What is Your Go-To Pellet Flavor?

[gshayd]

My favorite mix is a 50/50 blend of Oak and Pecan

[CandySueQ]

My contest mix is 50/50 cherry and pecan (oak is already in the pellets). Academy Sports sells B&B Pellets and they have a deal for 40# bags of Championship Blend, which is 50/50 cherry & pecan all ready mixed up.

[jfmorris]

I figured you would be using "Candy's Contest Pellets"! . That's a mix I want to try for sure if I ever get a pellet smoker.

[bten]

I like that blend, "Candy's Contest Pellets" or CCP for short (we seem to like abreviations here). I will try that next time I get pellets. btw, if you are looking for B&B pellets and are in Texas, HEB has the best price.

[choffert]

CookinPellets competition blend. Pellet smokers are don't smoke as heavy my old vertical propane/wood chunk smoker, so I use an extra smoke box (Blazn' Grill Works) with pure flavor wood (apple, mesquite, hickory, etc) to augment and push the flavor profile in different directions. I've noticed too, that using same pellet all the time helps consistency of heat and smoker performance (eliminates a variable when tweaking a recipe).

[Jerod Broussard]

With tips from The Pellet Queen I've figured to do the following. (as she has stated Oak is already in there to the tune of 67% for Btu's)

Mix Hickory or Pecan 50/50 with Cherry for beef and pork

Straight Cherry for poultry or fish.

[Keltonfoss]

I pretty exclusively use Louisiana Grills Competition Pellets, and the exclusive fruitwoods we developed and carry at the retail store I work for. I get an amazing deal on the comp blend, and use the exclusives to add different flavors depending on what I'm cooking. I use a lot of pecan for my beef smokes, prefer apple and hickory for pork, and run just the comp blend for my fish. I think a large reasoning for using what I use is price. I may be a bit biased.

[jharner]

LOVE Cookingpellets

[Dr ROK]

I recently read the statement below on a different forum. I would consider the person that posted it to be an expert in the area of bbq.

"Changing to a different brand, or flavor of pellet might help, but in reality, in blind testing, no one can actually tell what flavor of pellet the food was cooked with. The smell of the wood burning is distinctive, but the resultant "flavor" is not."

After reading it, I tend to agree. Changing the type of smoke, acrid vs clean, would impact the flavor, but I can't tell the difference in flavor based on the type of wood.

[Skip]

Being a Pellethead since 2004 or 2005 and trying several brands and mixes I would agree with you Dr ROK although Mesquite "seems" a little bolder. Not a lot of difference though.

[packerfannate]

I am with you, I also don't like the stronger smoke of Hickory and Mesquite. I prefer the milder flavors of fruit wood. However, since switching to a pellet smoker I honestly can't really taste the difference between the pellet flavors. I have been using the Costco blend (maple, hickory, and cherry), but mostly because they are usually cheaper per pound.

[realdocBBQ]

I didn't even know Costco had pellets! I will have to look next time I am there, but they are over an hour away, so... I mostly use the B&B pellets I used to get at Academy, now they are carrying them at WalMart! Yay!

[Rod]

realdocBBQ The Costcos around here sell the Traeger blend. Maybe that's what packerfannate meant?

[Fire Art]

I’m new to the game but burned a bag of cherry this last time And could be my new favorite

[Yianno]

My first brand was cabelas, beer and garlic flavor! I also have used jack Daniels for extra flavor on the grill. Mainly I use apple and some hickory.

[realdocBBQ]

Got a few bags of the Pit Boss pellets at WalMart the other day, that seems to be the main brand they are carrying here now. Haven't gotten a chance to use them much yet, just used up all my other B&B stuff and will be using all the Pit Boss I bought the other day over the next few weeks.

[Pirate Scott]

realdocBBQ I am finishing a bag of PitBoss Competition Blend. 16.99 for 40lbs at Lowe’s.Great Smoke smell, but not much flavor.

[CandySueQ]

realdocBBQ, B&B at Academy Sports if there's one near you.

[realdocBBQ]

CandySueQ Yeah I used to get them at Academy, but the nearest is 45 mi, so I was happy to find B&B @ WalMart. I have decided to try these Pit Boss now to see how it goes. If they aren't so great, they'll remain my "emergency back plan" @ WM and I'll stock up next time I head down "to the city".

[Chas Martel]

Green Mountain Premium Texas Blend for brisket, cherry for everything else. I also like pecan. I'm still experimenting, however, and keeping an open mind to anything. The ones named above are my favorites so far.

[Jerod Broussard]

After some testing on briskets, butts, beef ribs, pork ribs, ham, and deer & pork sausage, I think the following will serve me just fine.

1. Straight Oak in the hopper, max BTU's and max efficiency.
2. 1lb Cherry and 1lb either pecan or hickory in the Pro Smoker, even if the grill is full, I can spare the room.

[vandy]

I think you are on to something there Jerod Broussard

[CandySueQ]

I like straight oak! Burns real clean (low ash) and it gives lighter colored food that beautiful "smoked" color without being offensively smokey.

[MWOE2007]

Jerod Broussard Are you still running the straight oak in the hopper? I just got the same smoker as you and am trying to decide before I make my first big pellet purchase.

[smokin_hide]

I bought a Traeger pellet smoker a couple months ago and as recommended I have been using the traeger pellets. I have tried many of the different kinds(wood type) of traeger pellets I never really noticed much if any difference in the flavor of the meat. But, the performance and heat consistency during the cooks have been very good and have very little ash at the end. So what I do now is, I use traeger pellets for the (fuel/base) in the hopper. Living in Vermont I will combine equal parts of Sugar Maple, Apple, Cherry (to help the smoke ring) and pecan for kicks. All the Traeger flavor woods pellets (except hickory) on the east coast are 70% oak so that is the majority of the wood in this mix. Then I will use the appropriate 100% flavor wood pellets (have been using the Lumber Jack brand with good results) in my tube or pellet tray inside the smoker to add the good smoke flavor we like. I will admit we like a little stronger smoky taste but not so much as to over power the flavor profile of meat that we all work so hard on during the prep. but enough to know they weren't bake in the oven lol If you like more or less smoke flavor this method seems to work pretty well for me and is more economical for me as I only use the more expensive 100% pellets in the cook chamber where it really counts.

[bten]

I like to use B&B Mesquite for beef and Apple for Pork, I also use competion blend for chicken and other things. My "competition blend" also includes leftover pellets when I can't remember which kind they are, or from vacuuming out small batches of left over pellets.