List of Suggested Pellets Brands for 2021?

[WillTravelForFood]

Is there a consolidated list of the current "yes, try these" pellets brands/flavors/manufacturers? I assume that the brands that have been listed over the years in this forum are still valid, but it's occasionally awkward to keep cross-referencing threads and dates amongst the related conversation.

I'll throw out what may be a useful chart suggestion -- does anything like this already exist here on the Pit?

THIS IS MERELY AN EXAMPLE AND DOES NOT CONTAIN REAL INFO

MANUFACTURER	FLAVOR	INGREDIENTS	AVAILABLE PACKAGE SIZES	MSRP	Something something else helpful can go here
Traeger	Competition	80% alder 10% cherry 10% hickory	20lb	$18.99
Kingsford Hardwood Pellets	Hickory	100% Hickory	20lb	$18.99

Do we have something like this already compiled in one place?

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Usually Cookin Pellets, Lumberjack, and BBQr’s Delight are common favorites/recommended here.

[WillTravelForFood]

yup, I get those are the usual brands mentioned and you all know these things better than anyone, but didn't know if there was a Master List overall to give an overall "here's what's out there, and out of all these dozens, you'll see these 5-8 are often the most recommended".

I figure that as pellet manufacturers expand, we'll see more coming up to the 100% wood/no filler category - and wouldn't want to miss seeing options as they're introduced.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Nothing I am aware of usually because pellets beyond the brand tend to be linked to the specific flavors desired for that individual cook.

[glitchy]

As far as a complete chart, I don’t know of any. Some keep their mix a secret, others don’t. I only know of CookinPellets, Lumberjack and Kingsford that do 100% single species, more brands have special blends without oak or alder. I also think Lumberjack and Bear Mountain make a lot of the grill and store brands. I try to keep an eye on newcomers, but in the end, it’s all sawdust compressed in a die and sealed in a bag to be sold and burned.

Preferred brands are just that, people’s preferences. Myself, I prefer CookinPellets because in my experience they produce less ash than other brands, usually have less dust in the bags, and don’t keep secrets about what they use other than exact ratios of some mixes. Others prefer whatever is cheapest, what is available at their local store, what brand makes a particular species, what their owners manual tells them to use, etc. Try some out and find what suits you.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Unfortunately there isn't, and to make things more difficult some pellet brands perform better than others depending on the grill brand. Some of the most popular pellets could be a completely unusable dud for one grill, and the best thing since sliced bread on another.

My personal favorite for my grill are the SmokeHouse brand sold at Sams club. They smoke well, don't produce much ash, and respond pretty well at all temp ranges of my grill... and are VERY affordable.

But I've also liked some of the cheapest crap on the market like Cuisinart, PitBoss, and ExpertGrill.

I also really like BBQers Delight and I've been having better luck with Lumberjack than the first times I tried them.

I will often take one of the more expensive brands and mix it with something else to create a flavor and cook profile I want.

The only absolute dud brand I've come across is Weber. Their pellets produce a ton of ash, the pellets are not on the cheap end, and they don't smoke well below 225.

Bottom line, what gets you the most bang for your buck for your grill... and that's gonna be different for everyone.

[willxfmr]

This is just based on my experience with my Camp Chef DLX24, so don't take any of it as gospel.

My cooker decided what brand of pellets I wanted to use. When I first got it, I got a bag pf Pit Boss pellets because that is what the local big box store carried. I had crazy temp swings in the +/- 70° range. After a lot of back and forth with Camp Chef, and no improvement, I thought my cooker was just a POS and I had just wasted good money on junk. To be clear, Camp Chef support was great. They sent me a bunch of parts they thought might be causing the problem, and a bag of the Camp Chef brand pellets. They also gave me a ton of advice, and never seemed like they were going to give up.

What finally got things going in the right direction was a Camp Chef owners forum that had a lot of posts about how the DLX was very picky about what pellet brand works and what doesn't. Based on the information I got form there, I bought a bag of Lumberjack online, and it has been smooth sailing ever since. All my wild temp swings, and flame outs went away, and I was able to feel comfortable actually learning to cook on it.

The point of all this rambling? Some cookers need to run a certain brand of pellets to function correctly. I'm sure there are some cookers that it makes no difference on. At the end of the day, me singing the praises of Lumberjack might be the worst thing for the next person who's cooker runs like crap with Lumberjack, but perfect with Pit Boss.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

All true. That said, I see a huge number of complaints with PB pellets across multiple brands.

[DavidNorcross]

I have also had good success with the Smokehouse brand. But am also working to experiment with others. I can say that I do not see a ton of difference in flavor.

[Clark]

I have had best results with Lumberjack (Atwoods for $8.99 reg. and $6.99 sale) and B&B Post Oak w/o any fillers (Academy for $8.99 usually). Used to love BBQr's Delight but no one sells them in my area.