New Member - long time smoker

[jdilly_bbq]

New here as I am replacing my vertical offset smoker with a Camp Chef pellet grill/smoker. Just trying to find the best pellets available to me locally and see what everyone recommends.

So far it looks like Bear Mountain pellets are the most readily available because I don't have an academy sports or rural king near by for Lumberjack pellets.

Looking forward to smoking more and learning more.

 

[Fueling Around]

Welcome to Smoking Meat Forums (SMF)

Honestly, I have tried many brands of pellets and talked with friends on their favorite pellets and read opinions here.
I use the cheapest pellet that will burn in the smoker.
For flavor, I use a smoke tube filled with Lumberjack pellets. I have used Bear Mountain and the only pellets I like are the oak

 

[bauchjw]

Welcome from Virginia! I have to agree with Fueling Around . Maybe I’m not OCD enough, but honestly Traeger are the only pellets I haven’t liked, lumberjack has been my favorite, but like you, getting them is tough. Id just try some different kinds and see what you like, I’ve been happy with Kingsfords pellets lately.

 

[DougE]

New here as I am replacing my vertical offset smoker with a Camp Chef pellet grill/smoker. Just trying to find the best pellets available to me locally and see what everyone recommends.

So far it looks like Bear Mountain pellets are the most readily available because I don't have an academy sports or rural king near by for Lumberjack pellets.

Looking forward to smoking more and learning more.

Welcome from Kentucky. I have the Camp Chef SG24 WIFI. I have wanted to try Bear Mountain, but my local TSC never has the woods I want in stock. I have a Rural King about 30 minutes away, so I usually use Lumberjack. I have also used Kingsford cherry and hickory pellets with pretty good results. I'm not keen on Pitboss pellets since I don't get as much smoke flavor out of them as I do the others.


EDIT: It's been posted elsewhere on here, but last time I was at Rural King, it looked like they were phasing out Lumberjack for their own RK branded pellets. I may give them a shot when I need to restock.

 

[jdilly_bbq]

Welcome to Smoking Meat Forums (SMF)

Honestly, I have tried many brands of pellets and talked with friends on their favorite pellets and read opinions here.
I use the cheapest pellet that will burn in the smoker.
For flavor, I use a smoke tube filled with Lumberjack pellets. I have used Bear Mountain and the only pellets I like are the oak

Welcome from Kentucky. I have the Camp Chef SG24 WIFI. I have wanted to try Bear Mountain, but my local TSC never has the woods I want in stock. I have a Rural King about 30 minutes away, so I usually use Lumberjack. I have also used Kingsford cherry and hickory pellets with pretty good results. I'm not keen on Pitboss pellets since I don't get as much smoke flavor out of them as I do the others.


EDIT: It's been posted elsewhere on here, but last time I was at Rural King, it looked like they were phasing out Lumberjack for their own RK branded pellets. I may give them a shot when I need to restock.

unfortunately I am in S Florida and no Rural King to speak of. So I’m limited to what lowes, Home Depot, and Lowes stock. I’m sure I can order others online but much pricier than getting stuff locally. But I believe they have kings does and bear mountain

 

[DougE]

Try the Kingsford out and see what you think. Bear Mountain also gets good reviews, so I'd try them too. Heck, try anything available locally. Taste is a subjective thing, and you might like something that someone else doesn't. Experimenting is all part of the fun of this smoking thing. I'll also add that Kingsford has some pellets in their lineup that includes spices. That doesn't really send me, so I've only used wood flavors; specifically hickory and cherry. I don't recall much about the hickory since it kind of got mixed in with Lumberjack hickory I already had in the hopper, but I did use the cherry from an empty hopper, and it did impart a noticeable cherry flavor.

 

[912smoker]

Welcome to SMF from SE Ga.
If you have a local Ace Hardware you can order online and have it shipped to the store for no shipping fee. I do not use pellets but they have a lot of options online

Keith

 

[bill ace 350]

Check out Walmart. The Pellets they sell are good.

 

[jdilly_bbq]

Try the Kingsford out and see what you think. Bear Mountain also gets good reviews, so I'd try them too. Heck, try anything available locally. Taste is a subjective thing, and you might like something that someone else doesn't. Experimenting is all part of the fun of this smoking thing. I'll also add that Kingsford has some pellets in their lineup that includes spices. That doesn't really send me, so I've only used wood flavors; specifically hickory and cherry. I don't recall much about the hickory since it kind of got mixed in with Lumberjack hickory I already had in the hopper, but I did use the cherry from an empty hopper, and it did impart a noticeable cherry flavor.

I have only ever used charcoal in my old offset and always got great Smokey flavor and typically any lump charcoal I used was great. So this is all newish territory for me. The only thing I’ve seen is to make sure it’s 100% wood and no fillers for longevity of the grill and to get a good cook. I will definitely try as much as I can get my hands on. Just want to stay away from stuff that people have used already and had issues with.

 

[DougE]

I believe most of the major pellet brands are all wood, some are 100% flavor wood, others are a blend of the flavor wood and some other wood. I've run most of the major brands in my Camp Chef and they all work fine as far as cooking. The ones I prefer to use impart the most flavor for me. I recall a thread not too long ago where some member said they preferred Pitboss pellets over Lumberjack. I'm the opposite. I'd just experiment to find which you prefer, I can't see any of them hurting the grill in any fashion. The warning may very well be that Camp Chef wants to sell you their brand of pellets.

 

[Fueling Around]

I have only ever used charcoal in my old offset and always got great Smokey flavor and typically any lump charcoal I used was great. So this is all newish territory for me. The only thing I’ve seen is to make sure it’s 100% wood and no fillers for longevity of the grill and to get a good cook. I will definitely try as much as I can get my hands on. Just want to stay away from stuff that people have used already and had issues with.

All food grade pellets are 100% wood. The "fillers" are the non-flavor wood. Lumberjack is very up front on their blends.
Bear Mountain is not so upfront, but ALL of their pellets outside of oak and alder are blended.
In Florida, storage of your pellets is very important. Tight fitting lid on bucket is your best friend. Any moisture in pellets turns into a nightmare.