Best brand of pellets? Most smoke?

[Dennis F]

Wondering what everyone's go to pellets are? What gives you the best smokiness💨

So far I've used....
Pitboss Charcoal
Pitboss Hickory
Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend

Bought but haven't tried...
Bear Mountain Hickory
Ol Hick Jim Beam Bourbon Barrel.

I like Bear Mountain much better so far!

 

[Mike From R.I.]

I switched to Bear Mountain Gourmet too, still have some PB competition to burn through in the hopper, hopefully a lot less ash in the firepot. I like that there's little or no pellets dust and no crumbs like PB.

 

[MikeInFla]

Bear Mountain are pretty good. I've used every one from Pit Boss. Kingsford is also very good. I picked up a 40 pound bag at Sam's of their "Smokehouse Blend" and haven't tried it yet but have heard good things about those pellets.

I've posted this in another thread but it is an interesting video. Just remember, it is his opinion only but I commend him for taking the time to make the comparison.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWizuI_DLM8

 

[Foggyforests]

Im new to this but I picked up a bag of lumberjack competition today for some ribs and they seem to be smokier and a bit hotter than the pit boss pellets I tried initially.

 

[Elfcane]

Im new to this but I picked up a bag of lumberjack competition today for some ribs and they seem to be smokier and a bit hotter than the pit boss pellets I tried initially.

My current fav...

 

[Lonesomejoe1950]

Wondering what everyone's go to pellets are? What gives you the best smokiness💨

So far I've used....
Pitboss Charcoal
Pitboss Hickory
Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend

Bought but haven't tried...
Bear Mountain Hickory
Ol Hick Jim Beam Bourbon Barrel.

I like Bear Mountain much better so far!

I've enjoyed pit Boss competition blend. Also I mix Pit Boss hickory with Treagers cherry or pecan, or whatever i can find. The fun of smoking is in trying all the different flavors of pellets available. Don't get stuck on just one! You will find some flavors go better with certain foods. Don't be afraid to experiment, can't mess it up really.

And remember, good pellets DONT PUT OUT LOTS OF SMOKE! You're looking for a thin, almost invisible smoke through most of your cook. Real heavy thick smoke is not what you want. Lots of us use a smoke tube for that extra smoke kick. Have fun!!!!!

 

[Edchad]

There’s tons of different ones out there. I haven’t been in the pellet game that long but bbq and traditional smoking probably about 50 years.
I didn’t know squat when I jumped in the game and was disappointed in the first couple i tried. Those being Pit Boss Apple and their Hickory blend. Now I’m not saying they’re no good because a lot of folks love em. I was trying to compare these things to say my offset stick burner and that ain’t gonna happen. Again not saying bad. But definitely different.
I probably drove a few in here crazy. Lol. Asking. Questioning. And yea maybe a little complaining. I also made the mistake of buying multiple bags of the same pellet expecting them to taste just like wood chunk or log smoke. Sorry I’m writing a book again. But it’s to point out, at least in my opinion, there is no best pellet. Everybody tries and experiments around till they find THEIR best pellet. Every time I read about somebody recommending the best pellet like a dummy I’d go buy 2 or 3 bags. Lol. Now I got quite a collection of pellets I personally don’t care for. But also some I haven’t tried yet. I started paying more attention to what the majority liked and started checking those out. And one bag at a time. Lol. Also as bad as I didn’t want to hear it. I broke down and started using smoke tubes. In my mind that was insane as I was told these things would give the best smoky flavor in the world. (Which reminds me. I still got a score to settle with that kid salesman at Lowe’s. Lol )

As usual I’ve wrote a bunch of junk and didn’t really answer the OP question. But I’ll say this. They all seem to smoke about the same for me but the strength of the flavor is way different from brand ro brand. Right now I’d say Kingsford 100% Hickory. And Pit Boss charcoal work Rhe best for me. But I also usually have one or two smoke tubes packed with wood chips and sometimes pellets mixed in with them.

Experimenting Is what it’ll take to find your best smokiest pellet.

 

[Edchad]

Im new to this but I picked up a bag of lumberjack competition today for some ribs and they seem to be smokier and a bit hotter than the pit boss pellets I tried initially.

Thats one I really want to try. Seems a ton of folks like the Lumberjacks. I haven’t found any around here.

 

[ANT0407]

I just picked up a bag of Cookin Pellets brand 100% Hickory, no bark,no fillers. I've heard really good things about them. I'll be making ribs with them soon. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[mixed up]

Edchad your spot on in comments . my opinion is I have tried the PB apple it to light on flavor I have tried the hickory and did like the flavor . im currently using PB competition and am not liking the out come on flavor and taste . the hickory is my go to for now for taste and flavor .but I have not tried any other brands

 

[Guineabear]

As for Pitboss pellets, I didn't like their charcoal at all so am adding a hand full to other mixtures just to use them up. A mixture of fruit blend and Classic has worked reasonably well but still light on smoke flavor. Want to. Try some other brands to compare. Have a bag of PB whiskey barrel still unopened and that may be next. Heard a lot of good about Lumberjack.

 

[Fxdride]

I have used Pit boss pellets successfully and found no problems; however I will look more closely at them. I started using Cusinart Cherry Rum lately and also find those to be an excellent brand and no problems. I too store the pellets in the Lowes 5 gal buckets.

 

[Desert_Smokin]

Initially I used PB hickory, ok, but not a ton of smoke flavor. Switched to Bear Mountain hickory and like these more than the PB. Just bought a bag of the BM gourmet blend, but haven’t tried them yet.

 

[Guineabear]

Used the smoke setting on my 850 for the 1st time yesterday with a 50/50 mixture of PB fruit blend and classic. Still not a ton of smoke flavor. Pork loin was good but lacking smoke taste.

 

[Desert_Smokin]

I added a smoke tube when I did a turkey breast a few weeks ago. That definitely helped with the smoke flavor.