by coating your meat too well or using a binder like a coating of mustard for your rub/spices to stick to.

Plenty more opinions on the way, I'm sure of it ....
 
Thank you!!!! I did use Worcestershire sauce as a binder for my rub. Those are some great tips about the super smoke and the temps. Greatly appreciated!
 
Crank it counter-clockwise, should say "Lo" - that's super-smoke.
Run it 30 minutes or so to smoke the wings a bit - then crank it clockwise to 400.
167 is an overcooked breast, the rest of the chicken should go to at least 185.
Bear Mountain is good - they're probably not part of the problem.
One other thing I've seen recently is smoke penetration can be hindered by coating your meat too well or using a binder like a coating of mustard for your rub/spices to stick to.

Plenty more opinions on the way, I'm sure of it ....
Great tip and something that is sometimes forgotten on this site. The way you prepare your protein (e.g., heavy seasonings, oils, rubs and similar) can impact smoke penetration. Further, some seasonings like salt and baking powder can rob moisture out of the proteins rendering them dryer. Good info. That‘s your PSA for the day!
 
To the OP, a pellet grill does not give you a lot of smoke flavor, don't really know why but suspect its just the way pellets burn. You can try dropping the temp for the 1st few hours to 225 or less.


As mentioned, wing skin needs high temp to crisp.
 
Great tip and something that is sometimes forgotten on this site. The way you prepare your protein (e.g., heavy seasonings, oils, rubs and similar) can impact smoke penetration. Further, some seasonings like salt and baking powder can rob moisture out of the proteins rendering them dryer. Good info. That‘s your PSA for the day!
So I have used mustard in the past on ribs to keep the rub in place. I have gotten decent smoke flavor (smoke tube used) not not had real luck with the smoke ring. Do u suggest no binder then? I’m getting a brisket ready for tomorrow. I was going to try Killer Hogs beef rub and that’s it. No binder at all. Thoughts?
 
So I have used mustard in the past on ribs to keep the rub in place....
Since the mustard gives you no additional flavor in the end - skip it.
The rubs always stick to the meat even without the layer of glue (mustard, oil, etc).
If you do find it difficult to get it to stick, spritz with water, juice, ACV, beer...
Good Luck!
 
Since the mustard gives you no additional flavor in the end - skip it.
The rubs always stick to the meat even without the layer of glue (mustard, oil, etc).
If you do find it difficult to get it to stick, spritz with water, juice, ACV, beer...
Good Luck!
What he said!
 
So I have used mustard in the past on ribs to keep the rub in place. I have gotten decent smoke flavor (smoke tube used) not not had real luck with the smoke ring. Do u suggest no binder then? I’m getting a brisket ready for tomorrow. I was going to try Killer Hogs beef rub and that’s it. No binder at all. Thoughts?
FF,

I frequently use a binder also. When used it is very light. If not controlled, I have seen ribs with little to no smoke ring at all. I also see a diminished smoke ring level when temperatures go above 250F unless you have good quality pellets. I try to keep my cooks below 225-235F during the entire process. (One trick I feel helps my cooks includes a 24 hour “resting” period after I put rub on the rub. Another is to keep the temps at the lowest your smoker can handle for the first 1-1.5 hours for maximum penetration.) To assist in the breakdown of the binder, the first ingredient in my rub process is to add kosher salt. I don’t prefer to use premixed rubs because you can’t control the grind/size of the salt or ratio of the other ingredients, or the existing grind is very fine/small rendering the protein over-salted/seasoned. The kosher salt seems to fuse well with the binders (mustard, low viscosity oils, Wagyu tallow, or similar) early in the rest period allowing the protein to “breath” while resting may be debatable but it works for me. I also see a difference when I start with the protein near ambient temperature (food safe levels, meh) so it can relax following the dry rub refrigeration period. It’s harder to get the brisket (depending on size) up to temp versus ribs because of the mass/size but I give it about 4 hours lightly covered in a sanitary location (e.g., no flies, insects, debris, etc.). I hope some of these random thoughts help. Happy brisketing!!!
 
Last edited:
I recently got a RT 2500 and decided to smoke some wings and some beef ribs.


Wings were cooked at 250° until internal was 167. The wings skin came out chewy and leathery. The meat was cooked beautifully. Yet no smoke flavor. No brine just used a dry rub. They tasted like they were oven baked.

Cooked the ribs at 250° until internal was about 206. The ribs barley had a smoke ring and smelled
/tasted like I cooked them in the oven. Again no smoke flavor.

I’m using Bear Mountain gourmet blend pellets.

Also I keep seeing a “super” smoke setting online but can’t for the life of me find it anywhere on the grill.
This is an ongoing problem with the BFG. There are work arounds but it is very frustrating to drop this amount of money on a smoker that does’t really smoke.
 
I recently got a RT 2500 and decided to smoke some wings and some beef ribs.


Wings were cooked at 250° until internal was 167. The wings skin came out chewy and leathery. The meat was cooked beautifully. Yet no smoke flavor. No brine just used a dry rub. They tasted like they were oven baked.

Cooked the ribs at 250° until internal was about 206. The ribs barley had a smoke ring and smelled
/tasted like I cooked them in the oven. Again no smoke flavor.

I’m using Bear Mountain gourmet blend pellets.

Also I keep seeing a “super” smoke setting online but can’t for the life of me find it anywhere on the grill.
Unfortunately, the BFG just doesn't produce a lot smoke. I called the tech line and they recommended putting pellets on the heat shield. Thats a PIA... i got 2 smoke tubes and those work great. Also, storing the pellets "inside" your house or somewhere really dry makes a huge difference too. The combination of the 2 will produce all the smoke you need.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Latest posts

Back
Top