Pellets

[DougE]

CookinPellets are also available with free delivery from Target. Their Apple Mash is really good. KnottyWood Plum mixed 50/50 with Lumberjack Cherry will create amazing color on pork.

I'm a firm believer in adding cherry into the mix both for flavor and color.

 

[GrumpyGriller]

I've used Traeger (not my favorite), Pit Boss (good an inexpensiveish @ Walmart), Bear Mountain (good), and I just tried Expert Pellets, which are a Walmart (I think) brand. Surprisingly, the Walmart brand were pretty good, especially at $9/30 lb. In general I've stuck with the Pit Boss.

 

[ycastane]

Check you local classifieds for dudes selling lumberjack pellets. I found two guys that are close by selling them for $10 a bag - as many or as few as I want. Met one at his office.

Or Dicks Sporting goods sells and delivers them. I can’t recall what I paid per bag but they were less than $20 each for sure.

Yeah been doing this. One guy has them for $14 a bag and another has B&B for $5 but 1.5 hrs away. Going to keep looking and see what works out best.

 

[ycastane]

For whatever reasons my Lowes can’t open a pallet without cutting half the bags open.. So they sell them for 5 a taped up bag. Once a got a trash can full if I bought the can ;)

I'll check into this. Sounds great.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Currently have some spare ribs cooking at the moment.

Enough with all of this small talk, where's the pictures of the ribs?

 

[ycastane]

Found it
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...mpared-head-to-head-mad-scientist-bbq.312800/

Yeah based on this i tried this weekend Jealous Devil and today i should be getting a shipment of Knotty Wood Plum to try. I need to get my hands on lumber jack to try as well. I can tell you to almost stay away from Jealous Devil, did the burn in of my EX6 at 450 and cooked 3 racks or ribs at 275 the following day and it ate the 20 lb box of Jealous Devil.

No wonder im looking for cheaper options. LOL

 

[ycastane]

If I owned a pellet smoker I would burn the cheapest well working pellet I could get my hands on for heat/fuel (Pit Boss Competition blend?).

BUT I would burn the best pellet I could get my hands on in a pellet tube for smoke flavor (LumberJack probably or something else about is good).

This would make things very affordable and allow for maximum control.
Inexpensive pellet for heat. Premium pellets for flavor.

Pit Boss Comp Blend is very very mild in my opinion so shouldn't cause any issues with flavor.
FYI, Home Depot around here seems to take orders of Knotty Wood and CookinPellet (both 100% woods) and is free delivery to the store. You may want to check the same if you have a Home Depot anywhere near you :)

I hope this info helps! :)

Tremendously because i did not think of doing that and it totally makes sense. I need to research into the tube, something like amazen or whatever is called i guess. Yeah i just burned through 20 lbs of pellets in basically 1 cook.

 

[ycastane]

Enough with all of this small talk, where's the pictures of the ribs?

Here you go.

 

[rexster314]

Tractor Supply has been stocking Bear Mountain with most at $9.99. Dick's sells LumberJack and I've heard they will price match. Academy Sports did carry B&B but it looks like they may have changed to Bear Mountain at $9.99.

I bought 2 40 lb sacks of B&B Competition blend two days ago at my Academy

 

[1MoreFord]

I bought 2 40 lb sacks of B&B Competition blend two days ago at my Academy

The two Academy Sports near me aren't listing B&B anymore and have started listing Bear Mountain. They used to have B&B for the same price as yours. I looked a couple of weeks or so ago and they didn't have any of either 20# or 40#. Then they showed it back in stock and now have started showing BM instead.

 

[1MoreFord]

So far we have liked Bear Mountain, Lumberjack, and Pit Boss. These are all made with hardwoods for what ever flavor you are going after. Cabela pellets are supposedly made my Lumberjack but I have heard they burn faster than normal Lumberjack.

Traeger is another brand out there with pellets but from what I have read they use oils for the different flavors plus they are $20/bag in my area while I can get all my favorites for less than $10/bag.

You can check your local Walmart for pellets as well. They tend to have decent prices and if you go on their app you can order pellets if they don't have them on the shelf.

Of the brands you've mentioned Only LumberJack is 100% flavor wood and even then not all of the flavors they sell are 100% flavorwood. Unless it says 100% Hickory or the like it is a 100% hardwood blend with 30-40% flavor wood and the rest usually Alder or Oak. Very few companies are producing 100% flavorwood.

 

[Fueling Around]

Great looking ribs.

...
I need to get my hands on lumber jack to try as well.
...

The only suggestion I have is to try Cabela's Bass Pro Shop in Tampa and see if they have old stock of LJ

 

[tallbm]

Tremendously because i did not think of doing that and it totally makes sense. I need to research into the tube, something like amazen or whatever is called i guess. Yeah i just burned through 20 lbs of pellets in basically 1 cook.

I don't know which brand of tube is the best but you likely cannot go wrong with AMNPS brand.

I would suggest looking around and here is a 2 pack at amazon with cleaning brush, tongs, and SS hooks to hang. Also its an octagon shape so it wont roll easily on u :)

If you have two you can get 3-4 hours from each one and just keep alternating if you have long smokes. Have one always ready to fire up and replace the current one burning in the smoker :)

 

[tallbm]

I use this since the AMAZN wasn't available. It has work fine so far

Thanks for the report. Good to know when stuff works for sure! :)

 

[DougE]

@tallbm The tube you posted from Amazon looks exactly like the ones sold in stores under the Kingsford name. I bought one locally last year.

 

[tallbm]

@tallbm The tube you posted from Amazon looks exactly like the ones sold in stores under the Kingsford name. I bought one locally last year.

I haven't had to use a tube but I would buy one in a heartbeat if needed.
I'm 110% onboard with pellets/dust for smoke flavor in these contraptions. I smoke too many briskets and pork butts to be fooling around with chips and painful smoke generation products lol :)

 

[ycastane]

Great looking ribs.
The only suggestion I have is to try Cabela's Bass Pro Shop in Tampa and see if they have old stock of LJ

That could work. I am heading tomorrow 1.5 hour away to get a very nice supply of B&B at $5 a pop for 40lb bags. Hopefully based on recommendations here, it is a good pellet.

I reached out to Jealous Devil to buy bulk but the price is insane and does not include freight or taxes. On the other hand Knotty Wood sells it at a reasonable price including everything but it $1K for the pallet or close to it and not looking to shell out that money right now.

Can't wait till i get my stick burner so the fuel is freeeeeeeee

 

[ycastane]

I don't know which brand of tube is the best but you likely cannot go wrong with AMNPS brand.

I would suggest looking around and here is a 2 pack at amazon with cleaning brush, tongs, and SS hooks to hang. Also its an octagon shape so it wont roll easily on u :)

If you have two you can get 3-4 hours from each one and just keep alternating if you have long smokes. Have one always ready to fire up and replace the current one burning in the smoker :)

I bought one already on amazon which seems to do the same as every other one. My only concern is, will it give me the same flavor as my electric smoker since is slowly smoldering compared to pellets that are burned in the flame almost the same as a stick burner.

I'm going to do some testing once i do some cold smoke salmon.

 

[tallbm]

I bought one already on amazon which seems to do the same as every other one. My only concern is, will it give me the same flavor as my electric smoker since is slowly smoldering compared to pellets that are burned in the flame almost the same as a stick burner.

I'm going to do some testing once i do some cold smoke salmon.

The tube should give you good consistent smoke.

The issue with a pellet smoker and smoke generation is the fact that as you increase the temp the less smoke is produced. Understand that more heat/fire = less smoke.

The tube does not suffer from needing to burn hotter and produce more heat it simply just burns at it's own designed rate so no matter if the pellet smoker is 200F or 325F the pellet tube will produce the same smoke where the pellet smoker will produce way different amounts of smoke while burning the pellets for heat/fuel.

The desire no mater what is Thin Blue Smoke (TBS) and once you fiddle with the tube a bit and have it figured out, you should have no problem producing good consistent smoke for great flavor. Many say to fill it halfway vs full because it can produce a lot more smoke than the AMNPS pellet trays do.

I think you are on the right track and all your testing should confirm how things can/should go for your setup :)

 

[ycastane]

The tube should give you good consistent smoke.

The issue with a pellet smoker and smoke generation is the fact that as you increase the temp the less smoke is produced. Understand that more heat/fire = less smoke.

The tube does not suffer from needing to burn hotter and produce more heat it simply just burns at it's own designed rate so no matter if the pellet smoker is 200F or 325F the pellet tube will produce the same smoke where the pellet smoker will produce way different amounts of smoke while burning the pellets for heat/fuel.

The desire no mater what is Thin Blue Smoke (TBS) and once you fiddle with the tube a bit and have it figured out, you should have no problem producing good consistent smoke for great flavor. Many say to fill it halfway vs full because it can produce a lot more smoke than the AMNPS pellet trays do.

I think you are on the right track and all your testing should confirm how things can/should go for your setup :)

Thanks Tallbm. Will definitely do some testing to get this smoker to where is producing good quality food. Noticed this past weekend with the ribs that the bark was slightly dry even though i was spraying every 30 minutes.

So lots of testing with everything right now in hopes to get it dialed in.

Again thank you for the help.