My first time using a pellet smoker

[PapaRed]

I've used the charcoal pellets from Pit Boss , and the char hickory from Lumberjack .
I bought the Pit Boss on close out , and used them mostly for heat . I thought they kicked out more visible smoke , but more ash too . The char hickory were ok .
Get a bag of the Royal oak and see what you think .
I use mostly B&B and Lumberjack . If I see a sale on bear mountain I'll buy some .

As a recent convert to pellet smokers (I'm also keeping my Weber) the pellet conversation is much like the Ford-Chevy one. I've relied on ChopSaw's advice several times, and agree with his choice of pellets even though a 20# bag of LJ sells for around $16 in my area.

 

[Elf@shore]

As a recent convert to pellet smokers (I'm also keeping my Weber) the pellet conversation is much like the Ford-Chevy one. I've relied on ChopSaw's advice several times, and agree with his choice of pellets even though a 20# bag of LJ sells for around $16 in my area.

You can always start with a cheap brand just to fire it up? Then add yur Premo
Pellets?

 

[Recteqer]

I enjoy BBQ cooked on the offset but until I bought my pellet smoker I only got to cook a few times a year because of the time commitment it takes. My favorite is brisket so the time commitment just didn't allow me to cook as often as I'd like.

I bought a pellet smoker specifically to try overnight brisket and since then I've never looked back. I actually wound up selling my other smoker because it never got used.

I may eventually try one of those smoke tubes but I'm pretty happy with what I'm turning out and I'm getting to cook much more often.

That was one of the deciding factors for me too. My wife wants brisket all the time, now i can give her what she wants. I can`t believe how easy it is to run these pellet smokers. But with that said, i`ll never forget the good times and the good food that came from 50+yrs of stick burning. Like you also, i don`t think i`ll need a smoke tube, i`m getting enough smoke to keep the wife an i very happy.

 

[Aekif]

That was one of the deciding factors for me too. My wife wants brisket all the time, now i can give her what she wants. I can`t believe how easy it is to run these pellet smokers. But with that said, i`ll never forget the good times and the good food that came from 50+yrs of stick burning. Like you also, i don`t think i`ll need a smoke tube, i`m getting enough smoke to keep the wife an i very happy.

I'm doing the opposite here. I'm going from pellet grill to offset because I think it'll be more fun to be more involved. No good excuse to sit there and drink a beer if I don't have to be outside since it's so hot (Florida), so right now I sit inside and stare out the window at my pellet grill (while drinking a beer, or a gin and tonic, or a whisky highball)

 

[Recteqer]

My 2nd cook....2.5lb pork shoulder
Bear Mountain pellets - Blend
275 degrees (beginning to end)
3hrs smoke
2hrs in foil

Kosmos Honey Bee dry rub
Mustard binder
No sauce

It was extremely tender and juicy

 

[Inscrutable]

Looks (and I’m sure tastes) great!
I migrated to a pellet pooper because about everyone else I cook for prefers a light smoke profile. Maybe not quite as convenient/easy as the electric Smokin-It I had, but close. Still have a Weber for hot and fast and charcoal flavor. And the Ninja has been a very pleasant surprise and gets used a lot.

 

[Barefootdog]

Those ribs look so good...I'm hungry.

I run a large or a small smoke tube depending on the length of the cook. For ribs I run a short tube. Too much smoke on cold/cool meat can get bitter. Too much smoke at the end of the cook can get bitter.

Amazon sells various smoke tube knock offs...as long as they are fully stainless and reviews from confirmed buyers are good you should be fine. My Amazon knock offs have seen heavy service and remain fully functional. The tubes can handle pellets or chips/chunks or a mix of pellets and chips. I prefer smoke rather than an active flame from the smoke tube.

I tend to fuss with my pellets. I screen them to remove the fines and small bits that can jam an auger. I usually add roughly 25% of 100% charcoal or 50% charcoal pellets to the pellet mix. In my Pit Boss Brunswick vertical smoker the mix seems to stabilize temperature.

I don't mean to tell you your business. Many here have more experience than myself. That said the tube and the pellet mix are two things that have improved my product. YMMV.

Those ribs look very tasty......maybe it's ribs for dinner tomorrow.

 

[Deezel13]

No flavor change that I have tasted if anything more mild. The problem with these pellet machines is that the fire is always being forged with forced air. This makes them burn clean and efficient but makes it difficult to really taste the fuel. In a stick burner you manage the coal bed to control or maintain temperature, in a pellet machine there really is no coal bed just an active air fed fire, more fuel =hotter temp, less fuel=lower temp but the fire is always air fed and burning clean.

Many years ago I had a Green Mountain grill. I’ve never seen another pellet machine operate the same as that one. It would actively forge the fire until the temp was reached then it would “huff” the air to the fire kind of a bellowed effect with fan kicking on/off until temp dropped below set then steady fan kicked in and more pellets added to the fire. It was excellent, I wish they all operated the same way.

Read this and instantly felt better about my recent purchase GMG Ledge Prime.
Just picked up last night and got her built, will prime and season her tonight.

 

[WaterRat]

Ribs look good! I’m not sure how I missed this post earlier Have fun with the new rig

 

[duffman]

Looks great. I just got a pellet smoker as well more for ease of use, less set up and clean up. I have been a fan so far.

 

[nchapelheel]

I have a GMG pellet pooper and it works well with all pellets EXCEPT the Royal Oak charcoal
pellets. Those pellets are harder than others. I could hear the auger struggling when I used
those in the hopper. Since then, I use Pit Boss in the hopper and Royal Oak in the tube. I also
put hickory chips in the tube with the pellets. It might be my imagination, but I think I got
better smoke flavor that way.