I'm very glad the AMNPS is working out nicely for you, Dennis. Todd sells the JD pellets in 1lb bags and he's running a sale on them now. I've already got bags and bags of his wood pellets, though, so when I'm ready to order next I'll include the JD pellets.
Rick, I have JD Pellets coming from Todd today along with some Hickory, Mesquite, Oak, Peach, Cherry, Apple, and Pecan from Todd also in addition to his 5 x 8 tray for the Pellets.
For a while all I was using were the PC pellets since Todd includes them with every order of his AMNPS and I hadn't bought any other pellets yet. It is indeed a very nice blend. I've used them less since I amassed my stock of different wood flavors but sometimes I'll use it in combo with another type of pellet or when I want to add a cherry flavor to what I'm smoking.
Well I don't see the Bourbon Barrel listed anymore. I'm not sure if it is a temporary thing or if he isn't carrying them anymore.
His standard and specialty BBQ pellets are his he gets in bulk from different places around the country. The BBQ'RS Delight one pound bags are also 100% the name of the wood on the bag I found locally as well and is good. His garlic spice and other spice pellets are in a White Oak wood to make the pellet. The 20lb. bag of Hickory pellets he sent me were unmarked in a thin plastic bag without a name that I put in a pale since it easily rips. Lifting it out of the box the bag just fell apart. It looks better in a pale anyway.
Thanks. I guess he found it cheaper to re-sell the JD pellets which made the bourbon barrel pellets redundant. But I know virtually nothing about where Todd sources his wood pellets. It was enough to know they're 100% wood and high quality.
All the pellets I buy from him are in his plastic bags. With the older ones he used to write the wood type and weight on the bag with a Sharpie. Now he just slaps on a label and checks off the wood type and the weight. I've yet to have a bag tear. I keep the bags in the boxes they were shipped in along with the included list of what I bought. That way, once I find the box, I can easily see what bags of pellets I have in there.
If anything nuking them for a minute or two makes the kitchen smell good. All food smoking pellets usually say made with 100% hardwoods but not necessarily the flavor of wood on the bag. That's why sticking with Todd is recommend I called Traeger and they use 2/3 White Oak or Alder depending if it's made on the east or west coast for hot/clean burning/low ash heat and 1/3 the wood flavor on the bag. Same with BBQ'RS Delight in their 20lb.bags. Some call it Fuel and Flavor. The 1lb BBQ'RS Delight bags say it's 100% wood on the bag.
I can tell you're the go-to guy for wood pellet info, Kurt. And now, how about an opinion? I took a BBQ class last year and the instructor swore that if he gave us a blind tasting of meats cooked over different wood pellets, we couldn't tell the difference between oak or hickory or whatever wood was used to smoke the meats. He said it's why it doesn't matter which wood pellet you use.
The instructor is probably right. Mesquite and Walnut being stronger, most hardwoods being medium and fruit woods being mild. Tasting the strong, medium and mid woods vs. the specific specie is probably my limit other than seeing food smoked with Cherry and the Mahogany color. I've been using Pecan. It's said to be medium like Hickory but a little nutty. With the AMNPS and AMNTS, with 100% the flavor of wood pellets from Todd, is probably the best way to train your palate. Everything is perfectly measurable. I prefer a super light smoke then figure how long to take it to get the flavor I like. I found a steel washer in the picture below that fits perfectly in the open cap of my tube smoker and is held in place when sliding the tube smoker into the cap. I can just put in one and a quarter cups of pellets and shake to level it the length of the smoker. Kind of like the lighting hole in the AMNPS. I still have to test the set up shown with the 9"x13" foil pan cut in half. I wanted a drip deflector over the AMNTS that would catch the smoke and diffuse it up the left wall instead of a stream of smoke hitting meat. The other half is on the right side to kick a little heat to the center of the smoker.
I can tell you're the go-to guy for wood pellet info, Kurt. And now, how about an opinion? I took a BBQ class last year and the instructor swore that if he gave us a blind tasting of meats cooked over different wood pellets, we couldn't tell the difference between oak or hickory or whatever wood was used to smoke the meats. He said it's why it doesn't matter which wood pellet you use.
What do you think? Do you think we could even smell which meat was cooked over which wood pellet, let alone taste the difference?
I'm not convinced he was right but I'm not sure if I could tell the difference either.
Oh, our kitchen already smells good. The wife and I are fabulous cooks!
Rick
I used pecan pellets once but mixed it with apple wood chips since I hadn't bought the pellets from Todd at that time. I couldn't tell the difference but then I eat very, very fast.
The instructor is probably right. Mesquite and Walnut being stronger, most hardwoods being medium and fruit woods being mild. Tasting the strong, medium and mid woods vs. the specific specie is probably my limit other than seeing food smoked with Cherry and the Mahogany color. I've been using Pecan. It's said to be medium like Hickory but a little nutty. With the AMNPS and AMNTS, with 100% the flavor of wood pellets from Todd, is probably the best way to train your palate. Everything is perfectly measurable. I prefer a super light smoke then figure how long to take it to get the flavor I like. I found a steel washer in the picture below that fits perfectly in the open cap of my tube smoker and is held in place when sliding the tube smoker into the cap. I can just put in one and a quarter cups of pellets and shake to level it the length of the smoker. Kind of like the lighting hole in the AMNPS. I still have to test the set up shown with the 9"x13" foil pan cut in half. I wanted a drip deflector over the AMNTS that would catch the smoke and diffuse it up the left wall instead of a stream of smoke hitting meat. The other half is on the right side to kick a little heat to the center of the smoker.
-Kurt
Whats the seal? Grill racks all went into the dishwasher, easy as pie. I'm back at work so cant take a pic but I want to make sure I know what the probe is (short metal piece sticking out, 0.5 inches?, rounded tip?). What is that button top piece? I have the Cabelas unit so no window, which is great.
The expanding foam insulation and no window on yours really kicks up the efficiency.
I would be curious to hear how others perform. You can get a Kill-A-Watt meter for free from your local library. Try it out and report back!
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