I did something like this with my pellet smoker .... I did pellets and busted up charcoal briquettes. Turned out really well ... I'll have to give this a try for sure!!!
That's a cool idea. I can see people jamming up their Traegers trying to replicate this with wood chips from their chippers. I'd imagine the chips would have to be screened to the perfect size because big chunks or saw dust would cause problems
I can't vouch for other pellet grills. I'm sure certain ramps and augers could cause issues. LSG is selling specially sized out chips just for this technique. I'm sold on it though. Can't wait to try this on a brisket.
GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! I found this way really is the best. I do this with my electric smoker. Hickory pellets and apple chips sometimes pecan chips. Then I get my barbecue up to 700f for my sear. I also cook to 125f and find that the best rare for me. This works with any beef cut to be honest. Just take your time on the smoke and keep it low. The lower the longer therefore more smoke. lol well done.
I find this very interesting. I mix wood chips with pellets in a smoke tube, once I even did chips only, but I have to sort through the chips and pick out the big pieces. Also, I have to pack the mixture into the tube with a steel rod because the chips won't settle. I am definitely going to pursue this. You didn't mention anything about the flavor of the meat, which would be the only advantage to doing this blend. Thanks.
There was a definite difference in the smoky flavor, but the big test will be a low n slow cook. This video (for me) was to test how well the cooker ran with the chips. I'm pretty confident that there won't be any feeding issues in my LSG, using these sized out chips.
Ever since i bought my first pellet smoker about 3 years ago, I always used Pitboss Competition pellets. It smells really good when burning. One day when they were out of Competition blend i settled for Classic blend. I was very surprised with the outcome. The meat came out with that beautiful reddish color and had a much better smoke flavor. I’ve never went back to Competition blend. I would highly recommend you try it. It will save you time and money. Thats a win/win in my book. Cheers!!
Remember, these chips were cut and sized specifically for this technique. But, as I said in the video, I can't guarantee that this will work in any other brand of cooker.
I made your bean recipe last night for a bbq today. I tried it fresh out of the smoker and it was so good I had to stop myself from getting a third serving
Were Im from thats Santa Maria Style Tri tip Bbq over here in the central coast of California. We cook it over Red Oak. We serve it with piquinto beans, salad, salsa, and garlic butter french bread. We always cut it against the grain. Thank you for your great content.
Hey Dash. Even though I'm leaving and selling everything, I had to try this. I ordered the chips from LSG (expensive). I plan to try this with brisket as my last bbq experience here.
I have been waiting for some videos on using the chips ever since they teased a video using the chips a month or so ago. The open center auger design of the LSG pellet grill is what really makes this possible. This will create issues in almost all other pellet cookers (I know your not vouching for using in anything but the LSG). I ordered my LSG 20x42 pellet grill at the beginning of February, and it is finally shipping tomorrow. Thanks for putting out some content on it. Look forward to seeing the real test, low and slow. My first task will be trying to get it out of the shipping crate ⚒️
FWIW: The old Traeger Texas (BBQ075) also has an unrestricted auger at the hopper, b/c the wide barrel needed the extra BTU's. The smaller grills (Little Tex: BBQ070) have the restrictor. I bet this would work there as well.
I can tell you right now it won't work on a pit boss lockheart had to replace my whole auger system because of wood chips And the reverse sear will it work on my green mountain grill Daniel Boone because there is no flame port Sure I can crank it to 500 but without a flame is it really a sear
Pellets for these grills are specifically designed to have super low 1-4% moisture content. The reason for this is because with more moisture the auger can clog up, causing the motor to burn out, auger to seize, and overall caking of the burner assembly. I cannot speak for these wood chips but I can only assume they have at least 10%+ moisture content (great for smoking) but bad for these kinds of grills. Best to just use what is designed and enjoy what it can do. Or use minimally invasive methods like the Smoke Daddy Heavy D burner plate, which allows some thick wood to be burnt without clogging the burner assembly.
I was thinking of adding the heavy d to my pellet smoker. But I already have the smoke daddy cold smoke attached to my grill. It does a decent job of adding more smoke to the grill. I also have the benefit of smoking stuff without adding heating it up. Like cheeses and stuff.
One thing to keep in mind is that most wood pellets are a blend of 40-60% oak, which in my opinion waters down the flavor profile. Fortunately however if you look around you can find 100% hickory, cherry, apple and mesquite pellets for a slight premium (but still cheaper than whole wood chunks/chips).
Oak is one of the best and most used smoking woods, even in pellet form. Most wood fired pizza joints use oak and in Texas is almost unheard of to smoke meats with anything but oak, and they have some of the best bbq in the country/world
I love this idea for shorter closely monitored cooks. But having experienced an auger fire with smoke billowing out of the hopper, id be reluctant to do a cook that needed the hopper filled more than a quarter of the way.
Were you using an LSG Pellet Smoker? The way the auger is designed, there is a drop off from where the auger is and the actual burn pot. The chance of burn back is pretty non existent.
@@BallisticBBQ sorry brother, I was replying to the guy above your reply. Unless you have a hopper/auger design that allows the drop off of the pellets, there could be serious issues with those center chamber firepots with those long augers.
You’re such a rebel, Greg! Wood chips in a pellet pooper! I really appreciated your explanation at the beginning about how processed pellets are and why they don taste quite like actual wood. The meat looked great too.
Interesting idea, but I am curious about how the wood chips effect the overall burn and if it leaves more residue (ash & burned wood pieces) to fill up your fire pot, especially on a long cook..
@@6AM_YT So, they're shipping them 20 lbs in a box. My new video will go up Sunday and is very detailed, answering all of the questions I received. I did beef short ribs, which took 5 hours, but I'm running the pit for three more, so I have an 8-hour burn. The ribs were excellent, just like off of a stick burner. I show the chips, and they're not like the ones you get off of the shelf, so if you want to try this I'd go with their chips.
This is really interesting. When I was still using my pellet smoker I always used the Lumber Jack Hickory/Charcoal blend pellets mixed 40/60 with all other pellets. For example if I wanted to smoke something with cherry I would use 40% of that Hickory/Charcoal blend and 60% cherry pellets. I felt that charcoal blend pellet was the only thing that got you close to the flavor you get with a side by side. This looks like an even better solution.
This is intriguing! I use smoke tubes in my Traeger because I am nowhere near satisfied with the smoke flavor. I still wonder if these wood chips would jam the auger.
Not a sales pitch, but the chips LSG are selling are small and thick. Since they've passed the test, I would go with them if you're going to try this in your Traeger.
So there is a trick I will try to make it work, soak the chips for some times in the water them dry them a little. You can use them in the burning box itself. Soaking the chips will give them longer burning hours. This is a tip the bedouin of Saudi Arabia has been using for ages to keep the wood burning for longer
@@ahmedbinsaleh7895 if you don't have a pellet smoker with an offset firepot and a deeper drop off into the firepot, I would not even try it...and you should certainly not try running straight WET wood chips in the hopper in ANY pellet smoker!
I inadvertently got some smoking wood chips mixed into my pellet hopper for my pellet grill. It resulted in a 2 hour disassembly of the pellet auger and drive system. Clogged incredibly bad. Maybe my bad luck?
I looked at this company in Conroe that makes the pellet cookers and they start at $ 2,600 and go up to over $ 3,000. I'm glad I got a Pit Boss 1150 from Lowe's for $ 600.00, on sale with $400+ off during black Friday sale.
If you make another wood chip pellet grill video, I'd like to see what the burn pot looks like after the cook. And we didn't see how the chips burned up in the burn pot.
That is a incredibly beautiful piece of beef. Chips with pellets is interesting. Been placing wood chunks near burner pot for 8 yrs. Helps with smoke taste but pain to mess with.
Wow Greg! - As you said - this could be a game-changer! My first smoker - the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro is finally coming (in Canada) in July - Can't wait. Although it has "the smoke box" I think this is a great alternative for any pellet smoker, and I'm certainly willing to try it. - Cheers!
That's cool I've always been a stick burner ,cook I also have a pellet smoker for them.relaxing days I'm definitely going to try that with the chips on my smoker!!
I think the design of this cooker is perfect for those chips. I’ve used them in my LSG also now and they really make a difference. The hopper and auger design are perfect and it fed with zero issues.
You can buy Lumberjack 100% hickory pellets for example that are the same as hickory chips, in other words exactly the same wood. I'd rather mix pellets than chips and avoid a potential jam in the middle of my cook.
Lumberjack pellets are one of a few that ARE made with living trees so contain all of the flavoring compounds found in chips or chunks. When people use them for the first time they notice how much better the flavor is which is why adding chips will make a noticeable difference if using a brand of pellets that use filler woods or flavoring oils.
Got my chips and the auger couldn't handle it. It groaned and was feeding the chips but was under a lot of strain then the auger let go and bit the dust. I've had the grill 8 yrs so it doesn't owe me anything. I'll get a new motor and be up and running in no time.
Yes .. small hand full of pellets, then chips... each time alternating. Then I light the pellets. I found this gives the chip flavor but a longer pellet burn.
I will try this on my YS640S. The short auger on the Lone Star like the Yoder I believe it would work. Wouldn't try it on one with a central firebox(pit boss, GMG, traeger).
I light some wood chunks with a torch get them going in a cast iron frying pan, move the water pan up and put it on the protector sitting above the fire box in my pit boss copperhead series 5, makes the world of difference. I wouldn't do it in a horizontal smoker, but for a pit boss vertical pellet smoker it works damn good.
A brand named Chigger Creek sold @ Ace Hardware is a fine cut chip that "might" be in the same realm of concept as this. Have not tried, but eager to give it a shot.
This is a great idea to get more smoke flavor on your pellet cooks. Chris, if you're reading the comments, I'd love to try this on a LSG pellet BBQ (hint hint)
Thanks for this Greg. Hopefully I just saved 900 bucks on a Masterbuilt gravity series. I’m going to try a small mixture for my woodwind pellet grill. I’ll probably work my way up to 50-50 once I see that they flow through the auger. Take care, fellow, SD’er,mac.
I also have a woodwind pellet. Please let us know how it works out. I am very interested in this as I tend to burn wood chips in a box on the grate and it’s a pain in the ass to have to keep checking and adding more all the time.
Makes sense there’s a difference in flavour profile - the process of pelletising involves high pressure, generates heat, and you can smell it happening so you must lose some aromatics.
I might try this. I have a Yoder and bought a little rack that goes next to the burn pit. I put a wood chunk on it and it smolders causing more smoke. Never tried wood chips. A comparison video would be nice.
Smouldering wood is not the same as cooking with the lit wood. Smouldering wood for too long is nothing but dirty smoke. The wood needs to actually ignite at some point to get you closer to that stick burner quality.
I just ordered my first pellet (Recteq 380 Bullseye), and was leery about the whole smoke thing. This video gives me great ideas, and I will be looking into doing the same thing. Thoughts...? Also, the website for the beef looks great too. So many of the online butchers are soo much more expensive than what I can get locally. Great video and tips...
Have you tried this on your 380 yet? I've got the same smoker, am worried I'd destroy it lol. I'm interested in the charcoal pellets but haven't bought any yet
Another great video! Are the pellets you used BBQr's Delight Brand which they sell/advocate on LSG's site or are they a one off LSG has been experimenting with to use with the wood chips? If it is BBQr's Delight since you said it was a hickory oak blend then I assume it's their Hickory Pellet which I understand is 2/3 Oak with 1/3 flavor wood, in this case hickory. I've always wanted to try combining wood chips with pellets but never wanted to go against manufacturers recommendations. It's great to see LSG leading the way in this area. I'll be upgrading soon from my big box pellet smoker to either a Pitts & Spitts or LSG. Though I've pretty much settled on the LSG (for a variety of reasons such as their ceramic hot air ignition, easy access burn pot, open auger design etc), which you obviously well know! Keep up the great content!
This is crazy Greg, I was just wondering if this would work last week, no way, very cool, I'm scared it would jam the auger though, I might try it who knows.
Maybe I've missed it but you did talk how Argentinien know there beef but I didn't hear what effect the smoke had on the beef as this is a pellet smoker that is known for its low smoke profile.
Where we live, you have to go pretty far to get split hardwood. We don’t have a natural source close by. This is a option worth looking into. This is valuable! Thanks!
Amazing video and ideas all around. I just saw this cut yesterday in the store (for the first time). I can't wait to try it. Sorry to be off topic, but the music is really good (starting around 7:46 mark). I am new to the channel. Is it your own music? I am not in the music biz and not looking to start any trouble if its not your own - just thought I would comment how good it is. And you keep the volume of the music LOW while many others mix the music level too high. Well done!
I've done a couple picana. Not a fan. Just simply not much marbling in them. For this style of cook fat cap on tri tip is far superior. Score the fat for better rendering and allows for better seasoning penetration. Cut any fat, silver skin off the meat side. I like steak seasoning on it. Run pellet grill @180°, flipping half way through until 135° internal. Sear 2 minutes a side and let rest 15 minutes. It rivals a good ribeye. And leftovers keep good flavor next day. Marbling is insane.
Victory 35 BBQGuys, stock, oob (out-of-box). tried this before ever watching this video (1 yr ago). Immediate failure with the auger displaying ERR. Out came the tools and had to disassemble the unit to clear the jam. Let us also consider the undue wear on the auger drive motor, plastic bushing, electrical circuits, etc. To empty the hooper on this unit is a pain and all this did require a ShopVAC. This unit is nearly identical to the PITBOSS. Known issues exist with the auger drive motor just sitting on the mtg plate and connected to the auger shaft. What a mechanical design failure that led up to a complete auger driver motor failure just 11 months later. FYI
TRY THIS! Set your pellet grill to the lowest smoke, which keeps the temps very steady (on high smoke, your temps will vary by like 40 degrees). Then use a pellet tube for the smoke flavor. I stumbled upon this setup a few years ago and I swear by it now. Not only do you use less pellets, but you get more smoke flavor. (FYI, the type of pellets you use for the grill doesn't matter, all the flavor will come from what you use in the pellet tube.) BTW, I love picanha. After trying it, I no longer want rib eye or filet.
I got a bunch of cherry wood was thinking about mixing pellets with chain saw dust. Will try it out when I'm ready to buy a new pellet grill or find a used one I can. Don't want to be with out a pellet grill so easy to set and forget with the phone app. Great video
Thank you for watching. Yeah, if you have doubts, then I probably would suggest not trying this. A key would be how close the end of the auger shoot is from the burn pot. I'm wrapping up a long cook using this technique as I type here. The video will post Sunday and answers a lot of the questions I received.
Could you do like a bunch of comparisons on how it actually performs vs like other grills, how it compares to cooking on a stick burner, just pellets vs this 50/50 blend, etc.. It would be nice to know if it is really worth doing this or if there is really that much of difference between not doing it. Thanks
@@BallisticBBQ thanks, I think it would definitely make some great content. Might also help out a bunch of people looking for better cooks on their pellet grills. Maybe eventually doing this can become more adopted. Thanks for your great videos
I’m willing to try this. I have been very disappointed in the smoke flavor (lack of) using my Traeger Ironwood 885. I had a Masterbuilt wood chip smoker that I loved but it got damaged in a tornado and I had to purchase a smoker really quickly because I was cooking for a large group. The masterbuilt was unavailable in the time frame and the Traeger was the best choice I had (for size).
I constantly have others saying I should "move up" to a pellet smoker. I still prefer the primitive off set rig. You can't beat real wood and I don't have many friends who say they aren't gonna make it when I do ribs or a butt.
The wood chips used in this video were from Lone Star Grillz lonestargrillz.com/collections/accessories/products/wood-chips.
This was a Great one Greg! Cant believe someone else hasn't done this. Trying this tomorrow on Dino Ribs. Respect Brother!
@@wfodavid Lemme' know how it works out. Remember, I'm only guaranteeing that this will work on the LSG with their chips.
Stand by for the wood chip videos all over youtube now!
I did something like this with my pellet smoker .... I did pellets and busted up charcoal briquettes. Turned out really well ... I'll have to give this a try for sure!!!
They have charcoal pellets, don't know if they are any good, but maybe worth a try
That's a cool idea. I can see people jamming up their Traegers trying to replicate this with wood chips from their chippers. I'd imagine the chips would have to be screened to the perfect size because big chunks or saw dust would cause problems
I can't vouch for other pellet grills. I'm sure certain ramps and augers could cause issues. LSG is selling specially sized out chips just for this technique. I'm sold on it though. Can't wait to try this on a brisket.
What if I ran wood chips through a blender to make them smaller?
@@mikepotapa5773 These chips are pretty uniform in size. They average about 1/2" square and 1/8" thick.
@@BallisticBBQ Anyone try this on their traeger yet?
Or the Pit Boss?
That looks awesome! Very cool that you can add wood chips👍😊
Thanks for checking it out Bobbi!
GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!
I found this way really is the best. I do this with my electric smoker. Hickory pellets and apple chips sometimes pecan chips. Then I get my barbecue up to 700f for my sear. I also cook to 125f and find that the best rare for me. This works with any beef cut to be honest. Just take your time on the smoke and keep it low. The lower the longer therefore more smoke.
lol well done.
Any cut of beef? I'd like to see you take a brisket to 125 and sear it off. Hope you have sharp teeth and enjoy lots of unrenderd fat.
Wow! That's one of the best things I have ever seen! I watch a lot of cooking! Very cool! Amazing job! Very impressive!
Thanks for watching!
I find this very interesting. I mix wood chips with pellets in a smoke tube, once I even did chips only, but I have to sort through the chips and pick out the big pieces. Also, I have to pack the mixture into the tube with a steel rod because the chips won't settle. I am definitely going to pursue this. You didn't mention anything about the flavor of the meat, which would be the only advantage to doing this blend. Thanks.
I too have been doing the chips pellets in a tube for years. I think it works great. Only thing I use chips for.
@@derekreed8366 do you sort out the big pieces? Some are so big they'll barely fit in the tube. Some brands are worse than others.
@David I usually layer in. Handful pellets, handful chips. I don't really sort them. Pretty lucky I guess. But I always end and light on pellets.
There was a definite difference in the smoky flavor, but the big test will be a low n slow cook. This video (for me) was to test how well the cooker ran with the chips. I'm pretty confident that there won't be any feeding issues in my LSG, using these sized out chips.
@@BallisticBBQ I just ordered a box. Thanks again.
Ever since i bought my first pellet smoker about 3 years ago, I always used Pitboss Competition pellets. It smells really good when burning. One day when they were out of Competition blend i settled for Classic blend. I was very surprised with the outcome. The meat came out with that beautiful reddish color and had a much better smoke flavor. I’ve never went back to Competition blend. I would highly recommend you try it. It will save you time and money. Thats a win/win in my book. Cheers!!
Remember, these chips were cut and sized specifically for this technique. But, as I said in the video, I can't guarantee that this will work in any other brand of cooker.
Do you think I could do this in my Traeger? Thanks!
I made your bean recipe last night for a bbq today. I tried it fresh out of the smoker and it was so good I had to stop myself from getting a third serving
Thank you! Yeah... Those beans should be illegal!
The color on that meat! Perfect cook brother!
Were Im from thats Santa Maria Style Tri tip Bbq over here in the central coast of California. We cook it over Red Oak. We serve it with piquinto beans, salad, salsa, and garlic butter french bread. We always cut it against the grain. Thank you for your great content.
I like the ease and convenience of my pellet smoker, but LOVE the flavor of a stick smoker! This would be next to perfect for me! Thanks Greg!
Thanks for watching Dave!
That picanha turned out great! Thanks for the upload!
Thanks for checking it out!
Looking forward to seeing your long cook results soon! Thanks for sharing.
Hey Dash. Even though I'm leaving and selling everything, I had to try this. I ordered the chips from LSG (expensive). I plan to try this with brisket as my last bbq experience here.
Cheers, Dash!
Guga, Angel, and Leo will love you for this, Greg!
Long video, but very interesting Greg!
Very interesting. I need to try this with my Pitboss
Hey brother, did you try this with your Pitboss. Do you have a side or center fire box? What were the results?
@@aviator1352 I haven’t tried them yet. I have a 700 classic and a pro series 850.
@@SGB_72 That's cool, Just wondering if this would even work on a center fire box like my AustinXL.
I still use your yellow tail. Chardonnay wine, sea salt and brown sugar recipe. I've became the neighbors favorite. Thank you!
An old WWII Navy vet taught me that recipe. Thanks for the comment Earl!
I have been waiting for some videos on using the chips ever since they teased a video using the chips a month or so ago. The open center auger design of the LSG pellet grill is what really makes this possible. This will create issues in almost all other pellet cookers (I know your not vouching for using in anything but the LSG). I ordered my LSG 20x42 pellet grill at the beginning of February, and it is finally shipping tomorrow. Thanks for putting out some content on it. Look forward to seeing the real test, low and slow. My first task will be trying to get it out of the shipping crate ⚒️
FWIW: The old Traeger Texas (BBQ075) also has an unrestricted auger at the hopper, b/c the wide barrel needed the extra BTU's. The smaller grills (Little Tex: BBQ070) have the restrictor. I bet this would work there as well.
Waiting to see if this will work on an affordable grill.
I can tell you right now it won't work on a pit boss lockheart had to replace my whole auger system because of wood chips
And the reverse sear will it work on my green mountain grill Daniel Boone because there is no flame port
Sure I can crank it to 500 but without a flame is it really a sear
Just save up and enjoy what you’ve earned
It worked on my charcoal burning $40 Grill from Family Dollar
Pellets for these grills are specifically designed to have super low 1-4% moisture content. The reason for this is because with more moisture the auger can clog up, causing the motor to burn out, auger to seize, and overall caking of the burner assembly. I cannot speak for these wood chips but I can only assume they have at least 10%+ moisture content (great for smoking) but bad for these kinds of grills. Best to just use what is designed and enjoy what it can do. Or use minimally invasive methods like the Smoke Daddy Heavy D burner plate, which allows some thick wood to be burnt without clogging the burner assembly.
I was thinking of adding the heavy d to my pellet smoker. But I already have the smoke daddy cold smoke attached to my grill. It does a decent job of adding more smoke to the grill. I also have the benefit of smoking stuff without adding heating it up. Like cheeses and stuff.
One thing to keep in mind is that most wood pellets are a blend of 40-60% oak, which in my opinion waters down the flavor profile. Fortunately however if you look around you can find 100% hickory, cherry, apple and mesquite pellets for a slight premium (but still cheaper than whole wood chunks/chips).
Alder is usually the base for pellets, oak burns to hot. Same for wood fired pizza ovens the preferred wood is alder
@@rodneywestbrook8324not true at all
Oak is one of the best and most used smoking woods, even in pellet form. Most wood fired pizza joints use oak and in Texas is almost unheard of to smoke meats with anything but oak, and they have some of the best bbq in the country/world
I love this idea for shorter closely monitored cooks. But having experienced an auger fire with smoke billowing out of the hopper, id be reluctant to do a cook that needed the hopper filled more than a quarter of the way.
This isn't for every pellet grill, and these chips are cut specifically with this method in mind.
Were you using an LSG Pellet Smoker? The way the auger is designed, there is a drop off from where the auger is and the actual burn pot. The chance of burn back is pretty non existent.
@@javar2r3ra Yes, Rob. I'm using an LSG.
@@BallisticBBQ sorry brother, I was replying to the guy above your reply. Unless you have a hopper/auger design that allows the drop off of the pellets, there could be serious issues with those center chamber firepots with those long augers.
@@javar2r3ra No worries, brother. I should have noticed that you were talking to Daniel!
You’re such a rebel, Greg! Wood chips in a pellet pooper!
I really appreciated your explanation at the beginning about how processed pellets are and why they don taste quite like actual wood.
The meat looked great too.
A fantastic looking picanha. It turned out great. Cheers, Greg! 👍🏻👍🏻✌️
I'm very nervous about trying this. I'll wait for more videos.
More to come James. Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting idea, but I am curious about how the wood chips effect the overall burn and if it leaves more residue (ash & burned wood pieces) to fill up your fire pot, especially on a long cook..
Great question Gerry. I'll be checking out how my firebox/chamber looks tomorrow.
@@BallisticBBQ How was the chamber?
@@6AM_YT It was clean. I'm shooting a video right now of a longer cook. I'll show the chamber and the burn pot at the end of the cook.
@@BallisticBBQ I’m thinking about ordering a bag.
@@6AM_YT So, they're shipping them 20 lbs in a box. My new video will go up Sunday and is very detailed, answering all of the questions I received. I did beef short ribs, which took 5 hours, but I'm running the pit for three more, so I have an 8-hour burn. The ribs were excellent, just like off of a stick burner. I show the chips, and they're not like the ones you get off of the shelf, so if you want to try this I'd go with their chips.
Chasing the trail of smoke and flavor.
This is really interesting. When I was still using my pellet smoker I always used the Lumber Jack Hickory/Charcoal blend pellets mixed 40/60 with all other pellets. For example if I wanted to smoke something with cherry I would use 40% of that Hickory/Charcoal blend and 60% cherry pellets. I felt that charcoal blend pellet was the only thing that got you close to the flavor you get with a side by side. This looks like an even better solution.
This is intriguing! I use smoke tubes in my Traeger because I am nowhere near satisfied with the smoke flavor. I still wonder if these wood chips would jam the auger.
Not a sales pitch, but the chips LSG are selling are small and thick. Since they've passed the test, I would go with them if you're going to try this in your Traeger.
So there is a trick I will try to make it work, soak the chips for some times in the water them dry them a little. You can use them in the burning box itself. Soaking the chips will give them longer burning hours. This is a tip the bedouin of Saudi Arabia has been using for ages to keep the wood burning for longer
@@ahmedbinsaleh7895 if you don't have a pellet smoker with an offset firepot and a deeper drop off into the firepot, I would not even try it...and you should certainly not try running straight WET wood chips in the hopper in ANY pellet smoker!
I inadvertently got some smoking wood chips mixed into my pellet hopper for my pellet grill. It resulted in a 2 hour disassembly of the pellet auger and drive system. Clogged incredibly bad. Maybe my bad luck?
I looked at this company in Conroe that makes the pellet cookers and they start at $ 2,600 and go up to over $ 3,000.
I'm glad I got a Pit Boss 1150 from Lowe's for $ 600.00, on sale with $400+ off during black Friday sale.
If you make another wood chip pellet grill video, I'd like to see what the burn pot looks like after the cook. And we didn't see how the chips burned up in the burn pot.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll get that done for you.
That is a incredibly beautiful piece of beef. Chips with pellets is interesting. Been placing wood chunks near burner pot for 8 yrs. Helps with smoke taste but pain to mess with.
Sold out of wood😂
I'll get some eventually and do a brisket. I think the LSG pellet grill gives the right amount of smoke now. Great video, thanks
BUMMER! Hopefully they will re-stock soon!
@@BallisticBBQ I just placed an order, no issues.
I quit using wood chunks bought from a supermarket, and started using all hickory mini splits bought from a farmer and never been happier.
Wow Greg! - As you said - this could be a game-changer!
My first smoker - the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro is finally coming (in Canada) in July - Can't wait.
Although it has "the smoke box" I think this is a great alternative for any pellet smoker, and I'm certainly willing to try it. - Cheers!
the camp chef is absolutely the game changer...you will love it
Did you try these chips in your camp chef yet? If so, any issues?
@@gregwilliams2066 Still waiting for delivery - Next week or two hopefully.
Can you use regular chips, or are those special?
I'm not going to say you can't use regular chips, but these are produced just for this technique.
That's cool I've always been a stick burner ,cook I also have a pellet smoker for them.relaxing days I'm definitely going to try that with the chips on my smoker!!
Wow... Just wow...
That cut of meat is a staple at my house here in Brantford Ontario. Cheers
I think the design of this cooker is perfect for those chips. I’ve used them in my LSG also now and they really make a difference. The hopper and auger design are perfect and it fed with zero issues.
Exactly Brother-Mike! Cheers, man!
You can buy Lumberjack 100% hickory pellets for example that are the same as hickory chips, in other words exactly the same wood. I'd rather mix pellets than chips and avoid a potential jam in the middle of my cook.
Lumberjack pellets are one of a few that ARE made with living trees so contain all of the flavoring compounds found in chips or chunks. When people use them for the first time they notice how much better the flavor is which is why adding chips will make a noticeable difference if using a brand of pellets that use filler woods or flavoring oils.
@@kennybaumann2117 Correct and why I only use them. When you buy by the pallet you can get a good assortment to mix pellets.
Wish you did a longer cook, but the color was amazing!
More will be coming. I had plans on cooking the picanah, then the chips came and I switched gears on what cooking I was going to use.
Tried 50/50 with my camp chef and it got stuck. The cups are too thin and got wedged in the tube and auger. Darn.
I'm going to try it in my GMG
Lemme' know how it works. Again, my disclaimer is the LSG chips are measured up for this technique. Small and thick.
@Ballistic BBQ I understand, I'll take the risk, nothing ventured, nothing gained
Did it work. Tempted to do in a camp chef
@@gregwilliams2066 still got to order the chips from LSG
Got my chips and the auger couldn't handle it. It groaned and was feeding the chips but was under a lot of strain then the auger let go and bit the dust. I've had the grill 8 yrs so it doesn't owe me anything. I'll get a new motor and be up and running in no time.
Do the chips burn a lot faster than the pellets? Will a hopper full of 50/50 burn for 8-10 hrs at 250? I have the same pellet grill.
I do this with a smoke tube for extra flavor. I still wanna keep the pellets to maintain temps.
Do you mean to you pack your smoke tube with a 50/50 blend of chips and pellets or just chips?
Yes .. small hand full of pellets, then chips... each time alternating. Then I light the pellets. I found this gives the chip flavor but a longer pellet burn.
I will try this on my YS640S. The short auger on the Lone Star like the Yoder I believe it would work. Wouldn't try it on one with a central firebox(pit boss, GMG, traeger).
I agree 100% that this would work in the Yoder.
I light some wood chunks with a torch get them going in a cast iron frying pan, move the water pan up and put it on the protector sitting above the fire box in my pit boss copperhead series 5, makes the world of difference. I wouldn't do it in a horizontal smoker, but for a pit boss vertical pellet smoker it works damn good.
A brand named Chigger Creek sold @ Ace Hardware is a fine cut chip that "might" be in the same realm of concept as this. Have not tried, but eager to give it a shot.
The key is small, thick chips. Lemme' know if they work for you.
I'll check my Ace...I have a RecTec so built better than Traeger and GMG. I bet the hopper won't have an issue. I am going to try this too!
This is a great idea to get more smoke flavor on your pellet cooks.
Chris, if you're reading the comments, I'd love to try this on a LSG pellet BBQ (hint hint)
Thanks for this Greg. Hopefully I just saved 900 bucks on a Masterbuilt gravity series. I’m going to try a small mixture for my woodwind pellet grill. I’ll probably work my way up to 50-50 once I see that they flow through the auger. Take care, fellow, SD’er,mac.
I also have a woodwind pellet. Please let us know how it works out. I am very interested in this as I tend to burn wood chips in a box on the grate and it’s a pain in the ass to have to keep checking and adding more all the time.
Makes sense there’s a difference in flavour profile - the process of pelletising involves high pressure, generates heat, and you can smell it happening so you must lose some aromatics.
I might try this. I have a Yoder and bought a little rack that goes next to the burn pit. I put a wood chunk on it and it smolders causing more smoke. Never tried wood chips. A comparison video would be nice.
Smouldering wood is not the same as cooking with the lit wood. Smouldering wood for too long is nothing but dirty smoke. The wood needs to actually ignite at some point to get you closer to that stick burner quality.
I bet those chips do add a nice additional smoke flavor. Picanha looked amazing Greg! It's the Queen of all meats, right? LOL Cheers brother!!!!
So far so good Troy! That was some good eats brother!
Wondering if would work on my grilla grill...🤔
I just ordered my first pellet (Recteq 380 Bullseye), and was leery about the whole smoke thing. This video gives me great ideas, and I will be looking into doing the same thing. Thoughts...? Also, the website for the beef looks great too. So many of the online butchers are soo much more expensive than what I can get locally. Great video and tips...
Have you tried this on your 380 yet? I've got the same smoker, am worried I'd destroy it lol. I'm interested in the charcoal pellets but haven't bought any yet
Good stuff Greg! I'm not sure I'd try this chips in my other pellet grills. But, I dig the idea behind it. Hope all is well brother. Talk soon.
Camp Chef Woodwind pro allows has a game changer feature allowing wood chunks to be used in your cooks.
Perfect! Have you tried wood chips on your Yoder YS640?
Another great video! Are the pellets you used BBQr's Delight Brand which they sell/advocate on LSG's site or are they a one off LSG has been experimenting with to use with the wood chips? If it is BBQr's Delight since you said it was a hickory oak blend then I assume it's their Hickory Pellet which I understand is 2/3 Oak with 1/3 flavor wood, in this case hickory. I've always wanted to try combining wood chips with pellets but never wanted to go against manufacturers recommendations. It's great to see LSG leading the way in this area. I'll be upgrading soon from my big box pellet smoker to either a Pitts & Spitts or LSG. Though I've pretty much settled on the LSG (for a variety of reasons such as their ceramic hot air ignition, easy access burn pot, open auger design etc), which you obviously well know! Keep up the great content!
This is crazy Greg, I was just wondering if this would work last week, no way, very cool, I'm scared it would jam the auger though, I might try it who knows.
Thanks for stopping by Gary. Honestly, if you're going to try this consider buying the LSG wood chips. They're small (1/2"x1/2") but thick.
Maybe I've missed it but you did talk how Argentinien know there beef but I didn't hear what effect the smoke had on the beef as this is a pellet smoker that is known for its low smoke profile.
Where we live, you have to go pretty far to get split hardwood. We don’t have a natural source close by. This is a option worth looking into. This is valuable! Thanks!
I have been doing this 50/50ish mix in my smoke tubes, and even that you can taste the difference.
I’ve got to try this!!! Thanks for Sharing!!!
think this could work on my recteq 1250?
These do not work on my Camp Chef Grill. They jam the auger. They will not go to waste. I will use them in my smoke tubes
Where did you get the Picaña from? Local butcher? Or shipped?
Amazing video and ideas all around. I just saw this cut yesterday in the store (for the first time). I can't wait to try it.
Sorry to be off topic, but the music is really good (starting around 7:46 mark). I am new to the channel. Is it your own music? I am not in the music biz and not looking to start any trouble if its not your own - just thought I would comment how good it is. And you keep the volume of the music LOW while many others mix the music level too high. Well done!
Great video brother! My wood chips are en route!
You’re awesome Greg! do you think this will feed ok on the YS640? I’m excited to try the wood chips.
I think it would probably work on the YS. Give it a try and let me know!
I've done a couple picana. Not a fan. Just simply not much marbling in them. For this style of cook fat cap on tri tip is far superior. Score the fat for better rendering and allows for better seasoning penetration. Cut any fat, silver skin off the meat side. I like steak seasoning on it. Run pellet grill @180°, flipping half way through until 135° internal. Sear 2 minutes a side and let rest 15 minutes. It rivals a good ribeye. And leftovers keep good flavor next day. Marbling is insane.
Victory 35 BBQGuys, stock, oob (out-of-box). tried this before ever watching this video (1 yr ago). Immediate failure with the auger displaying ERR. Out came the tools and had to disassemble the unit to clear the jam. Let us also consider the undue wear on the auger drive motor, plastic bushing, electrical circuits, etc. To empty the hooper on this unit is a pain and all this did require a ShopVAC. This unit is nearly identical to the PITBOSS. Known issues exist with the auger drive motor just sitting on the mtg plate and connected to the auger shaft. What a mechanical design failure that led up to a complete auger driver motor failure just 11 months later. FYI
TRY THIS! Set your pellet grill to the lowest smoke, which keeps the temps very steady (on high smoke, your temps will vary by like 40 degrees). Then use a pellet tube for the smoke flavor. I stumbled upon this setup a few years ago and I swear by it now. Not only do you use less pellets, but you get more smoke flavor. (FYI, the type of pellets you use for the grill doesn't matter, all the flavor will come from what you use in the pellet tube.)
BTW, I love picanha. After trying it, I no longer want rib eye or filet.
I got a bunch of cherry wood was thinking about mixing pellets with chain saw dust. Will try it out when I'm ready to buy a new pellet grill or find a used one I can. Don't want to be with out a pellet grill so easy to set and forget with the phone app. Great video
The color looked great for a pellet smoker. I will have to look at my auger. I would feel like the fire would back up in the auger and start fire.
Thank you for watching. Yeah, if you have doubts, then I probably would suggest not trying this. A key would be how close the end of the auger shoot is from the burn pot. I'm wrapping up a long cook using this technique as I type here. The video will post Sunday and answers a lot of the questions I received.
I want something less smoky flavor.what do you recommend.
So how close was the taste to the stick burners.
Asked this question months ago with know answer, what type of auger motor does this pellet grill have??
Could you do like a bunch of comparisons on how it actually performs vs like other grills, how it compares to cooking on a stick burner, just pellets vs this 50/50 blend, etc.. It would be nice to know if it is really worth doing this or if there is really that much of difference between not doing it. Thanks
Great idea! It's going to be some work, but would make a great video!
@@BallisticBBQ thanks, I think it would definitely make some great content. Might also help out a bunch of people looking for better cooks on their pellet grills. Maybe eventually doing this can become more adopted. Thanks for your great videos
Greg, do you still have your RecTec grill?
Stick burner all way 💯
Interesting. It looks like it turned out awesome!
Thank you brother!
When will the chips be back in stock?
why wouldn't you use 100% of those wood chips
From what I understand, you need the pellets for heat. They pack more energy than chips.
Will this wood chip method work on any pellet grill auger/hopper/fire box?
What was the final verdict? Also, would this be ok to do this in a center firebox campchef?
God bless Chris for figuring this out! Pellets are not as good as wood.
You have a link to everything in this video except what the video was about, the wood chips.
Very cool! Would really like to see the results on a longer cook like a brisket.
I’m willing to try this. I have been very disappointed in the smoke flavor (lack of) using my Traeger Ironwood 885. I had a Masterbuilt wood chip smoker that I loved but it got damaged in a tornado and I had to purchase a smoker really quickly because I was cooking for a large group. The masterbuilt was unavailable in the time frame and the Traeger was the best choice I had (for size).
Hope was the smoke flavor? You need to do a comparison using this method and one without.
Love your videos. I have a few unbelievers with medium rare doneness. What temp would you suggest for medium well with this cut.
I constantly have others saying I should "move up" to a pellet smoker. I still prefer the primitive off set rig. You can't beat real wood and I don't have many friends who say they aren't gonna make it when I do ribs or a butt.
Wonder is it works with camp chef
Can using wood chips possible cause problems with the auger on my Traeger? e.g. cause the "feeding" of the burn chamber to stop?
Damn! That looks amazing