While most every meat can benefit from some amount of smoke flavor, there are times I want to use my pellet grill and not have the food pick up smoke flavor. Example is mac and cheese. I've never had smoked mac and cheese that I enjoyed very much. So, if I choose to use my pellet grill as an outdoor oven, which pellet should I use? I'm lean towards apple. There are many woods I've never tried but I figured there would be some good advise.
Of course, I also expect (and welcome) the snide remarks about not liking smoked mac and cheese, but let 'em rip anyway.
Last edited by Bkhuna; September 17, 2023, 12:48 PM.
This is why I keep my Smoke Vault around. You are absolutely right in that smoke flavor doesn’t belong in every dish. When I want the lightest hint of smoke in my pellet I do use Apple.
I messed around with different pellets early on, but the differences I've found to be very minor in practice. I think most pellets are mostly oak anyway and the efficiency by which they burn reduces the smoke flavor substantially. (The one exception is the hickory pellets I've tried; those do tend to be stronger.)
I use these for 99% of my cooks. It is a very mild smoke flavor and I love it on fish and ground meat, the two things for which I don't usually like an overly prominent smoke flavor. In fact, when I do smoked mac and cheese, I will put the dish in the smoker cold and then start it up so I get all of that "start up smoke." I cook my mac for about 40 minutes at 350 F and it never comes out tasting smoky.
(Granted, cooking at such as high temp significantly reduces the smoke in the first place.)
I think apple or pecan would work well; alder if you can find it (many people like alder for seafood as it is very mild smoke natively).
Not liking smoked mac and cheese?
That's absurd. That's like saying some people like to put beans in their chili.
I was with you on everything in the post. Chimp, B&B pellets, all good. Then you had to go ruin it with your statement about beans in chili. Everyone knows that chili without beans is beyond absurd...
That actually is an excellent idea. Keep it covered for the first half of the cook. (Cold food "absorbs" smoke easier) then uncover for the last half so the top browns up.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks Square DOT
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Joule Turbo Sous Vide Circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
You might have a look at BBQR's Delight Jack Daniel's pellets. They're a blend of oak and charcoal (!). I've been told that they are especially good for adding heat capacity when mixed with other pellets when cooking at high altitudes. I suspect that their flavor profile is probably more neutral than most other blends ... and I bet that CandySueQ could easily confirm, deny, or suggest alternatives.
We are no longer licensees for Jack Daniel's. Duraflame got it. The 20# JD pellets are still around (Ace Hardware, Amazon), just not on bbqrsdelight.com! One pound bags will disappear.
not sure about other grills, but for me the new MAK design/firmware pumps out noticeable smoke past 350F. I've seen multiple accounts of the LSG doing the same and maybe some other grills. I forget what grill he has but it's worth mentioning that at least a small sample size of grills produce usable smoke above 300 these days, which is what he's kinda trying to limit.
Sorta on the same page. I don't have a pellet grill nor have I ever eaten anything cooked on one. How smokey are breads, pies, cookies, mac&cheese etc cooked on a pellet grill? I just don't think I would like a smoked apple pie but who knows?
I prefer smoked Mac and cheese on my pellet smoker over it smoked in my kettle. So does my family. In fact the last time I did it I pulled it off my kettle and put it on my Silverbac. As for pellet, I’ve been using the Kirkland brand for the past year and have no complaints.
From what I’ve been told they’re the same pit boss pellets but maybe $5 cheaper. I’ve spent a lot of money on different pellets and if I’m going to be honest I think they all kind of taste the same. So if a 40lb bag is selling for $12 then I going to buy that that instead of a $20 bag for 20lb.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Funny - I've found the same thing. While I really like the smoked mac n cheese recipe I've been using, its super easy for it to be over smoked. I've just stopped using smoking wood with it, and just charcoal. Or cooking it in the oven inside even... or using the gas grill...
I always heard that most pellet smokers put out little smoke once you got them up past low and slow temps, i.e. up into the 300's. Is that not the case for yours?
Bkhuna listen to CandySueQ - she makes pellets for a living (BBQr's Delight). That said - if you have an Academy nearby, they sell a 40 lb back of B&B Championship Blend pellets for $19.99. Heck - it shows a 40 pound sack of pecan pellets is on clearance for $4.98 right now. If I had a pellet smoker I would be there today on my lunch hour!
At one point I *think* BBQr's Delight was making the B&B pellets, but I might be wrong...
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