BBQ Select Bourbon Chicken

On pelletheads forum, pellets are discussed a lot. Some people do not like Traeger pellets. I think it is mostly due to the fact that some of their flavored wood is made with a special soy oil added for the flavor. I use their pellets and don’t mind them. I am kinda locked in to using them since locally no other brands are available. I have used several other brands & don’t find them much better. I like their oak which is 100%; they give me a smoke taste I like and burn hot.

Pelletheads do some testing of smokers and accessories but does not test pellets. A few of the members are receiving some pellets from BBQ Select to give their thoughts on them. Choice of pellets is kind of personal taste, price per pound, and do they give a good BTU output. I will share my thoughts on these pellets with my followers here.

Monday UPS delivered three 20 lb. bags of pellets, compliments of Adam Carr from bmqinc.com. He asks that I share my thoughts on the pellets to fellow pelletheads. I received a bag of hickory, apple, and bourbon. They have a full selection of the favorite hardwoods. They are 100% species specific except the apple which is a mix of apple & oak. They are located in southern IN close to Louisville, KY.

My first cook with the bourbon pellets was not a good test; I did butter garlic marinated chicken breasts with a slice of bacon on top. Only an hour on the smoker was not enough to get much smoke taste at all; I had to feed my family! I did them ½ hr. on smoke & ½ hr. at 350 deg. I started with a clean smoker & ran it on smoke for ½ hr to clear out the auger before putting the chicken on.

You can definitely smell the bourbon in the pellets. When I went from smoke 170 deg to 350 deg it reached 350 as fast as any pellets I have used. Tomorrow I have a 4.5 lb. English chuck roast to do low & slow so I should be able to give a taste report to you. My 70 yr. old taste buds may not be the best but with my son & family here now I have some extra tasters.

Not really a test; but as I use the pellets in my normal cooking I will try to give you an honest opinion. I don’t know what their shipping costs are but I know if you live close enough to pick them up they have a good price. Fellow pellethead, Sandman bought some of their hickory. I haven’t seen him to get his opinion. He has a Smoke Daddy on his Traeger so does some cold smoking.

My chicken was great, tender & moist even though I didn’t get much smoke taste.

Link to BBQ Select Pellets

Pellets ready to load

After 1/2 hour on smoke

Chickens done

My Plate