Nothing can beat the ease of use and low maintenance offered by a pellet grill. To become a better pitmaster, it is always good to experiment with unique ways of barbecuing at parties using your grill. I can say you can add the smoke tube to the pellet grill to make it happen.

It will increase the taste of your grilled food, is simple to follow, and is popular as well. Even though it is a popular method, still most people do not know How To Use A Smoke Tube In A Pellet Grill. After reading this guide you can easily use a smoke tube in a pellet grill by following my instructions.

What Is A Smoker Tube?

A smoke tube is a device that attaches to the side of a grill and allows you to smoke food while grilling. It is created to work with pellet, electric, or charcoal grills that comes in various shapes and sizes.

You can add the wooden pellets in your smoke tube to give smoky taste to the meat or whatever you cook.

After feeding the pellets in the smoker tube and burning, you are all set to perform barbecuing. The smoke tube lets you smoke food without having to monitor the heat at which your barbecue is cooking regularly. It is beneficial if you want to cook large quantities of meat or fish at one time.

what is a smoker tube

How Does A Smoke Tube Work?

A smoke tube is an integral part of a smoker. It is designed to produce smoke and add flavor to your food. Many home smokers use a cheap, simple-to-use model that you can purchase from your local hardware store. You can go for the latest models with built-in materials like copper or stainless steel.

The smoke tube is connected to the heat source, causing the food to cook on its own. It will help cook faster than if no smoke was present. All you have to do is place your food in the smoker, turn on the heat source and close the lid.

Different types of smokers are available today, but they all work in the same way: by using hot air or steam for cooking your food in an enclosed chamber. The difference between them comes from their size and shape, how fast they work, and how much space they take up when cooking different foods.

YouTube video

Pros

  • Simple, easy to use, and clean
  • It does not need any power to operate (great for camping)
  • You can adjust the smoke tube length for different smoking needs and tasks (i.e., longer for grilling)
  • Fits in most standard grills, and smokers.

Cons

  • It does not function well in breezy condition if you are barbecuing outdoor
  • You will need time to get comfortable using it.

How To Use A Smoke Tube On A Pellet Grill?

Following steps will help you use a smoke tube on your pellet grill:

Step 1: Preheat The Pellet Grill

Preheat your pellet grill to ensure enough heat inside the unit, so the wood pellets can burn properly. Start by adjusting the temperature settings on your grill according to the desired temperature setting.

You should also check whether or not your grill has an oven thermometer attached to it. If you want to know how much time it will take for the pellets to burn completely.

Step 2: Feed Wood Pellets In The Smoke Tube

adding wood pellets into smoker tube

Place wood pellets in the smoke tube and lighten up the smoke. You can do this by flicking the switch on your pellet grill to “on” or using a lighter to get the pellets lit inside the tube.

Once you have lit up your pellets, close the smoker’s lid, wait about ten minutes for them to burn down, and then start smoking food. 

Step 3: Lighten The Smoke Tube

Once you have filled up space inside your smoke tube with wood pellets, it is time to lighten up the inside of it so that it can start burning.

You will want to lighten up the inside so that there are no air pockets left behind once everything has been burned out entirely throughout all sides of your tube.

lightning the smoker tube

Step 4: Allow The Pellets Inside The Tube To Burn

igniting-smoker-tube-for-cooking-1igniting-smoker-tube-for-cooking-1

After you have lit your pellets, let them burn for about 10 minutes before inserting them into the smoker’s chamber.

Place the food item on top of the grill and allow it to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes before checking on its progress.

Step 5: Start Smoking Food

Smoking food gives it a distinct flavor to the food and makes it taste wonderful. The process is very similar to grilling, but instead of cooking your food directly on top of the hot coals, you will place them into an insulated smoker box and let them cook through naturally.

Step 6: Check Your Food

Once your food is cooked and ready to be eaten, you can remove it from the smoker box and place it on a plate or cutting board. If necessary, use a knife or other utensil to cut off any excess fat that may have accumulated between the meat and its skin or bone.

Now that your food has been removed from the smoker box, let it cool for about five minutes before eating it. 

checking-food-after-every-4-to-5-minute

Where To Place Smoke Tube In Pellet Grill?

The placement of a smoke tube in your pellet grill is an important decision as it affects how much heat and smoke you get out of your smoker. You can place the smoke tube in the center or the sides of your grill. Some prefer placing it on their grill’s left or right side.

How To Use A Smoke Tube In A Pellet Grill

The placement of the smoke tube should be based on where you want to smoke your food. If you want to cook fish, you must place the smoke tube on the left side of your grill. If you are cooking ribs, you must place the smoke tube on the right side of your grill.

Wood Pellets vs Wood Chips: What Should Be A Better Option For Smoke Tube

Wood pellets are made from sawdust and resins. The sawdust is compressed into small pellets, and the resins are added to give the pellets a more consistent moisture content and better burn characteristics. Besides, the resins help prevent pests like ants and termites from eating through the pellets.

Wood Pellets vs Wood Chips

You can use wood chips as an alternative to wood pellets if you want something that burns hotter, lasts longer, or does not produce ash.

Wood chips are made from small logs cut into smaller pieces and dried in a kiln or oven. Due to their versatility, you can use them in smokers, grills, or other food preparation equipment.

The key benefit of using wood pellets over wood chips is that they produce less ash than burned wood chips. It makes them easier to clean out of your smoker and leaves less residue behind.

On the other hand, wood chips have less moisture than wood pellets. So, they do not require high temperatures to cook food inside your smoker. In the end, it all depends on your preferences.

People Also Ask

It typically depends on the length of the smoke tube you are using. A large smoke tube can hold more pellets than a smaller one. On average, a 12″ smoke tube with a huge capacity of holding wood pellets can produce smoke for up to 5 hours.

Yes, you can feed both wooden pellets or chips in the smoker tube without any issue. You can use a smoker tube to produce smoky flavor with a pellet, electric, charcoal, or gas grill for hot smoking. Moreover, you can even use it to cold-smoke nuts, vegetables, fish, cheese, or meat.

To stop the smoke tube, you must separate the unburned pellets from the burning pellets. I suggest you use an old teaspoon for this purpose. Be patient because burning pellets will smoke for some time but run out of smoke after a while.

At the End

I hope you can easily use a smoke tube anywhere with the help of my smoke tube instructions. Adding a smoke tube to your pellet grill is simple as you have to feed pellets in it, then light the pellets, and place it right in the grill.

Moreover, you can try different tube lengths to find an appropriate length that works best for your cooking style.

[acf field=”searchlink”]

Sandra Delores

Hello, BBQ enthusiasts! I’m Sandra Delores, the Content Manager behind BBQ Buck. My journey into the world of barbecue began in my family's backyard, where the scent of smoked meats and the warmth of the grill became my favorite kind of celebration. Today, I’m thrilled to channel my passion for all things grilled and smoked into curating the finest content for our community at bbqbuck.com.

With a keen eye for detail and a palate for perfection, my role involves meticulously auditing every piece of content that makes its way onto our platform.

Similar Posts