Yes, Charcoal Pellets give your food a charcoal flavor. Not much smoke, but definitely some charcoal flavorNew to the pellets. Just used my new tray for the first time on a couple butts this weekend and loved it. It was so nice not having to feed the mes chip tray every 30 minutes. I was hoping the sale would be extended so I can get some more pellets. How are the specialty favors. Do the charcoal pellets give meat flavor like charcoal on a grill? Also curious about the garlic spice. We love garlic so I want to try it but not sure what to use it on. Thoughts?