Bought my dad a Grilla Silverback last year based on recommendations here. Have been impressed so far, but the pellets that came with it don't generate a ton of smoke. There was a thread about best smoking pellets but I can't find it.

What are the best pellets for generating good smoke? My folks have asked me to smoke a turkey on it Thanksgiving.

Buy a smoke tube. My experience is about 3"/hr so a 15" will yield app 5 hr of extra smoke. Well worth it IMO

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=15+in+smoke+tube&i=lawngarden&crid=9S8GDRMVN77R&sprefix=15+in+smoke+tube%2Clawngarden%2C102&ref=nb_sb_noss

Shuping pellets are my preferred for the closest smell and flavor to a stick burner. They make lots of ash to clean up but the aroma and flavor in the meat is worth it IMO

https://texasfoodsdirect.com/products/shuping-texas-beef-blend-smoker-grilling-pellets

Make sure you are in Pro mode instead of PID mode

Grilla user here.

1) as another said, make sure it's in Pro Mode.

2) I really like Bear Mountain Pellets. Good variety, and good smoke.

3) Put your meat on the grill cold, and make sure it has good moisture on the outside to start. That seems to make an appreciable difference in my smoke ring.

4) Don't judge your smoke by appearance. It can often be much lighter and wispier out of a pellet. That being said, I can still get a killer smoke ring and good deep flavor. So, I only judge my smoke output by how much flavor and color I see in the meat, not by what I see coming out of the grill.

Also- I've got the OG Grilla- the round one. In my opinion, it is a much better smoker than the Silverbacks. The Silverbacks are better at grilling, though both can do both.

I used to do smoke tubes, fans, upgraded controllers, all sorts of stuff on my Pitt Boss to try and get a good smoke. The Grilla OG is a dynamite smoker right out of the box.

Cupo…., I see you say to put your meat on cold. So do you let sit in the fridge and put it on or let it get close to room temp before putting it on?
TIA my friend!

Much obliged for the tip and link. What flavors are your favorite?

Texas beef is my preferred blend.

Much obliged.

Lumberjack & Bear Mountain are my favorite pellet brands

I've had decent luck with Knotty Wood adding a small smoker box to my grill and burning chunks. See in photo below.

Incidentally, I recently heard smoke flavor is a function of lignite in the wood. Lignite levels are what impart that flavor (according to my resource?) and most pellets get a lot of the lignite processed out of them during the manufacture and drying process.

Come to find out, pecan shells have a ton of lignite too. Gonna try these soon:

https://smokinpecan.com/products/pecan-shell-pellets

They don't require nearly the drying process of wood so lignite levels remain very high in these. Hoping they're a secret weapon.

Check out Smoke Trail's video on them. They produced near indistinguishable results side by side a common backyard offset.

Gunny456 said:

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Cupo…., I see you say to put your meat on cold. So do you let sit in the fridge and put it on or let it get close to room temp before putting it on?
TIA my friend!

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I go straight from fridge onto a cold lit smoker. Cold-cold.

I will trim and season it beforehand, then back in the fridge. I turn the pellet grill on and set the temp. It usually dumps a little bit of white dirty smoke on startup, but as soon as the smoke starts running clean, I put the brisket on. The grill temp is usually 75-100 at that point. I let the brisket gently warm up with the grill. I smoke at 225-250.

I can't remember where, but I read somewhere that a brisket will absorb more smoke if it's cold. I have no idea about the science behind it. But I can tell you, when I put 'em on cold there is a more pronounced ring and a deeper flavor. I never used to do this with stick burners. But pellet grills put out great smoke as they are heating up, so why not take advantage of it?

I love the idea of these pecan shell pellets. I am going to pick up a box, and mix them into my Bear Mountain next time. Maybe 50/50, or 25/75, and see what happens.

Thank you very much. Going to try your advice. Again, much obliged!

cupofjoe04 said:

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I love the idea of these pecan shell pellets. I am going to pick up a box, and mix them into my Bear Mountain next time. Maybe 50/50, or 25/75, and see what happens.

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Yeah I thought about that. I think I may run 100% the first go just to see if I can prove the theory. The pellets are expensive but not THAT expensive. I may end up mixing eventually but I want to prove it out first.

cupofjoe04 said:

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4) Don't judge your smoke by appearance. It can often be much lighter and wispier out of a pellet. That being said, I can still get a killer smoke ring and good deep flavor. So, I only judge my smoke output by how much flavor and color I see in the meat, not by what I see coming out of the grill.

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This. See my username - it's the thin, clean, "blue" smoke that gives you that great bark and flavor, not the smoke you can see. Admittedly I use an egg, but all the white, billowy smoke you get when first lit isn't what you want. You want those translucent vapors coming out of the top - like you see on stretch of highway during the summer.

Blue vs white smoke

Thanks fellas. Appreciate the pellet recs. Pecan pellets look interesting too.

DiskoTroop said:

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cupofjoe04 said:

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I love the idea of these pecan shell pellets. I am going to pick up a box, and mix them into my Bear Mountain next time. Maybe 50/50, or 25/75, and see what happens.

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Yeah I thought about that. I think I may run 100% the first go just to see if I can prove the theory. The pellets are expensive but not THAT expensive. I may end up mixing eventually but I want to prove it out first.

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I would love to hear a report when you do. I think that's a great idea to give it a try full bore the first shot, just to see what it does. Can always back off later.

Or, maybe instead of mixing them, I'll just dump the pecan shell pellets in the bottom, with normal pellets to follow. Enough to get me 6-8 hours of good smoke. After that point I'm not sure how much more smoke/flavor is absorbed. Maybe finishing out with normal pellets & BTU's.

I recently got the OG as well and love it. This will be my first Thanksgiving doing a turkey on it and not an offset.
Anything I need to know or be aware of beforehand?
I'm probably going to use Franklin's Thanksgiving video as a guide and keep it really similar to how I did it on the offset.

Hehateme1 said:

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Buy a smoke tube. My experience is about 3"/hr so a 15" will yield app 5 hr of extra smoke. Well worth it IMO

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=15+in+smoke+tube&i=lawngarden&crid=9S8GDRMVN77R&sprefix=15+in+smoke+tube%2Clawngarden%2C102&ref=nb_sb_noss

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I bought a smoke tube the other day and have not used it yet. I hear they just dump out a bunch of dirty smoke that doesn't put out a good flavor and I'm reluctant to use it. I assume this can be mitigated with only using it for 3 hours or so?

I have used a smoke tube filled with the same pellet I'm cooking with. Using a Traeger Ironwood 650. I have tried Weber and Traeger pellets with/without a smoke tube on various meats. With the smoke tube definitely has a better flavor. Just my opinion.

ETA: I use it for the full cook.

Gunny456 said:

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I have used a smoke tube filled with the same pellet I'm cooking with. Using a Traeger Ironwood 650. I have tried Weber and Traeger pellets with/without a smoke tube on various meats. With the smoke tube definitely has a better flavor. Just my opinion.

ETA: I use it for the full cook.

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Good to know. I might pop mine in for 5 hours and see if there's a big difference.

Let us know what you think.

The main PIA for me is getting the pellets lit to smoke. It's says to light one end and leave it flame for 10 minutes before blowing the flame out. I have done that and had the pellets not catch and smoke.
My remedy is I light them with a small portable propane torch and get down at least an inch or so in the pellets.

Gunny456 said:

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The main PIA for me is getting the pellets lit to smoke. It's says to light one end and leave it flame for 10 minutes before blowing the flame out. I have done that and had the pellets not catch and smoke.
My remedy is I light them with a small portable propane torch and get down at least an inch or so in the pellets.

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Was gonna pick up a black and decker heat gun. Seems those work well enough and don't require fuel.

Noted though.

I also use a smoke tube and it makes a difference in a good way. I have a Green Mountain Peak Stainless. I use Bear Mountain Oak Wood Pellets.

I also use Knotty Wood Plum Wood Pellets & Knotty Wood Almond Wood Pellets, and CookinPellets Hickory, Cherry, Maple and Apple Blend Wood Pellets.

Anyone running a yoder? Where's the best place to position these tubes?

Good info!