Kirkland Signature Pellets

[LarryCTN]

how do you sift? What do you use?

A plastic colander I found at the Dollar store.

 

[Motodad1776]

Well......for me at least the jury is out, these Kirkland pellets are now my go to pellets. The smoke/flavor and how quick they ignite for me is very apparent, and I see no more ash in comparison to others. Very little dust in the bag I just used, so that's also a win/win.

 

[Pabtor]

I have a bag. I find that they are too long and hard, and so will cause clogs in the feed and the temp will swing wildly up and down. They are OK if I am careful to break up the long ones. Too much trouble. I won’t get them again.

 

[Motodad1776]

I have a bag. I find that they are too long and hard, and so will cause clogs in the feed and the temp will swing wildly up and down. They are OK if I am careful to break up the long ones. Too much trouble. I won’t get them again.

I call BS on that, they "appear" smaller and less hard than the Pitboss pellets that I have used for years "no issues had with them either", matter of fact the Kirklands very much remind me of Bear Mountain pellets in both size and texture "I am fond of those as well". I have had ZERO feeding issues of any kind, and my temps have been rock solid over many various fluctuating outdoor temp cooks both short and long. I waited till I had adequate cooking time with them before I commented and stick by what I said in terms of them being my go-to pellets from now on other than Bear Mountain.

Had one issue with a bag of Lumberjack pellets with burning up into the auger, then never again after that with 2 more bags of LJ and their smoke/flavor is fantastic "maybe was a fluke"? I am not a fan of the Traeger pellets for more than a few reasons but would obviously use them in a pinch. More expensive for less pellets and they had the most ash of pellets I have used, they are overpriced just like all things Traeger.

 

[Motodad1776]

Does this like problematic to anyone, gonna guess most answers will be no? The pellets are pretty much perfect IMHO size wise, and again these remind me overall of Bear Mountain.

 

[Waterboy]

Does this like problematic to anyone, gonna guess most answers will be no? The pellets are pretty much perfect IMHO size wise, and again these remind me overall of Bear Mountain. View attachment 21313

I can tell you for sure the bags of Kirkland pellets I have purchased don’t look like that at all. Mine have had a significant portion of the pellets over 1 1/2” with many over 2”. They were also much darker. I’m wondering if they are made by different suppliers depending on the region.

 

[Motodad1776]

I can tell you for sure the bags of Kirkland pellets I have purchased don’t look like that at all. Mine have had a significant portion of the pellets over 1 1/2” with many over 2”. They were also much darker. I’m wondering if they are made by different suppliers depending on the region.

That’s interesting, and also might be a thing. This bag was purchased about 2 months ago but I have no idea when they were made.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I have gone through about 10 bags of the Costco. As mentioned above, mine were darker in color. They range from “normal” to approximately 1.5”. I run them in my Bull and have not had any problems with jams, clinkers, or temperature swings (see last cook data attached) and I have done many long cooks successfully.

 

[BadgerFan]

Interesting... i didn't realize there were a lot of "small companies" in this business. I did research when i bought my 700 years ago and found out that in some (arguably many) cases the difference in the pellets was labeling. Specifically there were 3-4 operations out there making a dozen different brands. This is actually quite normal in retail... called "white labeling" where a manufacturer makes them and puts a bag/brand on them and calls them different.

One other point...on the Pit Boss. I will have to weigh in and say i also had a bad experience. With my three bags they were a consistency one might describe as wet. It wasn't as much dust as it was small fractional pieces. They were essentially mushy. Gummed things up. I stored them like any other pellet i have used. But they just would turn to mush or break in to really small pieces. They burned... but i had to work it a bit (I don't sift). I now stick with Bear, RecTeq and LJ pellets. I have not yet experimented with the new brands but anxious to hear more reports from this group on Costco.

Interesting some RecTeq stuff for sale at Costco....is there a chance that small company is the same who makes the RecTeq pellets (which btw is also a white label) - they make and bag them for RecTeq.

On a similar note to what you are talking about. One of my good friends from high school works at Rise baking. They make various breads etc. in the Twin Cities area. They make the exact same baguette etc. for many companies including Aldi's, Target, WalMart, and higher end grocery stores like Kowalski's in the Twin Cities, to name a few. Same bread, obviously different packaging. The baguette for instance at Aldi's is the cheapest price of any of those mentioned above at under $2 I believe. Kowalski's sells it for $6 or more.

 

[BadgerFan]

I don't understand everyone complaining about the length of pellets. I found an easy fix by having my wife sort through the Costco pellets and she breaks them in half........it's an easy solution fellas!! She does this in her spare time after working her two jobs. To me, you're just being lazy if you aren't working to help your wife find a second job. Lucky for me that I'm retired so I had the time.

 

[C. Keeper]

I don't understand everyone complaining about the length of pellets. I found an easy fix by having my wife sort through the Costco pellets and she breaks them in half........it's an easy solution fellas!! She does this in her spare time after working her two jobs. To me, you're just being lazy if you aren't working to help your wife find a second job. Lucky for me that I'm retired so I had the time.

We have a company here to modify pellets. It may be a bit pricey but they come to with a guranteed to burn warranty.

 

[RedT]

As a new pellet smoker (RT-1250 on order) user, but a long, long time Weber charcoal cooker user, I'm finding the conversation about pellets quite interesting. Don't know this, but am of the opinion that the industries' augers and burn pots are all quite similar, given the characteristics of pellet grills. I chose rec teq mainly due to user comments on several forums, disappointed that no dealers had one to look at before purchase.
As with other forum subjects and comments, there appears to be no consensus as to the preferred pellet brand.

 

[C. Keeper]

As a new pellet smoker (RT-1250 on order) user, but a long, long time Weber charcoal cooker user, I'm finding the conversation about pellets quite interesting. Don't know this, but am of the opinion that the industries' augers and burn pots are all quite similar, given the characteristics of pellet grills. I chose rec teq mainly due to user comments on several forums, disappointed that no dealers had one to look at before purchase.
As with other forum subjects and comments, there appears to be no consensus as to the preferred pellet brand.

Inexpensive pellets

 

[cooleybird]

As a new pellet smoker (RT-1250 on order) user, but a long, long time Weber charcoal cooker user, I'm finding the conversation about pellets quite interesting. Don't know this, but am of the opinion that the industries' augers and burn pots are all quite similar, given the characteristics of pellet grills. I chose rec teq mainly due to user comments on several forums, disappointed that no dealers had one to look at before purchase.
As with other forum subjects and comments, there appears to be no consensus as to the preferred pellet brand.

It's all different strokes for different folks as far as pellets go, but if I can save money on pellets, put it toward more meat, and still get great results, I'm all in.

RecTeq = $1.75/lb. Kirkland = 65¢/lb.

 

[Greg Jones]

It's all different strokes for different folks as far as pellets go, but if I can save money on pellets, put it toward more meat, and still get great results, I'm all in.

RecTeq = $1.75/lb. Kirkland = 65¢/lb.

All true but the price of recteq pellets. Under a buck a pound on their web page.

 

[Buckeye1]

I buy what’s on sale and I see some at $.50 I buy enough for the year

 

[Buckeye smoker]

To each his own, but if you do some research, pellets are not all pellets.
Meaning: some are all solid good wood, some are scarp, some are base woods like oak or fillers then fruit wood added, some have bark...etc etc...
Think I made a post on it years back you can search for. I can tell you Lumberjack (single flavor ones) pellets are 100% one solid wood.

Buy what you like.

 

[Gonefishin]

I have yet to run into any that flat out don’t work. I do have my favorite, but will use whatever if I can’t get them.

To put my opinion in perspective, I also notice almost no difference in taste between the “flavors”.

 

[Greg Jones]

I buy what’s on sale and I see some at $.50 I buy enough for the year

Same here. I didn’t buy any pellets in 2023 because I was well stocked.

 

[C. Keeper]

I only buy USDA prime pellets.