Smoky Bear Mountain Pellets

[Mlmurrah]

I have been using Lumber Jack pellets in my RT-700 because they come so highly recommended. I like a strong smoky flavor, and their mesquite and hickory did a pretty good job.

Recently I was smoking a brisket and noticed I was running low of pellets in the hopper. I thought I had another bag, but i was wrong. The Lumber Jack dealer was too far away for a quick trip and closed at the time, and I decided to grab whatever I could find at the local Academy as insurance. I was disappointed that the only hickory they had was Bear Mountain, and I reluctantly bought it. I filled the hopper with Bear Mountain and finished my smoke, but the Bear Mountain pellets did not have much effect since so few were used.

My next brisket smoke used Bear Mountain exclusively. When I sliced off a piece to taste, the smoke flavor was pronounced. The next day when we reheated a few slices for a brisket sandwich, it was even better. It did not immediately occur to me that the reason for the extra smokiness was the Bear Mountain pellets.

It appears to me that Bear Mountain has a stronger smoke flavor, at least in the hickory, than Lumber Jack. Looks like I will be using Bear Mountain from now on. The sad thing is that I bought four 20# bags of Lumber Jack Hickory Blend before I made the connection between the extra smokiness and Bear Mountain pellets.

 

[JGW]

Bear Mountain is my go to. I prefer them over all others

 

[Plumberguy]

Bear Mountain is my go to. I prefer them over all others

Me too. Imo, the lumberjack pellets smell like varnish, and create a lot of ash, was not crazy about them. Traeger and pit boss kind of bland in my experience and don’t smell like wood. I’ve been happy with bear mountain. Not sure how much it matters, honestly, just my preference.

 

[Dubs]

I used Bear Mountain gourmet blend for the first time last weekend, as RK doesn‘t carry LJ anymore. A little pronounced more smoke taste, but it hardly produced any smoke, very clean burning. Time will tell.

 

[Motodad1776]

Always interesting to me how we all have a different take on pellets with how they burn and the smoke taste they produce, I prefer the Pitboss pellets go figure.

 

[C. Keeper]

Always interesting to me how we all have a different take on pellets with how they burn and the smoke taste they produce, I prefer the Pitboss pellets go figure.

I didn't have any issues with them. See, you're not alone.

 

[Bbqallday80]

Bear Mountain is my go to. I prefer them over all others

Do you just use all hickory? I found some at tractor supply at a good price and wondered how all hickory does

 

[JGW]

I usually use the Gourmet Blend or the Bold Blend. Bold is my favorite. I just stopped by today and grabbed three more bags to top off my supply.

If we had a way to quickly change out pellets, I would just buy Oak, Apple, Cherry, etc. My Traeger was easy to change out pellets due to having a trap door (so to speak) that allow me to quickly empty the hopper.

The RT hopper is huge and I don't like vacuuming out the pellets, so blends are what I prefer with it since blends work with multiple types of meat.

 

[Bbqallday80]

I usually use the Gourmet Blend or the Bold Blend. Bold is my favorite. I just stopped by today and grabbed three more bags to top off my supply.

If we had a way to quickly change out pellets, I would just buy Oak, Apple, Cherry, etc. My Traeger was easy to change out pellets due to having a trap door (so to speak) that allow me to quickly empty the hopper.

The RT hopper is huge and I don't like vacuuming out the pellets, so blends are what I prefer with it since blends work with multiple types of meat.

I enjoy using fruit woods as well. I’ll look and see if they have bold in stock. Thanks for replying

 

[Bbqallday80]

I know this is about bear mountain but just a curiosity question. I live near Rec tec and they sell there blend for 20 bucks 40 pound bag. What is everyone’s opinion on their brand? Thanks all

 

[R Berg]

I’ve used the Rectec pellets exclusively since I bought my 1250
Ive never had problems with them
They burn well with little ash and adequate smoke
If I want more smoke I add a smoke tube which is easy
For me I don’t see a need to make a change or experiment with a bunch of different brands…if I don’t like them then I’m stuck with them
I doubt I’d be gaining much in smoke
Maybe save a few dollars in cost
For me I’ll stick with the RecTec pellets…they work fine

 

[JGW]

I can only order RT pellets. I cannot get them locally, so I have to use local options. Shipping RT pellets here is already way more expensive than most other options, and Bear Mountain works great at less than 1/2 the cost.

Less $$ on pellets means more $$ on meat.

 

[BadgerFan]

I posted in another thread that Fleet Farm has Bear Mountain pellets on sale right now for ^6.49 and $7.99 a bag.

 

[TexasBirdDog]

Bear Mountain is my go to. I use Hickory on pretty much everything I smoke. Out of all the pellets I’ve tried(LJ, Target, ReqTec blends, etc), Bear Mountain is my favorite. Really consistent from bag to bag and I never have to worry if I’ll get the results I want.

 

[Waterboy]

FYI Bear Mountain is having a BOGO sale plus free shipping. Good deal especially for those that don’t have them available close by.

 

[Daikyu]

Thanks for the heads up on the sale. Got 80lbs of pellets for $35

 

[Mannydog]

Thanks very much for the heads-up, @Waterboy! Unfortunately, I'm scheduled for double-hernia surgery (ouch!) next week and won't be able to lift the bags when they're delivered and carry them to the shed in the backyard. Thankfully, my wife agreed to do it using the wheelbarrow... so I "only" ordered 160 lbs (8 bags).

 

[C. Keeper]

Thanks very much for the heads-up, @Waterboy! Unfortunately, I'm scheduled for double-hernia surgery (ouch!) next week and won't be able to lift the bags when they're delivered and carry them to the shed in the backyard. Thankfully, my wife agreed to do it using the wheelbarrow... so I "only" ordered 160 lbs (8 bags).

I can lend a hand if needed, I'll behave

 

[PRC]

FYI Bear Mountain is having a BOGO sale plus free shipping. Good deal especially for those that don’t have them available close by.

Thanks for the info, just put an order in. I have never used these pellets before, so I am interested in how they work out.

 

[FastEddie]

Ordered 80 lbs!
My local Bear Mtn supplier recently switch to some other brand. I really liked Bear Mtn.