About BBQ Smoking Tube

A pellet smoking tube is a perforated metal container for holding smoking pellets. You fill it with the pellets and light it at the open end. Once you’ve got a good flame burning, you blow it out. From this point, the lit end will smolder, producing tasty smoke. This will gradually work through the pellets over the course of 2‒4 hours, depending on the size of the tube.

The pellets are actually doing the work of smoking, so what’s the point of the tube? Smoking can fail in two ways: either the fuel loses too much heat and the smoke stops or the fuel gets too hot and starts flaming, giving a bad taste to the smoke and using it up too quickly. The goal of the tube is to prevent those problems by keeping the pellets together so the burn continues while also restricting airflow enough to prevent it from burning too hot.

HOW TO LIGHT A PELLET TUBE

It’s not hard, but it’s not automatic. A lighter doesn’t have enough power – you’re going to need to hit the hardware store for a propane torch. Look in the plumbing section. There are multiple models available – some light when you pull a trigger, others need a separate striker.

Fill up the smoking tube with pellets, then tap it a few times on the ground to get the pellets settled. Add a few more if it looks like it’s not full.

Set the tube on a fire-safe surface (like your grill grate or a concrete floor) on end with the open side up. Fire up your torch and use it to light the pellets at the top of the tube. Keep going until the flame keeps going when you pull the torch away.

Let it burn for 5 minutes, then blow out the flame. You’re now ready to smoke.