Best Fruit Wood Brand of Pellets for PG-500/1000

Hi there, welcome to the forum.

I am too lazy to change woods in my PG500 based on what meat I am smoking. I just ran out of alder and switched to Pecan and cherry. I think I prefer to always mix with cherry. I like the color it puts on my chicken, ribs, and pork products.

My most consistent mix is cherry and hickory. I try to use 60-40 hickory to cherry.

On butterfly Pork Chops. I like to use a good marinade. Even a bottle of italian dressing works good. Overnight and then shake off the excess. Dust with your favorite rub. ( I use grand champion from TexasBBQrub) Smoke on indirect until internal of 115. Pull from the smoker and increase temp to 400 degrees. Place back on zone 1 and sear both sides, about 90 sec. Rest for 15 and serve.

I reread your question and see you want to know brands.

I love BBqDelight.

In a pinch I buy traegger pellets. I noticed the PG-500 runs hotter for some reason though. So I usually adjust the HHT down.

Last time (2011) I ordered a mixed pallet of BBQ delight, which contained lots of hick, mesquite, apple, cherry, sugar maple, walnut, peach, pecan and even black walnut.

Since it cost me a dollar a bag more to mix bags on the pallet, this time I decided to go with all pecan. I love it on pork and it's worked with everything else I smoke, especially a lot of bacon and ham, snack stix, etc.

Sugar maple is nice on the cured meats also.

Full disclosure though, I have a FEC 100 with the log burner, so can put a hickory stick in there to pump it up a little.

Padre, hate to brag, but I've never had to brine a chop since I've started growing my own.

Thanks for the great suggestions, good people.

I'll see what pellets I can find on the way home.

Looks like I basically reverse sear the chop.

Thanks again, Padrefan98 and Chaplain Bill

I use Lumberjack pellets in my FEC. I can get them locally, which is one of the reasons I use them. I like their MHC blend. Maple, Hickory, Cherry. Although they do produces more ash than some other pellets.

Chaplain Bill, I almost couldn't identify that as a chop. Wow! You never see that kind of fat in chops from the store.

Chop? I thought that was a rib eye.

Yes, they are like butter. I just took a pig to the processer on Monday. Her live weight was 570 and her hanging weight was 421. This puts her at nearly 74 percent hanging weight. I ordered 3/4 inch chops off of both loins. Should be around 78 porkchops off this one pig.

Hi,

Thought I'd report back on the pellets I got and the result.

Actually, I got talked into buying Pacific Pellet Gourmet Blend, which is a blend of 40% Oak, 30% Alder, 15% Pecan and 15% Cherry.

It produces a nice, light flavored, sweet smoke that went very well with the pork chops and some chicken legs last night.

The kiddos ate both of them up pronto.

Since I have a full bag, I'll try it with steaks tonight and pizza tomorrow or the day after.

Chaplain Bill, your hog must've lived the sweet life to have fattened up so nicely.

Those are some awesome looking chops.