# What flavor of todd's pellets



## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

I am ready  to order the ampns. I am torn on pellet choice. I usually use apple chips in my MES. Don't often use hickory because it tends to be a little strong for my taste. I had rather just go ahead and get a big bag but i can't decide. Leaning towards the pitmasters choice but it does have hickory.

Anyway from all you experts what do you use.

Thanks in advance for the input.


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## tom987 (May 14, 2019)

Do you have a mailbox mod?  I think you’ll appreciate the use of hickory if you can produce a cleaner burn.


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

tom987 said:


> Do you have a mailbox mod?  I think you’ll appreciate the use of hickory if you can produce a cleaner burn.



I intend to build me a mailbox mod. I want to get the tray first. I like building stuff and have some different ideas on the design.

Plan to take a steel box just deep enough for the tray and about 12" square. With one side hinged. Build a support for the tray midway up the box. Put a typical damper like on every smoker on one end below the tray and a chimney at the top on the other end that will be connected to the MES. Lot more details to it but it should work pretty well. Controlling the air supply seems to be the most important part of this mod to control both the quantity and quality of the smoke. The box will be about 3' lower than the smoker. That should help with the draw theough the smoker.

Anyway just an experiment. It will be a work in progress.


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

What pellets to use is the question.


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## SmokinVOLfan (May 14, 2019)

If you prefer a milder smoke and you mainly use apple then I would order the apple pellets. I burn them all the time with great results. You might also try to the cherry.


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> If you prefer a milder smoke and you mainly use apple then I would order the apple pellets. I burn them all the time with great results. You might also try to the cherry.



I have read that cherry gives ribs a nice color. Don't really see how but that would be nice. Have you experienced that


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## SmokinVOLfan (May 14, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> I have read that cherry gives ribs a nice color. Don't really see how but that would be nice. Have you experienced that



I've also heard that but never noticed it. I think if you had an offset and were burning cherry wood splits then maybe the lightness of the smoke could contribute to that but probably not rolling pellets and chips.


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## johnmeyer (May 14, 2019)

If I was only going to get one "flavor" of pellet from Todd, I'd get his Pitmaster's Choice. It's a blend of Cherry, Hickory, & Maple. 

For fish I'd get Alder. For brisket I'd get hickory. 

You'll find dozens of threads in this forum about what wood (or pellet) goes with each type of food. It's a little like pairing wine with a meal: there are indeed pairings that work well, but in the end, if the wine is good, you can drink it with just about anything. 

The only thing you really want to avoid is getting something too strong for the food. For instance, hickory with smoked salmon would not be my first choice.


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## chopsaw (May 14, 2019)

Hard to answer because it depends on what you like . First time I bought the sample pack , I think it's 6 - 1 lb bags of different woods . 
I mix mine , and do use cherry and Mesquite to add color . I use alot of oak as a base , and add for color and flavor from there . Oak is also good by itself , but that' what I like . You may not . 
Take a look ,
Ham smoked with oak and hickory ,,, and one smoked with oak , mesquite and cherry .









I have Kabanos hanging right now . I used mesquite , pecan and oak , because that's what came out of the tub . 
It's all good in my opinion .


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## SGMan (May 14, 2019)

Personally, the apple is one of my faves.   They burn well and add a wonder profile to most anything I do. 
Pecan is delicious as well, and Pitmasters Choice is always a solid pick too.  

As far as the cherry goes, Ive had limited success in keeping them lit. (Even when mixed with other pellets) so as much as I would like for them to be a favorite of mine, Ill stick with what works :)


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

You aren't helping guys. No clear choices here.

Maybe the best path is one of his package deals with 4 2# packages of different wood and try them.

How many smokes do you get out of 2 lbs of pellets?


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Hard to answer because it depends on what you like . First time I bought the sample pack , I think it's 6 - 1 lb bags of different woods .
> I mix mine , and do use cherry and Mesquite to add color . I use alot of oak as a base , and add for color and flavor from there . Oak is also good by itself , but that' what I like . You may not .
> Take a look ,
> Ham smoked with oak and hickory ,,, and one smoked with oak , mesquite and cherry .
> ...



So the cherry gave that ham that color?


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## SGMan (May 14, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> You aren't helping guys. No clear choices here.
> 
> Maybe the best path is one of his package deals with 4 2# packages of different wood and try them.
> 
> How many smokes do you get out of 2 lbs of pellets?



We cant exactly say what is right for you and your smokes, I think we are merely sharing our opinions of what works best for us.  

Yes, I would say that the 2# assorted deal would do you well and give you a good spectrum of what works best for YOU.  
For what its worth, one row of the AMNPS does me about 3 hours on average.   One 2# bag will completely fill my tray (all rows) at least 3 times (if not more). 

So (roughly)  a 2# bag for me will last ~27 hours of smoke. Give or take.


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## chopsaw (May 14, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> You aren't helping guys. No clear choices here.


 Not sure what you mean . 



SmokinVOLfan said:


> If you prefer a milder smoke and you mainly use apple then I would order the apple pellets. I burn them all the time with great results. You might also try to the cherry.





johnmeyer said:


> If I was only going to get one "flavor" of pellet from Todd, I'd get his Pitmaster's Choice.





chopsaw said:


> Hard to answer because it depends on what you like .


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## chopsaw (May 14, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> So the cherry gave that ham that color?


Yes along with the mesquite .


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## zwiller (May 14, 2019)

Used to be a huge apple guy but I wanted to try others so I got most of them and slowly tried them.  All "work" and will give you tasty results HOWEVER certain types shine on certain things and give much better results.  First time I used oak on pulled pork I knew immediately it was "the one".  I like blends for cold smoking.  For some reason, straight cherry doesn't sound good at all to me so I never got them.  Might have to rule that out.  LOL  

I vote PM blend if you have to pick only one.


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## Wakulla (May 14, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Not sure what you mean .


I was just being humorous. I was wondering if i would see a clear winner from all you experts. What i see is like me you use different woods with different meat.

I am going to get the package deal with some of all of it. We will see how that goes. If i pick a clear favorite


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## sigmo (May 14, 2019)

Yeah.  I recommend getting an assortment and also a big bag of Pitmaster's Choice.  I find it works well for almost anything, so you won't go wrong with it.


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## gmc2003 (May 15, 2019)

For me it's hard to tell the difference between smoke profiles given off by fruit woods. With that being said here are my choices.

Fish and poultry = Apple, easy to lite and doesn't overpower the meat. Both take on smoke rather quickly so a lighter profile is desired in our house.

Cheese = Apple dust or hickory dust. Dust produces a clean smoke. My wife and I enjoy just a hint of smoke to our cheese so we use apple dust. My kids like a heavier smoke flavor so I use hickory for them.

Beef and Pork = Hickory, it gives us just enough smoke flavor for our taste while still letting us enjoy the meats natural flavor. Mesquite is just to strong for us east coasters, and I haven't tried oak yet.

Chris


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## xray (May 15, 2019)

Check out Todd’s website, he is always running 10 or 20% off specials. I’m sure there will be a special for Memorial Day.

When I order, I always try to spend over $50 for the free shipping. Combine this with his discount and you are getting A LOT of pellets....that means you could have a lot to choose from and experiment with.

I usually order the 20lb of Hickory and Maple pellets and then I buy smaller bags to put me over $50.


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## HalfSmoked (May 15, 2019)

So here we are again and my favorite saying on the forum is it all comes down to personal preference. What you like may not be what my taste likes. So you will have to try and see what fires up your taste buds. Me I mostly use apple don't like mesquite as you said about hickory its to strong for my taste.

Warren


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## zwiller (May 15, 2019)

I have researched this topic ad nauseum in the day and the consensus is that there is NO consensus.  



gmc2003 said:


> I haven't tried oak yet.



Do it.  INSANELY good on pork and beef (CenTex bbq is all oak).  Oak sounds plain and doesn't sound sexy like pecan or mesquite so I think many guys pass on it.  It is stronger than fruit woods but milder than mesquite or hickory.  Just right, if you ask me.  Let me know if you want some and I'll send it for hooking me onto using dust on cheese.  Many recall I did 7 butts over time for daughter's grad party last year, so I tried most and once I tried oak it was over!  https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/that-moment-when.276992/


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