Fresh Ground Pepper versus Pre-ground Pepper

I love antique coffee grinders, look cool on the shelf, consistent, easy

Yes fresh pepper is better but costs more. If I was doing a large amount I'd get a burr grinder and use a medium grade peppercorn. Your size will be better but if you want a certain size you'll need to screen mesh it. Not worth the trouble in my opinion, the burr grinder is close enough.

The next time I have some Amazon gift cards I am going to buy an electric burr grinder and dedicate it to spices, mostly pepper. I find myself manually grinding 2 to 4 tablespoons of black pepper for recipes, using just the Kirkland brand plastic bottles, and it takes way too long. I have bought 16 mesh and restaurant grind from Amazon and Sam's l respectively and I thought it was fine. I figure grinding your own from whole peppers on demand is probably the ideal scenario though. I have a burr grinder for coffee and it does consistently sized grinds quickly.

Usually....fresh ground is stronger, well ,maybe always,...and if you compare it to cheap grocery store pepper, then heck yeah, but, I bought fresh ground black pepper from Atlantic spice that will curdle your hair....if fresh ground is stronger than that...I don't want it!..lol

Spices always taste better when they're freshly ground, including black peppercorns. No doubt fresh ground pepper produces a better product because the essential oils are still intact in whole peppercorns.



A good coffee burr grinder works best because it heats up the peppercorns while grinding, bringing out the bright flavor and the aromatics.


As far as size, no grinder is going to give you a specific size of the grind. As Norm pointed out above, black pepper is run through a series of mesh screens to separate the size of the particles. For me the varying sized grind does not matter, the smaller particles have more heat which dissipates quickly, and the larger particles are more pungent with an after heat; they tend to balance each other out.



You can get freshly ground black pepper, as well as other spices, from a reputable purveyor of quality spices. It will be good for about 6 months, so don't over purchase.

DFoster said:

What have you found that you would purchase?


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This is the 16 mesh I got from Amazon, it was pretty good but I dont have some super refined palette. I used it to make SPOG rub for a bunch of briskets I cooked.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QAZYO56/

The restaurant grind stuff I got from Sam's was Tone's brand, 18oz bottle.

Fresh grind on my caesar salad. For BBQ I want more mellow.

For what it’s worth...

We use black pepper that has been ground and put in a sealed container for a month.

We found that this produces a better more consistent product.
In the early days of Q-Salt we ground pepper fresh for each batch. The issues we had were inconsistent spikes of pepper flavor, this mellows with a little age

The problem with buying any pre-ground spice is shelf life. A whole spice can keep it's potency for years, where as a ground spice is almost useless in 6 months. I only buy peppercorns, and only use burr grinders. I have a crank one for peppercorns, then a large electric one, for doing enough for rubs and sausage. They save you money in the long run, if you buy your spices whole, and in bulk.

I have an all clad mill that over had for about 20 years. We've tried others over that time, but nothing comes close to the consistency. Then I have a grinder for large volumes, but I prefer th mill. I've been known to spend 10 minutes milling what I need. But I feel the fresh spice is worth it.

ironmanerik said:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3272491&postcount=14

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I like that...I will have to keep my eye out for one at an estate sale or something.

I bought this set over 7 years ago. Great adjustments. A lot of bad reviews on them but I have only changed out the rechargeable AA batteries once and we use this everyday. I use the pepper grinder for fresh coriander for pastrami too.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-SP...ocphy=9030846&hvtargid=pla-310589604642&psc=1

My wife came with a small coffee grinder (amongst a lot of other goodies she shares. :icon_wink:icon_devil )

Anyway, she doesn't drink coffee, she doesn't drink tea, she only likes hot chocolate, and Pepsi... and Thankfully... Me.
So I took the little electric coffee mill and cleaned it up really good. Then powdered some Kosher salt in it. Powdered kosher salt is really good on popcorn, and for seasoning with. IMHO
So with that success under my belt, I bought some Pepper corns and made fresh ground pepper for several Jerky batches I was bungeling with. :icon_smile_tongue:
I thought it was good. Both the salt and the pepper freshly ground.

(It is a corded model, so that gives you an idea of this relic.)

But I wonder.... I always wonder.

Ya grind your pepper to get fresh ground pepper. But isn't it just old pepper finally cracked? I mean, who knows how long ago those little corns were harvested and dried?

I find the freshly ground pepper has more eye appeal in my Jerky than my "manufactured" pepper. But is it better? Or is my desire for it to be better just tricking me? :crazy:

Nomamm said:

I bought this set over 7 years ago. Great adjustments. A lot of bad reviews on them but I have only changed out the rechargeable AA batteries once and we use this everyday. I use the pepper grinder for fresh coriander for pastrami too.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-SP...ocphy=9030846&hvtargid=pla-310589604642&psc=1

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I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt... Rock Salt.
Some are written by competitors employees during slack time but sitting uselessly in the office.
Not too hard to separate the BS from the Oh Yes...
Glad yours are working well!

For slow cooking on my offset I use the course ground black pepper from Costco. The Kirkland course ground has great flavor and they seem to turn it pretty quick and I use it up pretty quick as well. On long cooks I have not noticed much or any difference between the Kirkland preground or fresh ground. For meat and veggies on the grill I use pepper that I grind just prior to applying to the meat/veg.

SonnyE said:

My wife came with a small coffee grinder (amongst a lot of other goodies she shares. :icon_wink:icon_devil )

Anyway, she doesn't drink coffee, she doesn't drink tea, she only likes hot chocolate, and Pepsi... and Thankfully... Me.
So I took the little electric coffee mill and cleaned it up really good. Then powdered some Kosher salt in it. Powdered kosher salt is really good on popcorn, and for seasoning with. IMHO
So with that success under my belt, I bought some Pepper corns and made fresh ground pepper for several Jerky batches I was bungeling with. :icon_smile_tongue:
I thought it was good. Both the salt and the pepper freshly ground.

(It is a corded model, so that gives you an idea of this relic.)

But I wonder.... I always wonder.

Ya grind your pepper to get fresh ground pepper. But isn't it just old pepper finally cracked? I mean, who knows how long ago those little corns were harvested and dried?

I find the freshly ground pepper has more eye appeal in my Jerky than my "manufactured" pepper. But is it better? Or is my desire for it to be better just tricking me? :crazy:

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I grind my own pepper every week and it's a very different taste than pre-ground pepper. Peppercorns are really just dried berries, so the age of the peppercorn doesn't matter much until you crush it and expose the oils to oxygen. Once that happens it begins to oxidize rapidly and that's why most pre-ground pepper has lost its flavor before you even buy it at the store.

Do a taste test with pre-ground stuff and freshly ground stuff...can you not smell and taste the difference? It's a totally different product to be honest...and I'm not some pretentious jerk with a "refined palate," but the first time I tried grinding my own peppercorns it was an absolute game changer and 100% noticeable difference.

For me I use a cheap Krups coffee/spice grinder that I got at Walmart for about $12. I've been using it for about a year and so far it's holding up very well. I will grind one of those large bottles of peppercorns in about 5-7 minutes and that's what I will use in my rubs for the week. Everybody has their own personal taste but fresh pepper, in my opinion, is a huge game changer compared to pre-ground. I've tried the Restaurant Grind and while I feel that's a bit better than the table grind it still doesn't have the same aroma as freshly ground peppercorns.

Again, to each their own, but it's certainly 100% a noticeable difference.