What pellets with what food?

[ccw13]

I'm waiting on my Yoder YS640 to get here and I need to order some pellets.  I'm new to this and trying to figure out which wood flavors typically go with what.  I've searched, and maybe I'm not using the right terms, but I can't find much information other than if something comments on what type of wood they used during a cook.   So basically I'm asking what woods go with what types of food.  I know some people have different opinions and that should make it more interesting. I've even read where some say it makes no difference with pellets.   I just don't have the money to buy all different types of woods, I'd rather get some information and then decide which I want to try. 

 

[jake0531]

A good basic one I think is an all purpose flavor is oak or hickory. Fruit woods of my choice are pecan (readily available) because it gives off a mild smoke flavor. Apple is unique and is 2nd choice when I can get ahold of it. I use actual wood not pellets but you get the idea

 

[ccw13]

A good basic one I think is an all purpose flavor is oak or hickory. Fruit woods of my choice are pecan (readily available) because it gives off a mild smoke flavor. Apple is unique and is 2nd choice when I can get ahold of it. I use actual wood not pellets but you get the idea

Thank you jake.  That is the kind of info I'm looking for.

 

[scottma]

I use a good blend for everything.  Its a mix of Hickory, Oak, Apple and cherry.  Made by cookin Pellets and easily available from amazon with prime shipping.  They also have a 100% hickey bag as well.  Just make sure when you buy them to inspect that they are really !00% hard wood and not some flavored wood with mostly a cheap filler like Alder wood.  Even worse are pellets that use "flavor" oils added to the woods.

 

[tallbm]

 
I'm waiting on my Yoder YS640 to get here and I need to order some pellets.  I'm new to this and trying to figure out which wood flavors typically go with what.  I've searched, and maybe I'm not using the right terms, but I can't find much information other than if something comments on what type of wood they used during a cook.   So basically I'm asking what woods go with what types of food.  I know some people have different opinions and that should make it more interesting. I've even read where some say it makes no difference with pellets.   I just don't have the money to buy all different types of woods, I'd rather get some information and then decide which I want to try. 

Hi there and welcome!

I have been increasingly liking the Pit Boss Competition blend.  The price is generally pretty good for a 40 pound bag ($20 or so online, probably less in an Academy or Walmart if they have it in stock).  It is a blend of 50% Maple, 25% Hickory, and 25% Cherry.

I find it needs about 3.5 hours of smoke or so to start getting really good and if you can double up the smoke in that time period then even better!!! It is good for a variety of meats and should be a good amount for a good price.

After this you may want to get another 2nd option of something you like a lot of.  

Many people will say 100% Hickory but so far in my few months of smoking food I find 100% hickory to give everything a bacon/smoked turkey leg/summer sausage type of smoke flavor. I would vote for Oak or Maple as a middle of the road type of wood smoke.  Many also love Pecan as a similar (but still different) and less potent Hickory type smoke.

You can try the Lumber Jack BBQ 7 varieties BBQ Pellet Pack - 1 Lb. Bag - 100% (Apple, Cherry, Pecan, Hickory, Maple-Hickory-Cherry, Mesquite and Maple)    from Amazon if  you want to get a variety of high quality pellets. The price is quite high compared to buying a large bag of just one type of pellets BUT this is one of the high quality pellet brands and it is one of the only and most complete variety packs you will find.

After going through the variety pack and making your own combos up you may find you like one wood verses the other for everything or for meat combos.  I bought it even though it was expensive but have learned that I WILL be buying both Apple and Cherry pellets. Once you figure out what you like you can commit :)

I hope this info helps :)

 

[ccw13]

Thank you all so much for your info.  I ordered a 40lb bag of the perfect mix of cookinpellets.  So, what would you use cherry and apple for?  Ribs and butts etc?

 

[tallbm]

 
Thank you all so much for your info.  I ordered a 40lb bag of the perfect mix of cookinpellets.  So, what would you use cherry and apple for?  Ribs and butts etc?

I've used 100% Cherry on a Ribeye Roast (prime rib) in order to allow myself to have a good smoke flavor but one that would allow the flavor of the beef to not be overshadowed by the wood.  It was a good plan.  I think next time I do one I will do 70% cherry and 30% pecan to get a little stronger wood flavor on the beef cut.

I've done bacon with 70% apple and 30% hickory and wow it was great!  I could taste the details of the wood flavor when the bacon was pulled at 145F and when I soft fried the bacon.  When fried crispy I lost the flavor details of the apple and such but that common bacon smoke flavor was still great.

I also did 50/50 cherry and pecan on bacon and it was amazing as well.  I think the apple and hickory combo juuuuuuust beat it out but it was amazing as well.

I have done cherry on chicken breasts and it was good but chicken cooks up so quickly I really needed to double up on the smoke.

Did cherry on pork country style ribs and pork spare ribs while I was playing with the 3-2-1 technique.  The flavor was good but again I believe I want to double up the smoke when I go cherry only and I want to go longer on the cherry.  I like what I am getting and want to improve it!

I want to put double apple smoke on some chicken and see what I get but haven't had time to dig into the apple like I want to.  I've had apple smoked pork and chicken that others have made and they were great as well..  I really like the flavor of the apple on the bacon and could imagine how awesome it would be on my smoked chicken breast.

Other than that I've been fooling around with mesquite blends and used 100% alder for my one smoked salmon lox.  

I'm hoping others with a wide variety of wood smoke experience will chime in.  I'm building up my cooks and I have a variety of pellets to figure out what I like with each.  So far I have been happy to learn what I have, like how alder is so mild I won't smoke anything but fish with it and 100% hickory makes everything taste like bacon to me... which is odd when I am not eating bacon hahaha.

I hope this helps :)

 

[ccw13]

I ordered one of those Amazen tubes too.  Just in case I needed more smoke flavor.

 

[tallbm]

 
I ordered one of those Amazen tubes too.  Just in case I needed more smoke flavor.

I've heard nothing but good things about the tube.  I use the AMNPS tray and a mailbox mod for my electric smoker and couldn't be more thrilled with it.  I think you are on the right track and will be happy!

 

[ccw13]

 
I've heard nothing but good things about the tube.  I use the AMNPS tray and a mailbox mod for my electric smoker and couldn't be more thrilled with it.  I think you are on the right track and will be happy!

Thank you, I appreciate the help.  Hopefully more post up what mixes they like with certain foods. 

 

[bregent]

I use mostly hickory, but also keep some cherry on hand to add color for poultry. Some folks keep lots of varieties on hand for different meat, but in blind tasting that I conducted as well as many others, people can't taste the difference in wood species in food cooked on a pellet grill. The smoke flavor is much less pronounced than a stick burner. The main reason I use hickory is because it results in the most smoke flavor in my food, but never overpowering with any type of meat.  On my next order from LumberJack I will probably try the Maple-Hickory-Cherry blend so I only need to keep one variety on hand. 

 

[ccw13]

I just ordered the 4 sample pack of lumberjack pellets.  I got hickory, fruitwood 80% cherry 20% apple, pecan and the MHC mix.  Gonna give those a try too. 

 

[dabigbozman]

You have to experiment and see what taste good to you, we all have different taste buds. This is the chart that I started with

IMG_1991.PNG

• dabigbozman
• Mar 24, 2017

 

[mowin]

I've used everything from Apple to hickory in my pellet smoker. I also use the amazn tube 99% of the time. Guess my taste buds aren't refined enough, or are worn out, because I can't tell the difference between MOST pellets.

I can tell between 100% Hickory or apple compared to the same flavor but with a base wood , 60%, and 40% flavor wood.

However, I can't tell a lick of difference between 100% hickory and say 100% apple.
I definatly can tell a difference between using and not using the amnts.

 

[johnmeyer]

You find might useful this post from here in the forum last year:

Woods For Smoking

 

[ccw13]

 
You find might useful this post from here in the forum last year:

Woods For Smoking

Perfect thank you.....I'm not sure how I missed finding that. 

 

[tbrtt1]

I use 100% hickory and sometimes blend in some 100% mesquite for everything. Pellet smokers are light on smoke flavor so I like using the hearty hard woods. I also use the Amazen tube for many of my smokes. For a brisket for example, I use Hickory, smoke it low for 3-4 hours or more and add the tube and I get a nice smoke flavor that is never over kill. For birds I don;t use the tube and start at 225* for 30-45 and kick it up to 325 to finish and they have only a slight hint of smoke, the way my wife likes em. 

I find the quality of the pellet is more important that the type of wood, not that the type of wood is unimportant. Lesser quality pellets give little to no flavor IMHO. 

 

[tbrtt1]

Also,for what it is worth, I use either Smokin Brothers or Lumberjack. According to the Lumberjack website, the use the whole tree essentially (probably not the leaves) meaning that the bark is included in the process. That means they are actually using trees and not scrap wood (again according to their website). The theory is that if you run a stick burner you don't strip the bark off of the wood and you use actual trees, not sawdust from a lumber mill or other such processing factory. I have to order the Lumberjack and I can get a good price on Smokin Brothers pellets when I get down into to Houston occasionally (I live in the county north of Houston). 

 

[ccw13]

Can't wait to try mine.  It shipped and is tentatively scheduled for delivery Wednesday!   I can't wait.

 

[jtrainor56]

I have only used BBQ Delight Apple in my YS640 for over three years now, too much of a PITA to change out pellets each time. If I want to change the flavor, I have the smaller bags on BBQ D and use the tube smoker. I have both the 6" and 12" and usually use the 12" on brisket and pork butts since I get about 3-4 hours out of it.