We all love a good BBQ and always look to find new ways to make this experience better and more convenient. And one of the most effective ways to make that happen is to add a smoke tube to your device. This appliance is really popular among a lot of BBQ enthusiasts since they help improve the taste of your food and makes the entire process a lot easier.
However, despite its popularity, not everyone knows how to use a smoke tube correctly. So, we’ve decided to help you learn this simple, yet very important process. Hopefully, it will help you see that using a smoke tube is a lot easier than you think and you will know how to use a smoke tube in no time!
What is a Smoke Tube and How Does it Work?
Before figuring out how to use a smoke tube, we must first know what this is, exactly.
A pellet smoking tube is a pierced metal container, where the smoking pellets are kept. In order to use it all you must do is empty your pellets into the tube and light it. Soon you shall get a decent flame burning and this is when you put the flame out and begin BBQing. The smoke from the pellets will cook your food besides infusing it with a delicate aroma.
What Foods Can You Smoke in the Tube Smoker?
Now that we figured out how does a smoker tube work, let’s clarify what you can smoke in it. Actually, pretty much everything. Yes, you can smoke any meat, cheese, veggies, and a lot more in your tube. However, it is best to smoke little, thin pieces of food.
Smoke Tubes Benefits & Downsides
| Benefits | Downsides |
| • Gives an authentic smoked flavor • Great for outdoor use and portable • Lets you choose your favorite pellet and flavor • Easy to use and burns slowly • Tender and juicy meat |
• You may need to replace your tube very soon if you do not use heavy-duty metal |
How to Use a Smoker Tube
- Fill your smoker with pellets or wood for smoking ribs, vegetables, and a lot more.
- Set it vertically up.
- Light the barbeque and let the grill be preheated.
- You start cooking your food when you see the pellets have the right kind of flame to burn slowly. This usually happens after 15 min or so.
How to Use a Cold Smoke Tube
Using a cold smoke tube is pretty easy. All you have to do is use a butane torch to ignite one side. After it’s well-lit, put out the flame and place your tube in the smoking area. It will smoke for about 2 to 5 hours.
How to Use a Smoker Tube on a Gas Grill?
In order to use a smoking tube on a gas grill you have to:
- Get a smoke tube (around 12 inches or so) and wood pellets. Although people usually use soaked wood chips, pellets work way better.
- Clean and dry your smoking tube.
- Add a few pellets inside it.
- Now place the tube in the corner of your gas grill. This will help produce the best smoke.
- Let it preheat for about 10 minutes.
- Check the smoking tube and at an appropriate temperature and smoke emission, you can add your food.
Smoker Tube vs Smoker Box: Which One is Better?
They are both good at doing their job. Smoker tube, as well as the box, infuse your food with the woody aroma that we look for while savoring bbq foods. What’s more, they are very easy to use.
However, a smoking tube has one advantage over a box- it burns out much slower than the latter. Which means that it will go on for a longer time. The box, on the other hand, is great for big slices of meat, especially red.
Woods vs Chips: What Wood to Use in the Smoke Tube?
Pellet smokers can use wood instead of pellets for the same purpose. Pellets burn very slowly and produce higher temperatures. Wood tends to burn a lot faster and thus will either require constant replacing or you will end with a slice of uneven meat.
So if you are using wood in your smoker, you must maintain a low fire so that they produce enough smoke to cook your food.
Final Word
And that’s all there is to it! Now that you know how to use a smoke tube, you can see that this is a relatively simple and easy process that has some amazing results. You will be able to enjoy your BBQ like never before! So how about it – have you managed to use the smoke tube with no problem? Let us know in the comments, we would be glad to hear how it worked for you!
