Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 09:22:45 AM
Post by: Ralphie on September 06, 2018, 09:29:56 AM
Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 09:34:32 AM
Post by: triplebq on September 06, 2018, 09:51:42 AM
Having said that, I would love to read the discussion.
Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 10:01:38 AM
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on September 06, 2018, 10:10:47 AM
Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 10:22:48 AM
Do your own test. I know I can't tell a difference between much of any of the pellets because they burn so clean. I can tell that cherry adds a reddish color to the exterior of the meat though.Wish I could, but I don't have multiples of my cooker to do same meat tests with different pellets, at the same time. I really wish we could see this happen. I think it would help all of us in the pellet world.
Post by: grilltreats on September 06, 2018, 11:05:03 AM
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on September 06, 2018, 11:13:43 AM
Do your own test. I know I can't tell a difference between much of any of the pellets because they burn so clean. I can tell that cherry adds a reddish color to the exterior of the meat though.Wish I could, but I don't have multiples of my cooker to do same meat tests with different pellets, at the same time. I really wish we could see this happen. I think it would help all of us in the pellet world.
I've been doing this for almost 10 years and others a lot longer and more cooks than me. Believe us when we say it is very hard to tell a difference. Find a pellet that fits your price range, holds good temps, creates less ash, and satisfies your flavor profile and stick with it. You may also find that several of those things don't matter or hold more weight to you than other things. Only you can make that decision not a subjective test. Mesquite may work for others, but I wouldn't use it if it was free.
If you were using these pellets in something other than a pellet cooker that burns very clean, I think you may be able to notice a flavor difference and most likely a smoke smell difference during your cook.
I'm not trying to be a jerk about this, my experience just tells me the pellet flavor is based on the individual more than the equipment or wood specie.
Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 12:00:30 PM
Guys like Baby Back Maniac do this type of thing in other ways. Sure would like them to do this one...are you watching???
Post by: dk117 on September 06, 2018, 12:01:28 PM
Do your own test. I know I can't tell a difference between much of any of the pellets because they burn so clean. I can tell that cherry adds a reddish color to the exterior of the meat though.Wish I could, but I don't have multiples of my cooker to do same meat tests with different pellets, at the same time. I really wish we could see this happen. I think it would help all of us in the pellet world.
I've been doing this for almost 10 years and others a lot longer and more cooks than me. Believe us when we say it is very hard to tell a difference. Find a pellet that fits your price range, holds good temps, creates less ash, and satisfies your flavor profile and stick with it. You may also find that several of those things don't matter or hold more weight to you than other things. Only you can make that decision not a subjective test. Mesquite may work for others, but I wouldn't use it if it was free.
If you were using these pellets in something other than a pellet cooker that burns very clean, I think you may be able to notice a flavor difference and most likely a smoke smell difference during your cook.
I'm not trying to be a jerk about this, my experience just tells me the pellet flavor is based on the individual more than the equipment or wood specie.
BBL, I'm totally with you except for one thing I don't understand. I'm over 8 years pellet smoker. Tried a handful of pellets, had one really bad ashy product, had some expensive products I found no advantage. Tried the fruit stuff ... ultimately I came to the same opinionated conclusion you did. No real difference. However, I'm now mesquite exclusively.
So we both agree that we don't really worry about the pellets impacting the end product, but we came to different conclusions there. I suppose my question is, if pellets aren't a factor in your cooks, why no mesquite? maybe you answered at the end of your post ... based upon the individual.
DK
Post by: bregent on September 06, 2018, 12:25:49 PM
The only real test I ever did was with 3 hickory pellets - Bear Mt (alder blend), and CP, and LJ 100%. I cooked 3 racks of ribs, one with each pellet. Then reheated sample ribs of each type and served to my family. The results were that the CP and LJ were indistinguishable from each other, and both had more wood smoke flavor than the Bear Mt.
Post by: darita on September 06, 2018, 12:50:19 PM
Post by: Trooper on September 06, 2018, 01:02:10 PM
Having said that, I'm hitting with the same bat again as Bar-B-Lew.
I just can't tell a significant difference in the wood types or the competition blends.
I just load up the pellets and smoke-away.
Sorry about this. I know some folks want to dissect this all over the place.
Another area that I have trouble with is the amount of ash. Really?
When I get ready to clean out the ash from a cook, I certainly can't see difference to compare the amount of ash with the previous cook(which had different cooking times/cooking temperatures/ etc. etc.)
I've always thought there was way too much hype in discussions of this.
Sorry. Maybe I just need some good lessons/instructions. Aye?
Post by: bregent on September 06, 2018, 01:05:51 PM
Not to diminish anyone's own experience, because right now, that's about all any of us have. Thing is, I'd just like to see something more concrete, less anecdotal and by folks more experienced than I.
I think all of us would, but who would do it? It takes many hours to smoke food and you'd want to use identical grills, identical food samples, and a statically significant sample size. I don't see it happening.
Post by: Canadian John on September 06, 2018, 01:11:31 PM
I'm in the Trooper and Bar-B-Lew camp..With7 years at the helm.
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on September 06, 2018, 01:12:19 PM
Post by: Conumdrum on September 06, 2018, 01:18:37 PM
My 2 cents.
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on September 06, 2018, 01:55:03 PM
I make jerky in my ol' upright smoker with a AMNPTS tube. Smoke for 4 hours then finish on the dehydrator. I usually use pure hickory pellets but last time I used a blend pellet of Oak/Hickory/Maple, my usual pellet in my pellet pooper. I could definitely taste less smoke and the color was less dark.
My 2 cents.
I would expect that as the tube does not burn near as clean as the grill IMO. I bet if you made the jerky on your pellet smoker with those two different woods that you couldn't tell a difference.
Post by: Ross77 on September 06, 2018, 03:13:44 PM
I can’t really tell you what the pellet flavor is in a blind taste test. But I can tell the difference in intensity.
I do not like mesquite.
I prefer hickory.
Most blends provide very little flavor. Pit Boss Comp Blend, Hickory Blend and Traeger Gourmet Blend = almost zero smoke flavor for me.
My neighbor brought me some pulled pork that he smoked with 100% cherry pellets and I couldn’t taste any smoke flavor.
A new twist. RecTec recently upgraded their controller and I purchased one for my RecTec 680 a couple months ago. The smoke output and flavor intensity on the meat has increased. Especially at temps from 180 to around 225.
This has changed the game for me. Lumberjack Comp Blend now imparts a really nice flavor where as before it was very, very light.
I don’t know what RecTec did but it made a difference.
Post by: pmillen on September 06, 2018, 04:52:52 PM
Here's (https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=2840.msg34699#msg34699) the somewhat old pelletfan thread that was mentioned earlier.
A caveat: Wood taste may be more easily identified when food is heavily smoked, as in a stick burner or kamado. The people on a kamado forum that I frequent are ready to lynch me because I hold this opinion. They are very convincing in their arguments, but like here, there's no solid evidence based on blind testing.
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on September 06, 2018, 05:24:21 PM
My personal experience with trying different brands and different mixes is this:
Lumberjack 100% hickory smokes more and produces more smoke flavor (and ash) than others I’ve tried. Mhc blend is nice for all around cooking. 100% cherry imparts nice color. I’ve tried a few hundred lbs of cp, bbq delight and some heating pellets and just prefer lumberjack in the above varieties. Lumberjack certainly produces more ash than any other varieties I have tried (irrelevant to me). I can order them by the 1000lbs and mix and match and it lasts me about 10-12 months at around 40 cents per lb. good enough for me
If I could get cp at a similar bulk pricing, I’d likely use them more also...just not cost effective for me though as no local dealer
Memphis Elite
Yoder YS640 - sold
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
You may be able to get cookinpellets close to $0.50/# if you ordered 1000# delivered to your house.
Post by: Osborn Cox on September 07, 2018, 08:19:00 AM
Post by: Craig in Indy on September 09, 2018, 05:45:17 PM
Post by: pagesk on November 29, 2018, 05:33:31 PM
I find that some smoke smells a bit different, but I have not noticed a big flavor difference. The exception to that rule is mesquite that has a unique smell and flavor. I usually have alder on hand for smoking fish, hickory for pork, oak as a general purpose, and mesquite for beef. The hopper usually contains a bit of each except for mesquite, which I remove any left over pellets.
I keep the pellets in 5 gallon buckets to keep them dry and add an approximate amount that I think I will need for a cook. Next cook gets any left overs plus the new load of pellets.
Post by: EC on November 30, 2018, 04:09:54 PM
Post by: urnmor on November 30, 2018, 06:48:44 PM
I agree that at least to me smoke is more unless you are a wood such as Mesquite. Which in my opinion is very strong and not one that I like.
Post by: grilltreats on December 01, 2018, 02:22:18 PM
It's been awhile and many cooks later on my pellet grill since my post on here about this topic. I do pay attention to what the long-time members say on here, even if I disagree with them at the time. I sometimes do catch up to what they say eventually from my own experiences and learn from it.
Here is a good example of that: In the last month, I've smoked two ~18lb briskets at different times, both with 100% LJ mesquite, my favorite for beef. Soon after, my wife wants me to cook a whole chicken for dinner. My hopper is still filled with the mesquite and I don't want to swap pellets out to apple to cook the chicken so I gamble and go with the mesquite already in the 40lb hopper. I didn't think the chicken would be very good, but to my surprise it was very good and I could not really discern what wood I used. I did smoke the chicken on extreme smoke for an hour before increasing to 375° to crisp the skin. Smoke is smoke might just be my motto going forward. I wanna say that I could certainly tell a bigger difference in the past when using different wood chunck flavors on my charcoal grill. Not so much on this pellet grill it appears. Experience far out ways opinions that's for sure.
Post by: dk117 on December 01, 2018, 04:03:52 PM
My plan moving forward isn't much of a plan, I'm going to make the compromise. I'm going to blend my remaining hickory and mesquite and get some of the smell I want without it being as overpowering to guests and pellet fans who prefer hickory.
Not a bad little exercise, but nothing scientific about it. Smoke is smoke seems as safe a motto as any.
DK
Post by: mo-kid on December 01, 2018, 07:05:58 PM
Post by: jdmessner on December 03, 2018, 12:08:09 AM
I buy wood burning, hardwood mix, the ones used for home heating. Same size as food grade pellets, perhaps a tiny bit longer, but no issues with auger clogging up. At $4.00 per 40 # bag, I've been doing this for 3 years now and still can't tell any difference. P.S. I always call direct to the manufacture regarding use of these pellets to make sure there are NO glues added for adhesion. I simply got tired trying all the types of flavored pellets out there and quit at around 8 different types for me. ( think of new golf drivers and the guarantee for 'better' distance) :2cents:
This has been a fun thread to follow. When I read about wanting to know about a pellet flavor taste test, my first thought was that they are a bit hard to chew, but they would probably provide a good ammount of fiber in the diet regardless of taste!
I was wondering if heating pellets would enter the conversation at some point. I agree with mo-kid. I found a brand of heating pellets that are manufactured 30 miles from my home. They are 100% hardwood and burn great. I called and talked with them for a while about what they use to make the pellets with and have no qualms about using them. I appreciate the very subtle flavor they provide and you cannot beat the price!
Post by: sleebus.jones on December 03, 2018, 10:40:27 AM
I called and talked with them for a while about what they use to make the pellets with and have no qualms about using them. I appreciate the very subtle flavor they provide and you cannot beat the price!
You're very lucky to be that close to the source. I think it's criminal what some companies are charging for pellets. >:(
Post by: LowSlowJoe on December 03, 2018, 10:58:32 AM
Do your own test. I know I can't tell a difference between much of any of the pellets because they burn so clean. I can tell that cherry adds a reddish color to the exterior of the meat though.
I'd like to see proof of this... done in some scientific way. Like two identical grills, virtually identical cuts of meat, cooked exactly the same temperature and time. I personally have tried on two different grills , of different types, but as close to the same temperatures as I could get... and I saw virtually no evidence of any color difference between cherry , and any other type of wood pellets.
Post by: Ross77 on December 03, 2018, 11:09:41 AM
Post by: cookinpellets junior on December 03, 2018, 12:50:25 PM
My personal experience with trying different brands and different mixes is this:
Lumberjack 100% hickory smokes more and produces more smoke flavor (and ash) than others I’ve tried. Mhc blend is nice for all around cooking. 100% cherry imparts nice color. I’ve tried a few hundred lbs of cp, bbq delight and some heating pellets and just prefer lumberjack in the above varieties. Lumberjack certainly produces more ash than any other varieties I have tried (irrelevant to me). I can order them by the 1000lbs and mix and match and it lasts me about 10-12 months at around 40 cents per lb. good enough for me
If I could get cp at a similar bulk pricing, I’d likely use them more also...just not cost effective for me though as no local dealer :beer:
Memphis Elite
Yoder YS640 - sold
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
You may be able to get cookinpellets close to $0.50/# if you ordered 1000# delivered to your house.
Post by: grilltreats on December 03, 2018, 01:10:11 PM