Help with pro 780

[Slimpicker]

Ok traeger told me that but I’m so used to using wood and charcoal my brain is having a hard time believing it. Thank you for getting me off the ledge!

Well Traeger even warns new buyers about LOW SMOKE...

https://www.traegergrills.com/support/not-enough-smoke

NOT ENOUGH SMOKE

A lot of people, when they think of a smoker, think of a grill billowing thick white smoke. This is not the type of smoke we want to produce.
Traeger Wood Pellet Grills produce a superior thin blue smoke that provides a cleaner, smoker flavor. Often, the smoke is so thin it only appears as heat waves coming off the grill. However, it is there. You will be able to see the smoke rings on your meat and taste the difference

 

[mausdesign]

I learned early on in my first smoke on the Pro 780 yesterday that to get visible smoke, leave it on 165-180 for a number of hours. Don't expect visible smoke above those temps, as pellets burn cleanly at the higher temps. Not enough point is being made about this from what I'm reading from Traeger. Once you are smoked to your desired amount, then crank it up to the cooking temp to cook or crisp as expected (notice the smoke almost immediately stops as it goes above 180 degrees). I wasn't too thrilled to see the lack of smoke, given I'm used to seeing MASSIVE amounts of it when using smoker boxes on my Weber grill. Other than this, I love the features of set/forget as well as direct WiFi control in the app.

Here's from my first smoke yesterday of both St Louis and boneless ribs: five hours at 175, then one hour at 220, then one at 230, then last of eight hours at 240. Nice smoke absorption with the Signature Pellets, but prefer the heavier Mesquite and maybe bourbon pellets next time. Only used a simple 50/50 organic garlic salt coating.

 

[Timmy]

I learned early on in my first smoke on the Pro 780 yesterday that to get visible smoke, leave it on 165-180 for a number of hours. Don't expect visible smoke above those temps, as pellets burn cleanly at the higher temps. Not enough point is being made about this from what I'm reading from Traeger. Once you are smoked to your desired amount, then crank it up to the cooking temp to cook or crisp as expected (notice the smoke almost immediately stops as it goes above 180 degrees). I wasn't too thrilled to see the lack of smoke, given I'm used to seeing MASSIVE amounts of it when using smoker boxes on my Weber grill. Other than this, I love the features of set/forget as well as direct WiFi control in the app.

Here's from my first smoke yesterday of both St Louis and boneless ribs: five hours at 175, then one hour at 220, then one at 230, then last of eight hours at 240. Nice smoke absorption with the Signature Pellets, but prefer the heavier Mesquite and maybe bourbon pellets next time. Only used a simple 50/50 organic garlic salt coating.

You can always add a smoke tube for more smokey flavor.

 

[mausdesign]

You can always add a smoke tube for more smokey flavor.

I might try one of the smoker boxes I have for the Weber placed on top of the burner box plate. Hopefully that's hot enough to smoulder without blazing up or raising temp too much. It's just disappointing that I have to do this to compensate for what the best smoker in the business isn't doing.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I might try one of the smoker boxes I have for the Weber placed on top of the burner box plate. Hopefully that's hot enough to smoulder without blazing up or raising temp too much. It's just disappointing that I have to do this to compensate for what the best smoker in the business isn't doing.

I really don't think of my 780 as a "smoker". My son-in-law has an Oklahoma Joe or whatever they're called from Lowes. That's a smoker. Different tools for different jobs and results.

I tend to think of the Traeger as a wood fired cooker that will never compete (nor was it meant to) against smokers burning chunks, logs chips, etc.

I saw a very interesting video on Mad Scientist BBQ the other day and he looked at the moisture content (by weight) of pellets and they were very dry compared to un-processed wood, which is why you will never get the volume of smoke from a pellet.