Where's the smoke ring?

[GrillMeister]

I've had my Ironwood 885 for almost a year and love the way it cooks, but I must say, I am extremely disappointed by the lack of smoke rings on my briskets.

Take a look at this one. I even had a smoker tube in there in addition to SuperSmoke on till I wrapped it 8 hours later. I know the Ironwood's have issues with the door leaking smoke and I'm leaning to this as the culprit. Thoughts anyone before I reach out to Traeger Support?

 

[RustyJake]

I got a bit of a smoke ring in mine. Definitely not a pronounced smoke presence in the flavor. This was with Traeger mequite pellets and a smoke tube extended to 6 hours. I only used super smoke for a couple of hours. Next time i would increase that time

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[jp9724]

Nice lookin brisket otherwise! I get a really good smoke ring on my IW885. I've also sealed the door and do my best to do a few hours at 165F with super smoke to try and amp up the smoke flavor, maybe that is what gets me a good ring...

 

[GrillMeister]

Nice lookin brisket otherwise! I get a really good smoke ring on my IW885. I've also sealed the door and do my best to do a few hours at 165F with super smoke to try and amp up the smoke flavor, maybe that is what gets me a good ring...

Yeah, I think I will need to seal the door. Ridiculous on a $1,500 grill.

 

[jp9724]

Yeah, I think I will need to seal the door. Ridiculous on a $1,500 grill.

Agreed. even more money up here after the exchange and shipping

 

[JonO]

According to Aaron Franklin (who I tend to believe on this topic) the smoke ring is not indicative of quality and they really don't strive for it at Franklin BBQ. If you are really after a smoke ring, keep your brisket in the fridge as long as possible before cooking.

 

[Coug86]

I've had my Ironwood 885 for almost a year and love the way it cooks, but I must say, I am extremely disappointed by the lack of smoke rings on my briskets.

Take a look at this one. I even had a smoker tube in there in addition to SuperSmoke on till I wrapped it 8 hours later. I know the Ironwood's have issues with the door leaking smoke and I'm leaning to this as the culprit. Thoughts anyone before I reach out to Traeger Support?

View attachment 1508

That looks extremely succulent.

 

[Coug86]

Yeah, I think I will need to seal the door. Ridiculous on a $1,500 grill.

Have not done a Brisket yet on my 885, but have had no issues generating smoke rings on other cooks. Here is a photo of some baby backs from last weekend. I do use and always have used a smoke tube on my rib cooks. Could make the difference.

 

[JonO]

Nice lookin brisket otherwise! I get a really good smoke ring on my IW885. I've also sealed the door and do my best to do a few hours at 165F with super smoke to try and amp up the smoke flavor, maybe that is what gets me a good ring...

I do agree that the leaky door is ridiculous (mine leaks too). I just wouldn't worry about getting a smoke ring. If it tastes good, its tender and it has good texture, what more do you really want?

 

[Gary]

I used this on my lid and all the leaks are gone.
Also I use Camp Chef pellets. I like the flavor and I get a decent ring. IMHO!!

 

[jombolo]

I used the lava rock weather stripping sold on amazon to seal the door on my Pro 780. I’m not mad at my smoke rings.

 

[dsmero]

I also lavalock'd my door for this reason. I start most of my cooks without bringing the meat to room temp and start 200 or less with super smoke for a bit before switching to a higher cooking temp. Like some of the others, I picked up an extendable smoke tube and plan to use it on longer cooks like briskets and pork butts. Oak, Mesquite and Hickory woods should produce the most smoke.

 

[NuggsFan]

My brisket had a smoke ring ... 575 - no tube ... I would not say it’s a lot, but it is there