Do pellet smokers produce enough smoke?

 

The main reason a pellet grill doesn't give off as much smoky flavor as other types of grills, such as offset grills, is because it doesn't produce as much smoke.

• This is because the grill works with indirect heat rather than the direct heat that other grills provide. Many chefs increase the temperature of the grill to increase the smoke. The funny thing is, with a pellet grill, increasing the temperature will produce less smoke, not more.
• It is also found in the construction of most pellet smokers where a fan is used to push the smoke into the chamber, but this causes the smoke to pass too quickly through the meat.
• Often times, the drip tray can prevent smoke from reaching the meat.
• Another reason is that the granules produce a less smoky flavor than hardwood because they contain sawdust and pieces of wood that are then glued together with a filling such as cornstarch. Most smokers will agree that it is not the same as whole pieces of natural wood.

Pellet type is important and I'll get into that, but the pellet smoker you choose also matters because some outweigh some of the construction drawbacks of this type of smoker.