What's in Special Blend?

Doc Waters · August 20, 2007, 01:28:40 PM

Just did my first smoke with my DBS. Bought a Variety Pack of bisquettes. Because it doesn't tell you what wood is in the Special Blend, and so I wasn't really sure what food to use them with, I decided to use them to season my new smoker. WOW! I really enjoyed the aroma. Very mellow and appealing.

While I went on to do my rib tips and butts with a mixture of cherry and hickory, I am still thinking about the aroma of the Special Blend. Does anyone know what woods are in the blend? Also, what are your personal experiences with Special Blend? Do they taste as good as they smell?

I notice our local store as more of them than any of the other woods. Tough to know whether thats because they don't sell well - or because they sell better and so they order in more of them.

Doc

Tiny Tim · August 20, 2007, 01:36:39 PM

I can't really answer your question what kinds are in the special blend...rumors have it being the debris left after pressing the rest of them, all mixed together and pressed into a batch.

I thought they'd work well for seasoning, so when I became a dealer, I decided to throw in a 12 pk of the Special Blend bisquettes to do the seasoning smoke whenever somebody buys a smoker. Also bought a 48 for stock in case any locals want to buy them. ;D :P

Doc Waters · August 21, 2007, 01:01:12 AM

Quote from: Tiny Tim on August 20, 2007, 01:36:39 PM
I can't really answer your question what kinds are in the special blend...rumors have it being the debris left after pressing the rest of them, all mixed together and pressed into a batch.

Yah, that possibility occurred to me too. But, if they can guarantee the consistency of flavour then that's not necessarily a bad thing. But if it's just random (like whatever happens to be lying around the floor at the time) the customers would never know what they are going to get. Hard to believe that would be the case. The other possibly that occurred to me was that it might be a blend of say two or three of the woods mixed with a larger portion of a more readily available (and therefore cheaper) wood - say Alder, if the company is located in the Pacific Northwest. Luhr Jensen cuts it's more expensive woods with a base of alder in their Little Chief Smoker Chips. Franky, I love alder so I actually like it.

QuoteI thought they'd work well for seasoning, so when I became a dealer, I decided to throw in a 12 pk of the Special Blend bisquettes to do the seasoning smoke whenever somebody buys a smoker. Also bought a 48 for stock in case any locals want to buy them. ;D :P

So, I'm curious, did anyone buy them? :D

Cheers, Doc.

Habanero Smoker · August 21, 2007, 03:04:04 AM

I have a box of 48, but haven't had a chance to use them. When I bought my BS I got a 60 sampler pack, and one package was special blend; which I used for for seasoning. Chez Bubba (Kirk) who is a former dealer, posted that they were made from what was left over during the processing of the other bisquettes; except for the mesquite. I'm sure that Bradley would strive for some consistency in their manufacturing of this flavor.

manxman · August 21, 2007, 04:41:02 AM

Quoteone package was special blend; which I used for for seasoning.

I used the Special Blend I got with my BS for seasoning too and have not bought any since. As HS says Bradley must ensure some consistency during manufacture even though by all accounts they are the leftovers from the other flavours.

It would be interesting to hear of success stories with Special Blend, can't recall seeing many recipes using them here on the forum? There has been the odd one but that's all.

Artmiester · August 21, 2007, 05:47:12 AM

I just ordered a 48 of special blend for this weekend. Gonna do finger food only... Several different stuffings for the ABTs, lil' smokies, justurds, baby backs, pig candy, et all... Got some special blend when the DBSs arrived and liked it alot so saved a couple so we could compare them later on for consistency when we first discovered the "sweepings" theory. I'll let you know the verdict and possibly some pix. (Lookin' forward to seein' Doc's as well). ;D

begolf25 · August 21, 2007, 06:08:49 AM

I only used my Special Blend for seasoning as well. But from the sound of things I may have to give them a shot on my next smoke.

Tiny Tim · August 21, 2007, 06:57:49 AM

Quote from: Doc Waters on August 21, 2007, 01:01:12 AM
Quote from: Tiny Tim on August 20, 2007, 01:36:39 PM
I can't really answer your question what kinds are in the special blend...rumors have it being the debris left after pressing the rest of them, all mixed together and pressed into a batch.

Yah, that possibility occurred to me too. But, if they can guarantee the consistency of flavour then that's not necessarily a bad thing. But if it's just random (like whatever happens to be lying around the floor at the time) the customers would never know what they are going to get. Hard to believe that would be the case. The other possibly that occurred to me was that it might be a blend of say two or three of the woods mixed with a larger portion of a more readily available (and therefore cheaper) wood - say Alder, if the company is located in the Pacific Northwest. Luhr Jensen cuts it's more expensive woods with a base of alder in their Little Chief Smoker Chips. Franky, I love alder so I actually like it.

QuoteI thought they'd work well for seasoning, so when I became a dealer, I decided to throw in a 12 pk of the Special Blend bisquettes to do the seasoning smoke whenever somebody buys a smoker. Also bought a 48 for stock in case any locals want to buy them. ;D :P

So, I'm curious, did anyone buy them? :D

Cheers, Doc.

The 48 I put in stock? Not yet, but I've only had inventory for just over 2 weeks. Not enough people know I have the Bradley line yet....starting to, but only have one smoker sold (out of the 3 I ordered), with the payment deadline coming up fast.

Doc Waters · August 21, 2007, 12:54:13 PM

QuoteThe 48 I put in stock? Not yet, but I've only had inventory for just over 2 weeks. Not enough people know I have the Bradley line yet....starting to, but only have one smoker sold (out of the 3 I ordered), with the payment deadline coming up fast.

Have you tried setting up the Bradley out on the street and letting the aroma attract a crowd? I used to work in advertising and one of the tricks that always worked was to advertiser a free Burger BBQ along with a big store-wide sale. We're a community of about 16,000 with a service area of 50,000. And yes, we gave away a ton of burgers or hot dogs but sold a tank load of product! Or we sold them for a dollar or two - enough to cover the food costs and gave the rest to a local charity (who provided the manpower). If you go the charity route they can usually get the food donated or at wholesale.

I think it would work great with Bradleys and pulled pork sandwiches (precooked of course). Plus give you a chance to introduce the Bradleys, clear out any old seasonal stock you might have, and perhaps get a jump on sales of incoming seasonal stock. See if Bradley will co-op some of the cost or donate a door prize and maybe supply a rep for the demo.

Oops, sorry. Just slid right into a past life. Old habits die hard. :D

All the best, Tim!

Doc

Tiny Tim · August 21, 2007, 01:17:11 PM

That's cool, Doc, appreciate the input. Our town's Annual Celebration is coming up in September, I was thinking about having my supper being cooked in my Bradley out in front of the store (with me there watching it ;) ). Then later on we're going to have an Open House, kind of a Grand Re-opening since we're doing a lot of changes with our Inventory. Shipped a bunch of Auto Parts back and kept the fast moving stuff (along with keeping our NAPA Franchise), keeping the liquor store, and adding some hardware items.

Just ran the idea past Dad about having my smoker out front for the Celebration. He suggested having a turkey breast done already with another in the "Spa" doing it's magic. My supper was (probably still is) going to be the Chicken Rolls from the Recipe site (link to the main page, in my signature).

Doc Waters · August 21, 2007, 01:35:36 PM

Quote from: Tiny Tim on August 21, 2007, 01:17:11 PM
That's cool, Doc, appreciate the input. Our town's Annual Celebration is coming up in September, I was thinking about having my supper being cooked in my Bradley out in front of the store (with me there watching it ;) ). Then later on we're going to have an Open House, kind of a Grand Re-opening since we're doing a lot of changes with our Inventory. Shipped a bunch of Auto Parts back and kept the fast moving stuff (along with keeping our NAPA Franchise), keeping the liquor store, and adding some hardware items.

Just ran the idea past Dad about having my smoker out front for the Celebration. He suggested having a turkey breast done already with another in the "Spa" doing it's magic. My supper was (probably still is) going to be the Chicken Rolls from the Recipe site (link to the main page, in my signature).

great stuff - sounds like fun - take lots of pictures! Might want to have some precooked BBQ samples made with beer and/or Jack Daniels in the sauce - stimulate a little liquor store business while you're at it. Have a few recipe cards printed up to give away.

Geez, there I go again. ;D

Cheers, Doc

PS: I'll be trying those tasty sounding Chicken Rolls soon!

Gizmo · August 21, 2007, 09:02:34 PM

Tiny, don't forget you are show casing the Bradley and not the trips to the adult beverage dispenser because of ease. ;) Wouldn't want you to go forgetting about the mission. The adult beverage side sells itself.

Tiny Tim · August 22, 2007, 06:59:26 AM

Good tip, Giz, but we need to sell a bit of the Adult Beverage stuff too. ;D If it weren't for the number of kids in town for the Celebration, I'd put alcohol in most of the samplings (don't know for sure what to have yet).

whitetailfan · August 22, 2007, 07:53:25 AM

As far as consistency goes, they can't really get too far off the mark using a "whatever is lying around" approach.

As mentioned, it appears they use no mesquite, and all the products are 40% alder, so really a bit more apple vs a bit less maple should not affect our senses to where we would notice.

Then again I have never tried it because I have little time as it is experimenting between known flavours to perfect recipes, let alone mess with SB. Apparently lots of people like it though, it's a good alternative if you have no idea what flavour to try or don't want to try a bunch of different ones and buy a bunch of pucks for cost sake.

Just my 2 cents, with no practical knowledge on the subject.

standles · August 22, 2007, 10:56:32 AM

Quote from: whitetailfan on August 22, 2007, 07:53:25 AM
....and all the products are 40% alder, .....

Ok that was an eye opener.... So when I buy hicory and apple I am getting 40% alder? I guess I don't need to buy alder pucks then.

???

So much for thinking I was getting 100% <insert flavor here> pucks.

Steven