Hogan
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2023
- Messages
- 157
- Media
- 49
- Reaction score
- 200
- Location
- Calgary, AB
- Grill
- Pro 22 (factory cover, welder's blanket for winter cooks), Weber Genesis, lots of temp probes and various other gizmos, thingamajigs, and a beer cooler.
In anticipation of some larger BBQ parties this summer and fall, I got serious about getting a smoke tube to work, something I have failed at repeatedly in the past. Spent one day last week trying a few suggestions I found on the Traeger, Pit Boss and Weber Forums as well as cruisin’ the web and seeing what the usual suspects had to say. Here’s what I have found works for me and my eight inch hexagonal tubes. (Brand name is irrelevant - they’re all the same.)
First, ensure both your pellets and wood chips are dry. (Measurements are approximate) Start by dropping in 3/4” of pellets. Tap the tube down to get them to settle. Then add 3/4” of chips, tamp down to settle and pack. Repeat alternating the two fuels, tamping after each addition until you are about 1 1/2 - 2 “ from the top, Then add a few more pellets and a small piece of Fire Starter. (Stretch out the Fire Starter so that it covers the top of the pellets.) Stand the tube up vertically on a fire-safe surface in a sheltered spot. Light the Fire Starter or fire up your torch. Once you have a steady flame, add a few more small pellets and let `er burn for about 10’. If it is still burning or starting to smoke, lay it down in your smoker. I lay mine on the upper small grate of my Pro-22, over a long strip of foil to catch ashes, and prop the closed end up on a 2” wood block so the open end is lower. (see photo) I figure the embers stand a better chance of staying alive if they are heating more pellets above than below.
First battle test: An eight pound rack of Beef Ribs. After 6+ hours cook, the smoke tube was still smokin’ away when I pulled and wrapped the Beef Ribs. After a 2 hr rest, wrapped on the counter, I cut and served them.
There was a subtle but obvious taste of smoke in there, certainly not overpowering but noticeably stronger than with just the pellet smoke from the Traeger.
If you are smoking something in the fifteen to twenty pound range like a big brisket or butt, you may want to use two smoke tubes.
According to Meathead et al the protein only absorbs smoke flavour in the first couple of hours when the protein is cooler. So I see no sense in frantically repacking a burnt-out tube for another burn. The 8” tubes I have last 4-6 hrs; that should probably be enough.
First, ensure both your pellets and wood chips are dry. (Measurements are approximate) Start by dropping in 3/4” of pellets. Tap the tube down to get them to settle. Then add 3/4” of chips, tamp down to settle and pack. Repeat alternating the two fuels, tamping after each addition until you are about 1 1/2 - 2 “ from the top, Then add a few more pellets and a small piece of Fire Starter. (Stretch out the Fire Starter so that it covers the top of the pellets.) Stand the tube up vertically on a fire-safe surface in a sheltered spot. Light the Fire Starter or fire up your torch. Once you have a steady flame, add a few more small pellets and let `er burn for about 10’. If it is still burning or starting to smoke, lay it down in your smoker. I lay mine on the upper small grate of my Pro-22, over a long strip of foil to catch ashes, and prop the closed end up on a 2” wood block so the open end is lower. (see photo) I figure the embers stand a better chance of staying alive if they are heating more pellets above than below.
First battle test: An eight pound rack of Beef Ribs. After 6+ hours cook, the smoke tube was still smokin’ away when I pulled and wrapped the Beef Ribs. After a 2 hr rest, wrapped on the counter, I cut and served them.
There was a subtle but obvious taste of smoke in there, certainly not overpowering but noticeably stronger than with just the pellet smoke from the Traeger.
If you are smoking something in the fifteen to twenty pound range like a big brisket or butt, you may want to use two smoke tubes.
According to Meathead et al the protein only absorbs smoke flavour in the first couple of hours when the protein is cooler. So I see no sense in frantically repacking a burnt-out tube for another burn. The 8” tubes I have last 4-6 hrs; that should probably be enough.
