Are the Special Blend OK? I had seen a chart somewhere (if you can tell me where I would appreciate it), but I have not tried them yet. I found them at Bass Pro while I was there on Saturday. The chart said they were basically good to use on anything. I am thinking about using them with a butt or with some ribs...
Any thoughts?
Here's the link you wanted:
http://susan.rminor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26
As the article says, there is certainly nothing wrong with Special Blend and some people love it, but many people feel the flavor is somewhat non-descript, so they prefer specific woods for specific meat, or specific combinations of pucks, such as maple/pecan, which essentially results in their own "special blend." I have used the Special Blend a couple of times, typically when I want the smoke as a complimentary flavoring, rather than the main flavor of interest, for items such as ABTs.
Bsolomon is spot-on with his advice . . . I'm not sure that Special Blend is either great for anything or bad for anything--it's kind of like a good blended whisky. Alder is also a very "neutral" smoke that may not be the best flavor for anything but will work for just about everything . . . think of SB and alder as "Type O" woods.
John
Newton MA
SB is the "hot dog" wood. Scraps from the bisquette making process are swept up & mixed together, except mesquite, which is strictly guarded. (Mallard says "Thank you".)
IMO, it is non-descript, but we have customers that swear by it.
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?