Pellets 101

[Buckeye smoker]

Just a bunch of info on pellets.
what wood for what meat

• Alder – salmon, poultry, game birds.
• Apple – poultry, pork, lamb, seafood.
• Cherry – all meats.
• Hickory – pork and ribs.
• Maple – poultry, vegetables, cheese.
• Mesquite – red meat.
• Oak – all meats, often blended with other wood.
• Pecan – poultry.

Types of pellets...

1. Flavored wood
2. Blended
3. Standard

Flavored Wood Pellets...
These are made of 100%
flavored wood and no filler.
burns well but contributes
little flavor of its own. These
are the most expensive pellets.
Blended Wood Pellets...
Blends mix filler and flavored wood to keep costs down. Typically, the ratio is about 30% flavored wood to 70% filler.
Standard Pellets...
Made entirely of wood with little to no flavor properties, these pellets are generally reserved for heating.
Shoot for barkless...
Bark doesn’t burn at the same rate as wood, which can lead to inconsistent temperatures. Plus, they leave behind more ash. That can cause your grill to misread the internal temperature, and it makes a bigger mess for you to clean.
Poorly compressed pellets won’t hold together and may fall apart when the auger pulls them in, or as you’re scooping or pouring from the bag. That means they won’t burn well, resulting in lower temperatures, poor smoke. So before you buy, check the bag for dust at the bottom. If there’s a lot, that means they’re falling apart already. Avoid!!

Even 100% all wood pellets come in different styles and blends, so read up on what is actually in them. Bark/no bark, heart wood/scrap wood etc etc.
Lumberjack for example has their 100% wood Apple blend which is actually 60% red oak, 40% apple.
Just thought I'd share some things I've found out about pellets.

 

[STPLE]

Thanks for the info. I’m new to smoking and loving it.
Has anyone ever tried the charcoal flavored pellets?? Are they safe in a RT700?? The idea intrigues me a little bit for shorter seat cooks like hamburgers and steaks.

 

[macabra11]

Thanks for the info. I’m new to smoking and loving it.
Has anyone ever tried the charcoal flavored pellets?? Are they safe in a RT700?? The idea intrigues me a little bit for shorter seat cooks like hamburgers and steaks.

I LOVE the Lumberjack CharHickory pellets. That and Mesquite are pretty much all I will use on beef now.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Thanks for the info. I’m new to smoking and loving it.
Has anyone ever tried the charcoal flavored pellets?? Are they safe in a RT700?? The idea intrigues me a little bit for shorter seat cooks like hamburgers and steaks.

I haven't but hopefully someone here has, I'd like to hear about them also.

 

[NU2SMOKE]

When I bought my Bull package it came with 5 bags of competition pellets. Well 2 of the bags came torn and the grill was damaged. I called Rec Tec and they replaced the grill but sent 5 more bags of pellets just for the inconvenience. Rec Tec customer service is awesome. SO I currently have about 350 lbs of competition Rec Tec pellets and I love the flavor they give. I dont know what they are or who makes them but I can see sticking with them.