Pellet Fan
Accessories & Essentials => Pellets -- comments & questions => Topic started by: ScottWood on January 22, 2018, 11:30:18 AM
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I am curious if anyone has any first hand experience with these pellets? I have a bag out in the garage but haven't had a chance to cook with them yet.
The reason I am intrigued by these is that before I moved to pellet cookers I had an offset that I would use charcoal as my heat source and would put a piece of wood in from time to time for the smoke. It worked great and I got a bit of a charcoal flavor that I really liked. I am sort of hoping that I can replicate that with the char blend pellets?
I have been wanting to do a side by side cook, one brisket flat in one cooker with 100% hickory pellets, a second flat in another cooker with the char blend, and then compare the two. I will of course post about that when it happens, but was hopeful that there might be some experience that could be shared here before.
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Thanks for the info. What did you think of the flavor that was produced by the pellets?
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Personally that is up in the air, have not noticed much difference as of yet.
Also good to know, and sort of what I was afraid of.
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I haven't had a chance to cook with them yet, but if the weather cooperates I will be doing so tomorrow.
I did load them up into my homemade pellet cooker yesterday and ran them for awhile. Seemed to do a really good job of holding the temp I set them at. Ran for about 4 hours at 225 degrees.
I have a brisket flat that I have cut in half. Half will be going into the little Traeger with 100% hickory (my preferred) pellets and the other half into homemade UDS pellet cooker. I am planning on doing a "blind" taste test with them with the help of the wife.
I will report back.
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I've yet to notice a difference based on what pellets I use. It just doesn't seem to matter. My guests never care either.
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I've yet to notice a difference based on what pellets I use. It just doesn't seem to matter. My guests never care either.
I noticed a big difference when I went to Lumberjack, and truly 100% hardwood pellets, from the "lesser" brands that used filler wood such as alder.
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Fair point.
I've never used those. I've only ever used BBQ'ers delight, Lumberjack, or Cookin' Pellets.
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Fair point.
I've never used those. I've only ever used BBQ'ers delight, Lumberjack, or Cookin' Pellets.
Yeah you have been using good premium brands so may not notice a big different. hickory form any of those brands is all going to seem the same.
Also worth noting it was mentioned on the other site years ago, some people have a palet that can discern different smoke flavors well, many for not.
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I did my test cook on Sunday, took a lot of pictures and notes, and can say without a doubt there is a difference in the smoke flavor between the 100% Hickory and the Char Blend pellets. It was subtle, but still noticeable by both my wife and I. The Char Blend had a bit more of the flavor I was looking for but as I said, it was subtle but enough that I think I will always keep a couple bags of them around for doing long cooks on briskets.
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I did my test cook on Sunday, took a lot of pictures and notes, and can say without a doubt there is a difference in the smoke flavor between the 100% Hickory and the Char Blend pellets. It was subtle, but still noticeable by both my wife and I. The Char Blend had a bit more of the flavor I was looking for but as I said, it was subtle but enough that I think I will always keep a couple bags of them around for doing long cooks on briskets.
I'm glad to hear this. I have been using LB 100% hickory and am pleased with the amount of flavor and smoke.
But I ordered 40 lbs. of the charblend and will be curious to see if I can tell a difference.
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Where are y'all ordering this from?
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Where are y'all ordering this from?
I buy my Lumberjack pellets from a dealer here in Western Washington.
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I've yet to notice a difference based on what pellets I use. It just doesn't seem to matter. My guests never care either.
I noticed a big difference when I went to Lumberjack, and truly 100% hardwood pellets, from the "lesser" brands that used filler wood such as alder.
To call alder wood a filler wood is unfair to alder and manufacturers that use alder. Alder is 100% hardwood. Many folks use alder as a very mild smoke wood for fish and chicken. Some use it out west because they have an abundance Alder. Its not my choice of smoking wood but its not filler. Some manufacturers use alder and other wood species together because they burn better and help maintain heat in the pit.
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I've yet to notice a difference based on what pellets I use. It just doesn't seem to matter. My guests never care either.
I noticed a big difference when I went to Lumberjack, and truly 100% hardwood pellets, from the "lesser" brands that used filler wood such as alder.
To call alder wood a filler wood is unfair to alder and manufacturers that use alder. Alder is 100% hardwood. Many folks use alder as a very mild smoke wood for fish and chicken. Some use it out west because they have an abundance Alder. Its not my choice of smoking wood but its not filler. Some manufacturers use alder and other wood species together because they burn better and help maintain heat in the pit.
I'm not sure that I can agree with you on this one. If I am buying a "hickory" pellet I want it to be all hickory, not a mix of anything else. If they are going to put alder, or oak out East, they should label it as such and call it a blend. Just my opinion though.
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I've yet to notice a difference based on what pellets I use. It just doesn't seem to matter. My guests never care either.
I noticed a big difference when I went to Lumberjack, and truly 100% hardwood pellets, from the "lesser" brands that used filler wood such as alder.
To call alder wood a filler wood is unfair to alder and manufacturers that use alder. Alder is 100% hardwood. Many folks use alder as a very mild smoke wood for fish and chicken. Some use it out west because they have an abundance Alder. Its not my choice of smoking wood but its not filler. Some manufacturers use alder and other wood species together because they burn better and help maintain heat in the pit.
I'm not sure that I can agree with you on this one. If I am buying a "hickory" pellet I want it to be all hickory, not a mix of anything else. If they are going to put alder, or oak out East, they should label it as such and call it a blend. Just my opinion though.
I understand what you're saying when you want a specific species for cooking. Some add the oak or elder to keep price lower.
Some mixed woods also contain oak. To call oak a filler is really not fair either.
Filler for me means no value whatsoever and is in there just to make up volume.
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I understand what most are saying, I even under stand the "filler" comment, but yes, Alder is also a Hardwood. So 60% Alder and 40% Hickory is a 100% Hardwood pellet...but yes, that is a long way from a 100% Hickory pellet!
You can give me Oak wood to cook with any time!
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I understand what most are saying, I even under stand the "filler" comment, but yes, Alder is also a Hardwood. So 60% Alder and 40% Hickory is a 100% Hardwood pellet...but yes, that is a long way from a 100% Hickory pellet!
You can give me Oak wood to cook with any time!
^^ YEEESSS..
It is a game a great many of the pellet makers play unfortunately and they are not being false or lying when they say 100% Hardwood. It is just unfortunate that they put HICKORY in huge letters, then 100% Hardwood a little smaller when the pellet is actually a blend containing 40% or less Hickory and all the rest is Aalder or Oak. Hickory Blend would be a much more upfront and less deceptive description.
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I understand what most are saying, I even under stand the "filler" comment, but yes, Alder is also a Hardwood. So 60% Alder and 40% Hickory is a 100% Hardwood pellet...but yes, that is a long way from a 100% Hickory pellet!
You can give me Oak wood to cook with any time!
^^ YEEESSS..
It is a game a great many of the pellet makers play unfortunately and they are not being false or lying when they say 100% Hardwood. It is just unfortunate that they put HICKORY in huge letters, then 100% Hardwood a little smaller when the pellet is actually a blend containing 40% or less Hickory and all the rest is Aalder or Oak. Hickory Blend would be a much more upfront and less deceptive description.
I used the term filler simply because the pellets that I was thinking about when I said that use other hardwoods than the flavor advertised on the bag.
As for that other hardwood, I suspect that I would much rather have Oak being in it than Alder, just my preference. :-)
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Scottwood believe me I wouldn't want any species specific wood to contain anything but said hardwood either. Never tried Alder but from what people say I wouldnt want it.
Now, oak, as Bentley mentioned is welcomed any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
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As we've gone way of course at this time...
If I were King, the bags would be labeled as to content just like food is. The filler would be anything less than the most prevalent species by weight.
60% oak and 40% hickory would make the hickory the filler.
Carry on.
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As we've gone way of course at this time...
If I were King, the bags would be labeled as to content just like food is. The filler would be anything less than the most prevalent species by weight.
60% oak and 40% hickory would make the hickory the filler.
Carry on.
You might be right. Lol.
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Man I have been lazy and getting everything at Costco, even my pellets. They carry the Traeger Gourmet Blend, which I do like. But I really like cooking with Lumberjack, so I will head to the Bulk Yard tomorrow to buy some.
On another note I really did not like using Cooking Pellets, I believe it was the comp Blend. Low BTU pellets. I do know folks that like them, just not for me.
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I like Alder too...But I have never met a Hardwood I did not like to burn...I mean I had never herd of Hackberry till 5 years ago. I cut the stuff down ever month and burn it, it smells great! Wish I had a hammer mill and a pellet press...
Cookinpellets makes 100% Hickory and the Perfect Mix, but no competition blends...per say.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
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Actually it was a moderator at the other site, back in the day, where I learned that the Perfect Mix Pellets do not burn as hot as others and that they should be used as slow and low. I will not state his name as I am not sure if it is allowed here.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
Interesting. I have a 2017 MAK 2 Star with the new Flame Zone as well. The only pellets I have burned are the Perfect Mix. I have done a ton of higher temp cooking (450°) and have never had an issue hitting that temp. Are you in a freezing cold climate?
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
Interesting. I have a 2017 MAK 2 Star with the new Flame Zone as well. The only pellets I have burned are the Perfect Mix. I have done a ton of higher temp cooking (450°) and have never had an issue hitting that temp. Are you in a freezing cold climate?
He was going for 500*+, many do not shoot for that high on a pellet rig so would not notice a slight BTU shortfall. But that is where you will see any real btu differences show is that max temp region.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
Interesting. I have a 2017 MAK 2 Star with the new Flame Zone as well. The only pellets I have burned are the Perfect Mix. I have done a ton of higher temp cooking (450°) and have never had an issue hitting that temp. Are you in a freezing cold climate?
He was going for 500*+, many do not shoot for that high on a pellet rig so would not notice a slight BTU shortfall. But that is where you will see any real btu differences show is that max temp region.
Gotcha! The only time I really need temps over 450° is for steak. That’s where the Weber kettle comes into play... 500°+ is child’s play on a kettle...lol.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
Interesting. I have a 2017 MAK 2 Star with the new Flame Zone as well. The only pellets I have burned are the Perfect Mix. I have done a ton of higher temp cooking (450°) and have never had an issue hitting that temp. Are you in a freezing cold climate?
He was going for 500*+, many do not shoot for that high on a pellet rig so would not notice a slight BTU shortfall. But that is where you will see any real btu differences show is that max temp region.
Gotcha! The only time I really need temps over 450° is for steak. That’s where the Weber kettle comes into play... 500°+ is child’s play on a kettle...lol.
I use "full" on my rec tec weekly. steaks, burgers, dogs, chicken breasts, pizza.. Just picked up a bullseye a few weeks ago though, so the big dawg gets relegated back to low n slow now. I will be experimenting with pellets on the bullseye to see what puts out the most heat.
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You are correct it was the Perfect Mix. Sorry for the mistake.
hmm...I primarily use cookinpellets perfect mix and hickory. Please explain your BTU issue a little more to help me understand what your issue was with them and which grill you are using them on.
Long story, originally started having issues with my Traeger Texas being able to get to 350 degrees, went through all kinds of troubleshooting, ended up vacuuming out the rust under the fire pot and it did get better, but not much. This led me to purchase a MAK II Star as I do like to cook at high temp at times. Low and behold my new MAK had issues getting over 400 degrees. Phone calls to MAK, I wasn’t very happy as it was supposed to get up to 500. Problem was resolved when I switched to a Lumber Jack Blend that had Oak in it. Also I donated my Texas to work and they told me that Temp was not an issue, they had switched pellets.
In no way am I trying to denigrate Cooking Pellets Perfect Mix as they work awesome for low and slow. They are a great pellet but did not meet my cooking style needs. Actually they cost me $3,000 on a new pit, which I love, so a huge thank you to Cooking Pellets.
Interesting. I have a 2017 MAK 2 Star with the new Flame Zone as well. The only pellets I have burned are the Perfect Mix. I have done a ton of higher temp cooking (450°) and have never had an issue hitting that temp. Are you in a freezing cold climate?
He was going for 500*+, many do not shoot for that high on a pellet rig so would not notice a slight BTU shortfall. But that is where you will see any real btu differences show is that max temp region.
Gotcha! The only time I really need temps over 450° is for steak. That’s where the Weber kettle comes into play... 500°+ is child’s play on a kettle...lol.
I use "full" on my rec tec weekly. steaks, burgers, dogs, chicken breasts, pizza.. Just picked up a bullseye a few weeks ago though, so the big dawg gets relegated back to low n slow now. I will be experimenting with pellets on the bullseye to see what puts out the most heat.
Look forward to hearing what you think about the Bullseye. Looks like a neat pellet “grillâ€...
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I’ve found that I can’t get over 400 using Lumberjack Mesquite Blend.
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I’ve found that I can’t get over 400 using Lumberjack Mesquite Blend.
I would check my Grill.. That Blend is 60% Oak and 40% Mesquite, and I have no problem reaching 500 or above with it or Perfect Mix with my Danial Boone or Davy Crockett..
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Yippee I have a local Lumberjack dealer now. At least local enough. It is about 28 miles away. I am heading there tomorrow to get me some pellets.
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I use perfect mix and never had an issue hitting 500...
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I ordered 4 20# bags of the char/hickory blend pellets before the NewYear. I was hoping for more heat due to the fact they had 20% charcoal in them. What I have noticed is they heat up very slow and do not produce the heat of a solid hickory or oak. These pellets are very long in length and I believe that I am not getting enough into the auger compared to a shorter pellet.
Also on my 055 Traeger, the flame feeds down the auger and gets my hopper smoldering, smoke spews out of it while grilling. I cleaned out my grill each time and this has happened 3 out of the 4 cooks I have done with them. I cant blame the pellet yet since I have noticed my firepot is starting to deteriorate letting more air in and may be the issue. I have another Traeger I will be using these in to see if it happens on this model also.
This is absolutely contrary to my experience with Char Hickory pellets. When I burned them, they very clearly had higher heat output... and while I could clearly smell the charcoal smell while they were burning, I personally did not notice any flavor that I could describe as better than 100% Hickory smoke produces.
On my PG500, with a typical wood pellet ( lets say 100% Hickory, from LumberJack ) , if I run the grill at a constant feed rate , where the auger runs for 1.5 seconds, then turns off for 13.5 seconds, I typically see temperatures around 180F on a day when ambient temperatures are around 72F. If I run LumberJack Char Hickory, at those same settings, with same conditions, I can't get my grill to run less than 225F.
So, I don't know exactly how you were trying to figure out if your Traeger got hotter or not, but your information is very different then my own experience with Char Hickory pellets...
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Wow, those things are considerably larger
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I've never seen pellets that big. Surprised there is not a jam in the auger.
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That is the Winner for me! Longest pellet I have ever seen...by a long shot! That has to be 2 1/2 inches...
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Those aren't pellets, they are twigs.
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Are all of the char-blend pellets that long and can they be broken up?
I was planning on getting a bag, but I don't want auger problems.
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The Charhick can have some long ones due to the composition of the pellet and how they are made.
While it may not be a huge sample size I have sold over a ton of them and I have not had a single customer comment about an auger jam, I myself have burned probably 6 bags since the beginning of the year. They work awesome in my bullseye. Honestly speaking if you auger cannot cut a pellet then it needs to be replaced. Even with shorter pellets your auger will have to cut pellets, they do not magically just drop into place as everything is moving, and the system should be designed to cut them so.