Best pellet brand

[Jim Linville]

Are all pellets made of all wood created equal? I smoked 2 pork butts with both a tube & the Green Mountain Grill provided smoke for 14 hours. They had virtually no smoke flavor. I used Kingsford pellets. I hope it was the pellets & not the deterioration of taste buds.

 

[02ebz06]

Do you put as thick rub on the meat ? That and a large amount of fat on outside can keep it from penetrating.

Unless they have changed, Traeger does not use the hard wood as the name on the bag.
i.e. Cherry does not contain Cherry wood, they add Cherry flavored oils.

 

[gmc2003]

I'm not a pellet pooper, but the simple answer is a BIG no. All pellets are not created equal. Some contain fillers. You want to look for a brand that is made from 100% of the wood your looking for. As for your taste buds deteriorating. It's not you or your taste buds. Pellet poopers burn efficiently and that causes a lack of smoke at higher temps. To get around this most people use an auxiliary smoke generator like a tube or maze, and some pellet smokers have a smoke setting that will also work.

Chris

 

[Jim Linville]

Do you put as thick rub on the meat ? That and a large amount of fat on outside can keep it from penetrating.

Unless they have changed, Traeger does not use the hard wood as the name on the bag.
i.e. Cherry does not contain Cherry wood, they add Cherry flavored oils.

Actually I used a modified Jeff’s rub. I added some finally ground coffee & used a Kingsford blend. I am going back to either an all oak or an all hickory pellet. I purchased Bear Mountain, but haven’t tried it.

 

[Jim Linville]

I'm not a pellet pooper, but the simple answer is a BIG no. All pellets are not created equal. Some contain fillers. You want to look for a brand that is made from 100% of the wood your looking for. As for your taste buds deteriorating. It's not you or your taste buds. Pellet poopers burn efficiently and that causes a lack of smoke at higher temps. To get around this most people use an auxiliary smoke generator like a tube or maze, and some pellet smokers have a smoke setting that will also work.

Chris

I used a tube as well as the smoke from the GMG. The only way I could smoke pork butts for 14 hours is to use a slow temperature for most of the time. Kingsford “claims” no filler.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Nefarious]

I only use lumberjack pellets. I have a recteq and primarily use extreme smoke, 180° and get plenty of smoke flavor.

 

[02ebz06]

One thing I forgot, the higher the temp, the less smoke.
I'm in the Lumberjack camp with Nefarious. All I have used.

 

[Jim Linville]

Thanks. I will give Lumberjack a try. I use 175 degrees so we’re in the same ball park.

Jim

 

[thirdeye]

I don't own a pellet cooker, but I saw an interesting review where 6 brands of pellets were rated and Traeger brand came in first or second. One explanation was market saturation and price. In other words, people were new to pellet cookers, and started off with a Traeger and Traeger pellets and they came to like that flavor.

So the takeaway for me was.... try several brands and the one YOU like is the one you should buy, but your neighbor might have another favorite.

 

[BC Buck]

How I get more smoke flavor with pellet grills

I like cutting my own smoking woods but dont always have time to baby sit a smoker. My Memphis pro is a true turn it on and forget but smoke profile is mild. Iv tried many, many,ways but this works every time. If you use foil pack you dont need to worry about flareups. You will need to...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Jim Linville]

I don't own a pellet cooker, but I saw an interesting review where 6 brands of pellets were rated and Traeger brand came in first or second. One explanation was market saturation and price. In other words, people were new to pellet cookers, and started off with a Traeger and Traeger pellets and they came to like that flavor.

So the takeaway for me was.... try several brands and the one YOU like is the one you should buy, but your neighbor might have another favorite.

Good advice. I started off with an offset smoker using oak & hickory logs, moved to Traeger for 10 years before they were distributed on the East Coast & still made in Oregon & now have the GMG. I’m going try some other brands since others are having good results.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

If I can find Lumberjack, that is my go-to for my Rectec. I've been using Bear Mountain lately because I can find them closeby, and the price is good. I will NOT use Traeger pellets. Been there, done that.

 

[02ebz06]

If I can find Lumberjack, that is my go-to for my Rectec. I've been using Bear Mountain lately because I can find them closeby, and the price is good. I will NOT use Traeger pellets. Been there, done that.

I have always ordered a ton to split with my son and friends and have them shipped to me.
Shipping hurts a bit, but still a decent price. About $18/40lb bag IIRC.

 

[Jim Linville]

If I can find Lumberjack, that is my go-to for my Rectec. I've been using Bear Mountain lately because I can find them closeby, and the price is good. I will NOT use Traeger pellets. Been there, done that.

Several have mentioned Lumberjack. I will give it a try. Amazon has it.

 

[DougE]

Lumberjack is my first pick, but I've found Kingsford to be decent, just cost a lot more. One thing I try to always do is buy my pellets in all one wood type (all cherry, hickory, etc.) and blend my own mixes when needed. Example: I smoke bacon with either a 50/50 blend of either cherry and hickory, or cherry and pecan, when I can find it. I generally avoid pre-mixed blends like competition blend or the like.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I have tried several different brands and types in the past and lately I have only used the Pit Boss Hickory pellets. They give a decent amount of smoke each time and I have never gotten a jam or tent with them.

 

[chopsaw]

the one YOU like is the one you should buy,

There's your best advice .
I use B&B with my pellet grill .

 

[h8that4u]

I bought 8 boxes of Jealous Devil Cherry and Hickory wood blocks at the local home depot and add a block on top of the guard over the burn pot. These things work great for adding smoke flavor

 

[Nefarious]

I bought 8 boxes of Jealous Devil Cherry and Hickory wood blocks at the local home depot and add a block on top of the guard over the burn pot. These things work great for adding smoke flavor

That's another good idea. I learned to add wood chips into smoke tubes to increase the smoke profile from OldSmoke .

 

[Texas Cookin']

I buy these from Sam’s club. $15 per 40LB bag and the quality is great. I have quit buying anything else.