How To Get More Smoke From a Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker?

There are many dishes you can serve your guests at a party. Meals with a smoky taste are a favorite of many people. The best thing is that making such food is a breeze with a smoker.

You may have a Pit Boss smoker, but it may not be giving the best smoky taste. If you're thinking about its solution, you're in the right place. Here we will discuss how to get more smoke from a pit boss vertical pellet smoker. 

How To Get More Smoke From Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker

There are techniques and strategies that can help you optimize smoke production in your Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker. We will explore various factors that influence smoke generation, from pellet selection to temperature control and airflow management. 

By understanding and implementing these tips, you'll be able to unlock the full potential of your smoker, resulting in more flavorful and tantalizing barbecue creations. So, let's dive in and discover how you can elevate your smoking game by harnessing the power of smoke in your Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker.

Use The Smoke Setting

Many people believe that a smoker can give a smoky taste in all settings. That is not entirely true. If you don't turn on the smoke option, the flavor of your dish will be lightly smoky. 

The setting's main purpose is to infuse a high smoke flavor into your dish. This is especially useful when you're cooking slowly. You will also have to make sure of the right heating value when using this option.

When you are cooking a meal in the smoke setting, its temperature must be 180 to 210F. Below this value, your food will not cook properly. Meanwhile, there is a risk of burning if you exceed the maximum heating range.

Get Good Pellets

Pellets or wooden chips are always added to a smoker's hopper to serve as fuel. They will burn during cooking, and make sure your smoker does not turn off. The best thing is that there are specific pellets for adding a high smoky taste.

Apple pellets offer a mild smoky taste to your dish. You can enhance the taste by using oak chips. This is why you should try different pellets to find the right one for your meals.

Another thing you should ensure is that the pellet should be of high quality. If you don't get this right, the chips will burn out quickly, and you will not be able to cook properly. It will also reduce the need to refill your hopper often.

You must also make sure the pellets are dry before using them. Wet chips do not burn for long, and they may also harm your auger. Combustion will also not take place properly, which means wet pellets are useless.

Cook At A Low Heat Value

Many people like to cook their meals faster by using high heat. Some recipes may also require keeping the temperature at the maximum value. This may be good for saving time, but it is not if you want to add a good smoky taste to your meal.

Cooking at low temperatures cause your Pit Boss to produce more smoke. So you can impart a better flavor to your food without making many changes. It is advised to use a heating range of 225 to 250F for most meals.

This value is high enough to kill microbes that may develop in your food. It will also add a robust smoky taste to your meat, such as steak. The only disadvantage of low heat is that it may cause your meal to become dry at times.

You can avoid this issue by adding water to your pan or a broth injection to meat cuts such as briskets.

Use Cold Meat

Various recipes and people may tell you to let your meat and poultry reach room temperature before cooking. However, this is not the best idea if you want a high smoke flavor. Cold meat causes your vertical pellet smoker to produce more smoke.

Raw cold meat has more iron, and it takes longer for particles to bond within the cut. This means that the meat can produce a better smoke ring that will infuse a rich taste. You should also remember that meat stops absorbing smoke once it reaches an external temperature of 140F.

A meat cut at room temperature reaches 140F more easily than cold meat. This is why it always has a less smoky taste.

Do Not Use High Salt

The food that you are cooking on your smoker also has an impact on the smoke taste. If you apply pastes with high salt or acids to your meat, it will prevent the smoker from making an excellent ring. This will compromise the taste of your dish.

Avoid rubbing your meat with vinegar or lemon juice. The main reason behind such things reducing the smoky taste is that they affect the bonding of particles within the meat.

Removing excess fat from the meat will also help you produce the best smoke ring. This is because nitric oxide can enter the meat faster and impart a good taste before the meat stops absorbing smoke.

Avoid Wrapping Your Meat

Some dishes require you to wrap your meat in aluminum foil to reach the maximum internal temperature at the end of cooking. Most brisket recipes tell you to take this step. The bad news is that this will reduce the smoky taste.

Wrapping in a foil will allow the heat to retain and raise the meat's temperature. However, it also blocks smoke from reaching the food. This is because no smoke ring will be present around the meat.

If you want food with high smoke, you should not place it on the smoker after wrapping. Let your food reach the maximum heat value without any wrapping. A good alternative to this is using a smoker box for cooking.

This box has extra pellets inside that will offer more fuel to your vertical smoker. It will also cause the grill to give off more smoke so that your meal has a better taste.

Also Read: Pit Boss Temp Lower Than Setting: 6 Reasons + Fixes

Final Words

These are the top things you can do to get more smoke from your Pit Boss smoker. The best thing that will help you is using the smoke option. Cooking the food at low heat and slowly will also help you add a greater smoky taste.

Focusing on the pellets is also helpful because some chips are designed to burn for a long time and give a better smoke ring. You can get this factor right by experimenting with different pellets until you find the best one.