Recommendation needed - cost effective flavorful pellets

[tallbm]

Right now dicks has $20 off $100, so I can get 7 lumberjack bags shipped for $90 (tax included). Free shipping over $49.

Debating on pulling the trigger.

Is that the text alert promotion giving u the $20 off $100?

 

[candurin]

Is that the text alert promotion giving u the $20 off $100?

Yup! Sorry for the delayed response.

 

[mike243]

bought some B&B mesquite , think its 100% , will give a report when I get a chance to burn some. thinking chicken to start

 

[mike243]

Well not 100% hate the false advertising/trick wording, I am sure they will be fine but wanted to try a 100% version .

 

[MN LakeBum]

I just ordered 160 pounds of Cabela’s pellets which are made by Lumberjack. They were free delivery, come in 6 flavors, and are $9.99 for a 20 lb bag.

 

[candurin]

I pulled the trigger on the LJ pellets from dicks. $90 for 7 bags, shipped. Looks like it’s coming via FedEx in 7 individual packages. Pretty sure the driver is gonna egg our house!

 

[tallbm]

Well not 100% hate the false advertising/trick wording, I am sure they will be fine but wanted to try a 100% version .

Yeah only brand of pellets that I know u can get 100% mesquite is Lumberjack (or Cabelas = rebranded Lumberjack).
There are 2-3 other brands where u can get 100% Hickory but I dont like to try and figure out all the brands and combos so I stick to Lumberjack cause they do 100% of the wood on the label UNLESS they specifically call out a blend, which they do in the title like "Mesquite Blend" or "Fruitwood Blend"

That makes life simple for me and LJ pellets are great! U can get them at Dick's Sporting Goods, Atwoods, and apprarently at Rural King (east coast'ish chain). Or get Cabela's brand.

I hope the info helps! :)

 

[mike243]

Been getting my LJ at rural king since I got my smoker 2 years ago, they don't carry all the flavors though, $8.99 a bag is hard to beat , I see it priced a lot higher on the net, last year they were selling it for $5 a bag for a few weeks, bought 12 bags got 2 left I think. had some others , looks like I went through about 20 bags in less than a year. Not long til charcoal sales will start to lol

 

[tallbm]

Been getting my LJ at rural king since I got my smoker 2 years ago, they don't carry all the flavors though, $8.99 a bag is hard to beat , I see it priced a lot higher on the net, last year they were selling it for $5 a bag for a few weeks, bought 12 bags got 2 left I think. had some others , looks like I went through about 20 bags in less than a year. Not long til charcoal sales will start to lol

That's some good info on usage there.

As an MES user with the AMNPS it takes me FOREVER to go through a 20 pound bag of pellets of any kind. LJ used to make some options in 40lb options and I have a few bags of those in various wood types but I think they have switched to only 20lb bags these days.
In any case its taken 2 years to go through a 20 pound bag of Mesquite pellets smoking beef items about once every 2 months for 2 years AND giving some away .

So for MES + AMNPS usage you can buy a 20 pound bag of each flavor you want and it last for years.
Also as an MES + AMNPS owner I liked that I could buy a variety pack of LJ pellets to see what I liked and didnt like before buying the bigger bags. Yeah the price of the combo variety packs is not great when it comes to $/lb HOWEVER it is actually a fantastic option when it comes to crafting the best BBQ with meat/wood combos you can.
This is how I found that my favorite bacon combo is 70/20 apple/hickory, with 50/50 cherry/pecan as #2 and I found that I like the 70/20 apple/hickory combo for general sausage smoking as well.
I also found that I'm really not a super fan of pecan alone and that I LOVE maple as my general and safe middle of the road option.... I'm worn out on oak since that is mostly what people use in TX and to me it is THE most generic and safe wood smoke you can use. Maple is sooooo much preferable to me!

Anyhow just some food for thought and some info for those wanting flavor and using LJ pellets with the MES + AMNPS :)

 

[mike243]

I like the LJ apple blend but want 100% apple to try

 

[tallbm]

I like the LJ apple blend but want 100% apple to try

Oh just to clarify, manually make my blends. I have individual LJ bags of 100% Apple, Mesquite, Cherry, Pecan, and Maple.
My 100% Hickory is Perfect Pellet (40 pound bag) that I have not even used half of and my 100% Alder is Camp Chef Alder. I read that Camp Chef blends all their pellets with Alder as the base so when you buy Alder its blended with Alder making 100% Alder hahaha.

I have some random blends like maple/mesquite and alder/mesquite, which I bought before I learned that most pellet brands are a blend without really telling you.

The only blend I purposely buy is the Pit Boss Competition Blend so I have a cheap pellet I can doctor up and all I do is add more Hickory to it to get like 60 hickory and 20/20 Maple/Cherry.

So long story short, I suggest buying individual 100% LJ wood flavors and then making your own mixes/blends anyway you like :D

 

[mike243]

I seen PB has a fruit blend now and will give those a try soon, tried the B&B mesquite on a few steaks yesterday, added a little spiciness to them. not sure about smoked chicken but I will find out lol

 

[tallbm]

I seen PB has a fruit blend now and will give those a try soon, tried the B&B mesquite on a few steaks yesterday, added a little spiciness to them. not sure about smoked chicken but I will find out lol

I think most Mesquite blends like the B&B you bought has no more than 25% mesquite.
Lousiana Grills I think had 30-35% Mesquite in their "Mesquite" options (blend of mesquite and maple).
Knowhing that bit of info I wouldn't expect too much mesquite flavor from anything that cooks up fast. Something that takes 5+ hours might be a better test case or maybe 2-4 whole chickens at once that takes 4 hrs or more to smoke may show off some mesquite flavor.

Let us know what you find out on your smokes. Thanks! :)

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

As an MES user with the AMNPS it takes me FOREVER to go through a 20 pound bag of pellets of any kind. LJ used to make some options in 40lb options and I have a few bags of those in various wood types but I think they have switched to only 20lb bags these days.
In any case its taken 2 years to go through a 20 pound bag of Mesquite pellets smoking beef items about once every 2 months for 2 years AND giving some away .

That whats making it so hard for me to pull trigger on new Rec Tec. The MES with LJ turns out some good BBQ and pellets last forever.

 

[candurin]

So, Cabela’s is LJ just in Cabela’s bag? I have a bass pro 15 minutes away that has them.

 

[tallbm]

So, Cabela’s is LJ just in Cabela’s bag? I have a bass pro 15 minutes away that has them.

In my research a while back I was 99% sure that was the cause because I believe the box for the Cabela's pellets used to list the manufacturer of the pellets and that addressed happened to be the LJ address :D

 

[tallbm]

That whats making it so hard for me to pull trigger on new Rec Tec. The MES with LJ turns out some good BBQ and pellets last forever.

I have never used a pellet smoker/grill so I can't speak to person experience of loving/hating/indifference to it BUT when I did my research before buying the MES I didn't like the idea of pellet grills using the pellets as both the heat source and smoke source.
When burning wood to get higher temps you get less smoke and to get more smoke you get lower temps. I wanted higher temps without hurting my smoke output and I wanted lower temps without producing more smoke than intended.

So I went with the MES + the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) tray and a mailbox mod.
Then I continuously modified my MES until I landed on bypassing the onboard controller to use a much better PID controller. Then I basically hit a damn near perfect smoker for set and forget with both temp management and smoke production :D

I think the best MES you can buy is a $40-50 used one off craigslist or facebook, do the simple rewire (cut 4 wire ends and splice to become 2 wires) for use with an Auber PID controller, and do the mailbox mod + AMNPS. In all you spend about as much as a new MES40 cost BUT it obliterates a new or any stock MES in performance which improves BBQ making :D

 

[candurin]

I currently have a Gen 2.5 MES and and AMPNS and it has never disappointed. Now, I’m looking to up my game a bit. Have no fear, I just received my expandable pellet tube and that will give extra smoke for higher temp smokes.

Having said that, you can start smokes at 180-190 degrees on a pellet smoker and really intensify the smoke flavor from the get go.

 

[matty gunns]

FWIW I used Weber hickory pellets for some baby back ribs yesterday and they gave the ribs a pretty good smoke flavor in my opinion and I’m used to smoke flavor from a WSM. Only about my 6th cook on a camp chef but I believe those pellets tasted better than the LJ Comp blend I have been using.

 

[Steff3]

I just ordered 160 pounds of Cabela’s pellets which are made by Lumberjack. They were free delivery, come in 6 flavors, and are $9.99 for a 20 lb bag.

So I understand they are manufactured by LJ using Calbela's mixes and combinations that are unique to Cabela's and proprietary to them. So my question is.....have you noticed any difference in your cooks using these? More ash, less flavor or burning hotter?