Pellets Alternative pellets?

[drich]

I'm on my second 40# of Kirkland pellets for $12.99 and I'm impressed. Low ash, low dust, great heat at a great price.

Our Costco has a large bag of Traeger pellets possibly 40 lbs is that what you are talking about because I have never seen “ Kirkland” brand.

 

[Murphy's Law]

Our Costco has a large bag of Traeger pellets possibly 40 lbs is that what you are talking about because I have never seen “ Kirkland” brand.

Kirkland is the Costco name brand.

 

[Don C]

Our Costco has a large bag of Traeger pellets possibly 40 lbs is that what you are talking about because I have never seen “ Kirkland” brand.

That is probably the 33 lb bag of Gourmet "Traeger" pellets sold by Costco.

The 40 lb bags are the Costco brand (Kirkland) pellets.
They are not Traeger pellets.

 

[GrillMeister]

Here's what the Kirkland pellets look like. Picked up 3 more bags yesterday in Lewisville, TX.
The bag states "Exclusively sourced from the forests of North America.

 

[drich]

Thanks Guys for the info and pictures. Hopefully some day we will have them at our Costco. I would like to try them.

 

[midwest]

When I first got my 780 I experimented with different pellets and settled on Smoke Ring brand pellets. My local butcher sold them for 15.00 for 40 lbs. I noticed with switched brands and they are now the same price for a 20.00 bag. I called Kirtland (they made Smoke Ring pellets) and got a message they were out of business but sold their pellet business to a company in Holland MI. Curious to see if they are going to produce the same pellet and what the price will be. In the mean time I will be looking for another low price alternative. I use my Traeger a lot and don't want to be paying close to a dollar per pound for pellets...

 

[Bookers Bourbon]

 

[imjustabill1970]

I use Bear Mountain Bold on my Recteq. Better than their gourmet blend more smoke flavor

I just picked up a bag of Bear Mountain Bold used it with what I had in the hopper (Lumberjack/Rural King Competition) on my latest pulled pork cook. Looking forward to my first cook solely on Bear Mountain Pellets.

 

[dw3679]

I've had really good luck with Kingsford pellets. I like the Grillmaster's Choice (Hickory, Cherry and Oak), and the Hickory. About $18.00 at my local Von's.

 

[RayClem]

I've had really good luck with Kingsford pellets. I like the Grillmaster's Choice (Hickory, Cherry and Oak), and the Hickory. About $18.00 at my local Von's.

I understand that Kingsford pellets are recommended by RecTec grills. I have used them in my Traeger and they seem to work just fine.

 

[Bogeyfire]

I think local availability may be the most significant criteria in purchasing pellets. You can ship pellets directly to your home, but it tends to be expensive that way.

The ones I can get locally are Traeger, Pit Boss, Bear Mountain (Lowes), Lumberjack (Farm & Fleet), and Expert Grill (Walmart brand). Cabellas carries Knotty Wood pellets.

I have not yet tried Lumberjack or Knotty Wood as I do not go to Farm & Fleet or Cabellas very often. The only thing I do not like about Traeger pellets are that they are somewhat more easily broken than the others, so they tend to generate more dust. Because the Expert Grill pellets were cheap, I purchased them to do the initial seasoning burn for my grill. However, they worked quite well, so I continue to purchase them. The Sweet Blend produces a mild, sweet smoke that works well with pork, chicken and vegetables.

You might want to check out the January 2022 video produced by Mad Scientist BBQ. In a comparison of several brands, Traeger won the taste test, much to his surprise.

Yes, I recall that. It was a blind taste test by about a dozen pit masters. The guy conducting the study was surprised and visibly disappointed that Traeger performed so well!

 

[RayClem]

Yes, I recall that. It was a blind taste test by about a dozen pit masters. The guy conducting the study was surprised and visibly disappointed that Traeger performed so well!

I think the key to the experiment was that he was using competition blends from every brand other than Knotty Wood, which will pure plum. Because the plum is uncommon, it was the least favorite. Some of the Traeger "flavors" are hardwood blends and some are a base hardwood with extracts from other hardwoods. Read the labels carefully so you know what you are getting. Also, in some parts of the country, Traeger used oak as the base. In other areas, the base is alder. I do not know what affect that has on the overall blend, but I am sure it has some.

 

[JPSBBQ]

I think the key to the experiment was that he was using competition blends from every brand other than Knotty Wood, which will pure plum. Because the plum is uncommon, it was the least favorite. Some of the Traeger "flavors" are hardwood blends and some are a base hardwood with extracts from other hardwoods. Read the labels carefully so you know what you are getting. Also, in some parts of the country, Traeger used oak as the base. In other areas, the base is alder. I do not know what affect that has on the overall blend, but I am sure it has some.

You should note it was a not so obvious collaboration with the other pellet maker. He was surprised and embarrassed by the results and like yourself, he tried to make several excuses for potentially why the outcome was what it was. The important thing is the outcome. People like what they like. Good is well, good.
I’m not saying that guy doesn’t offer good info from time to time but he is a snake oil salesman incognito. I prefer those guys just be up front with their agendas. Again, that doesn’t mean his offerings have no value, just take everything with a grain of salt. He wanted a particular outcome and thought he could set up an experiment to produce it but was embarrassed when it was 180 degrees from what he has preached for years.

 

[RayClem]

You should note it was a not so obvious collaboration with the other pellet maker. He was surprised and embarrassed by the results and like yourself, he tried to make several excuses for potentially why the outcome was what it was. The important thing is the outcome. People like what they like. Good is well, good.
I’m not saying that guy doesn’t offer good info from time to time but he is a snake oil salesman incognito. I prefer those guys just be up front with their agendas. Again, that doesn’t mean his offerings have no value, just take everything with a grain of salt. He wanted a particular outcome and thought he could set up an experiment to produce it but was embarrassed when it was 180 degrees from what he has preached for years.

I was not trying to justify the results of the experiment, or negate them in any way. I was trying to point out that Traeger sells two different kinds of pellets. Some of the pellets are sold as Premium Hardwood Pellets/Natural Hardwood Blend. These are made from hardwoods, just like most of the other brands. The Traeger Signature Blend pellets used in the test are sold as Premium Hardwood Pellets, so they are not all that different than the other signature or competition blends used. It is supposed to be a blend of hickory, maple and cherry, which should be a good blend.

The difference are in the pellets that Traeger sells as Naturally Flavored Hardwood. For example, their Hickory pellets contain no actual Hickory wood, but a base wood such as Oak or Alder flavored with natural juices extracted from Hickory. The same situation occurs with their Mesquite flavored pellets.

 

[JPSBBQ]

I was not trying to justify the results of the experiment, or negate them in any way. I was trying to point out that Traeger sells two different kinds of pellets. Some of the pellets are sold as Premium Hardwood Pellets/Natural Hardwood Blend. These are made from hardwoods, just like most of the other brands. The Traeger Signature Blend pellets used in the test are sold as Premium Hardwood Pellets, so they are not all that different than the other signature or competition blends used. It is supposed to be a blend of hickory, maple and cherry, which should be a good blend.

The difference are in the pellets that Traeger sells as Naturally Flavored Hardwood. For example, their Hickory pellets contain no actual Hickory wood, but a base wood such as Oak or Alder flavored with natural juices extracted from Hickory. The same situation occurs with their Mesquite flavored pellets.

I do not believe that is true. Maybe go look at the website. They have removed a bunch of marketing verbiage that was intentionally misconstrued and used to damage their reputation unjustly.

They do sell a handful of limited edition flavored pellets usually in conjunction with a trade partner like Leinenkugels or Whistle Pig or Mondavi. They are very transparent about those and state so on their bag and in marketing info.

Just might want to revisit the research.