Top 4 Wood Pellets
Best Hickory Pellets: Traeger All-Natural Hickory Hardwood Grill Pellets Best Mixed Pellets: CookinPellets Perfect Mix Best Gourmet Blend: Bear Mountain BBQ Pellets Best Variety Pack: BBQr’s Delight Wood-Smoking Pellets Variety Pack
Best Hickory Pellets: Traeger All-Natural Hickory Hardwood Grill Pellets
This 20-pound bag of hickory wood pellets gives your meat a classic barbecue flavor. Hickory wood pellets produce a strong smoky flavor that goes well with baked, barbecued, braised, grilled, roasted, and smoked meat. You can also purchase Traeger’s other flavors, such as apple, cherry, mesquite, and pecan, if you want your meat to have a different taste.
Key Features
One 20-pound bag Hickory flavor Good with beef, chicken, pork, and more Made in the United States Available in other flavors
What Customers Are Saying
Customers were impressed with the results that these pellets produced with a variety of food, including cheese and salmon. Many also said that the pellets provided consistent quality and were available at an affordable price. A few disappointed customers shared experiences about receiving orders that contained excessive sawdust.
Best Mixed Pellets: CookinPellets Perfect Mix
This bag of wood pellets includes a blend of four popular smoking hardwoods: apple, cherry, hard maple, and hickory. Additionally, the CookinPellets Perfect Mix only uses the center of the wood, rather than the bark, which has less lignin and creates less ash.
Key Features
One 40-pound bag Made in the United States Hickory, cherry, hard maple, and apple flavors
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers recommended the CookinPellets Perfect Mix for its flavor and versatility. Several also commented on the quality of the pellets and the results they produced. On the other hand, a handful of customers called these pellets overpriced.
Best Gourmet Blend: Bear Mountain BBQ Pellets
Inspired by the recipes of professional chefs, this gourmet blend of wood pellets includes cherry, hickory, maple, and oak flavors. The brand also sells a variety of other pellet flavors, such as alder, apple, bourbon, and mesquite.
Key Features
One 20-pound bag Gourmet blend Good with beef, seafood, lamb, and more Made in the United States Available in other flavors and quantities
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied Bear Mountain BBQ Pellets customers said that the gourmet blend provided a rich, delicious flavor as well as an efficient burn and little sawdust. Those who were disappointed said that this product was poorly packaged, arriving with spilled contents.
Best Variety Pack: BBQr’s Delight Wood-Smoking Pellets Variety Pack
This variety pack of wood pellets features apple, cherry, hickory, mesquite, pecan, and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey flavors. Some flavors provide a mellow fruity smoke that’s ideal for grilling and smoking poultry, while others create a distinct mesquite profile that’s perfect for wild game.
Key Features
Six one-pound bags Apple, cherry, hickory, mesquite, pecan, and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey flavors Good with chicken, pork, ribs, and more Made in the United States
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers said that this product was ideal for those who have just started using smoking pellets. In general, customers enjoyed being able to try multiple flavors from one purchase. Disappointed customers said that the flavor was mediocre and that the bags didn’t last for as long as advertised.
Buyer’s Guide
Wood pellets power your pellet grill or smoker and give your meat a distinctive smoky flavor. This buying guide will help you pick the best wood pellets for your barbecues.
Wood Type
Many types of wood are used to create wood pellets, including:
Hickory Beech Alder Maple Oak Pecan Mesquite Walnut Apple Peach Pear Cherry
Bag Size
Wood pellets are sold in bags ranging in size from a few ounces to several pounds. Consider how large your grill is and how many pellets you need per load before making a purchase. In general, larger pellet bags are best if you want to use the same flavor for every meal, while smaller bags are best for experimenting with flavors.
Burn Speed
A pellet’s burn speed will depend on its size, wood type, and filler material, if there is any. How fast your pellets burn will determine how quickly your grill or smoker is ready for cooking and how frequently you have to refill the pellet container.
Ash
Different types of wood pellets produce different amounts of ash. Wood pellets that produce a lot of ash take longer to clean from your grill or smoker after a cooking session. You can tell if a certain type of wood pellet will produce a lot of ash by looking at the manufacturer’s product description and by reading customer reviews.
Flavor/Meat Pairing
Different flavored wood pellets pair best with different types of meat. Common flavor pairings include:
Beef and chicken with hickory or mesquite Fish and vegetables with fruit wood, such as apple and pear Pork with apple, hickory, or smoke and fruit blends Turkey with cherry or apple
What’s the difference between heating pellets and smoking pellets?
Both types of pellets are made from compressed wood. However, heating pellets are used in stoves and fireplaces to warm your house. They can be made from most types of wood, including woods that don’t taste good, such as pine. Smoking pellets are usually made from hardwood because it’s food-safe and has a good flavor.
Can I mix different types of wood pellets together?
Yes. Mixing wood pellets produces a unique flavor. Some brands even sell pre-mixed bags of wood pellets to save you from having to do the work yourself.
Which wood pellets have the strongest flavors?
Nut-related woods, such as hickory, pecan, and walnut, have strong flavors. Maple, beech, and fruit woods have much milder flavors. Generally speaking, darker meats pair best with stronger flavors, while lighter meats go well with milder flavors.
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