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Which Pellets for First Cook?

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    Which Pellets for First Cook?

    I'm getting ready to do my first cook on my new Grilla Silverbac Alpha and first pellet grill! It seems like a lot of folks basically fill the hopper with pellets and don't change them until they run out. I was thinking of Lumberjack 100% Apple or Lumberjack Competition blend. Any thoughts as to which one I should use to get started with pellet grilling and smoking?

    #2
    What are you cooking? If pork or fowl then I think you choice is spot on. If beef then I’d do oak or mesquite. But I’m sure you will get dozens of opinions.

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    #3
    Sorry - I'm doing a couple spatchcocked chickens. I'm totally unfamiliar with the smoke profile of a pellet grill so I was wondering which pellets (Apple or Competition Blend) might be better for all purpose smoking, grilling and learning. Also - please tell me if none of the above is the answer.

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      #4
      I personally use a comp blend with everything, though I do sometimes mix a 5lb bag of charcoal pellets in with my 20lb bag of comp. If cheese or fish I try to go to a more delicate smoke, but comp blend hasn't overpowered either of those items either. I do need to get a mesquite though for beef, just haven't got around to it. I don't change stuff out much because I'm lazy

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        #5
        Both are good choices for chicken. I use to have pails filled with different types but I’m down to just a few for almost everything. An Apple/Cherry mix, a Comp mix, and a Hickory. Most of the time I just use the Comp

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          #6
          Honestly, it doesn't matter much. Choosing a quality brand (e.g., BBQr's Delight or Lumberjack) is more important than the exact type of wood. Personally, I use Grilla Grills' Comp Blend (reportedly made by Lumberjack) for everything ... although I do keep a variety pack of BBQr's Delight "flavor pellets" on hand if I ever feel the need to shake things up a bit.

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            #7
            I'm very new to this world of pellet cookers but not new to live fire cooking and I've only done a few pellet cooks. Asking about favorite pellets I'm sure is like asking about favorite cookers. It's such a subjective question.
            However when I've read "use quality brand pellets" I've been trying to figure out what that means? With charcoal the differences are many and obvious but so far to me not so much with pellets. As far as I know all pellets are made from compressed wood by different proprietary processes. So far I've only used Treager and another brand that was 1/2 the price. Both in competition blends. I did not see any difference between these two. They both spread a fine wood dust coating over the inside of the grill when 1st fired up to preheat. Both seemed to use the same amount for the cook. Both had light smoke profiles. I don't know if Treager pellets are in the "quality pellet" category or not? I'm assuming the 1/2 price brand is not considered a "quality brand".
            I'm looking forward to more info from the pellet pros in the pit and appreciate MtView posing the question.
            Last edited by hogdog6; October 19, 2019, 11:03 AM.

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              #8
              As Troutman says, you'll get lots of suggestions because tastes range widely. In general I would agree with him stated in a different way, "white" meats generally satisfy better with fruit woods or fruit wood blends, and red meat with what are traditionally thought of as hardwoods. You further clarified by saying "better for all purpose" which would play to the blends. Just be aware that not all blends come in equal proportions of the varieties on the label. The two blends I have the easiest access to, for instance, are the Cookin' Pellets and Smokehouse. Between those two the CPs have a higher percentage of fruit woods, based on smell and taste, than the Smokehouse. So it comes down to what flavor profile floats your boat. Frankly, if you're new to this as noted just start with an easily obtainable blend and experiment. Don't try to be "perfect" from the beginning, enjoy the journey...…..

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                #9
                You have to remember that a pellet grill does not provide the smoke flavor that a wood smoker does. So when I had mine I went with Hickory to get max smoke or Hickory and Cherry. Or for chicken all Cherry. I never used a blend as they did not provide enough smoke flavor.

                Good luck with your first smoke.

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