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Bought a wood pellet burning stove recently? Then the next option would be to choose the best wood pellets available. You will find a huge variety of wooden chunks out there. Not all are the same! To create a rich and scrumptious meal, smoking would be a great option as it has a lasting effect. For this, you need a smoking grill. These gadgets make use of wood smoking pellets for both cold or hot smoke. You will find for each purpose you need a different quality of pellet.
Started grilling and smoking? However, you are not able to get that authentic flavor or taste. Don’t worry! Using wood chunks will do the magic. See that the wood pellets you buy provide high-quality smoke and sufficient heat. This then infuses into the meat products to produce great aroma while grilling or smoking
Be it the light or mild flavor, you need to select the fuel source that you will be comfortable with. Through this post on mykitchenadvisor, let’s find out the 10 best wood pellets for cooking and what it does for you.
TOP 10 Best Wood Pellets: Comparison Chart
As per our research, we have picked the top options that will be an apt blend for your grill.
Traeger Grills Texas Beef Blend Hardwood Pellets
Traeger Grills Signature Blend Hardwood Pellets
Lumber Jack Apple Blend BBQ Grilling Pellets
RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend Pellets
Camp Chef Bag of Premium Wood Pellets for Smoker
Traeger Grills Texas Beef Blend Hardwood Pellets
Traeger Grills Signature Blend Hardwood Pellets
Lumber Jack Apple Blend BBQ Grilling Pellets
RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend Pellets
Camp Chef Bag of Premium Wood Pellets for Smoker
CookinPellets Hickory Smoking Pellets
BBQrs Delight Wood Smoking Pellets Super Smoker Variety Value Pack
Bear Mountain BBQ Hardwood Apple Pellets
Louisiana Grills Pennsylvania Cherry 55404 Pellets
CookinPellets Hickory Smoking Pellets
BBQrs Delight Wood Smoking Pellets Super Smoker Variety Value Pack
Bear Mountain BBQ Hardwood Apple Pellets
Louisiana Grills Pennsylvania Cherry 55404 Pellets
Best Overall: Traeger Grills Texas Beef Blend 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets Review
For most meat lovers, BBQ is well ingrained into their genes. Traeger Grills Texas Beef Blend is the best wood pellets for bbq smokers. It involves a combination of hardwoods that belongs to the famous ‘Lone Star State.’ These oak pellets blend perfectly into your beef choice. The manufacturers source it out sustainably by using good quality products. By using this, you can attain a superb blue smoke that offers a superior flavor. The consistency of the flavor remains the same any time you cook.
It consists of natural barbecue pellets that offer a dependable burn. These mesquite wood pellets do not contain any fillers or binding agents.
Why We Like It
- Contains a mix of pecan, oak, and mesquite
- Made of pure hardwoods
- Each packet weighs around 20 pounds
Budget-Friendly: Traeger Grills Signature Blend 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets Review
Traeger Grills Signature Blend contains hardwood pellets that are commonly used for smoking. This brand provides excellent deals where you can buy a packet of 20 pounds for less than 20 dollars. Traeger’s mix offers a considerable diversity concerning the types of food items that you can smoke. This includes vegetables, fish, and also barbecue meat. It's mainly favored by meat lovers due to their deep smoky flavor. These hickory pellets consist of soy oil that functions as a lubricant. Also, these cherry wood pellets have a quicker burn time.
These chunks are suitable for various methods of cooking. This includes roasting, grilling, baking, and braising.
Why We Like It
- Devoid of any type of fillers
- Designed mainly for auger feed
- Consist of a mix of maple, cherry, and Hickory hardwood
Best Suited: Lumber Jack Apple Blend BBQ Grilling Pellets Review
Lumber Jack Apple Blend BBQ Grilling consists of apple pellets. This is suitable for both weekend cooks and professional chefs. Lumber Jack has a unique approach for their item. Here you will find them debark the wood that is present in the blend. This is then left on the flavored wood to achieve an intense smoke flavor. The most noteworthy aspect is they do not use any cast-off materials obtained from sawmills. Chunk size is comparatively smaller in diameter, which offers a hotter burn.
Suitable for heating, cooking, and also used as shavings for your pet animals bedding. The package size of these flavored wood pellets is about 20 lbs.
Why We Like It
- Contains 40% apple and 60% red Oak
- Tested for quality by an independent laboratory
- Burns well and gives good smoke
- Made from the cambium and bark of the tree
Good Composition: RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend Pellets Review
RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend is popularly known for its great composition. What do you expect inside this 40 lbs package? It consists of a mix of hickory and oak wood. You will also find that the grilling pellets have a uniform shape and size. This makes it the best option for smokers to automated grills. Also, it gives off a great aroma of fresh hardwood. As for the flavor, they are the best choice due to its intense and smoky flavor. This smoker pellets have high potency due to its incredible smoky flavor and burn rate.
This one burns much better than the regular options making it the best pellet grill. As it burns for long hours, you can slow cook meat products.
Pros
- Made entirely of natural ingredients
- Best suited for most of the grills
- Consists of exquisite blends
- It does not produce a huge amount of ash
Cons
- The blend proportion of oak and hickory is not mentioned
Pure Form: Camp Chef Bag of Premium Wood Pellets for Smoker Review
Camp Chef Bag is among the best pellets for a pellet grill. The best aspect of this cooking pellet is it has higher burn heat than its counterparts. This is because it makes use of very less moisture to compact more wood. This unique process also enables a longer burning time. Here you need a temperature of 400° or above to smoke well. This smoker pellet gives off a mild flavor coupled with a slight aroma. Releases more smoke if you heat it between 170 to 175°.
Experiment with various flavored wood and need a smoky apple flavor to your meals? Get this pack of premium pellets that’s chemical-free.
Pros
- Consists of Virgin apple hardwood
- Lacks any oils, fillers, or additives
- Available at an affordable price range
- Can use it on any branded smoker or grill
Cons
- It does not give a strong flavor
- Not suitable for smoking a considerable amount of meat
Top Pick: CookinPellets 40PM Mix Review
CookinPellets 40PM Mix acts as the best wood pellets for smoking. It’s hard to disagree with it as it’s known as the perfect cooking pellets. Each 40 lbs package consists of 4 sorts of hardwood. This includes the base of hickory along with apple, cherry, and hard maple. All these different varieties combine together to produce a mild flavored smoke. Due to its incredible diversity, it has a unique smell that is versatile in nature. As it makes use of the center of the log, they are free of barks.
These wood pellets for stove burns in a clean manner with less quantity of ash content. It makes sure that your cooking experiences are in a controlled and reliable manner.
Pros
- Lacks the presence of oil, filters, and additives
- It is a genuine mix of hardwoods
- Suitable for both long and short clouds of smoke
- Burns even at hot temperatures making it best for various cooking techniques
Cons
- The flavor of the smoke is too mild
Popular Hickory Choice: CookinPellets Hickory Smoking Pellets Review
CookinPellets 40H Hickory functions as the best wood pellets that come with a unique flavor. Want a robust flavor for your meals? You should avoid the ones having cheaper filler woods. Instead, opt for ones having genuine hickory woods as raw materials like the 40H. It consumes very low moisture and burns without releasing much ash. As this brand maintains a consistent shape and size, you needn’t think about your smoke feeder getting clogged. It has a high BTU range of 8500 and offers regular burn rates.
This one doesn’t have any softwood pellets like the other bbq smokers. Moreover, this smoker pellets come with a warranty for its quality.
Pros
- Devoid of any alder wood pellets or oak fillers
- Contains fully pressed raw materials
- It comes with a unique aroma
- Makes use of high-quality procedures for manufacturing
Cons
- May find large pieces that you need to break down
Great Performance: BBQrs Delight Wood Smoking Pellets Super Smoker Variety Value Pack Review
Not interested in getting a massive bag of 40 pounds of cooking pellets? Then you should experiment with various types and see which one suits you. BBQrs Delight Wood Smoking Pellets Super Smoker Variety Value Pack is the best smoking pellets. This brand provides six flavors that are their signature items. This includes Hickory, apple, pecan, cherry, jack daniel, and mesquite. By using these 1 lbs packages, you can mix and check to see which flavor is your favorite. The best part is each package is free from all combinations instead it is real 100 % hardwood
Only 1/3 c is essential to get the required flavor. Some flavors of this wood pellets for grills emit a strong smoke.
Pros
- Has a great deal of versatility
- Free from any sort of filler woods
- Works well with any grill or smiler
- Best suited for all sorts of meat items
Cons
Game Changer: Bear Mountain BBQ Hardwood Apple Pellets Review
Wish to become an expert in outdoor cooking? Natural hardwood will help you achieve this. Bear Mountain is the best wood pellets for heating. They are great options for cooking baked items, pork, chicken, and vegetables. It consists of a blend of premium hardwoods that have a compact and compressed structure. The compact design gives it a steady and balanced burn. By using this, you get a slight fruity flavor of smoke that infiltrates your food items. The package consists of 20 lbs of the best traeger pellets.
These bbq pellets are suitable for producing cold smoke. Also, they last longer and give a great smoke.
Pros
- Produced safe for the environment
- Burns in a very clean manner
- Free from all additives and fillers
- Unique design and does not produce much ash
Cons
Great Value: Louisiana Grills Pennsylvania Cherry 55404 Pellets Review
Louisiana Grills Pennsylvania Cherry 55404 are the best wood pellets that have a mix of strong wood flavors. It consists of 40% cherry and 60% maple. Do you have the liberty to cook any sort of food without worrying about flavor profiles that may be contradictory? It’s also capable of infusing a number of flavors into the food items. Due to its compressed structure, these pellet grill pellets are capable of burning for long hours. It is mainly used by most of the expert pitmasters.
You will find that our raw materials are further obtained from the northern part of America. This makes this the best pellet smoker of the superior products in the market.
Pros
- It weighs 40 lbs per pack
- Lacks the presence of fillers or binders
- Apt for cooking most sorts of meals
Cons
- Expensive option
- Releases more ash content than its counterparts
Buyer’s Guide: All You Need To Know About The Best Wood Pellets
Now that you are aware of what is available in the market, here comes the next question. How do I know which one is the best wood pellets 2023? Let’s find out more.
How Are Wood Pellets Made?
Best wood pellets are usually created by the compression of wooden materials. It is done by passing wood into a hammer mill where it’s shattered into a dough-like mix. This causes lignin, a polymer present in wood, to soften up. Next, the mix is then sent into a press where it is further forced through a hole in the die. Here the mass cools down and hardens to form wooden pellets.
Are Softwood Or Hardwood Pellets Better?
Softwood chunks burn hotter as they have a higher heat output than hardwood. They also burn cleaner by producing less ash than the hardwood. Good quality softwood produces 10 to 20% higher BTUs for each pound when compared with hardwood pellets. You will find that a cleaner burn requires very little maintenance for your bbq smokers.
Are Wood Pellets Safe To Cook With?
Wooden chunks are mainly created for heating or smoking purposes. Smoking meat items using the best pellet grill is the most recent craze among bbq enthusiasts. These chunks are safe for smoking and cooking as the fumes emitted aren’t harmful to health.
How To Choose The Best Wood Pellets
As per the pellet reviews, here are some of the factors you need to consider before making the final say.
Size
They come in various sizes and shapes. Smaller sizes make it more efficient to burn as you place it on a pellet grill under 500. You will find them in varying quantities ranging from 1 lb to 40 lbs packages.
Wood
This is an essential feature as various woods infuse a different flavor into your food. Hence it is vital to select a wood that matches the food type you plan on smoking. This is applicable for both meat and veggies, also baked items.
Flavor
Flavors are mostly based on the type of food that you use for smoking. For bbq options, you use cherry, Hickory, Apple, and mesquite woods. The lesser options mainly include bacon, maple, and peach wood pellets. There are 3 types of flavors – light, medium, and heavy flavors.
Ash Content
The ash content depends on the number of chunks burned. Do you have lots of ash residues present? Does it produce tons of ash while burning? Then, your pellet grill under 500 will run with lesser efficiency. Hence choose chunks that emit lesser ash.
Bark
The bark is good at smoldering and produces a huge amount of smoke. This results in inconsistent burns and more ash content. As it creates more ash, it can affect the temperature controlling ability of your best pellet smoker.
Heat Output
Choose ones that have high BTU ratings ranging from 8000 to 8500. Moisture free options indicate BTU ratings once water is completely removed from the chunks.
Price
A normal 40-pound bag costs between 4 – 6 dollars. As you use around 7 tons annually, it’s advisable to purchase in bulk. Good quality chunks are highly prized as it produces lesser ash and moisture content.
Best Wood Pellets Types
Individuals use these chunks for grilling, BBQ, smoking, and heating purposes. Various sorts of chunks have different heating levels. You will find three types of chunks, and they are the following.
Standard Wood Pellets
For standard options, the ash content is above 0.5%. It’s mainly manufactured from forest industrial wastes. They do not have much flavor and primarily used for heating purposes.
Food-Grade Wood Pellets
The manufacturing procedure lacks any binding agents or additive fillers. Standard or premium chunks are usually used as food great. It consists of pure 100% genuine hardwood.
Premium Wood Pellets
It is free from any bark and has an ash content that’s less than 0.5%. It’s made from maple or oak wood and costs more than the lower grade chunks.
Verdict And Our Recommendation For 2023
Choosing the perfect wood pellet is not easy. With all the benefits and features attached, select the one that suits your palates.
From the above options, our top pick goes to Traeger Grills Texas Beef Blend 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets. It stands out for its rich Smokey flavor and tastes it gives the food items. The raw wood materials used are of high grade making it the preferred choice by many. It lacks any fillers or additive woods. Lastly, it comes at an affordable rate and is easy to maintain due to its manageable ash residue.
Go through our site mykitchenadvisor to select the best wood pellets 2023 that are available. Which one do you think is the best wood pellets? Do let us know in the comments and why.
Have fun grilling!