Bull "Preferred" Pellets

[SkyKing]

OK, so I have ordered the 700 and it's ready for pickup (shipping). Looking around these threads, there seems to be no single best option when it comes to pellets, and I understand that, opinions are like hineys - everybody has one.

I have looked around the older posts, but to be honest, when you search something like "pellets", there is a butt load of responses. I apologize if this has been asked, but honestly, I did go through 10 pages before I got frustrated.

Here are some of the brands I have seen on the first 10 pages of "pellets": I would like to know your 3 favorite brands/flavors of pellets you would recommend to a newbie RT pellet smoker.

• Rec Teq
• Bear Mountain
• Camp Chef
• Jack Daniels
• Kirkland Premium
• Kirkland Signature
• Kingsford
• Pit Boss Competition
• Traeger
• Something really cool I don't even know about (Old School Reference!)

…I did not notice a difference in flavor for
any of the pellets until I added a smoke tube…I prefer Bear Mountain Oak when cooking brisket…

 

[FF Cory]

I’m a LJ fan first but I have to order them from Michigan. I can’t find any place in Indiana to buy them.

LJ - Hickory Char
LJ - Competition blend
RT - Competition blend

I do enjoy the flavors from LJ also. Pecan, Apple and Cherry. I want to explore the others but the LJ pellets are son clean and I haven’t had any size issues with the ones I’v bought. I like to use the flavored pellets in my smoke tubes.

 

[Cooperman]

I’ve only used Bear mountain pellets, and only have 3 cooks so far. For $8.99 per 20# bag, I’m happy.

 

[FF Cory]

I prefer Lumber Jack! Somewhere someone wrote they thought Cabellas pellets were made by LJ so I emailed LJ a couple of weeks ago to verify that rumor. I received an email back from LJ last week that stated they do make the pellets for Cabellas which you can also get at Bass Pro!

Sweet! I have one within 20min.

 

[FF Cory]

I use Cookin' Pellets both the "Perfect Mix" and 100% Hickory https://cookinpellets.com/

You can find a "local" dealer here: https://cookinpellets.com/dealers/

If dealers are not handy, Mr. Bezos will happily sell you pellets at a higher price with "Free" prime delivery.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cookin'+pellets&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_8

I have heard good things about Lumber Jack.

I tend to go for 100% flavor wood pellets that don't have a lot of dust. I think the dust is a result of how the pellets are made.

I have a dealer about 30min from my house. I am definitely gonna check them out. Thanks!

 

[Foodkid]

OK, so I have ordered the 700 and it's ready for pickup (shipping). Looking around these threads, there seems to be no single best option when it comes to pellets, and I understand that, opinions are like hineys - everybody has one.

I have looked around the older posts, but to be honest, when you search something like "pellets", there is a butt load of responses. I apologize if this has been asked, but honestly, I did go through 10 pages before I got frustrated.

Here are some of the brands I have seen on the first 10 pages of "pellets": I would like to know your 3 favorite brands/flavors of pellets you would recommend to a newbie RT pellet smoker.

• Rec Teq
• Bear Mountain
• Camp Chef
• Jack Daniels
• Kirkland Premium
• Kirkland Signature
• Kingsford
• Pit Boss Competition
• Traeger
• Something really cool I don't even know about (Old School Reference!)

I used to use only Lumberjack Pellets. I have since switched to bear mountain pellets and absolutely love them. Bear Mountain pellets taste better, burn cleaner, and are easier to find. I like the gourmet and hickory flavor

 

[FF Cory]

I used to use only Lumberjack Pellets. I have since switched to bear mountain pellets and absolutely love them. Bear Mountain pellets taste better, burn cleaner, and are easier to find. I like the gourmet and hickory flavor

I am going to give those a try as well as the cookin pellets. They sell the bear mountain at Lowe’s about 8mi away. I just want to make sure that they have them during the winter as well. Cookin Pellets are about 30 away and I want to give them a shot also. I’ll report back on my findings.

 

[northgagriller]

I Like the flavor of Knotty wood plum. But the clinkers are a serious problem. I am 8 hours in to a 10mhour cook. at 4 hours I had to disassemble my grill to clean out the fire pot now I have to do it again. Believe this is my last cook with their product.

Just curious, but how do you know when it’s necessary to clean out due to clinkers? What’s the giveaway that there’s an issue?

 

[Stryker03]

There will be smoke coming out of the pellet hopper. Which means fire is beginning to travel up the auger tube. Scared me the first time it happened.

 

[Lager1829]

The Restaurant Store in Lancaster PA has Bear Mountain 20lb bags on sale for $6.99 through end of Sept. I may just grab a few bags. Have only been using RT Ultimate Blend.

 

[Marcfyve11]

I wanna try Bear Mountain Hickory flavor next. Been hearing good things about it

Honestly, are there really any bad brands tho. At the end of the day, heat meets wood, wood makes fire, fire cooks food. It essentially then becomes a matter of time, temps and tastebuds lol.

Blue skies, Smokey backyards, cheers!!!!

 

[Jim6820]

Honestly, are there really any bad brands tho. At the end of the day, heat meets wood, wood makes fire, fire cooks food. It essentially then becomes a matter of time, temps and tastebuds lol.

If it was only that simple. Pellets aren’t just “wood.” They are compressed wood fiber; sometimes small chips and other times sawdust. Some burn better than others.

Then, there’s size. Some pellet brands are pretty uniform in size; others vary widely. In the extreme, I have seen “pellets” that are nearly 2” long. And, in addition to length, there are soft and hard pellets. Couple extra-long pellets with hard pellets and you have the makings for serious auger jams. Finally, some pellet brands are fairly free of loose sawdust; others, not so much.

There’s also a significant difference in flavor between pellets made with the actual flavor wood and those that are simply a base hardwood (frequently Alder) that is treated with a flavored oil. And, there’s a flavor difference between pellets made from scrap hardwood lumber (think waste from cabinet shops, tool handle manufacturers, etc.) and those made from the actual tree (and, that include the bark).

Those are some of the considerations; there are others but they are less troublesome.

So, yes, there are some “bad brands” out there; or, at least brands that are not optimum for smooth pellet grill operation and/or good cooking results. And, that’s why there is so much discussion about “preferred pellets.” YMMV

 

[Greg Jones]

If it was only that simple. Pellets aren’t just “wood.” They are compressed wood fiber; sometimes small chips and other times sawdust. Some burn better than others.

 

[Marcfyve11]

If it was only that simple. Pellets aren’t just “wood.” They are compressed wood fiber; sometimes small chips and other times sawdust. Some burn better than others.

Then, there’s size. Some pellet brands are pretty uniform in size; others vary widely. In the extreme, I have seen “pellets” that are nearly 2” long. And, in addition to length, there are soft and hard pellets. Couple extra-long pellets with hard pellets and you have the makings for serious auger jams. Finally, some pellet brands are fairly free of loose sawdust; others, not so much.

There’s also a significant difference in flavor between pellets made with the actual flavor wood and those that are simply a base hardwood (frequently Alder) that is treated with a flavored oil. And, there’s a flavor difference between pellets made from scrap hardwood lumber (think waste from cabinet shops, tool handle manufacturers, etc.) and those made from the actual tree (and, that include the bark).

Those are some of the considerations; there are others but they are less troublesome.

So, yes, there are some “bad brands” out there; or, at least brands that are not optimum for smooth pellet grill operation and/or good cooking results. And, that’s why there is so much discussion about “preferred pellets.” YMMV

Copy all, thanks for the reply. I really appreciate your response. as a newly converted stick burner. I didn’t know it got that in depth in terms of pellet choices. Definitely appreciate the enlightenment there! Cheers

 

[Maule Guy]

Just curious, but how do you know when it’s necessary to clean out due to clinkers? What’s the giveaway that there’s an issue?

I am not sure about "clinkers" in the fire pot. I have never seen this in my 590.

When I was helping my Grandad maintain his coal fired furnace from time to time we had to breakup and remove the clinkers. These were made of minerals in the coal that did not burn such as silica and iron.

My extrapolation here would be you are seeing impurities left over from the burning of the pellets. As Jim pointed out there is more to a pellet than just wood. Maybe a different pellet brand would be in order. There are numerous recommendations in this thread.

 

[megafatz]

Another vote for lumberjack competition blend.

 

[BugEater Keven]

Personally of the ones I've tried, in order of preference

Bear Mountain gourmet blend. First ones I used. Good flavor, and my Bullseye ran consistent temps out of the gate with them

Sam's Club Smokehouse brand premium Hardwood blend. Similar to the Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend. Very consistent pellet sizes, none too long or too short. Low dust.

Sam's Club Smokehouse Bourbon barrel pellets. Made from old bourbon barrels. Unique flavor that didn't work well with all meat types. Wasn't good with pork IMO. Did taste good on beef.

Bear Mountain Hickory pellets. Had more temp swings with these on my Bullseye.

Treager Apple wood. Got these with a used RT-300 I bought locally. Good flavor on pulled pork I tried. Only used these in my RT-300

RecTeq premium blend. Very inconsistent pellet size. Had many over 2" long. Lots of dust in bottom of bag. Only ones I actually used a collander to sift out the dust with. These also came in an open bag with the RT-300. Flavor wasn't bad, but couldn't get past the extra long pellets, especially when I have read posts before saying RecTeq tells people with temp swing issues that they recommend not using pellets longer than 3/4 to 1" long. Definitely heard the auger breaking up the longer pellets when feeding. Only ones to do that

GBR!

 

[SmokeOCD]

GBR!

HUH?

 

[Motodad1776]

I'm still rocking/liking my 40lb bags of Pitboss competition blend from Menards, I currently have 240lbs down in the basement.

 

[BDawg]

My favorite pellets are the Lumberjack blend.
But my "secret weapon" is adding 1/4 Pitboss Charcoal pellets mixed in with them (3 scoops of the Lumberjack with 1 scoop of the Charcoal).
Zoom in on the picture I use for my avatar and you'll see a Tri-tip I smoked using that 3:1 blend. Fantastic flavor and smoke ring.

https://www.amazon.com/Boss-Charcoal-Blend-Hardwood-Pellets/dp/B09D41THJB/ref=sr_1_4