No smoke

[ehark55]

I just bought a Traeger Renegade and I must say I am disappointed. I cannot get this thing to smoke. It comes to temperature nicely and maintains it very well but it does not produce much smoke. I only get a brief puff of smoke every 15 to 20 minutes but nothing to really get a smoke flavor. I get almost no smoke ring on anything I smoke. I did wings the other day and they cooked nicely but with no smoke, no smoke ring, and were just as pale skinned as when they went in.
What am I doing wrong here? I have tried several different pellets but am not satisfied at all.
I do not want to give up on this pellet smoker but I am certainly not happy with the result.
Please help.

 

[schlotz]

Let's get some more info so somebody might be able to help. What grate temp are you setting it for? Have you verified the grate temp with a calibrated third party reporting thermometer vs relying on the built-in thermometer? What brand of pellets are you using? Outside of chicken wings, what other proteins have you tried and what temps were they smoked at?

 

[ehark55]

Wings at 350, baby backs at 250, chuck roast 275.
Traeger special blend, Traeger hickory, Royal Oak charcoal pellets.
I would not know how to get a calibrated third party reporting thermometer.
Thanking you, Matt, ahead of time for your help!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Pellet grills are better grills than they are smokers. The fire is constantly forged with forced air making them burn very clean and efficient. This becomes a problem generally for pellet grills making smoke. Some have a “smoke” setting down on the low end and others just start temp somewhere around 150-180. Try running the grill on its lowest setting for an hour or so, this will produce the best smoke it can make. Then after an hour there turn it on up to where you want to finish the cook. This will help a little in gaining smoke flavor. Otherwise invest in a smoke tube and run it inside CC while cooking.

 

[schlotz]

There are lots of third party reporting therm options. Mine are from ThermoWorks. If you are going to continue smoking I'd recommend getting one. The higher the temp a pellet smoker is run, the less amount of smoke. Many recommend starting at 170-200º for the maximum amount of smoke for the first hour or so before bumping up to higher temps. Cool, moist protein absorbs smoke. As far as pellets, there are a number of manufacturers but after going thru most them I've found Lumberjack which is 100% hard wood to be the best.

All of this leads ultimately to personal preference when it comes to how smoky one likes their meat, and those that want a bunch usually end up using stick burners. You can augment your Traeger by also using a smoker tube or tray with pellets for added smoke. Personally I chose my pellet grill because we still like to be able to still taste the protein while building up the flavor profile with rubs, spices and of course smoke.

 

[bigfurmn]

Bear Mountain has good pellets that give good smoke. I've read that the Traeger pellets is an oil of some sort out get the flavor instead of through smoke. I don't recall the exact discussion it was in but read it on here a while back.