These are unfortunately in and out of stock frequently. Here is an alternate product that looks like it will work just as well but I have not tried it personally. amzn.to/3QWX4DT. If anyone else has tried it, please comment on it below. Thanks!
I switched to a pellet smoker to avoid messing with charcoal and wood chunks. To increase smoke flavor I added a tube filled with pellets that lasts about 4 hours. I just recently switched to Bear Mountain bold bbq pellets and there is a dramatic increase in smoke flavor to the point I don’t need the smoke tube. Even with shorter cooks like spare ribs the smoke flavor was great.
This works to a degree, just not as much as I liked. I agree this device takes a little more fiddling than I like since I've been spoiled by pellet grill convenience, but I bet it would add more smoke favor than a smoke tube and/or some wood chunks. For what it's worth, I am also a fan of Bear Mountain.
When I first used my pit boss vertical smoker, I used pit boss pellets and not enough smoke flavor and less smoke ring. Tried bear mountain and made a big difference. More smoke flavor and better smoke ring.
Thanks for doing this. Ive been using the Diamond King smoke box but it doesn't fit between bottom and top grate using Traeger 575 Pro with PMG Grates. I remove the bottom grate and move smoke box in loaf pan to far back corner away from pellet hopper and temp sensor. I finally get that Smoky flavor!
Thank you for this. I bought all the pieces you suggested and can confirm this is a game changer. I have used a stick burner and the flavor is unmatched. I inherited a propane cabinet smoke and that was my primary for a long time. My wife got me a pellet smoker a few years ago for Father’s Day. I pretty much used it like a normal grill because the smoke flavor isn’t comparable until now. I am currently smoking a brisket with post oak and it smells just like a stick burner. I can smell it inside by the pet door. This is a true winner. Also got it on sale for 14.99 so double win.
Ive been using the smoke tube exactly as you dscribed for 5 years. lately I have been looking for more andI belive that you have shone me the way. Good video THANK YOU
I drilled a bunch of hole in my small smoke box made it better but seeing the Weber paraffin wax starter was a good idea to get it started. Lot of helpful tips on here thanks.
I think this was maybe made for people who are much less familiar with smoking on a pellet grill because I think it could have been cut down to maybe 2-3 minutes of relevant content. I typically create an aluminum packet of wood chips and place them over my flame cover but this seems interesting. I'm always down to try to add more smoke flavor. Thanks for sharing
Funny, I tried that exact same method one time with the foil packet and wood chips you are describing! I was only able to get them to smoke if I opened the flame broiler and then laid the packet driectly on top. But then my temps were all over the place. I poked with quite a few air holes but the smoke was so gray and dirty because I could not get a high enough temperature or enough oxygen to the chips it just wasn't working for me. How have your results been doing it?
I definitely don't like the idea of running a mini kamado smoker inside my pellet, but I definitely appreciate the solution. It shows you have a good brain for troubleshooting. I have a new Ironwood 650 and I've ordered some Lumberjack pellets (oak and pecan). I'm hoping that the "supersmoke" mode is sufficient, but if not, I'll definitely try this. I would add a water tray to help the smoke stick
That's a great pellet grill! You can also use a pellet tube smoker if you don't want to mess with charcoal. We made a video about that too: th-cam.com/video/EhHHcDbipXw/w-d-xo.html
Woodwind by camp chef has this built in and it works. But if your having to tend the extra smoke every hour or so you might as well have an offset, or buy the lonestar pellet grill and it's fire and forget
It's a great feature on the Woodwind, and I'm looking forward to hopefully more brands adding a similar feature to new models. I would argue the smokebox is definitely easier than manage than an offset smoker though. The wood chunks are only for smoke flavor, not for temperature control, so there is way less to manage or tend relatively speaking. Thanks for watching!
I would love to have a woodwind but they are 1200 plus, I already have a pit boss so if I can do something along these lines it is definitely more cost effective. (At least till I get the fever for a new smoker!)
This is EXACTLY what I needed to know - thank you! I typically use a pellet tube with wood chips and some pellets, which works but I still don’t think I get as much smoke flavor as I would like!
@@mikepatten4512 - I’ve recently kinda started doing that. I’ve added one of those smoke boxes; I put a couple prices of lit charcoal with a few wood chunks on top of them, do it gives me a lot more smoke. Easy to add more when needed too!
WOW you nailed it. EVERYTHING you said made perfect sense and I appreciate the detail you went into using the charcoal briquets. Have to go and place my order! !! !!!
W hat a great video. I have tried this method in the past but putting chunks on bed if coal in a foil tray. Since i never covered the tray, the wood always caught fire increasing the temperature too high. Least to say, i stopped experimenting but will definitely try this method
Just wanted to say - I won a Brisket off at my office the other day against offset smoker users. They could not tell it was from a Pellet Grill. Thanks for introducing this method friend.
Just received my flip pro smoke box and put it to immediate use. It works fantastic! Now I get the same results as when I use wood chunks on my charcoal grills. Thanks so much! By the way you don't need to put the lid on the box. It's hard to get off when it is hot and it works fine without it.
After being out of stock for months, I just got mine in today! I'm gonna try mine out putting it next to the flame tamer underneath the flame broiler. My thinking is that the fire pot will blow enough flames in to ignite the wood chunks. I'll let ya know how well it works after I smoke my turkeys!
Update to my original comment: So my idea about the placement next to the flame tamer actually worked too well, causing the wood chunks to burn too fast. I smoked 2 turkeys, and the one over the side with the flip smoker cooked much faster. It was up to temp about an hour sooner. Gonna do some more experiments and see what I can learn.
Excellent tutorial. I have a traveler, and it gets descent smoke, but I want more. I saw those smoke tubes, but wasn’t impressed. This isn’t set and forget, but it’s not that labor intensive. I think I’ll try this, thanks.
Love the heavy D diffuser, i recommend 10/10. I put one in each of my pellet grills, but e forced to have to cook at super low temps 150-225 to avoid the sticks igniting though.
Thank you for this demonstration. I wonder what's a good position for the smoke box on a rig that doesn't have a chimney but has exhaust holes in the back? Maybe in the front middle but still away from the temp sensor?
Thanks for the content and suggestion. Mine arrived yesterday and I followed your instructions. What I'm seeing is a ton of "white" smoke coming from this setup.....Had hoped it would calm down a bit and go to a more blue/clear smoke but doesn't seem to be the case. Any thoughts or ideas?? Thanks again!
Needs more heat and also airflow after it ignites. So make sure to get the charcoal nice and hot first and then try propping the lid open on the box a little bit and opening up your exhaust chimney on your pellet grill.
Excellent video. Explains it all, with clear, concise instructions and easy to understand. I’m guessing this will work on any pellet grill like my Traeger?
Thank you! Yes it will. The nice thing about using the smoke box is it just sits at grate level so doesn’t matter what model of pellet grill you are using.
I mean if you are looking for a new pellet grill anyways and price is not an issue for you, get the Woodwind Pro for sure. It doesn't get much easier. If you're trying to recreate better wood smoke with the pellet grill you already have, or with a less expensive model...then this works great too. Thanks for watching!
BGE works great for smoking too but you really have to work to keep the heat down. Once that ceramic absorbs a lot of heat and temp gets away from you, its hard to get it back low without choking out the fire. Try the snake method to keep the amount of lit charcoal to a minimum.
Has anyone tried installing a smoke generator like the smokia smoke generator? Since you can easily adjust the levels of smoke on this device and feed it wood chips without having to touch it for multiple hours depending on the size of the smoke generator you purchase. It seems like it would be the hands free additional smoke that everyone is looking for. Im curious if it would provide quality smoke flavor or if it would be more of a dirty smoke that people try to stay away from?
Good question- So you need something to keep the new wood continuously ignited and smoking. If you just light a batch of wood chunks they will smoke but it will take a while to get them hot enough to where they stay lit once you remove them from the fire. They would then burn down to coals and then you can add fresh wood to that. So while I guess this is possible to do, I think it will be more hassle than it’s worth and the charcoal will be faster and simpler. Thanks!
Nice hack! I think I'm gonna try it. But the form factor is awfully small. What about leaving the lid off so somewhat larger chunks could be used? Would they flame up? If so, do you think that putting a foil tent over it might prevent that?
Sometimes I just rest the lid on top and it still works fine. I can still usually fit three small chunks in there which is plenty. Thanks for watching!
Interesting question, however I don't really see the need in electric since I think you get plenty of smoke flavor from using wood chips already. Plus, I think the charcoal would have a more significant effect on cooking temperature than in the pellet grill just because of so much less airflow/convection.
Have you tried charcoal pellets to start the wood smoking instead of briquets. I have charcoal pellets ,but have not tried them yet in my Pit Boss pellet grill. Briquets are mostly filler.
I wouldn’t say you get true blue smoke. That’s hard to get without an offset smoker with a very hot fire box. But the wood will burn hotter with charcoal like I show and give you a nice smoke flavor compared to pellets alone IMO.
@@madbackyard I like the pellet tube to add smoke, but I’m getting a mild acrid taste. If charcoal + wood chunks adds better smoke, I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
I’ve been using a smoke tube for that extra smoke. I put a mixture of pellets and wood chips. I try my best to get them mixed fairly well. Seems to work pretty good. Might have to give this a try though.
Simply use wood chips in the hopper mixed with pellets. I use a 1/3 chips 2/3 pellets mix. The chips need to be the right size so that the auger doesn't get jammed. Lone Star Grillz recently started selling Oak and Hickory chips for pellet grill use. IMO they make a big difference.
Hi Mike- the ones I saw that just recently came out from Lone Star are the ONLY wood chips I've seen shaved small enough to possibly work in the auger. I have not yet tried them myself though so I can't recommend or comment either way but...I would highly recommend against trying just ANY brand of wood chips in your auger.
@@madbackyard I totally agree. I've look at others but didn't pursue because I wasn't sure they were sized properly to work in a pellet grill. Chris at Lone Star said they were specifically cut for their pellet grills. Even though I don't own an LSG Pellet Grill (I own a Grilla Chimp and a Recteq RT-700), I figured all pellet grill augers are probably similar so I bought 2 boxes. They've worked out great thus far.
LSG wood chips for pellet grills have improved my bark and flavors, but I look forward to trying this Mad Grill method as well. Certainly, it costs less than the chips (which I mix 50/50 with high quality pellets). Further, the chips burn faster and hotter than pellets, which leads to slightly more temperature swings and ash.
@@chapstew2461 for whatever reason, people seek steady temps. But temp swings are actually good for smoke production/flavor and don't compromise the cook at all. Grilla Grills give the option of what they call "Pro" mode and "PID" mode. PID mode yields steady temps. Pro mode yields temp swings, but more smoke. I never cook in PID mode.
@brentavery6997 I don't think I would try that, I don't think it will fit under the flamebroiler/heat diffuser and you wont be abel to access it to add more wood without taking everything out again. And I think the wood would just ignite in flames rather than smoke and smolder and you'd mess too much with your temperature control.
Thank you so much for taking the time and making this video. It was extremely informative and well made. Moreover, I’m going to be ordering the flip box and gloves from your links 😊.
My fiance and i decided to start bbqing as a hobby together. Didnt realize how much the initial cost of buying everything could get. Anyway great video. You just influenced me to buy another bbq product 😂 just placed an order
That is awesome! What a great hobby to do together! Yes, it can be expensive upfront depending on the type of smoker you get but don't feel like you need all the bells and whistles and accessories right away. As you cook more you'll find what you like to make and what you truly end up using the most. Make sure to check out our website for more recipes and how-to guides! madbackyard.com. Our FB group is also a great place to share pics of your food and ask questions. facebook.com/groups/madbackyardbbq/
In a vertical pellet smoker? I imagine you could position it on the bottom rack under a disposable water pan on the rack above to block some of the heat of the charcoal. I haven’t tried it personally though in this type of smoker. Curious if anyone else has.
i use a smoke tube in both my electric smoker and my gas grill, my tube smokes for 4 hours then slowly fades over another 1.5 hours plenty of smoke, check your pellet type if your not getting a good burn, not all pellets that are good in a pellet smoker is good for a pellet tube or box. remember just because they are good one way doesn't mean they are good another its all about the PELLETS and how they are used
I have read from the best BBQ folks I follow that soaking the wood doesn’t really do anything. You get some steam in the beginning that people mistake for smoke. But the wood really can’t get to those hot temperatures and make the good smoke you’re looking for until all that water evaporates. And I don’t think it will absorb that much in an hour anyways. It will all evaporate in a matter of minutes or even seconds if exposed to hot charcoal. So IMO it’s better to just keep it simple and skip this step. Thanks for watching!
I'm in the market for a new smoker. How do you think this compares versus buying a Woodwind Pro with the built in Firebox? It's way less expensive obviously, but is it as effective?
I've seen the Woodwind Pro in action but haven't cooked on it personally yet, so hard for me to give you a fair opinion. However, it looks to achieve the same thing as I'm doing but in a very convenient way. (No charcoal, so no separate heat source to manage, no worrying about smoker box placement and keeping it away from the food and thermometer, just a slider drawer to put your wood chunks in and be on your way). I'll think you'll achieve similar results either way. IMHO: The best grills and smokers are the ones you love using and will use often, and not groan thinking about all the setup you have to do and whether its worth the time and energy. So it's up to you if you think that level of convenience is worth the price. I also predict MANY more pellet grill brands will be offering a model with some variation of this feature in the next season or two, hopefully at lower price points as well, based on the hype generated by the Woodwind this year. Thanks for watching!
Seems to me, pellet grill manufacturers just needs to get an offset smoker and add a pellet hopper on the side of the firebox. It will have the ease of use of pellets with the availability to put whatever chunks of wood you want on the side.
Should be one or the other - If only getting "dirty" smoke the wood needs more oxygen, try propping the lid open a little more or letting the chunks burn a few minutes longer before adding the lid. If they're going up in flames they're getting too much oxygen. Put the lid on sooner after adding the chunks. Don't confuse all white smoke with "dirty" smoke either. White is ok, dark gray or black is dirty and bad. You aren't really going to get thin wispy blue smoke in a smoker box of any kind. Just not enough airflow and no active fire to get temps high enough, but you will do much better with this than a typical wood chip smoker box and more smoke flavor than a pellet tube IMO. Hope that helps, thanks!
@@madbackyard Ah OK, yeah after reading this I think I was just overreacting to white smoke thinking it was dirty. Flame up was not the right choice of words, I didn't actually witness any flare ups I just assumed it was happening. I was getting the thin blue smoke then it was changing to the white smoke and I believe I was just over reacting. Thanks for the reply.
Tried this method, didn’t work for me. Didn’t add any smoke flavor. My grill is the competition series Pitboss and doesn’t have a stack it vents across the whole chamber, been wondering if that’s why it lacks in smoke flavor so much. The smoke has an unobstructed path to just fly out.
Hey Andy- yeah I’m guessing that’s the problem. Same reason it’s hard to get smoke flavor on a gas grill with the back vented like that. Theres no reason it shouldnt work. You could try some hickory or mesquite to get a stronger smoky flavor if you didn’t already. Or try positioning it closer to the meat, smoking longer, or even position the smoke box under the meat by using the top rack so that it has to pass it on its way out.
How many hours would you add chunks to a cook before it would get over smoked. Like, about how many reloads is enough assuming doing 2 chunks at a time. 4 hours?
Hi Mark- it really depends on what meat you are smoking- fish and poultry will absorb a lot more smoke faster so are easier to “over smoke” than beef or pork. Also the type of wood. Hickory, and especially mesquite, give off more distinctive flavors so you don’t usually need as much, all else being equal, compared to fruitwoods or oak. I wish there was an easy answer but you just need to practice with different combinations and figure out what works best for you depending what you are cooking. I would say poultry and fish don’t add more than an hour of smoke until you get used to using it to avoid ruining (maybe salmon being the exception can take more smoke).
@@mdamiano88 Awesome! Glad it's working for you and love the Mando ref! I actually reached out to Camerons about this video and they sent me a new product to try out that I think may work similarly but for longer cooks. Need to do some more testing but stay tuned!
I have a humble suggestion if anyone wants to try it, amaze n makes a pellet maze. If the maze "channels" are wide enough, you could fill the maze with charcoal briquettes, light one end, and put your wood chunks on top of it... Sort of the same idea you would do called the snake method on a regular charcoal grill. I don't own one of these mazes, so i don't know if a standard size charcoal briq would fit, but if anyone does, please let me know
I use to soak wood chips for a hour before smoking, then wrap in foil. I then poked holes in the foil. I think I’m going to try this on my pellet smoker but add hot charcoal in with the foil with the wood. Wish me luck 🫣😝
Yeah let me know how it goes...You could also use a disposable foil pan covered in foil and poked with holes. I find you need quite a bit of oxygen to keep the coals and wood smoking well though so that's why I like this fire box from Camerons because of the number of holes and good airflow.
I use a cast iron loaf pan to do the same thing. Do not use a grocery store loaf pan....they don't have the Temp rating. Dump, wash out with water NO SOAP, spray with PAM to store.
Just bought this. The smoker box is tiny. Tried the smoker exactly as shown here and have never seen smoke last more the 30 mins. Someone should make the box twice as long
I agree it'd be great if it was a little bigger. To be fair though, they didn't design it to do exactly what I'm showing here, but to instead be more like a pellet tube smoker. So you will need to use smaller chunks to fit. Since I first shot this, I've started lighting one briquette on one end and then placing 3-4 more in a line next to it so they ignite slower as a chain reaction and then placing 2-3 small wood chunks in a line on top and throwing some wood chips in around the edges. Seems to last longer than just lighting up everything at once. Still a great way to get more smoke flavor, thanks for watching!
@@madbackyardhow long does this method make it last for you? Have you done a direct comparison of with and without on short and long smokes to taste test the difference?
@@matthewlblair Hey Matthew- no I haven't gotten that scientific with it just yet. I did a whole chicken today using some apple wood and the method I described above with 4 briquets in a line and 3 small chunks of wood on top and got well over an hour of smoke before it went completely out. Even on my BGE I'm adding another chunk every hour to hour and a half or so, (unless they are huge), so I'm pretty happy getting to ignore it for an hour and then at that point only having to throw in another piece of charcoal and chunk of wood, takes about 15 seconds.
Yes, and I imagine many pellet grill manufacturers will soon follow in their footsteps. Can’t always run out an buy the latest new pellet grill to solve a problem unfortunately so I’ve found this to be a great affordable solution for any pellet grill you already own. Thanks for watching!!
Great video and information on products i didn't know existed, but save the trouble and just cook on an AUTO KAMADO! I mean, WHY NOT??? Why even choose a pellet grill over this amazing beast ? ? ? ?
Yeah it looks like they sold out this weekend unfortunately after we posted this video. This is the closest similar one I could find but doesn't have the stand like the Flip Box or as much airflow ➡️ amzn.to/3r24b4X Hopefully they will have more in stock next week, I would keep checking back.
Good product and very informative. But as someone who hoped a pellet grill could replace my drum smoker, the fact that this product exists tells us volumes. If I’m going to muck around with lighting coals and loading chunks, I think I’ll just use the drum
You're not wrong, but there is still a key difference between doing things this way vs. an offset, that being fire management. This will take more effort than strictly pellet smoking, but it will get you closer to offset flavor. However, unlike an offset, this will not have a significant effect on the heat of the cook chamber. An offset will still require regular intervention to maintain the temperature. If these chunks burn out, all you lose is some extra smoke/smoke flavor, but your cook is unchanged. For something with even less effort than this that still makes significant effort to close the gap between offset/drum and pellet grill, check out the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro and Vertical XXL Pro. Both use pellets, but they also have a chamber for wood chunks/chips/charcoal that sits just above the firepot. There is a flue separating the smokebox from the firepot, which is accessed from outside the smoker (via lever). The smokebox also slides out of the smoker on a rail, allowing you to add wood chunks/charcoal without opening the cook chamber.
I have looked at the Heavy D- however I was looking for a more straightforward option. The flip smoke box is 1/10 the price and easier to reload- No need to lift the flame broiler up and disrupt your food to access the wood.
@@MrBudge72 A few people have told me that, they've been pretty popular since we published this video. I've been keeping an eye on them, they seem to come back in stock every few days, I would just check back next week. Thanks for watching!
I have 2 offsets, 1 is a reverse flow, and 6 UDS, and bought my 1st wifi pellet Green mountain grill. Out of them all and if I had to use just 1 for competition or to make my best smoked meats. I prefer the UDS, even over the stick burners because I don't have to put a stick in them once every hour. I think every serious BBQ person should try them all then pick what works for them the best. So far on the pellet the smoke flavor does suck, that is why when I seen this video I clicked on it. 😉
These are unfortunately in and out of stock frequently. Here is an alternate product that looks like it will work just as well but I have not tried it personally. amzn.to/3QWX4DT. If anyone else has tried it, please comment on it below. Thanks!
Thank you again!
I switched to a pellet smoker to avoid messing with charcoal and wood chunks. To increase smoke flavor I added a tube filled with pellets that lasts about 4 hours. I just recently switched to Bear Mountain bold bbq pellets and there is a dramatic increase in smoke flavor to the point I don’t need the smoke tube. Even with shorter cooks like spare ribs the smoke flavor was great.
Bear Mountain pellets are great!
This works to a degree, just not as much as I liked. I agree this device takes a little more fiddling than I like since I've been spoiled by pellet grill convenience, but I bet it would add more smoke favor than a smoke tube and/or some wood chunks. For what it's worth, I am also a fan of Bear Mountain.
When I first used my pit boss vertical smoker, I used pit boss pellets and not enough smoke flavor and less smoke ring. Tried bear mountain and made a big difference. More smoke flavor and better smoke ring.
Try switching the pellets in the smoke tube with wood chips. You get a lot more smoke flavor
@@madbackyard mix wood chips with pellets in the smoke tube, that works well
Your channel is literally now my absolute favorite!! Thank you!!!
Wow, thank you so much! Make sure to also check out our website and newsletter- Madbackyard.com/subscribe
Thanks for doing this. Ive been using the Diamond King smoke box but it doesn't fit between bottom and top grate using Traeger 575 Pro with PMG Grates. I remove the bottom grate and move smoke box in loaf pan to far back corner away from pellet hopper and temp sensor. I finally get that Smoky flavor!
That's great! Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this. I bought all the pieces you suggested and can confirm this is a game changer.
I have used a stick burner and the flavor is unmatched. I inherited a propane cabinet smoke and that was my primary for a long time.
My wife got me a pellet smoker a few years ago for Father’s Day. I pretty much used it like a normal grill because the smoke flavor isn’t comparable until now.
I am currently smoking a brisket with post oak and it smells just like a stick burner. I can smell it inside by the pet door. This is a true winner. Also got it on sale for 14.99 so double win.
Right on, glad its helped!
Thank you!
This box is a game changer! I just started using it with my pellet grill and now I have REAL smoke flavor for the first time!
Glad it helped!👍
Ive been using the smoke tube exactly as you dscribed for 5 years. lately I have been looking for more andI belive that you have shone me the way. Good video THANK YOU
Thank you so much!!
Great video! You understand the science behind smoke better than most of the people doing “Mad scientific” tests with smoke tubes.
Thank you!
This is an excellent idea.I tried the smoking tubes & honestly they didn’t help THAT much. I really like this idea. Thanks for this
Thanks, glad it was helpful!
First trial run worked pretty well (Cameron box w charcoal and wood). Will try again. Great tip!
Glad to hear it, thanks!!
I drilled a bunch of hole in my small smoke box made it better but seeing the Weber paraffin wax starter was a good idea to get it started. Lot of helpful tips on here thanks.
Right on, thanks for watching!
This looks awesome. I will try this. The smoker tube hasn’t gotten me to where I want to be.
I think you'll like it, thanks for watching!
I think this was maybe made for people who are much less familiar with smoking on a pellet grill because I think it could have been cut down to maybe 2-3 minutes of relevant content. I typically create an aluminum packet of wood chips and place them over my flame cover but this seems interesting. I'm always down to try to add more smoke flavor. Thanks for sharing
Funny, I tried that exact same method one time with the foil packet and wood chips you are describing! I was only able to get them to smoke if I opened the flame broiler and then laid the packet driectly on top. But then my temps were all over the place. I poked with quite a few air holes but the smoke was so gray and dirty because I could not get a high enough temperature or enough oxygen to the chips it just wasn't working for me. How have your results been doing it?
I definitely don't like the idea of running a mini kamado smoker inside my pellet, but I definitely appreciate the solution. It shows you have a good brain for troubleshooting. I have a new Ironwood 650 and I've ordered some Lumberjack pellets (oak and pecan). I'm hoping that the "supersmoke" mode is sufficient, but if not, I'll definitely try this. I would add a water tray to help the smoke stick
That's a great pellet grill! You can also use a pellet tube smoker if you don't want to mess with charcoal. We made a video about that too: th-cam.com/video/EhHHcDbipXw/w-d-xo.html
Woodwind by camp chef has this built in and it works. But if your having to tend the extra smoke every hour or so you might as well have an offset, or buy the lonestar pellet grill and it's fire and forget
It's a great feature on the Woodwind, and I'm looking forward to hopefully more brands adding a similar feature to new models. I would argue the smokebox is definitely easier than manage than an offset smoker though. The wood chunks are only for smoke flavor, not for temperature control, so there is way less to manage or tend relatively speaking. Thanks for watching!
I would love to have a woodwind but they are 1200 plus, I already have a pit boss so if I can do something along these lines it is definitely more cost effective. (At least till I get the fever for a new smoker!)
This is EXACTLY what I needed to know - thank you! I typically use a pellet tube with wood chips and some pellets, which works but I still don’t think I get as much smoke flavor as I would like!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching and have a great weekend!
Use two tubes
@@mikepatten4512 - I’ve recently kinda started doing that. I’ve added one of those smoke boxes; I put a couple prices of lit charcoal with a few wood chunks on top of them, do it gives me a lot more smoke. Easy to add more when needed too!
WOW you nailed it. EVERYTHING you said made perfect sense and I appreciate the detail you went into using the charcoal briquets. Have to go and place my order! !! !!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind words!
W hat a great video. I have tried this method in the past but putting chunks on bed if coal in a foil tray. Since i never covered the tray, the wood always caught fire increasing the temperature too high. Least to say, i stopped experimenting but will definitely try this method
This is great!! I stupidly tried using chips in my pellet-very small but still jammed it. Charcoal and wood chunks will add a ton of flavor.
Thanks for watching!
That idea crossed my mind as well. Although, I never ended up doing it.
This is a great technique. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
Just wanted to say - I won a Brisket off at my office the other day against offset smoker users. They could not tell it was from a Pellet Grill. Thanks for introducing this method friend.
Wow! I want to come work at your office, that’s awesome! Glad it helped you get the win! 🏆
That's hilarious. Did you tell them it was a pellet grill cook?
Just received my flip pro smoke box and put it to immediate use. It works fantastic! Now I get the same results as when I use wood chunks on my charcoal grills. Thanks so much! By the way you don't need to put the lid on the box. It's hard to get off when it is hot and it works fine without it.
Right on! Glad it helped, thanks for watching!
After being out of stock for months, I just got mine in today! I'm gonna try mine out putting it next to the flame tamer underneath the flame broiler. My thinking is that the fire pot will blow enough flames in to ignite the wood chunks. I'll let ya know how well it works after I smoke my turkeys!
Where did you order from, I just looked everywhere and I can't find them in stodk
@@markstalzer9152 from his amazon link in the description.
Update to my original comment: So my idea about the placement next to the flame tamer actually worked too well, causing the wood chunks to burn too fast. I smoked 2 turkeys, and the one over the side with the flip smoker cooked much faster. It was up to temp about an hour sooner. Gonna do some more experiments and see what I can learn.
HELLO: Where did you order from, I just looked everywhere and I can't find them in stock
Very cool, idea! Thanks for sharing your results!
Oh men ! I love my Camp Chef Woodwind Pro with the smoke box 📦 it’s definitely a game changer. 🔥 🪵
Nice! Thanks for watching!
Excellent tutorial. I have a traveler, and it gets descent smoke, but I want more. I saw those smoke tubes, but wasn’t impressed. This isn’t set and forget, but it’s not that labor intensive. I think I’ll try this, thanks.
Thanks!
Very thoroughly explained. Have you heard of the smoke daddy heavy D?
Thank you! Yes I have but have not used it myself. Have you? What’s been your experience?
Love the heavy D diffuser, i recommend 10/10. I put one in each of my pellet grills, but e forced to have to cook at super low temps 150-225 to avoid the sticks igniting though.
Have you noticed a change in the bark using this? You should do a video comparison with and without it
Yes, you will get a darker bark with more smoke compounds released. A video is a great idea! 👍
How much difference is there between a smoke tube with pellets and a smoke box with wood chunks?
Great video thanks for making and sharing!
Right on! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for this demonstration. I wonder what's a good position for the smoke box on a rig that doesn't have a chimney but has exhaust holes in the back? Maybe in the front middle but still away from the temp sensor?
Yes that sounds perfect!
Where is the link you mentioned for the fire and smoke science?
It’s at the bottom of the description. Here it is too: www.foodfirefriends.com/smoking-wood-101/
Thanks for the content and suggestion. Mine arrived yesterday and I followed your instructions. What I'm seeing is a ton of "white" smoke coming from this setup.....Had hoped it would calm down a bit and go to a more blue/clear smoke but doesn't seem to be the case. Any thoughts or ideas?? Thanks again!
Needs more heat and also airflow after it ignites. So make sure to get the charcoal nice and hot first and then try propping the lid open on the box a little bit and opening up your exhaust chimney on your pellet grill.
Excellent video. Explains it all, with clear, concise instructions and easy to understand. I’m guessing this will work on any pellet grill like my Traeger?
Thank you! Yes it will. The nice thing about using the smoke box is it just sits at grate level so doesn’t matter what model of pellet grill you are using.
@@madbackyard thanks. I ordered it all
woiuld i need a smoke box if im smoking a brisket at 200 degrees. i have a pitboss pro series 1600
It’s never necessary, but does add nice additional smoke flavor
Hey...were is the link to the smoke temp article you mention. That would be very helpful. thanks
Thanks for catching that! Sorry! Here is the link, I'll add it to the description. www.foodfirefriends.com/smoking-wood-101/
@@madbackyard Thanks...I look forward to reading it. Keep up the good work and happy smoking! 😎👍
I have a vision ceramic grill and I use pellets for smoky flavor
How would you rate this contraption against just using a Woodwind Pro with the built in wood box?
I mean if you are looking for a new pellet grill anyways and price is not an issue for you, get the Woodwind Pro for sure. It doesn't get much easier. If you're trying to recreate better wood smoke with the pellet grill you already have, or with a less expensive model...then this works great too. Thanks for watching!
Would this method work perfectly for cold smoking fish?
I believe it could on a nice cold day with the smoker turned off!
Thanks for a great video. I love my pellet smoker, but do wish for more smoke flavor. I'm gonna try your method out, real soon!!!
Thanks!
uh i have a BGE and a pellet grill and a gas grill. I use chunks on the BGE but never have i cooked anything other than pizza at 700-900 degrees.
BGE works great for smoking too but you really have to work to keep the heat down. Once that ceramic absorbs a lot of heat and temp gets away from you, its hard to get it back low without choking out the fire. Try the snake method to keep the amount of lit charcoal to a minimum.
Has anyone tried installing a smoke generator like the smokia smoke generator? Since you can easily adjust the levels of smoke on this device and feed it wood chips without having to touch it for multiple hours depending on the size of the smoke generator you purchase. It seems like it would be the hands free additional smoke that everyone is looking for. Im curious if it would provide quality smoke flavor or if it would be more of a dirty smoke that people try to stay away from?
What temp would the wood burn without the charcoal briquettes? Would it result in bitter dirty smoke without them?
Good question- So you need something to keep the new wood continuously ignited and smoking. If you just light a batch of wood chunks they will smoke but it will take a while to get them hot enough to where they stay lit once you remove them from the fire. They would then burn down to coals and then you can add fresh wood to that. So while I guess this is possible to do, I think it will be more hassle than it’s worth and the charcoal will be faster and simpler. Thanks!
Nice hack! I think I'm gonna try it. But the form factor is awfully small. What about leaving the lid off so somewhat larger chunks could be used? Would they flame up? If so, do you think that putting a foil tent over it might prevent that?
Sometimes I just rest the lid on top and it still works fine. I can still usually fit three small chunks in there which is plenty. Thanks for watching!
I use mesquite light an then put the smoking wood on. 😊
Can you use the same trick with a electric smoker?
Interesting question, however I don't really see the need in electric since I think you get plenty of smoke flavor from using wood chips already. Plus, I think the charcoal would have a more significant effect on cooking temperature than in the pellet grill just because of so much less airflow/convection.
@@madbackyard Thanks it’s just that the master built smoker has a very small wood box.
Have you tried charcoal pellets to start the wood smoking instead of briquets. I have charcoal pellets ,but have not tried them yet in my Pit Boss pellet grill. Briquets are mostly filler.
I have not tried them in the smoker box itself. You've got me thinking though...🤔 Thanks for watching!
Have used wood chips in the smoker tube
Good video, I ordered 2 of them, Thanks.👍
Thanks!
I'm torn between this and the Stanbroil diffuser with wood chip basket. Does anyone have any experience of the latter?
This was awesome!! Much appreciated!!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing, will definitely give this a try.
Awesome, thanks!
Great tips! Excellent video!
So, with this box it delivers blue smoke and better flavor?
I wouldn’t say you get true blue smoke. That’s hard to get without an offset smoker with a very hot fire box. But the wood will burn hotter with charcoal like I show and give you a nice smoke flavor compared to pellets alone IMO.
@@madbackyard I like the pellet tube to add smoke, but I’m getting a mild acrid taste. If charcoal + wood chunks adds better smoke, I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
I’ve been using a smoke tube for that extra smoke. I put a mixture of pellets and wood chips. I try my best to get them mixed fairly well. Seems to work pretty good. Might have to give this a try though.
Great tip!
Great video. I was hoping there was something better than a smoke tube.
Thanks Donny!
Simply use wood chips in the hopper mixed with pellets. I use a 1/3 chips 2/3 pellets mix. The chips need to be the right size so that the auger doesn't get jammed. Lone Star Grillz recently started selling Oak and Hickory chips for pellet grill use. IMO they make a big difference.
Hi Mike- the ones I saw that just recently came out from Lone Star are the ONLY wood chips I've seen shaved small enough to possibly work in the auger. I have not yet tried them myself though so I can't recommend or comment either way but...I would highly recommend against trying just ANY brand of wood chips in your auger.
@@madbackyard I totally agree. I've look at others but didn't pursue because I wasn't sure they were sized properly to work in a pellet grill. Chris at Lone Star said they were specifically cut for their pellet grills. Even though I don't own an LSG Pellet Grill (I own a Grilla Chimp and a Recteq RT-700), I figured all pellet grill augers are probably similar so I bought 2 boxes. They've worked out great thus far.
Cool, thanks for the feedback on them, I will have to check them out!
LSG wood chips for pellet grills have improved my bark and flavors, but I look forward to trying this Mad Grill method as well. Certainly, it costs less than the chips (which I mix 50/50 with high quality pellets). Further, the chips burn faster and hotter than pellets, which leads to slightly more temperature swings and ash.
@@chapstew2461 for whatever reason, people seek steady temps. But temp swings are actually good for smoke production/flavor and don't compromise the cook at all. Grilla Grills give the option of what they call "Pro" mode and "PID" mode. PID mode yields steady temps. Pro mode yields temp swings, but more smoke. I never cook in PID mode.
EXCELLENT INFORMATION!
Thank you!🙏
Could you place this above the pellet burner with the attached stand?
@brentavery6997 I don't think I would try that, I don't think it will fit under the flamebroiler/heat diffuser and you wont be abel to access it to add more wood without taking everything out again. And I think the wood would just ignite in flames rather than smoke and smolder and you'd mess too much with your temperature control.
Great job, brother. Just found your channel and look forward to checking out some of your older vids as well as new content, so keep em coming.
Awesome, thank you!
Great informative video!!
Thanks Kevin!
Great video!
Thank you! 👍
Thank you so much for taking the time and making this video. It was extremely informative and well made. Moreover, I’m going to be ordering the flip box and gloves from your links 😊.
Wow, I really appreciate that! Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great work! Subscription earned :)
Awesome, thank you!
Great video. I applaud your creative thinking!
Thank you!
My fiance and i decided to start bbqing as a hobby together. Didnt realize how much the initial cost of buying everything could get. Anyway great video. You just influenced me to buy another bbq product 😂 just placed an order
That is awesome! What a great hobby to do together! Yes, it can be expensive upfront depending on the type of smoker you get but don't feel like you need all the bells and whistles and accessories right away. As you cook more you'll find what you like to make and what you truly end up using the most. Make sure to check out our website for more recipes and how-to guides! madbackyard.com. Our FB group is also a great place to share pics of your food and ask questions. facebook.com/groups/madbackyardbbq/
How would you do this in a vertical smoker?
In a vertical pellet smoker? I imagine you could position it on the bottom rack under a disposable water pan on the rack above to block some of the heat of the charcoal. I haven’t tried it personally though in this type of smoker. Curious if anyone else has.
i use a smoke tube in both my electric smoker and my gas grill, my tube smokes for 4 hours then slowly fades over another 1.5 hours plenty of smoke, check your pellet type if your not getting a good burn, not all pellets that are good in a pellet smoker is good for a pellet tube or box. remember just because they are good one way doesn't mean they are good another its all about the PELLETS and how they are used
Great points - what brand of pellets are you having the best success with?
Would soaking the wood chunks in water for at least an hour help make them last longer?
I have read from the best BBQ folks I follow that soaking the wood doesn’t really do anything. You get some steam in the beginning that people mistake for smoke. But the wood really can’t get to those hot temperatures and make the good smoke you’re looking for until all that water evaporates. And I don’t think it will absorb that much in an hour anyways. It will all evaporate in a matter of minutes or even seconds if exposed to hot charcoal. So IMO it’s better to just keep it simple and skip this step. Thanks for watching!
@@madbackyard OK yes that makes sense. Can't wait to try and step up my BBQ game. Thanks!
You’re awesome man! I love you!
I'm in the market for a new smoker. How do you think this compares versus buying a Woodwind Pro with the built in Firebox? It's way less expensive obviously, but is it as effective?
I've seen the Woodwind Pro in action but haven't cooked on it personally yet, so hard for me to give you a fair opinion. However, it looks to achieve the same thing as I'm doing but in a very convenient way. (No charcoal, so no separate heat source to manage, no worrying about smoker box placement and keeping it away from the food and thermometer, just a slider drawer to put your wood chunks in and be on your way). I'll think you'll achieve similar results either way.
IMHO: The best grills and smokers are the ones you love using and will use often, and not groan thinking about all the setup you have to do and whether its worth the time and energy. So it's up to you if you think that level of convenience is worth the price. I also predict MANY more pellet grill brands will be offering a model with some variation of this feature in the next season or two, hopefully at lower price points as well, based on the hype generated by the Woodwind this year.
Thanks for watching!
Seems to me, pellet grill manufacturers just needs to get an offset smoker and add a pellet hopper on the side of the firebox. It will have the ease of use of pellets with the availability to put whatever chunks of wood you want on the side.
With all the buzz around the Woodwind Pro, I imagine we’ll see more hybrids like this in the next couple of years.
So I followed your steps, but I keep getting the chunks to flame up and produce dirty smoke.
I am using B and B briquettes and B and B hickory wood.
Should be one or the other - If only getting "dirty" smoke the wood needs more oxygen, try propping the lid open a little more or letting the chunks burn a few minutes longer before adding the lid. If they're going up in flames they're getting too much oxygen. Put the lid on sooner after adding the chunks. Don't confuse all white smoke with "dirty" smoke either. White is ok, dark gray or black is dirty and bad. You aren't really going to get thin wispy blue smoke in a smoker box of any kind. Just not enough airflow and no active fire to get temps high enough, but you will do much better with this than a typical wood chip smoker box and more smoke flavor than a pellet tube IMO. Hope that helps, thanks!
@@madbackyard Ah OK, yeah after reading this I think I was just overreacting to white smoke thinking it was dirty. Flame up was not the right choice of words, I didn't actually witness any flare ups I just assumed it was happening.
I was getting the thin blue smoke then it was changing to the white smoke and I believe I was just over reacting. Thanks for the reply.
Tried this method, didn’t work for me. Didn’t add any smoke flavor. My grill is the competition series Pitboss and doesn’t have a stack it vents across the whole chamber, been wondering if that’s why it lacks in smoke flavor so much. The smoke has an unobstructed path to just fly out.
Hey Andy- yeah I’m guessing that’s the problem. Same reason it’s hard to get smoke flavor on a gas grill with the back vented like that. Theres no reason it shouldnt work. You could try some hickory or mesquite to get a stronger smoky flavor if you didn’t already. Or try positioning it closer to the meat, smoking longer, or even position the smoke box under the meat by using the top rack so that it has to pass it on its way out.
I don't see the link to food fire friends article you mentioned. Is it the one labeled "Smoking Wood 101 - An Expert Guide to Using Smoking Woods"?
Yes, sorry about that! I have put the link in the description now. Here it is: www.foodfirefriends.com/smoking-wood-101/
Love it Thanks.
Thanks so much!
I have a smoke daddy heavy d diffuser
How many hours would you add chunks to a cook before it would get over smoked. Like, about how many reloads is enough assuming doing 2 chunks at a time. 4 hours?
Hi Mark- it really depends on what meat you are smoking- fish and poultry will absorb a lot more smoke faster so are easier to “over smoke” than beef or pork. Also the type of wood. Hickory, and especially mesquite, give off more distinctive flavors so you don’t usually need as much, all else being equal, compared to fruitwoods or oak. I wish there was an easy answer but you just need to practice with different combinations and figure out what works best for you depending what you are cooking. I would say poultry and fish don’t add more than an hour of smoke until you get used to using it to avoid ruining (maybe salmon being the exception can take more smoke).
@@madbackyardFinally got the box and tried it out…. This is the way!
@@mdamiano88 Awesome! Glad it's working for you and love the Mando ref! I actually reached out to Camerons about this video and they sent me a new product to try out that I think may work similarly but for longer cooks. Need to do some more testing but stay tuned!
@@madbackyard what is the new product from Cameron’s that will last longer? Have you had good results? Thx
I have a humble suggestion if anyone wants to try it, amaze n makes a pellet maze. If the maze "channels" are wide enough, you could fill the maze with charcoal briquettes, light one end, and put your wood chunks on top of it... Sort of the same idea you would do called the snake method on a regular charcoal grill. I don't own one of these mazes, so i don't know if a standard size charcoal briq would fit, but if anyone does, please let me know
Very creative idea! I’ll have to try something like that out on a longer cook.
@@madbackyard please let us know if you do and how it went. If I do it, I'll return here and leave a comment with the results
2 wax cubes is enough for a chimney full of charcoal. 1 would be plenty.
I use to soak wood chips for a hour before smoking, then wrap in foil. I then poked holes in the foil. I think I’m going to try this on my pellet smoker but add hot charcoal in with the foil with the wood. Wish me luck 🫣😝
Yeah let me know how it goes...You could also use a disposable foil pan covered in foil and poked with holes. I find you need quite a bit of oxygen to keep the coals and wood smoking well though so that's why I like this fire box from Camerons because of the number of holes and good airflow.
I use a cast iron loaf pan to do the same thing.
Do not use a grocery store loaf pan....they don't have the Temp rating.
Dump, wash out with water NO SOAP, spray with PAM to store.
Good tip...I'll have to check out the cast iron one. Thanks!
Just bought this. The smoker box is tiny. Tried the smoker exactly as shown here and have never seen smoke last more the 30 mins. Someone should make the box twice as long
I agree it'd be great if it was a little bigger. To be fair though, they didn't design it to do exactly what I'm showing here, but to instead be more like a pellet tube smoker. So you will need to use smaller chunks to fit. Since I first shot this, I've started lighting one briquette on one end and then placing 3-4 more in a line next to it so they ignite slower as a chain reaction and then placing 2-3 small wood chunks in a line on top and throwing some wood chips in around the edges. Seems to last longer than just lighting up everything at once. Still a great way to get more smoke flavor, thanks for watching!
@@madbackyardhow long does this method make it last for you? Have you done a direct comparison of with and without on short and long smokes to taste test the difference?
@@matthewlblair Hey Matthew- no I haven't gotten that scientific with it just yet. I did a whole chicken today using some apple wood and the method I described above with 4 briquets in a line and 3 small chunks of wood on top and got well over an hour of smoke before it went completely out. Even on my BGE I'm adding another chunk every hour to hour and a half or so, (unless they are huge), so I'm pretty happy getting to ignore it for an hour and then at that point only having to throw in another piece of charcoal and chunk of wood, takes about 15 seconds.
Camp Chef already solved this with their WoodWind models last year.
Yes, and I imagine many pellet grill manufacturers will soon follow in their footsteps. Can’t always run out an buy the latest new pellet grill to solve a problem unfortunately so I’ve found this to be a great affordable solution for any pellet grill you already own. Thanks for watching!!
Smoker pellets do matter. Don’t go cheap. Remember pellets are rarely made with premium wood.
As of 9/16/23 -- Ordered the Flip Smoke Box from -- Camerons Products --$19.99
Cool, thanks for the update!!
You’re a Godsend! When Heaven’s Gate opens, you’ll be first in line!
Ha, thank you Clyde! 🙏
Great video and information on products i didn't know existed, but save the trouble and just cook on an AUTO KAMADO! I mean, WHY NOT??? Why even choose a pellet grill over this amazing beast ? ? ? ?
Out of stock everywhere. Is there a comparable product that someone has tried?
This looks the most comparable, if anything even a little bigger and sturdier. But I have not tried this product out personally. amzn.to/3QWX4DT
your smoke box is not available.
Yeah it looks like they sold out this weekend unfortunately after we posted this video. This is the closest similar one I could find but doesn't have the stand like the Flip Box or as much airflow ➡️ amzn.to/3r24b4X Hopefully they will have more in stock next week, I would keep checking back.
This feels just like an Ad. All the amazon links have redirect tokens. Can't really believe anything in videos like this
They are affiliate links, not redirects. The disclaimer is right above them.
Or… get a Campchef woodwind pro.
Flip Pro Smoke Boxes are finally BACK IN STOCK after the MAD dash you guys made on them. 😜 Get one HERE while they last this time! ➡ amzn.to/45rkW8C
Good product and very informative. But as someone who hoped a pellet grill could replace my drum smoker, the fact that this product exists tells us volumes. If I’m going to muck around with lighting coals and loading chunks, I think I’ll just use the drum
You're not wrong, but there is still a key difference between doing things this way vs. an offset, that being fire management. This will take more effort than strictly pellet smoking, but it will get you closer to offset flavor. However, unlike an offset, this will not have a significant effect on the heat of the cook chamber. An offset will still require regular intervention to maintain the temperature. If these chunks burn out, all you lose is some extra smoke/smoke flavor, but your cook is unchanged.
For something with even less effort than this that still makes significant effort to close the gap between offset/drum and pellet grill, check out the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro and Vertical XXL Pro. Both use pellets, but they also have a chamber for wood chunks/chips/charcoal that sits just above the firepot. There is a flue separating the smokebox from the firepot, which is accessed from outside the smoker (via lever). The smokebox also slides out of the smoker on a rail, allowing you to add wood chunks/charcoal without opening the cook chamber.
Why don’t you just use a Heavy D made by Smoke Daddy
I have looked at the Heavy D- however I was looking for a more straightforward option. The flip smoke box is 1/10 the price and easier to reload- No need to lift the flame broiler up and disrupt your food to access the wood.
🔥 CORRECTION: Use a regular sized loaf pan, NOT Mini.
Currently unavailable
@@MrBudge72 A few people have told me that, they've been pretty popular since we published this video. I've been keeping an eye on them, they seem to come back in stock every few days, I would just check back next week. Thanks for watching!
@@madbackyardstill nothing
@@MrBudge72 Back in stock!
@@tlwayman Back in stock!
Nope
Its called a gravity smoker chud muffin.
Thanks I’ll have to check out that model.
Just get a damn stick burner already 🤦🏼
Pitt Boss lol
Just buy a stick burner and make real bbq.
FACTS!....I was just about to comment this😂😂😂😂.. Ain't nothing like my Lang 60 reverse flow smoker.. I pull off top notch bbq every time on it🔥🔥
The great thing about BBQ is that there's something for everyone out there. Thanks for watching!
As someone who lives in an apartment, I can not own a stick burner. But, my Woodwind Pro is the next best option. I love it.
@@jdubb0113it's called personal preference clown 😂😂🤡🤡
I have 2 offsets, 1 is a reverse flow, and 6 UDS, and bought my 1st wifi pellet Green mountain grill. Out of them all and if I had to use just 1 for competition or to make my best smoked meats. I prefer the UDS, even over the stick burners because I don't have to put a stick in them once every hour. I think every serious BBQ person should try them all then pick what works for them the best. So far on the pellet the smoke flavor does suck, that is why when I seen this video I clicked on it. 😉