Pro tip: Found out the hard way that cheap wood pellets ruin a brisket

I got a bag of generic pellets from a hardware store for $8 last month. Figured pellets are pellets, right? Wrong. My brisket came out with a weird chemical taste and the smoke ring was almost nonexistent. I looked up the brand online and found out they use filler woods like alder and even some scrap lumber. Switched to a brand that lists 100% specific wood types like hickory or oak on the bag. The difference was night and day - better flavor and a real pink ring on my next cook. Has anyone else gotten burned by off-brand pellets?

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2 Comments

the_ruby3mo ago

Oh man, I feel your pain, that chemical taste is the worst and impossible to fix.

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olivers282mo ago

Ugh, that chemical taste is the worst, totally kills a whole cook. I got burned on some cheap blend last year and it turned me off smoking for a solid week.

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