Grilling is the best way to enjoy quality time with your family. Do you still fail to get that nice smoked flavor despite buying a pellet grill? The root cause might be the wood pellets that you are using.
Pellet grills are very convenient to use and have greater combustion than wood grills, but you surely have to do a lot of research before getting the best type of wood pellet.
Don’t worry. I have taken the liberty to do it for you. Here are some of the best wood pellets for smoking that I fully rely on to get that good smoky flavor.
There is a wide range of wood pellets that you can choose from that can be convenient yet confusing for you. The best pellets for pellet grills are the ones that give your food the best flavor, burn longer, and have less ash clean up.
Once you have got the best one according to your taste, you cannot resist grilling every weekend. Being an absolute pitmaster, I have brought to the top-rated wood pellets. Scroll down to find out.
Best Wood Pellets
CookinPellets 40 PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Apple, Hickory, Maple, Chery
- Weight: 40 Pounds
- Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 6 inches
- Hardwood: 100 percent Organic
The CookinPellets is one the best brand of pellets for smoking. The pellets manufactured by the CookinPellets have one of the highest quality wood pellets that you can get for your pellet grills. The 40 pounds packet of CookinPellets has a dimension of 22 x 14 x 6 inches. The Perfect Mix has truly one of the ideal blends of four different types of hardwood.
The CookinPellets Perfect Mix Pellets has a base made up of hickory along with three other hardwoods that are apple, cherry, and maple. All these four flavors are added in a perfect proportion that will enhance the flavor of any type of meat and vegetable you choose. There is no additional filler or binder added to these pellets that make them an environment-friendly product.
These pellets have 100 percent of organic hardwood which helps the users to get the ultimate flavor. The CookinPellets 40 PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets are made up of the wood of a tree’s core. The core wood is known to produce less ash cleanup. Pure hardwood allows the users to cook different types of meats ranging from ribs, steaks, chickens, fish, and turkey.
- High quality
- Pure hardwood
- Perfect blend
- More combustion
- Amazing Flavor
- A fixed proportion of hardwood
The CookinPellets 40 PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets are the most in-demand wood pellets in the market. The high combustion allows these pellets to cook the meat at a high temperature for a shorter time.
The CookinPellets are one of the best wood pellets for briskets. They also don’t affect the warranty of your pellet grill, so you can use it without worrying about the warranty.
Traeger Grills Mesquite Hardwood Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Mesquite
- Material: wood
- Packet Dimensions: 3 x 16 x 24 inches
- Weight: 20 pounds
The Traeger Grills Mesquite Hardwood Pellets are the top-selling hardwood pellets in the market. These are surely the best hardwood pellets because they are environment friendly, produce less ash, organic wood, and amazingly rich flavor. The Trager is one of the best companies in the grilling industry. The grills and wood pellets manufactured by them are the best ones out there.
The Traeger Grills hardwood pellets are also compatible with pellet grills of other brands. The Traeger Hardwood Pellets are available in different options such as apple, hickory, pecan, cherry, and blend.
The amazing feature that makes the mesquite pellets the best is their strong flavor. These pellets are environment-friendly and do not produce excessive ash.
These pellets add a very robust wood-fired flavor to your meat. You can use these pellets for not only grilling but also for baking, roasting, smoking, and BBQ. These pellets are manufactured in
Traeger’s mills in the USA, and the whole procedure takes place under strict supervision to give you the best-flavored wood pellets. You can use these pellets for cooking meat, including wild game meat, poultry, beef, and seafood.
- Strong flavor
- No fillers
- Made in the USA
- All-purpose use
- Wood-fired aroma
- Pairs with different types of meat
- Short burning
The Traeger Grills Mesquite Hardwood Pellets produce the absolute perfect amount of smoke that is required for getting that rich firewood flavor. The amount of moisture added in the pellets determines the smoke and also controls the burn produced.
The smoke and burn produced by these pellets are just in the right proportion to enhance the flavor of your meat. They are the most suitable wood pellets for Traeger grills as well as for other brands.
Champ Chef Premium Hardwood Pellets
Specifications:
- Material: organic wood
- Flavor: Maple, cherry, Hickory
- Weight: 20 pounds
- Made in: USA
The Champ Chef Premium Hardwood Pellets are one of my favorite grilling pellets for smoke flavoring because it is affordable, organic, and produce less ash.
If you are not a fan of the smoke that is produced by the other brands of wood pellets, then these are the best ones for you. The company has made these pellets by using purely organic maple, cherry, and hickory hardwoods.
The Champ Chef Premium Hardwood pellets only give you the mouth-watering flavor without any unnecessary smoke and dust. The Champ Chef Premium Hardwood Pellets are cheap pellets for smokers.
Despite the affordable price of these pellets, the company does not compromise on the quality. These pellets are the best ones that you can find at such an affordable price.
There is no kind of toxins used in these pellets as there is no additional binder, filler, or oil added to them. The company makes them by using a special technique known as the Kiln-dried procedure.
The moisture of the wood is less as compared to the pellets of other brands. The dry wood allows the pellets to burn quickly, produce more heat, and reduce the dust produced.
- Affordable
- Less dust
- More flavor
- Klein-dried technique
- Other types of hardwood can be added
These pellets are better in performance than many other high-end brands. I have never faced any problems while using these pellets. The premium pellets help me in achieving that nice smoked flavor and are also really easy to clean.
If you cook a variety of different foods on your pellet grills such as poultry, beef, pork, seafood, veggies, then you will truly love using these.
BBQr’s Delight Wood Smoking Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Jack Denial, apple, hickory, mesquite, pecan, cherry
- Material: Wood
- Weight: 6.85 pounds
- Compatibility: all outdoor grills
The BBQr’s Delight Wood Smoking Pellets are all-natural wood pellets. These pellets are the best ones for newbies and experts. The newbies can experience all the different flavors with the help of the BBQr’s Delight Wood Smoking Pellets. It has all the varieties of flavors out there. You don’t have to look for different brands in order to experience the different variety of flavors.
Even if you are a grilling expert, you can make a mixture of all these different flavors according to your own taste. The BBQr’s Delight has six flavors. These different flavors allow you to cook each kind of meat along with its special pellets. you don’t have to stick to any particular flavor, you will be able to experiment freely with these wood pellets’ flavors.
You might be thinking that such ultimate variety might fall heavily on your pocket, but these pellets are super pocket-friendly. You can even enjoy all these flavors separately, as all six of them come in a different package. The one whole package of the BBQr’s Delight Wood Smoking Pellets contains a one-pound packet of six different flavors.
- Compatible with various grill types
- Six amazing flavors
- Small and individual packets
- Adjust the mixing proportion
- Organic
- True smoked flavor
- Small packages
The BBQr’s Delight Wood Smoking Pellets are the best hardwood pellets as these are compatible with all types of outdoor grills. So, if you adore grilling and have more than one type of grill at home or own a restaurant, then these pellets are the best as you can use these pellets with charcoal grills, smokers, and electric grills.
You can use the jack daniel for a tangy flavor, the hickory for bacony flavor, apple for strong fruity, cherry for mild fruity flavor, mesquite for spicy flavor, and pecan for sweet-nutty flavor.
Louisiana Grills Competition Grill Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Jack Denial, apple, hickory, mesquite, pecan, cherry
- Material: Wood
- Weight: 6.85 pounds
- Compatibility: all outdoor grills
The Louisiana Grills Competition Grill Pellets are the best hardwood pellets and truly deserve to be listed on the top 10 wood pellets because of their amazing quality and large-sized packaging.
These pellets are best grilling pellets for outdoor grills as well as for smoker grills. The Louisiana grills competition grill pellets are made in the USA.
The wood pellets have a perfect blend of three virgin hardwoods. The manufacturers don’t add any kind of fillers, oils, or binders to these pellets. So, these pellets are toxin-free and will cause no harm to your health. You can use these pellets for cooking beef, lamb, pork, veggies, poultry, and bread. These are truly the best wood pellets for chicken and beef.
If you want to get large amounts of pellets at a reasonable price, then the Louisiana Grills Competition Grill Pellets are the best organic wood pellets you can find at this price. These pellets will give you a very delightful taste having savory, sweet, and tarty flavors, all at the same time.
These pellets are loved by users who like pellets that infuse the right amount of flavor and produce the correct amount of smoke.
- Pocket-friendly
- Large size
- The different concoction of flavors
- Three types of hardwood used
- Organic wood
- Big pellet size
The Louisiana Grills Competition Grill Pellets include a blend of cherry, hickory, and maple. These pellets have 50 percent of maple hardwood that makes the base for them.
At the same time, hickory and cherry are present in an equal proportion of 25 percent. The competition blend is compatible with almost all forms of food and adds a complex yet balanced flavor to them.
Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Apple
- Material: Organic Hardwood
- Dimensions: 18 x 26 x 5 inches
- Weight: 40 pounds
The Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets are the best apple wood pellets for smoking. If you love to eat that nice smoked steak with a slightly sweet taste, then these are the best BBQ pellets for you.
You can use these to infuse smoked, mildly sweet, and fruity flavor to your meat. Baking can be really fun with the Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets, as they bind really well with bread and cakes.
A single bag of the Pit Boss BBQ Apple Wood Pellets weighs around 40 pounds and has a dimension of 18 x 26 x 5 inches. There are no additional materials added other than the organic woods used in these pellets. The Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets are one of the barbecue wood pellets that are manufactured by using the applewood of North America.
The Pit Boss brand is one of the most renowned brands for high-performance grillers and wood pellets. You can blindly rely on the Pit Boss Wood Pellets to cook your favorite food, not only on the grills of its own brand as well as on those other brands too. These have one of the best bbq pellets reviews because of their high efficiency and cleaner burn.
- Best for smokers
- Sweet taste
- Clean burn
- 100 percent virgin wood
- Affordable
- Some users don’t like the sweet taste
The company uses organic sawdust of applewood and applies a very intense pressure that manages to bind it all together. The pellets are bound with the help of the natural binders that are already present naturally in the woods. This prevents the makers from adding any artificial ones. The pit boss pellets flavors are mild, sweet, and fruity which can elevate the taste of your food.
7. Bear Mountain All Natural Premium BBQ Pellets
Specifications:
- Flavor: Gourmet blend
- Material: Natural Wood
- Weight: 20 pounds
- Dimensions: 14 x 4 x 20 inches
The Bear Mountain All Natural Premium BBQ Pellets are the best cooking pellets for beef. If you are a newbie in grilling and want to impress everyone by presenting a mouth-watering, rich, and flavorful meal, then the Bear Mountain All Natural Premium BBQ Pellets are the perfect option for you. You don’t need to search for anything else, once you have got hold of one of these.
These pellets are available in almost all types of flavors, but here I have brought you the review of Bear Mountain All Natural Premium BBQ Gourmet Blend Pellets because you can cook anything with these. The gourmet blend has only purely organic wood. The manufacturers have not added any extra additives, fillers, or binders to these pellets.
You can use these pellets if you want a smoky and sweet flavor infused into your foods. The smoky-sweet flavor goes really well with almost all types of meats. If you grill really often you can even go for the 40 pounds package. The pellets are made up of really nicely fused sawdust, and you will not find any powder in the packet. The amount of moisture is really low in these pellets, so you can get that easy and dry burn.
- Smoky flavor
- 100 Percent Natural wood
- Versatility
- Compatibility
- No toxins
- No artificial binders
- Different bag sizes
- Smell
The Bear Mountain All Natural Premium BBQ Gourmet Blend Pellets can be used with each and every pellet grill brand out there. You can use these wood pellets with smokers, outdoor grills, and electric ones of Pit boss, Green Mountain Grills, Louisiana, Traeger, and many more.
You can use the Gourmet Blend Pellets to cook lamb, beef, pork, poultry, veggies, and seafood. You don’t need to search for any other type of blend, as these pellets will give you the perfect sweet and wood-fired aroma and taste.
Buying Guide
Now that you know what pellets produce the most smoke and flavor, it will be easier for you to select any one out of the best ones out there. Selecting the perfect wood pellets is one of the most essential and crucial jobs for a grill master.
You will not be able to achieve the perfect cooking, flavor, and aroma if you are not using suitable wood pellets for your pellet grill. You will surely not want to compromise on the quality of the pellets that you are using. Let’s sink into some details that you must know before buying the best one for your grill.
Manufacturing Procedure
The first thing that a pitmaster must know about is how these pellets are manufactured by the makers. The basic procedure is the same for making all these pellets, but each brand has its own specialty that makes them stand out among the others.
The basic procedure is to compress the sawdust of different organic or artificial woods and compress it by applying heat and pressure on it.
The pressure will release the natural binders, which will keep the sawdust intact. The binders are released in the extrusion machine. This heated and soft mixture of sawdust will cool down and will be cut into small pellet sizes.
The shape is usually tiny and cylindrical, having a cork-like look. There is no standard size for the wood pellets. You can find many varying sizes depending upon the brand that you are selecting for your grills.
Wood Pellets For Heating
Now, you might be wondering where the difference lies? The type of wood that is used to get the sawdust and the part of the tree that is used plays a key role in making a difference.
The wood pellets that are used for heating are usually made up of artificial wood that has some additional fillers or binders added to them. The wood pellets for heating might also have artificial binders or oil, so they can bind easily. These pellets have sawdust or factory waste of barks or tree saps.
Wood Pellets For Smoking And Grilling
While the wood pellets for smoking and grilling are made up of pure and organic hardwood, the sawdust is usually taken from the tree’s core. If you want a high-quality pellet for your grills, then you must go for the brands that only take sawdust from the core.
Many brands use a blend of sawdust that includes wood from core, bark, and sap. There is no additive, filler, binder, or oil added to these pellets.
Types of Wood Pellets
The wood pellets for heating and smoking are the two main categories of wood pellets depending upon the use of these pellets by users, but there are further different types of wood pellets out there.
The wood pellets can be divided into three other categories depending upon the types and proportion of wood used in these. Here are the three different types of wood pellets.
- Blended Wood Pellets are the ones that do not include organic hardwood. Rather, it has a fixed or adjustable mixture of various types of hardwoods. These pellets have a larger amount of fillers and a lesser proportion of any hardwood flavor. These pellets are often used in low-quality smoking, grilling, and BBQ pellets.
- Flavored Wood Pellets are the organic ones that only include a single type of flavored wood. These can have any king filler in them that can be either oak, alder, pecan, or cherry. These pellets are best for grilling, BBQ, and smoking.
- Standard Wood Pellets are not suitable for smoking or grilling as these pellets usually have waste products, additives, artificial binders, sawdust other than heartwood, and oil. These pellets have a high ash cleanup.
Flavors Of Wood Pellets
There is a wide range of organic woods that are used in making wood pellets. These various kinds of flavored wood infuse a certain taste in your food. Not every taste is compatible with all types of food.
A particular flavor might blend well with one type of meat and not with the other. Here, we have a list of flavors of wood pellets that are available in the market. You can choose one according to the type of food you cook or your personal taste.
- Cherry is one of the widely used flavors. It has a mild fruity taste and can be used for almost all types of food including, beef, chicken, ribs, and pork.
- Apple is also one of the top-selling flavored wood pellets. It has a strong, sweet, and fruity taste as compared to cherry. It goes really well with pork, beef, poultry, and seafood.
- Mesquite has a very strong, rich, and firewood flavor. These pellets are best for wild game meat, poultry, beef, steaks, briskets, and seafood.
- Hickory has a bacony flavor and works best for pork, chicken, and beef.
- Pecan has a nutty flavor that suits chicken and other poultry meat really well.
- Oak has a very earthy and mild smoked flavor, so it goes really well with almost all types of meat and veggies.
- Maple also has a very mild, sweet, and fruity taste which blends really well with poultry, beef, lamb, veggies, and also works for baking.
Features That The Wood Pellets Must Have
Now that you know how these pellets are made, what can make them different, what materials and parts are used in making them, what are the different flavors, and the types of food they blend with.
It is time for you to know what are the key features that one must look for before buying any type of wood pellets for smoking or grilling. You should always keep these features in mind before spending your money on these wood pellets. Let’s sink into the details.
- Heat Efficiency is one of the most important features that your wood pellets must have high heat efficiency. This means that the pellets are able to produce a large amount of heat that is necessary to grill or smoke meat. The heat efficiency is measured using British Thermal Units.
- Moisture levels present in the wood pellets can drastically affect the flavor, smoke, and burning capacity of your wood pellets. Each brand has its own specific moisture level. You need to select the ones with a low moisture level so that they can burn easily and produce longer burns. If you use the ones with high moisture levels, then it will be really difficult for you to burn your pellets.
- Ash Content is really important, it must be low. The wood pellets with high ash residual can create a lot of mess. It can be really difficult to clean the grills after using them. The wood pellets that contain organic wood produce low ash content.
- Artificial additives can really lower the performance of your wood pellets and can ruin the taste of your meat. The wood pellets with any kind of inorganic binder, filler, or oil can add toxins to your food.
Conclusion
Grilling is a therapeutic and fun form of cooking as you can cook the best meal outdoors while enjoying nature. You can get frustrated when it comes to selecting suitable wood pellets for grilling or smoking.
The type and quality of wood pellets that you use can create a great difference in the flavor of your food. Don’t worry. Here are our top picks for the best wood pellets that can make your job even easier.
- The CookinPellets 40 PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets are one of the best wood pellets that include a blend of apple, hickory, maple, and cherry. These pellets are high quality, pure hardwood having high combustion and amazing flavor.
- The Traeger Grills Mesquite Hardwood Pellets are one the best as these are environment friendly, have a rich flavor, have low ash content, and pair with almost all forms of meat.
- The Champ Chef Premium Hardwood Pellets are affordable, have a perfect blend of three different types of organic woods, no additives added, and are manufactured by using the Klien-dry technique.
FAQ’s
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