- Jul 15, 2019
- 3
- 2
I own an Traeger and use it a lot. Mostly Briskets and Ribs. I find that I never achieve (especially with ribs) the same smokey flavor as guys using wood and coals. Also, my never come out as dark as other guys (using same rubs etc).
My thoughts are this: since meat only absorbs smoke for the first 2-3 hrs, its critical to get the most amount of smoke in that time period. I am thinking with the Traeger, (and I am assuming most other pellet grills), the way it functions limits the time period that the meat is subject to smoke. The first phase is heat and fan, which creates the fire. I see little smoke at this point as it burning hotly and efficiently with visible flames. Then the fan goes off, the flames die down, and the pellets are left to smolder for a period (depending on settings) which creates all that visible smoke. Then the fan kicks back on providing more O2, the pellets ignite and burn with flame more cleanly resulting in less smoke being created. This is repeated constantly, and woudl be magnified as desired temp increases (more burning, less smoldering?) so a piece of meat in the grill for 2 hours, is not getting 2 hours of smoke. Maybe its 50/50 but it's not 2 hrs. By contrast, if smoke is being generated by wood pieces smoldering on coals, and the wood is being replaced as needed, the smoke is being generated the entire time, so that same piece of meat would receive 2 hours of smoke in 2 hours. This is my hypothesis.. And maybe explains why I cannot achieve the same smokey flavor that other guys/restaurants achieve.
Thoughts from the experts?
My thoughts are this: since meat only absorbs smoke for the first 2-3 hrs, its critical to get the most amount of smoke in that time period. I am thinking with the Traeger, (and I am assuming most other pellet grills), the way it functions limits the time period that the meat is subject to smoke. The first phase is heat and fan, which creates the fire. I see little smoke at this point as it burning hotly and efficiently with visible flames. Then the fan goes off, the flames die down, and the pellets are left to smolder for a period (depending on settings) which creates all that visible smoke. Then the fan kicks back on providing more O2, the pellets ignite and burn with flame more cleanly resulting in less smoke being created. This is repeated constantly, and woudl be magnified as desired temp increases (more burning, less smoldering?) so a piece of meat in the grill for 2 hours, is not getting 2 hours of smoke. Maybe its 50/50 but it's not 2 hrs. By contrast, if smoke is being generated by wood pieces smoldering on coals, and the wood is being replaced as needed, the smoke is being generated the entire time, so that same piece of meat would receive 2 hours of smoke in 2 hours. This is my hypothesis.. And maybe explains why I cannot achieve the same smokey flavor that other guys/restaurants achieve.
Thoughts from the experts?