Peterson Pucks

[Desjeany]

Did my first smoke last night using cherry Peterson pucks, and it turned out pretty good.  We smoked a 1.5 lb pork loin seasoned with garlic and cracked black pepper.  Used 2 pucks in my #1 and they smoked the whole 2 1/2 hours.  The flavor was great!  I would recommend giving the pucks a try.  Happy smoking all. www.petersonpucks.com/

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[old sarge]

If you have smoked the same cut and roughly the same weight with traditional cherry of the same weight, was there a difference in the smoke flavor?  Stronger?  Weaker?

[Desjeany]

The flavor was much greater.  Last time I used about twice as much cherry chips by weight, so the pucks are much more efficient when it comes to smoke infused flavor.

[Rob Babcock]

Good to hear!  I have two bags of the Maple, two of the Cherry and one Alder.  I look forward to my next smoking session to try them out.

[Rob Babcock]

Well, I've used them to smoke meatloaf and a load of ribs.  I'd have to say they work well and are very simple to use.  Worth adding to my arsenal of woods.

[UWFSAE]

Rob, how many pucks did you use per smoke?

[es1025]

Rob, do you know the weight of each puck?  I emailed the company but have not gotten an answer.

[DivotMaker]

Anybody have an opinion on the pucks vs. Fruitawood chunks? 

[drken567]

Hi all,
just got a selection of the Peterson pucks. Bags ranged from about 34 oz. (alder) to about 44 (maple), with 22 pucks per package. So, they look to be about 1.5 - 2 oz. per puck depending on the wood. Haven't had a chance to try them so far. Maybe later this weekend. - Ken

[es1025]

Thank you. I was surprised that the company did not respond. Maybe its a secret.

[UWFSAE]

Ed, have you actually given the pucks a try?  These things would be a neat addition to the smoking kit ... they're not sold locally as far as I can tell but I'd be interested in them via mail order if I can get some feedback.

[DivotMaker]

Hi all,
just got a selection of the Peterson pucks. Bags ranged from about 34 oz. (alder) to about 44 (maple), with 22 pucks per package. So, they look to be about 1.5 - 2 oz. per puck depending on the wood. Haven't had a chance to try them so far. Maybe later this weekend. - Ken

What about you, Ken?  Tried them yet?  We're aching for feedback on the little pucks!

[drken567]

"What about you, Ken?  Tried them yet?  We're aching for feedback on the little pucks!"

Well, I'm pretty darned happy with the pucks. Made up a pulled pork a few weeks ago with a hickory dowel PLUS a (maple?) puck. Blend was awesome. Have been experimenting with smoking cheese lately, and use the pucks for that. Made a sample run of sharp cheddar w/cherry puck the other day that came out extremely well; did some other cheeses that came out badly (too hot for too long) but though the cheese mostly melted and dripped into the water pan, the remains tasted super....

Noting that the pucks seem to keep "smoking themselves" after you turn the heat off / unplug the smoker. Some of the solid wood I've used sort of extinguishes itself a while after pulling the plug, but the puck the other day kept giving smoke for a good 1/2 hr. after I shut down the smoker.... I suppose this is either a good thing, or not, depending on what you are doing.

Also of note is that the pucks are not all uniform thickness (and presumably different weights). While they are generally roughly the same, I've been choosing thinner pucks for things (cheese) that may not require as much smoke.

Anyway, there's a small data point. I'm new to the whole smoke business, so above is guaranteed to be worth at least what you paid for it!
Cheers,
Ken

[BIG BOB]

anything like a Bradley puck? buddy has a Bradley and I may bum some different flavors from him.

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the info, Ken!  I've checked out the website, but can't quite figure out how they're made!  They say they don't use any binders, but they look like formed sawdust...how the heck do they hold them together?  Are they solid, or compressed sawdust?  Looks like a great concept; I just can't figure them out!    I'm very interested in them - especially for cold smoking.

Bob - the Bradley pucks look more like OSB (oriented strand board) than compressed sawdust.  I'm sure they'll probably work in a Smokin-it, but am not sure how well.  Please let us know your results when you try them!