Pellet fuel discussion


 

Bob Correll

R.I.P. 3/31/2022
With some members buying a Weber SmokeFire, or another brand of pellet grill, I thought a thread about fueling them would be helpful.
Hopefully current users will chime in with recommendations, and which ones to stay away from.
I've seen Lumber Jack mentioned a few times and a local Rural King farm and home store carries them for $8.88 per 20# bag, seems like a good price compared to Weber brand at nearly double that price.
Guess we'll never find out for sure who makes pellets for Weber, just like with their charcoal.

edit to add a good idea from Rich Dahl:
"Bob maybe you could edit your first post and ask that if the folks have a recommendation that they list where they bought them, that would help."
 
Last edited:
So far, I really like Lumber Jack and have confidence that they use high quality woods based on many reviews. I wish I had a Rural King near me! My last purchase was at a grill store on the west coast of Florida.

Another brand very much worth looking at is CookinPellets.com. Their "Perfect Mix" smells so good and works great.

https://cookinpellets.com/product/40-lbs-pm/

If you are interested in adding some charcoal flavor, try Smoke Daddy who makes a charcoal pellet. Out of stock as of this posting, but I have used it successfully.

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/pellet-pro-exclusive-charcoal-pellets-20lb-bag/

I am very much looking forward to trying Weber pellets, although I hope the prices will at least be a little lower on some kind of introductory sale. I am running low on Lumber Jack cherry and plan to buy Weber's to try it out and also their house blend. That should be enough for me to see if they are worth a higher price.
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking Lumber Jack's Competition blend, 1/3 each maple, hickory, and cherry would be a nice combination.
 
I can’t speak to pellet fuel but, how fancy can compressed sawdust get? Excellent way to utilize as much wood product as possible but, the stuff should be cheap, it’s just like the emergence of charcoal briquettes, what to do with the spoke shavings from wheel manufacture. “Waste not, want not!”
I’ve got to say, the “power to the pellet” slogan is pretty clever. I’m not so much a purist as to say that pellet cookery is blasphemous it’s just too expensive for my cheap @$$! If my ship comes in and, I’m not sitting at the bus station, I very well might jump right on the SmokeFire bandwagon! The design just “looks” better for me. But, did I say I’m cheap?!
 
Last edited:
I can’t speak to pellet fuel but, how fancy can compressed sawdust get? Excellent way to utilize as much wood product as possible but, the stuff should be cheap, it’s just like the emergence of charcoal briquettes, what to do with the spoke shavings from wheel manufacture. “Waste not, want not!”
Pellets for pellet heating stoves are cheap, cooking pellets are a bit more involved in the manufacture.
Edit, I should have said in the woods used.
 
Last edited:
Me savvy! Turnip truck no roll over head.

Yep, look up “Grumpy old fart” and it’s sure as gassy, my picture!

No harm, no fowl... well until I spin a bird!
 
Last edited:
I have used 3 brands of pellets. My first pellet grill came with 2 20# bags of Green Mountain Grills pellets. They worked fine in the Rec Tec Mini. I found 40# bags of Pit Boss competition blend at Lowes for $12 and tried those. I didn't notice any difference between those and the GMG except price. Since I kept reading about how great Lumbrjack pellets were I bought a 20# bag of Hickory for $19 expecting to get more smoke flavor. My wife and I couldn't taste a difference and consumption rate is about the same. With the competition blend I actually over smoked a batch of Beef Jerky so it definitely gives smoke flavor on the low smoke setting. I'm firmly in the least expensive Pit Boss camp. To quote Timothy F. "But, did I say I’m cheap?!"

I DO NOT have a sophisticated palate so maybe there's a difference but I can't taste it. Bob, I can taste the difference between Imo's and Domino's Pizza but not between BBQ pellets.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.:D
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking Lumber Jack's Competition blend, 1/3 each maple, hickory, and cherry would be a nice combination.

Dave in KC recommends for beef brisket 1/2 LJ Char-Hickory (which includes charcoal similar to the SmokeDaddy product I mentioned above) and 1/2 LJ cherry.
 
Great idea Bob, I was looking all the pellet threads trying to dig up the posts on cooking pellets. Now we will have it under one roof :)

Safeway here carry's Cooks pellets I know nothing about them but for under $8.00 with Barbs discount for a twenty pound bag I thought I'd give them a try, got the apple.

Bob maybe you could edit your first post and ask that if the folks have a recommendation that they list where they bought them, that would help.
 
Last edited:
One question I see on Amazon product questions and pellet grill forums is "Will Brand X pellets work in a Brand Y pellet grill". As far as I know you can put any name in for the X and any name in for the Y and the answer is YES. The Weber spokesman said that other brands of pellets work in the SmokeFire but they hope customers will use Weber pellets.
 
If you're looking for Lumber Jack and can't find it locally Dicks Sporting goods carries them and only charges $5.99 to ship a 20lb bag.
 
I took this photo a couple months ago in a local Farm and Barn type store. Prices are for 20# and 40# bags of Lumberjack.

NgbUWIW.jpg
 
“There’s one born every minute”
P. T. Barnum
With respect for minor editorial taste.
Isn’t marketing amazing!? I see it all the time in basic grocery shopping!
 
I like the LJ brand, have tried several flavors , like the charhickory if I am doing steaks, torn between hickory and comp blend ,mesquite so so not a big fan , have not had any that wasn't decent imo, a lot were just higher priced for same results. I have a RK close so that's where I buy mine most of the time, tried some kingsford and wasn't impressed
 
My experience mirrors Lew's

I have used 3 brands of pellets. My first pellet grill came with 2 20# bags of Green Mountain Grills pellets. They worked fine in the Rec Tec Mini. I found 40# bags of Pit Boss competition blend at Lowes for $12 and tried those. I didn't notice any difference between those and the GMG except price. Since I kept reading about how great Lumbrjack pellets were I bought a 20# bag of Hickory for $19 expecting to get more smoke flavor. My wife and I couldn't taste a difference and consumption rate is about the same. With the competition blend I actually over smoked a batch of Beef Jerky so it definitely gives smoke flavor on the low smoke setting. I'm firmly in the least expensive Pit Boss camp. To quote Timothy F. "But, did I say I’m cheap?!"

I DO NOT have a sophisticated palate so maybe there's a difference but I can't taste it. Bob, I can taste the difference between Imo's and Domino's Pizza but not between BBQ pellets.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.:D

Dear Board,

I'm a satisfied Pit Boss Competition blend user, even if I have to pay $ 14.99 for 40#'s of them at my local Lowes. I've also bought Pit Boss Cherry, Apple, and Hickory pellets for $ 9.99 for a 20# bag.

In my experience the Pit Boss pellets perform as well or better as the Traeger branded pellets. They light quickly, seem to burn at a similar and consistent rate and temperature, and they leave minimal ash. That's all you can ask of a pellet.

Like Lew I can definitely tell that you don't get as much smoke flavor as you do when using wood chips or chunk wood over charcoal but to me a pellet grill is all about convenience.

I can come home in the dead of Winter, look in the freezer and pull something out and then go fire up the grill. While i wait for it to get to 180F, I season the frozen meat and when the grill is ready on it goes. I typically smoke something for one hour at 180F and then pull it and plate it while I rev the grill up to finishing temperature. Once I get to the desired temperature pork chops are done for 4 or 5 minutes a side at 350F, a London Broil is done for the same time at 450F, and chicken is somewhere in the middle, usually 15-20 minutes at 375F.

When you understand that a pellet grill is nothing more than a convection oven fired by wood you will learn to easily and successfully adapt your recipes to work.

Pellet grills do not make genuine down home old style stick burner country style BBQ. But with a bit of practice and some time you can easily make tasty and pleasing meals. And you can make them with minimal fuss.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA :D
 
Good information Tim, thanks for sharing.
When I started this thread I had a Camp Chef PG24 ordered from Amazon. It was a really good deal, but still wouldn't be delivered for over a week from now.
After much deliberation I cancelled my order, mainly due to the fact that I don't barbecue often enough to warrant another outdoor cooking apparatus. I do grill very often though and this would not have been my choice for grilling.
Hopefully this thread will be helpful for those getting into the pellet cooker game, Weber brand or otherwise.
 
Sorry to here you cancelled your order Bob, but I completely understand. Buying mine is an attempt to get me more active with my backyard cooking while also allowing me to unload a few of my grills and smokers that are just occupying space now. But time will tell if it was the right decision.
While I'm waiting for it to warm up a little (high of 26 today) I'm having a lot of fun with my new instant pot, the thing is amazing. Soup and a cheesecake on the menu for today.
 


The Weber pellets are arriving at Lowe’s. I was in the local Lowe’s right at opening time Tuesday, and wandered over to the grilling aisle to kill some time. I noticed a pallet that looked like pellets and decided to be nosy. The young man in the department saw me looking and offered to check the number, and it turned out to be the Weber grill master blend pellets. I bought a bag to try in my smoker tube on my Summit E-470. They left a really good flavor on a rack of spare ribs the same day. They were $16.49, I think.
 
Last edited:

 

Back
Top