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Author Topic: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?  (Read 2451 times)

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Kristin Meredith

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Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« on: September 11, 2017, 11:22:13 AM »

Our ability to get many different types of wood/flavor pellets is limited in our small town, but sometimes Bent gets a special shipment in.  For the most part, I like hickory to cook with.  But when we can get it, I really like black walnut for chicken.  Any particular wood/food combos that you like?
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Queball

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2017, 11:50:52 AM »

Definitely hickory and perfect mix from "Cookin Pellets". Do like to use mesquite on beef things like brisket. Like cherry for pork but can only get Traeger, so I don't use it. Have tried others like oak, maple, pecan and apple. They smell great but I don't think they impart anything like hickory or mesquite. From hickory and perfect mix I also get really good heat and not a lot of ash which is also a concern for me. .... Ashtray food ain't my thing.
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LowSlowJoe

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2017, 12:07:19 PM »

I tend to like Hickory on anything... if it's something I don't really want a lot of smoke flavor on, then I might mix Hickory with something else, like maple...

I do like Mesquite, but mostly for some rare occasions, I think it goes well with Chicken and Beef in some situations, never thought of it going very well with Pork however.

Never had any opportunity to use any walnut...


   For the most part, all smoke flavor seems to be quite similar... I basically say... Any wood smoke that isn't Hickory, just tastes like milder hickory... One of the only exceptions being Mesquite.

   In some attempts to do blind tasting for myself, I came to the conclusion that after food has been refrigerated , the flavor seems to change quite a bit... That is, my observations are that some smoke flavor fades quite a bit over time.  Oak and Mesquite seemed to really fade after refrigeration...  Hickory seemed to hold it's 'smokey' flavor better then some others I was trying to test.

   I wish I had a second Davy Crockett that I could actually cook two sets of some food, where nothing changed but the wood pellets used, so I could do blind taste testing , where the food was still warm and where I knew the cooking conditions were as identical as possible...

   SO, I guess where this leads me... is that I tend to often use the cheapest pellets I have.    I have like a ton of pellets right now ( literally )... at least 8 varieties ( wood types ) from 4 different pellet makers.  So, what do I cook with most?   The ones I paid $5 / 40 pound bag , from a Walmart clearance sale... ( competition blend )   I guess that's just the cheapskate in me... sooner or later I do need to use all those other pellets... Probably ought to do that before I go buying more.
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riverrat49

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2017, 12:30:28 PM »

Louisiana Grills- Pennsylvania Cherry
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Jcorwin818

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2017, 12:58:16 PM »

Anymore I only use Traeger Gourmet which is Maple/Hickory/Cherry on everything. 
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LowSlowFoShow

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2017, 02:38:58 PM »

Mostly hickory or maple, hickory, cherry.  I also have some oak I use for steaks and a fruit blend for smoking salmon.
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Quadman750

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2017, 04:30:01 PM »

I use lots of hickory & comp blend as well.
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ICIdaho

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2017, 05:02:19 PM »

I have not ever used anything that is pure flavor wood, I do not have those options where I am at and the prices are to high to order in.  My favorites are all blended, but a few stand out the most.  I use a Maple-Peach-Pecan blend for ribs and chicken.  For most other things I use a gourmet blend that is Oak-pecan-cherry that is very good to use on about everything.  I also use a Hickory-Alder blend quite a bit too.
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Bentley

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2017, 05:17:22 PM »

Sometimes for me, everything is greener on the other side of the hill...I would like to try some of the Australian, and Jungle Hard Woods...Iron Bark, Jarrah, River Red Gum...Teak, Mahogany, Thai Rosewood, Black Locust...
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Trooper

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2017, 05:38:18 PM »

I'm pretty boring in this area.
- Whatever"s in the pellet pail.
     
     100% Hickory
           or
      PefectMix  From cookinpellets.com
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pz

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2017, 05:39:32 PM »

My general purpose pellet is GMGs fruitwood blend, mostly because they impart a good but mild smoke, and I can get them for a good price.
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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2017, 07:08:34 PM »

I'm not a huge hickory fan (blasphemy!). I honestly don't see what all the hubbub is about it.
If I could afford it, Cookinpellets perfect mix would be my staple in most cases. I've gone thru several hundred lbs and have yet to be disappointed.

Due to my location, it's difficult to get a really good hardwood mix or one flavor only. I try to maximize my buys by looking for specials and deals.
Like Bentley, I'd love to try some more unusual woods. Pecan falls into that category here.  :( I do love apple and cherry as well. Considering the shear number of apple, cherry, and vineyards in the region; it's hard to believe that these are not more available. <sigh>.
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GrillinGlen

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2017, 07:14:04 PM »

lumberjack mesquite blend for beef and lumberjack 100% hickory for everything else.  If I found a clearance bargain id probably burn anything, but the farm store 1/2 mile away has Lumberjack for $10.99 per 20# so I probably wont change.  I had a sample of Perfect Mix and really liked it but im to cheap to mail order
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 07:16:11 PM by GrillinGlen »
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Bar-B-Lew

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2017, 07:24:37 PM »

cookinpellets mix or hickory are about the only thing I use.

I have used cherry in the past and like the color it puts on meat.  I have some orange that I liked on chicken.  MAK used to have a hazelnut blend that had a nice flavor and gave the meat a nice color too.

I am going to look into the cherry posted earlier in this thread.

I probably have tried a dozen other blends, flavors, etc and could not tell a flavor difference.
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TravlinMan

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Re: Do you have a Favorite Pellet Wood/Flavor to Cook With ?
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2017, 07:58:27 PM »

Our ability to get many different types of wood/flavor pellets is limited in our small town, but sometimes Bent gets a special shipment in.  For the most part, I like hickory to cook with.  But when we can get it, I really like black walnut for chicken.  Any particular wood/food combos that you like?

Not a big mesquite fan, but it is excellent on beef..

Hickory or 'comp blend' - beef and pork
Apple - Mac and Cheese
Apple or Cherry - Dessert
Apple or Hickory - Bacon

 :bbq:
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