Wood Pellet Grills - How Much Do They Smoke?

No smoke on the ones I saw.

Good and bad news:

Good: they don't output smoke in an amount that it will create contamination on the pool enclosure.

Bad: They don't output smoke in an amount that will produce excellent BBQ. I am a competition BBQ cook and you really need to use real wood to get the quality smoke for top of the line BBQ, IMHO.

Teamfour wrote:
Good and bad news:

Good: they don't output smoke in an amount that it will create contamination on the pool enclosure.

Bad: They don't output smoke in an amount that will produce excellent BBQ. I am a competition BBQ cook and you really need to use real wood to get the quality smoke for top of the line BBQ, IMHO.

Amen to that!

Teamfour wrote:
Good and bad news:

Good: they don't output smoke in an amount that it will create contamination on the pool enclosure.

Bad: They don't output smoke in an amount that will produce excellent BBQ. I am a competition BBQ cook and you really need to use real wood to get the quality smoke for top of the line BBQ, IMHO.

Haven't some teams won with FEC100's?

They won't cause enough smoke to harm your screen. The smoke flavor is not as intense as a real wood fire, but still adequate.

Wood pellets are "real wood", only it's been compressed into pellets. But I guess you mean "naturally occurring pieces of wood." ;)

I was wondering though, what about getting a few of the pellets wet ahead of time, or else spraying a little water on the pellets once they're going? Would that produce more smoke? I know it works with wood chips; I soak some hickory or apple chips and throw them on top of burning charcoal and get plenty of smoke. So I was wondering if anyone had experimented and found a way to increase the smoke from pellets.

Sprink-Fitter wrote:


Haven't some teams won with FEC100's?

Yes, but not in any numbers worth mentioning.

rexlion wrote:
So I was wondering if anyone had experimented and found a way to increase the smoke from pellets.

Most people who use pellet poopers supplement the smoke with a A-Maze-N tube that also uses pellets but puts out more smoke.

Also, remember that meat will only absorb smoke for about the first three hours of the cook. Any smoke after that only darkens the meat and may add a bitter taste to the food.

My wife and I are Kansas City certified BBQ judges and have been judging competitions for the past 9 year. I have owned a Traeger pellet bbq for 10 years. I do not think there will enough smoke to be a problem with the overhead structure. The pellets a real wood, just compressed. One very fatal flaw for many bbqers is too much smoke. There is enough smoke to create a beautiful smoke ring and great smokey flavor. If you are cooking low and slow no problem with smoke and flavor, there will be plenty. If you are going to try and cook spare ribs or brisket in one to tow hours, not enough smoke and not the correct way to bbq. If you attend the top competitions in the country, there are many top winners cooking on pellet smokers.

Big caution, do not, and I emphasize do not soak the pellets. The pellets will swell in a very short time and will jam the auger. Pellets are available in a variety of woods. If you want more smokey flavor use mesquite, other woods will have less smoke flavor. I personally do not like mesquite but many do. Make sure that you buy food grade pellets and not the type used for heating stoves.

Just my 2 cents,

Stuart

Teamfour wrote:

Sprink-Fitter wrote:


Haven't some teams won with FEC100's?

Yes, but not in any numbers worth mentioning.

I beg to differ...

HomeBBQ has won multiple TOY and GCs with the FEC100.

This one of the winningest(?) BBQs on the market