I have only been in the pellet game for about 3 weeks or so, but I am already addicted to pellets. I love all the choices and cannot wait to try new flavors/brands. I have a local butcher who stocks Lumberjack pellets. His inventory has been very inconsistent due to virus shopping patterns. Pellet supplies isn't to the level of toilet paper but they seem to go fast around here. Here is a list of what I have used (in order) and my thoughts
1. Lumberjack Pecan Blend. Did my burn in with these pellets and two rib cooks. Pleasant smell but not the normal Pecan smoke smell I am used to. But the flavor was really good. Didn't notice much ash. I would be happy to use this again
2. B & B post oak. Mainly used this for my first brisket cook. As with the LJ pecan, the smell was not reminiscent of Post oak I have used in chunks and splits. The smell reminded me of burning wood that is too dried out (if that makes sense). Flavor was really light, almost non-existent. But that was also a factor of me running the cooker at 275 the whole way. I would have gotten more smoke had I run at a lower temperature. But so far, this is my least favorite pellet. BUT, the size of the pellets is uniform and small so I would have confidence using this on overnight cooks.
3. Lumberjack 100% pecan. As far as smell of smoke and flavor goes, this is my favorite pellet yet. But the bag had a majority of very long pellets. Many around 2" and some even longer. They balled up on the safety grid blocking the rest of the pellets from going into the auger and caused a flame out on an overnight cook. I will continue to use these pellets as they are really good flavor wise but will be mindful of the extra long ones and inspect and break the longer ones apart. Also the safety grid has been removed. I did not notice long pieces in the LJ blend. Perhaps this is an issue with their 100% varieties. I have read similar experiences on FB.
4. B & B Mesquite. I am not a big mesquite guy. I like it, don't love it. My preferred types of wood are post oak and pecan. But pellets were hard to come by and my HEB only had B & B mesquite so I bought a bag. I had low expectations. But I have to say, this one is a winner. Very good smoke flavor, not overpowering like mesquite can often be. Great balance. Consistent pellet size so I would be comfortable using this on overnight cooks. When I buy B & B pellets in the future, I will buy this one before I buy another bag of post oak. It is a winner. I really want to cook my next brisket using this pellet. I am doing pork ribs this saturday using the remainder of these in my hopper.
in the pellet que, I have a 40lb bag of cookinpellets 100% hickory, a 20lb bag of Lumberjack hickory blend and I still have 1 remaining bag of B & B post oak. The CP hickory is next up. I am doing an overnight pork butt for Easter Sunday and will use these pellets.
Pellets I want to buy next: Lumberjack competition blend. Hickory, maple and apple sounds like a nice mix. I also would like to try B & B pecan.
Pellets are fun.