I’ve been on a fairly non-scientific “study” of various brands of pellets for my RT-700. Clearly some pellets appear to be of physically higher quality than others. Some provide better or more pronounced smoke than others.
The RecTeq pellets appear high grade as did the pellets from CookinPellets.com. The Traeger pellets from Costco appear physically good too. The Kirkland brand not so much. And there’s like 4 or 5 different flavors in that blend and I didn’t feel like I had any pronounced smoke flavor…very neutral. Pit Boss pellets were very light colored and somewhat fragile to pinching between my thumb and forefinger. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the tri-tip and pork butt I did last weekend. The Traeger pellets I used were their Signature Blend that comes in the ziplock bag. Previous Traeger pellets were single flavors that didn’t appear as physically firm as the signature blend or other quality pellets that seem to be firm…which I equated to higher quality…right or wrong. I had good smoke from those…even when I mixed hickory, apple, and oak (different brand oak) the smoke was very nice. But I digress.
I was bored last Monday and did a lot of YouTube surfing for all things RecTeq and good-grade pellets. I came across this video that I found most interesting. Two apparently well-respected BBQers did a blind taste of pellets. The Yoder guy (can’t remember his name) seemed to really dislike Traeger pellets. Assuming his info is correct, they use flavor oils in making their pellets. I don’t know. They knew the names/brands of pellets being used and talked ahead of the cooks about what they thought of the quality of each. Traeger and Pit Boss were their perceived least favorites…for the quality and the smoke of those pellets. As you’ll see in this video, the blind taste testing of the cooked briskets had Traeger and Pit Boss as the winners as determined by their panel of taste testers. And these guys used some fairly pricey pellets too (Knotty Wood pellets…almond wood or plum wood).
Here’s the video:
So, no surprise, it all boils down to what you discover to be good performing pellets that produce food you enjoy. And from the many pellet discussions I’ve read on this forum, many of you have your favorite pellets and are sticking with them. Nothing wrong with that. It’d be a boring world if we all only liked the same things.
From other things I read and from personal experiences, some pellets will have more dust than others. I think the more a bag is handled from production to stores and then to your home, the more dust you’re likely to have. I’ve found Pit Boss pellets that I can get for $8.99-$9.99 for a 20lb bag at the local Food Lion grocery store a deal hard to pass. And I liked the smoke I got from it. Same for the deal for Kirkland 40-lb bag of pellets for $13.49…except I wasn’t a fan of the smoke.
So I’m finishing up my “research” with the 40-lb bag of CookinPellets over the next week or two. I encourage everyone, especially if you’re somewhat new to pellet cooking, to try the different brands and flavors and find the pellets that produce the best food for you and your family…as well as fits your budget.
The RecTeq pellets appear high grade as did the pellets from CookinPellets.com. The Traeger pellets from Costco appear physically good too. The Kirkland brand not so much. And there’s like 4 or 5 different flavors in that blend and I didn’t feel like I had any pronounced smoke flavor…very neutral. Pit Boss pellets were very light colored and somewhat fragile to pinching between my thumb and forefinger. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the tri-tip and pork butt I did last weekend. The Traeger pellets I used were their Signature Blend that comes in the ziplock bag. Previous Traeger pellets were single flavors that didn’t appear as physically firm as the signature blend or other quality pellets that seem to be firm…which I equated to higher quality…right or wrong. I had good smoke from those…even when I mixed hickory, apple, and oak (different brand oak) the smoke was very nice. But I digress.
I was bored last Monday and did a lot of YouTube surfing for all things RecTeq and good-grade pellets. I came across this video that I found most interesting. Two apparently well-respected BBQers did a blind taste of pellets. The Yoder guy (can’t remember his name) seemed to really dislike Traeger pellets. Assuming his info is correct, they use flavor oils in making their pellets. I don’t know. They knew the names/brands of pellets being used and talked ahead of the cooks about what they thought of the quality of each. Traeger and Pit Boss were their perceived least favorites…for the quality and the smoke of those pellets. As you’ll see in this video, the blind taste testing of the cooked briskets had Traeger and Pit Boss as the winners as determined by their panel of taste testers. And these guys used some fairly pricey pellets too (Knotty Wood pellets…almond wood or plum wood).
Here’s the video:
So, no surprise, it all boils down to what you discover to be good performing pellets that produce food you enjoy. And from the many pellet discussions I’ve read on this forum, many of you have your favorite pellets and are sticking with them. Nothing wrong with that. It’d be a boring world if we all only liked the same things.
From other things I read and from personal experiences, some pellets will have more dust than others. I think the more a bag is handled from production to stores and then to your home, the more dust you’re likely to have. I’ve found Pit Boss pellets that I can get for $8.99-$9.99 for a 20lb bag at the local Food Lion grocery store a deal hard to pass. And I liked the smoke I got from it. Same for the deal for Kirkland 40-lb bag of pellets for $13.49…except I wasn’t a fan of the smoke.
So I’m finishing up my “research” with the 40-lb bag of CookinPellets over the next week or two. I encourage everyone, especially if you’re somewhat new to pellet cooking, to try the different brands and flavors and find the pellets that produce the best food for you and your family…as well as fits your budget.
