How Do I Get More Smoke Out Of My Traeger?

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Upgrade your Traeger today with these easy pellet grill hacks. Including smoker tubes, pellet fuel upgrades and smoker tweaks.

Pellet smokers and grills offer one of the best ways to get an authentically smoky barbecue with the same convenience as propane grills.

The electronic control panel and auger system help fuel the fire continuously, so your grill is never in danger of burning or flaring up. As long as that funnel is full and has power, you’re in business.

If you are still having problems and the amount of smoke your pellet smoker is producing may not be enough.

This isn’t entirely uncommon, and seasoned pellet addicts often find that it doesn’t compare to the amount of smoke they die with their traditional grill, especially when using hardwood logs or soaked wood shavings.

Here are some adjustments and steps you can take to get the smoke out of your pellet grill.

Tip 1: Lower and slower

When you smoke grill, try to step back and slow down. Give that temperature back and see how dying things go. The drop in temperature and the increase in cooking time can contribute to smoke formation.

It’s not a quick fix, but if you want to add a smokier flavor to your meat, this auto smoking hack could be the way to go. This may take some experimentation and trial and error, but with a little persistence you will get there.

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Lower the cooking temperature by about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and see how it goes. This extends the cooking time to 30-45 minutes and helps build more smoke.

If you do this, be aware that this could make your meat prone to dehydration due to the accelerated smoking time. To prevent this from happening, I recommend putting a pan with water in the smokehouse. This will help keep the meat moist.

Tip 2: Replace your wood pellets

A common tenet among most pellet grill manufacturers is that YOU must use your own brand of pellets with the grill.

In my experience this does not need to be followed religiously and I have never had a problem mixing different brands of pellets. However, it’s worth noting that using a different brand of pellets could void your warranty should your pellet smoker grill have any problems.

What can make this brand sustainability frustrating is that some types of pellets just aren’t always up to the task of producing a healthy amount of smoke.

Traeger is one brand that claims only their own brand of pellets can be used with all of their range of pellets, but their pellets can be a bit weak when it comes to smoke and flavor strength.

Don’t be put off by that sustain. Sometimes a small modification is enough to get your grill up and running again.

I recommend hickory or oak. It is possible that the exchange provides an intense and smoky flavor.

Trip 3: Get a grill pipe

If you’re reluctant to try different pellets or experiment with lower temperatures, you can always invest in a pellet smoker tube.

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These devices are pretty much what they sound like and are a pretty inexpensive add-on. Despite this, they are very well built from 304 stainless steel, so they are built to last.

These tubes keep your granules compact. By standing in a compact space, it creates more smoke.

They are not dissimilar to gas grill smoker boxes that are commonly used on propane grills to produce a richer, smokier flavor for propane grills.

The pipe has holes on the sides to allow good airflow while spreading the smoke evenly. The compact design allows the pellets to burn at a higher speed and produce a good amount of smoke for several hours.