Pellets vs. Logs; Results from an Impartial Cook on a Pellet Smoker and Stick Burner

I've been cooking BBQ over logs of wood for 40 years now, personally and professionally.  I couldn't begin to count the number of briskets, butts, ribs, and chicken I've smoked over the years, and I've always used logs of Pecan, Mesquite, Hickory, Apple, or Oak to cook it.  As I witnessed the rise of the pellet cooker, I always admired the "Automation" piece of it!  I mean, to set it up and to go to bed without having to get up to "add a log and adjust the fire" in the middle of the night did have an appeal...

Then again, I have rolled many pellets between my thumb and index finger and wondered, "Does this wood have as much 'punch' of flavor, etc, that a big log of oak does?  Is it even wood!?"  So far, I haven't forsaken my classic stick burner in favor of a pellet cooker, but as technology gets better, pellet pits do too...

Recently, I found a broken pellet cooker abandoned on someone's porch and I brokered a deal to give it (for free) to my buddy Ryan.  Ryan is a techie-wiz and in less than a week he had replaced the controller board and most of the other electronics.  He sanded and painted it, and it was running "better than new" in no time.  That's when I had an idea.....

I asked him if he was willing to do a little experiment.  I would rub and prep 4 big pork butts, and we would cook two of them over hickory pellets in his cooker, and I would cook the other two over hickory logs in my stick burner!  We would use the same methods and temperatures, and pull them off the pits at 195 degrees.  Then we'd trade ONE butt each, and have our families do a taste comparison.  Here are the results:

First, here is the equipment we used.  In Ryan's corner, the "Daniel Boone" model of the Green Mountain Pellet Cookers.

Advantages:

• Variable speed fan
• Fully automated
• Quality steel

Disadvantages:

• Uses electricity (susceptible to power failure)
• Required firmware updates

In my corner, the Yoder Smokers "Loaded Wichita" stick burner.

Advantages:

• Welded 1/4" steel
• No power required
• Burns traditional logs/wood

Disadvantages:

• Requires monitoring/tending the fire

Four pork butts (shoulders) were prepared.  They were all between 11 and 13lbs.  I put a light layer of yellow mustard on them, then I applied my own personal BBQ rub that has salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and brown sugar.  I wrapped them in cellophane and let them marinate.  I gave two to Ryan, and kept two for myself.  We each got a "small" one and a "large" one.

Ryan placed his into his pellet cooker at 2:15am.  The cooker was preheated to a temperature of 225 degrees.  He closed the lid and walked away from it.  

At 9:30am, the smaller butt was at 160 degrees and the larger one was 148.  A nice bark was starting to form and Ryan put a pan underneath them to avoid excess fat and grease from burning the sides/bottom of the pit and making a big mess.  It might be significant to note that most pellet smokers have a smaller capacity than a commercial stick burner, but this model does have a grease outlet and a collection bucket to use, and it may require changing when doing two large butts.

At 2:30pm, Ryan's butts hit 190 degrees.  The bark had darkened and things looked good!  He let them rest up to 195 and we pronounced them "done and ready to pull!"

Meanwhile, at my house, I got up at midnight to light the fire.  The butts were laid onto the pit at 12:30am.  I stayed up to let the fire burn down into some coals, put on another two smaller logs, adjusted the intake and the stack, and then I went back to bed when the temperature of the pit was 237 degrees.

Every two hours after that (I set alarms), I woke up to add wood and to adjust the fire to stay as close to 225 as possible.  At 7:02am, 7 hours after the start of the cook, my butts hit the stall at 162 degrees.  I was happy to note that both pits required 7 hours to bring the butts up to 160.  Temperature and convection, etc, seemed pretty even on both sides. The only difference is that I was a lot more tired than Ryan was!  :)

At 10:02am, ten hours after the start of the cook, I was happy with the color and texture of the bark on my shoulders.  I noticed they were quite a bit darker in color than the butts on the pellet cooker.  The butts were both at 185 so I only had ten degrees to go, then I pronounced them "done" and I wrapped them to rest.  Ryan came over to pick up his butt and it was time to compare the results.

The "Pellet Butts" pulled very well.  They were tender, soft, juicy, and they had a nice smoke ring!  My family was impressed and we all enjoyed eating it but.... the flavor wasn't the same AT ALL!  My brother-in-law Joe said, "It's not BBQ, it tastes like it came from the oven."  His son said, "It's crock-pot pork with a darker cover."  Personally, I was confused.  It looked and behaved exactly like great pulled pork, but it lacked the "punch" and aroma of the butts from the stick burner.

When Ryan came over to pick up the Butt from my stick burner, he opened the cooler it was resting in, and the smell hit him full in the face.  "THAT is BBQ," he said, "Night and DAY difference!"  I agreed.  After he got it home, he said the smell just filled his house.  The flavor definitely had more "punch" and "BBQ" notes to it.  It had darker bark, and it pulled apart as easily as the pellet shoulder did.

Conclusions... Here's where things get difficult.  People tend to stand by their pits and swear by them.  Many internet flame-fueled feuds are boiling between pellet-heads and stick burner people

Based on this experiment, I can't sit here and pronounce one better than the other because the fact is, Ryan's wife and kids (Midwest family, living in Colorado) preferred the milder taste of the pellet cooked pork.  Ryan and I prefer the smoky aroma and taste of the stick burner pork.  So there you have it... We did learn some things though:

• The difference is the smoke.  Hands down.  No butts about it, burning logs in a stick burner produces more smoke.
  
• The stick burner definitely produces more smoke, more smoke flavor, and a deeper bark.
• Finding good hard-wood to burn in a stick burner is expensive in Colorado!  I've been paying around $500 for 1/2 cord of Pecan or Hickory wood that is split and kiln dried.  I will continue to do so.
• Resident pellet cookers that I know, pester me relentlessly to learn of my methods.  I'm open and honest and I don't mind sharing 40 years of BBQ recipes, knowledge, tricks, etc, but they always tell me, "I don't know what you're doing, but yours is better." 
• Pellet cookers burn super clean!  Your house, sheets, clothes, patio furniture, etc, don't "smell like BBQ."  When the stick burner is rolling smoke, people BLOCKS away from my house call me to ask "What's cooking today?"