Smoke output disappointing

[JTolbert]

BFG delivered. Put it together. Did burn in. Did seasoning cook with legs and thighs at 400 degrees went great no smoke from BFG but not expected at 400. Did burger and put them on at 180 expected a fair amount of smoke really none to speak of. Finished burgers at 450 great flavor. BFG awesome but lack of smoke is a bit disappointing. Read alot here and online...guess that's the norm here in recteq land lol

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

BFG delivered. Put it together. Did burn in. Did seasoning cook with legs and thighs at 400 degrees went great no smoke from BFG but not expected at 400. Did burger and put them on at 180 expected a fair amount of smoke really none to speak of. Finished burgers at 450 great flavor. BFG awesome but lack of smoke is a bit disappointing. Read alot here and online...guess that's the norm here in recteq land lol

Unfortunately I came to the same conclusion about pellet grills the hard way too. I have the 1250 and was disappointed with the smoke flavor from it. I've noticed that most of the people that are very satisfied with the smoke from the pellet grills are people coming from traditional grills while the people that find the smoke to be very lacking are people coming from other smokers. Is this your first smoker?

Smoke flavor is also extremely subjective and people's tastes and sensitivity vary greatly. So there isn't really a clear cut answer for if something produces enough smoke flavor.

 

[JTolbert]

No had a Brinkman stack smoker before gas used wood chips knew it wouldn't be that but thought it would be available at 180 setting

 

[SmokeOCD]

Part of it has to be the size of your grill. I bet it has to burn hotter to get the BFG up to 180, losing some of the smoke produced on smaller grills. I have a pellet maze I use for cold smoked bacon; when I use it at the bottom of my kamado smoker I get deep smoke and color on the pork belly. I tried the same thing in my barrel smoker and it takes many more runs of the pellet maze (3 or 4 ) to get to the same level of smoke.

Since you're so invested in it already, I would think a few more dollars to adapt some type of smoke generator is the way for you to go.

 

[Pacman]

FWIW, the pellets you're burning play into this as well. Obviously at 400 degrees you're basically running a wood fueled convection oven. At 180 - 225 you will be getting smoke. With that said, some pellets just don't produce much smoke or smoke flavor.

 

[Jim6820]

As has been said many times on the forum, “smoke” is a relative things. Some like a lot, some like just a hint.

I have found that the type and brand of pellets can make a significant difference. You might try some different ones to see if that helps.

Then some folks (including me) will use a smoke tube filled alternatively with wood chunks/chips and pellets to add some more smoke. They are not very expensive, so might be worth a try.

 

[Jim6820]

FWIW, the pellets you're burning play into this as well. Obviously at 400 degrees you're basically running a wood fueled convection oven. At 180 - 225 you will be getting smoke. With that said, some pellets just don't produce much smoke or smoke flavor.

You beat me to it, @Pacman!

 

[okie]

My 1070 smokes almost constantly at 225 or 275. I do not think it is lack of smoke that limits the taste, I think it is due to loss those other volatile substances that escape when you turn logs into sawdust. I would suggest trying Lumber Jack pellets, since they use the whole tree, bark and all and there is probably not time for some of those substances to dissipate. If you use their pure hickory you get more ash but also more smoke flavor. But not ever like an old Stick Pitt.

 

[JTolbert]

Thanks for all the replies and insight. Got lots of experimenting to do. I'm someone who does not like or am looking for heavy
Smoke, I wad just surprised by none. And it was the recteq hardwood blend so I took that in consideration also

 

[Threadcutter]

Let's see, just some random thoughts/comments/opinions........

I've never owned a stickburner and I don't have any real history with the "purists" way of smoking.

I received my 700/Bull in February, 2022, so, relatively new to this whole adventure. I bought the 700 package that included 5 bags of the RecTeq "Ultimate Blend" pellets. Even though I had very little experience and almost zero points of reference, I was never real impressed with the RecTeq pellets. That's not to say that they were "bad" in any way, they just didn't do much for me. They didn't seem to produce much smoke and what smoke they did produce, it seemed pretty benign. Maybe that's another way of saying "mild".

Of the numerous adders/upgrades that I did to the 700, I added a "Smoke Daddy" "Big Kahuna" smoke generator;

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/big-kahuna-cold-smoke-generator/

What I like about it is that it operates entirely independently from the grill. The biggest benefit ? The fact that I can cold smoke meats and cheeses in the grill by running the Big Kahuna (without ever even turning on the grill). I can also augment smoke infusion with the grill when doing "normal" cooks on the grill. I can add chips to the Big Kahuna mid cook, or I can shut off the air pump and let the chips extinguish themselves. All, mid cook, if that's what I want to do.

"Smoke Daddy" also makes what they call the "Heavy D" Smoke generator;

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/the-heavy-d-stick-burning-heat-diffuser/

I had looked at it first, but concluded that it just wasn't what I wanted. I saw two issues with it;

1. Every time you used it, you had to pull the grates and the drip pan out in order to load it with wood. I guess I'm really lazy, but I just don't want to do that.

2. Once you've loaded it up with wood and fired up your grill, you're stuck with how much smoke the thing puts out (too little or too much, depending on your tastes). Or, if you wanted to increase (or decrease) the amount of smoke mid-cook, you'd have to get out the high heat gloves, pull the probes, pull the meat, pull the (hot) grates, pull the (hot) drip pan and pull the (hot) "Heavy D" and load new wood chunks (or unload if you didn't want any more smoke). And then, re-load/re-assemble in reverse order. So no, it was a really unattractive scenario. A definite deal killer for me.

I haven't tried a lot of different pellets. I see that a lot of guys have their favorites and there seem to be a lot of good choices out there. I've kind of settled in with Costco pellets. Not so much because they are attractively priced (because they are), but more because of the amount of smoke and more specifically, the smoke flavor. For regular heated grill cooks for roasts or chicken, I don't really use the Big Kahuna. Maybe 30 minutes of cold smoke at the beginning. I do continue to cold smoke ribs with hickory for an hour, before I prep/spice them for the cook using the pellet grill. But I'm migrating over to just "normal" cooks with the Costco pellets. Are the Costco pellets the "best" ? I dunno, but they work nicely for me.

 

[BDawg]

I have been using pellet smokers for a few years. I just added an Amaz-n tube smoker and that adds enough smoke to make up the difference.

 

[JTolbert]

Let's see, just some random thoughts/comments/opinions........

I've never owned a stickburner and I don't have any real history with the "purists" way of smoking.

I received my 700/Bull in February, 2022, so, relatively new to this whole adventure. I bought the 700 package that included 5 bags of the RecTeq "Ultimate Blend" pellets. Even though I had very little experience and almost zero points of reference, I was never real impressed with the RecTeq pellets. That's not to say that they were "bad" in any way, they just didn't do much for me. They didn't seem to produce much smoke and what smoke they did produce, it seemed pretty benign. Maybe that's another way of saying "mild".

Of the numerous adders/upgrades that I did to the 700, I added a "Smoke Daddy" "Big Kahuna" smoke generator;

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/big-kahuna-cold-smoke-generator/

What I like about it is that it operates entirely independently from the grill. The biggest benefit ? The fact that I can cold smoke meats and cheeses in the grill by running the Big Kahuna (without ever even turning on the grill). I can also augment smoke infusion with the grill when doing "normal" cooks on the grill. I can add chips to the Big Kahuna mid cook, or I can shut off the air pump and let the chips extinguish themselves. All, mid cook, if that's what I want to do.

"Smoke Daddy" also makes what they call the "Heavy D" Smoke generator;

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/the-heavy-d-stick-burning-heat-diffuser/

I had looked at it first, but concluded that it just wasn't what I wanted. I saw two issues with it;

1. Every time you used it, you had to pull the grates and the drip pan out in order to load it with wood. I guess I'm really lazy, but I just don't want to do that.

2. Once you've loaded it up with wood and fired up your grill, you're stuck with how much smoke the thing puts out (too little or too much, depending on your tastes). Or, if you wanted to increase (or decrease) the amount of smoke mid-cook, you'd have to get out the high heat gloves, pull the probes, pull the meat, pull the (hot) grates, pull the (hot) drip pan and pull the (hot) "Heavy D" and load new wood chunks (or unload if you didn't want any more smoke). And then, re-load/re-assemble in reverse order. So no, it was a really unattractive scenario. A definite deal killer for me.

I haven't tried a lot of different pellets. I see that a lot of guys have their favorites and there seem to be a lot of good choices out there. I've kind of settled in with Costco pellets. Not so much because they are attractively priced (because they are), but more because of the amount of smoke and more specifically, the smoke flavor. For regular heated grill cooks for roasts or chicken, I don't really use the Big Kahuna. Maybe 30 minutes of cold smoke at the beginning. I do continue to cold smoke ribs with hickory for an hour, before I prep/spice them for the cook using the pellet grill. But I'm migrating over to just "normal" cooks with the Costco pellets. Are the Costco pellets the "best" ? I dunno, but they work nicely for me.

Loved all the info about your upgrades, and it looks like in the future I'll have to add smoke equipment but for now I'm just going to play with pellets and mixtures

 

[JTolbert]

Yeah I'm going to start shopping around for some smoke add on

I have been using pellet smokers for a few years. I just added an Amaz-n tube smoker and that adds enough smoke to make up the difference.

 

[kstone113]

My buddy who owns a catering business got the BFG. When the grill is new, you won't see much smoke at 180 with the BFG. As the grill gets seasoned, less and less smoke will stick to the walls and you will see more smoke coming out of the stacks.

I have the smoke daddy magnum PIG on my RT-700. That is their biggest cold smoker and I would recommend that one if you are going that route. While I've used it a lot, I haven't used it a lot lately(this past summer). My first go to is a smoke tube with wood chips mixed in as that is easier and takes around 4 hours to go out.

Before you go down that road, I would do some testing with smoke tube(s) as I mentioned above. The key to the smoke tubes though is mixing in wood chips in with the pellets. That makes a huge difference. While I do recommend the cold smoker from smoke daddy, it does need to be re-feed about one an hour or so. The smoke tubes will cost a lot less also.

But again, remember, you will get more smoke flavor the more you use your grill. Like other said, the BFG is so big, it takes a lot to get up to temp and more space so you will see less smoke coming out than you would on a Bull.

 

[jac365]

I came from a stick burner to a Bull 1250. At temps of 225 and lower it has a decent amount of smoke. If I want to add to that I fill a smoke tube with chipped wood of my choosing (Hickory, Apple Cherry etc. depending on item being smoked) and add that to the cook. I will put a full tube of Hickory chips in for a Brisket, but just one. It will last 4-5 hrs during a 12-20 hour cook, but I find that the Brisket comes out perfect.

Last Friday night I took a 14LB Brisket to a party after cooking and letting it rest in a cooler for a few hours. I walked into the home with the still pink paper wrapped hunk of goodness and the smoky aroma the wafted through the home had the party goers drooling. The first comment I heard was "Oh my god, do you guys smell that"!!!

 

[JTolbert]

Can't say thanks enough for the great replies. I love my BFG after waiting like 3 years to splurge, now I feel alot better that there are some reasonable solutions and steps to just keep improving it moving forward. Thanks again.

 

[Threadcutter]

My buddy who owns a catering business got the BFG. When the grill is new, you won't see much smoke at 180 with the BFG. As the grill gets seasoned, less and less smoke will stick to the walls and you will see more smoke coming out of the stacks.

I have the smoke daddy magnum PIG on my RT-700. That is their biggest cold smoker and I would recommend that one if you are going that route. While I've used it a lot, I haven't used it a lot lately(this past summer). My first go to is a smoke tube with wood chips mixed in as that is easier and takes around 4 hours to go out.

Before you go down that road, I would do some testing with smoke tube(s) as I mentioned above. The key to the smoke tubes though is mixing in wood chips in with the pellets. That makes a huge difference. While I do recommend the cold smoker from smoke daddy, it does need to be re-feed about one an hour or so. The smoke tubes will cost a lot less also.

But again, remember, you will get more smoke flavor the more you use your grill. Like other said, the BFG is so big, it takes a lot to get up to temp and more space so you will see less smoke coming out than you would on a Bull.

I agree. In hindsight, I woulda/shoulda bought the Smoke Daddy Magnum. With the Magnum, you can partially load it with chips, resembling the full load in the Big Kahuna. The Magnum gives youg greater flexibility. Having said that, I'm not unhappy with my Big Kahuna.

 

[kstone113]

I agree. In hindsight, I woulda/shoulda bought the Smoke Daddy Magnum. With the Magnum, you can partially load it with chips, resembling the full load in the Big Kahuna. The Magnum gives youg greater flexibility. Having said that, I'm not unhappy with my Big Kahuna.

Try the colder smoker with charcoal & wood chunks. You may have to cut some to fit them in which I do with my magnum pig but I find you get the best smoke when you treat it like a small area of a weber. When I'm refilling, I put in charcoal and wood chunks. Whenever I put wood chips in, I get a decent amount of white smoke. Not like pillowing white smoke but not as clean as I would like it.

 

[Threadcutter]

Yeah, I've thought about putting some charcoal in, just haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Just my theory, but If these pellet grills all use the same burn pot size, doesn't it make sense that each larger grill has to make the pot burn that much hotter to get the same drum temperatures? If so, the BFG would be the least smoky of the bunch.

Continuing with that theory (since colder weather is here), larger grill are working the pot harder and cold pits from colder air are making them work harder as well. If my theory is correct, insulation of some kind will help reduce the need for the burn pot to work as hard and possibly increase smoke output.