Pellet review Green mountain

[RHEINLEIN]

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL !
So, I visited this bbq supply emporium
https://www.smokehousegrillsandsupply.com/. It’s in Sihipshewanna IN.
yesterday and ran across a supply of Green Mountain pellets.
Although I’ve never seen or used them I bought a couple of sacks.
“Apple” a blend of Red Oak, Hickory and applewood.
This was of interest to me as I can’t seem to find oak any longer.
Their everyday price is $16.95 / 28# sack.

Initial look at pellets , uniform and no noticeable dust.

I’ll follow up after my Labor Day cook (St. Louis ribs, (which I picked up at Yoders meats and cheese.)

 

[Jim6820]

Did I miss something in the translation, @RHEINLEIN?

 

[TheRicker]

I think he attached more photos than he intended. I have to be careful about that when I’m choosing pics on my eye phone. The slightest, incorrect movement of my finger and I’ve selected a half dozen or more pics.

 

[RattleR]

Did I miss something in the translation, @RHEINLEIN?

No pellet burning only yard waste

 

[RHEINLEIN]

Did I miss something in the translation, @RHEINLEIN?

Good grief.
That deserves a cold one.
Neighborhood drama, someone in the area smoking railroad ties

 

[RattleR]

Good grief.
That deserves a cold one.
Neighborhood drama, someone in the area smoking railroad ties

Smoking things can be good but railroad ties not so much. Wow.
Back in the post let us know your impressions. I was lucky enough to acquire several bags of LJ 100% Hickory yesterday. I live in, basically a pellet black hole. Yes, the T brand and Pitboss (have no issues with) are plentiful but I have now found a source for both BM and LJ in single wood, so to speak, varieties.

 

[Jim6820]

Smoking things can be good but railroad ties not so much. Wow.
Back in the post let us know your impressions. I was lucky enough to acquire several bags of LJ 100% Hickory yesterday. I live in, basically a pellet black hole. Yes, the T brand and Pitboss (have no issues with) are plentiful but I have now found a source for both BM and LJ in single wood, so to speak, varieties.

IMO, the LJ 100% Hickory pellets are worth the effort to find. Bear Mountain Hickory are good too, but are not 100% Hickory. They are an Oak/Hickory blend (60-40, IIRC).

LJ are also a bit smaller in diameter and a bit more uniform in length. As a result, I believe they produce more smoke. At least, that’s been my observation.

Fortunately, the specialty butcher shop where my grandson works now carries LJ. And, the farm supply store just down the street from them carries Bear Mountain. I’m well covered for pellets.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

IMO, the LJ 100% Hickory pellets are worth the effort to find. Bear Mountain Hickory are good too, but are not 100% Hickory. They are an Oak/Hickory blend (60-40, IIRC).

LJ are also a bit smaller in diameter and a bit more uniform in length. As a result, I believe they produce more smoke. At least, that’s been my observation.

Fortunately, the specialty butcher shop where e but I can stock up fomy grandson works carries LJ. And, the farm supply store just down the street from them carries Bear Mountain. I’m well covered for pellets.

@Jim6820 ,
Our nearest farm & fleet looks well stocked.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/s/?brand=Lumber Jack&bopus=1

 

[Jim6820]

@Jim6820 ,
Our nearest farm & fleet looks well stocked.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/s/?brand=Lumber Jack&bopus=1

Good price too! Your $10.99 beats my $14.95 all day long. Wish I had a Farm & Fleet near me. Then, again, I wouldn’t get to see my grandson quite as often.

 

[Ol' Smokey]

@Jim6820 ,
Our nearest farm & fleet looks well stocked.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/s/?brand=Lumber Jack&bopus=1

I have a brother in Woodstock....

 

[DennyO]

Good price too! Your $10.99 beats my $14.95 all day long. Wish I had a Farm & Fleet near me. Then, again, I wouldn’t get to see my grandson quite as often.

I purchase these too when they are on a sale at my local Fareway store for $7.99/ bag they are normally 12 or 13 if I remember right.

 

[TDK84]

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL !
So, I visited this bbq supply emporium
https://www.smokehousegrillsandsupply.com/. It’s in Sihipshewanna IN.
yesterday and ran across a supply of Green Mountain pellets.
Although I’ve never seen or used them I bought a couple of sacks.
“Apple” a blend of Red Oak, Hickory and applewood.
This was of interest to me as I can’t seem to find oak any longer.
Their everyday price is $16.95 / 28# sack.

Initial look at pellets , uniform and no noticeable dust.

I’ll follow up after my Labor Day cook (St. Louis ribs, (which I picked up at Yoders meats and cheese.)

View attachment 22568

View attachment 22569

That is a great store for supplies in Shipshewanna. I like the GMG Texas blend, as well as the Fruitwood blend, too. How was the ribs from Yoders? Have thought about getting some next time I'm there.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL !
So, I visited this bbq supply emporium
https://www.smokehousegrillsandsupply.com/. It’s in Sihipshewanna IN.
yesterday and ran across a supply of Green Mountain pellets.
Although I’ve never seen or used them I bought a couple of sacks.
“Apple” a blend of Red Oak, Hickory and applewood.
This was of interest to me as I can’t seem to find oak any longer.
Their everyday price is $16.95 / 28# sack.

Initial look at pellets , uniform and no noticeable dust.

I’ll follow up after my Labor Day cook (St. Louis ribs, (which I picked up at Yoders meats and cheese.)

View attachment 22568

View attachment 22569

Green Mountain pellet review.
I just finished my second cook with these pellets, Prime rib .
*Pellets were very clean and uniform.
*Smoke very clean, very mild (due to high cooking temps (I suppose).
I did a sear @500, the temp rose to target in about 25 mins.
The balance of the cook was eventually @350 degrees.
There was one issue I’ve never experienced , temp control when dropping the temp, not so good, took a long time to come down, even after turning temp to 300 and opening the lid until the probe read 325. The temp then continued to climb back to 375-400.
Once I temporarily set it at 200, things began to get under control , moved to 350 and it held perfectly.
While I know opening the lid can confuse the controller, I’m wondering if these oak based pellets led to the runaway temps?

Maybe I’m not used to grilling at 500 and expecting a drop in a more timely manner.

Thoughts from the group?
TIA

 

[Smagnus]

I usually only set my bull to 500 for searing AFTER I’ve smoked the protein or for pizzas and then I adjust temp down for shutdown. I will leave the lid open for 20 mins or so(cooling it off in my mind) before closing it and it seems to take another 20 mins or so for it to figure out what temp is. The cooldown process takes awhile for me that’s why high heat is the last step in my cooks.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

I usually only set my bull to 500 for searing AFTER I’ve smoked the protein or for pizzas and then I adjust temp down for shutdown. I will leave the lid open for 20 mins or so(cooling it off in my mind) before closing it and it seems to take another 20 mins or so for it to figure out what temp is. The cooldown process takes awhile for me that’s why high heat is the last step in my cooks.

Thank you for the reply.
Good points but I like prime rib seared high at the start. I may go back to doing it in a skillet over the stove again, but the smoke is another contender for doing that. OR, sear, remove and return once cooled down might be the best of both worlds.
Has anyone tried that methodology?

 

[TheRicker]

Green Mountain pellet review.
I just finished my second cook with these pellets, Prime rib .
*Pellets were very clean and uniform.
*Smoke very clean, very mild (due to high cooking temps (I suppose).
I did a sear @500, the temp rose to target in about 25 mins.
The balance of the cook was eventually @350 degrees.
There was one issue I’ve never experienced , temp control when dropping the temp, not so good, took a long time to come down, even after turning temp to 300 and opening the lid until the probe read 325. The temp then continued to climb back to 375-400.
Once I temporarily set it at 200, things began to get under control , moved to 350 and it held perfectly.
While I know opening the lid can confuse the controller, I’m wondering if these oak based pellets led to the runaway temps?

Maybe I’m not used to grilling at 500 and expecting a drop in a more timely manner.

Thoughts from the group?
TIA

So...I'm "one of those" that likes to drop my temp down to 200F before doing a shutdown. And I can say, most definitively, that when I cook a protein at 400F or higher, it can take 30 - 60 minutes for my RT-700 to drop down to that low temp for shutdown. That's with the lid closed. And, if I lower the temp by a large amount, like 40 degrees or more...working my way down to 200F...the controller will start cycling the fan off and on and reduce the auger feed as part of that process of bringing the grill's temp down. That's normal. It's just doing what its logic dictates.

On the other hand, and this is strictly my hypothesis of what I believe the controller's logic dictates, in your specific case where the lid is open coming down from a high temp, the cooking chamber temp probe (ambient temp) will cool off as quickly as the open lid allows. It cannot detect nor report the temp that the firepot is producing. What I think happened in your case, is the firepot was burning hot at the temp you were cooking at. You reduced your temp setting and opened the lid. The chamber probe cooled off enough and reported to the controller that the cooking chamber was below the 300F you set the temp to. In turn, the controller says to itself I must put more pellets in the firepot to get the grill up to the 300F setting. But with the lid open, it can't achieve it. So it just keeps putting pellets in the firepot. When you do close the lid, thinking it's had time to cool off, the firepot is raging. Hence, the elevated actual temperature when you closed the lid.

With that in mind, my suggested method for bringing the temp down maybe a little faster is to reduce the temp setting to that 300F level. Wait a couple of minutes (5 minutes???) to allow for the controller to say to itself, I need to reduce the feed rate to get this grill down to 300F. And, I'll turn the fan off and on to stop stoking the fire in the firepot. I think that opening the lid for maybe a minute and then closing so that the chamber probe can report to the controller that "Hey, I'm at this temp now." Then, let the controller continue to do its thing to get the temp down further and open the lid for 20 - 30 seconds at a time to see if that accelerates the temperature reduction process. Leaving the lid open too long, I believe, will cause the chamber probe to report the ambient temp as being lower than the set temp and fire up the feed rate to the firepot again.

So, to you, and everyone reading this thinking what kind of lunatic do we have amongst ourselves, I say all of this is based on how I believe the logic of the controller works. In my old brain, the logic fits. Then, again, that could be from years of killing brain cells with alcohol. IDK.

I have this same train of thought for people that leave the lid open for "some period of time" after they crank up the grill and the fire in the firepot has "caught" (actual flame). In this case, they may set their grill to 225F to smoke a brisket (or other big protein), leave the lid open after the startup has completed, and come back 20 minutes later and throw the protein on the grill, shut the lid, and find out the chamber temp is 400F or higher.

Those are my thoughts. I hope it helps. If not, there's plenty of scotch, bourbon, and beer here at the house for me to rethink my hypothesis.