Enjoying a juicy steak that is smoked accurately is not a big trouble as long as you have a smoker at home. But, if you want to get a right and delicious flavor for your steak, what you should do is to look for the best smoking pellets. In case you have no idea of the pellets or forget to make a research before deciding to pick up one, you will meet some troubles first.
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Don’t worry too much! Since you’re here, I will do it for you. Just follow me from the beginning to end and then you’re guaranteed to have the pellets that you need most.
Some Necessary Information About the Smoking Pellets
Before penetrating into the smoking pellet reviews, you need to see into its essence.
The smoking pellets are also called as smoker pellets or BBQ pellets. Not only do they use as a main fuel source for the smoker but also a necessary flavor enhancer to various foods. Made from finely ground hardwood, the smoking pellets has been compressed to create a cylinder shape. Then they are cut into small pellets with 1 inch long and ¼ inch diameter.
Thanks to a small size, the BBQ pellets can burn cleanly and turn to a fine ash quickly. As compared to woodchips or sawdust, the smoker pellets burn hotter and slowly, allowing you to control temp for hot/cold smoking with ease.
Depending on different hardwoods such as hickory, oak, apple, maple or cherry, you can get a huge array of different flavors.
Advantages of the Smoking Pellets
Via using the smoking pellets, you easily get abundant advantages including both economic and environmental ones.
- As I said above, these pellets can give you a large variety of flavors such as apple, cherry, pecan, hickory, maple, mesquite, and so on. One interesting thing is that you can mix them to create the flavor that tastes delicious and unique. And if availing the BBQ pellets for the pellet smokers, getting a subtler smoky flavor is easier.
- Just put the pellets into a firebox, set the accurate temperature and spend time on playing with friends and family until the food is done. Since the pellets are fed automatically to monitor and maintain the right temp, you can get the excellent results all the times.
- If you worry about the amount of carbon emission, you are able to feel free while using the smoking pellets. It’s because they produce small amounts of carbon against using other types of fuels.
- Aside from decreasing the amount of carbon, the amount of ash production is remarkably reduced.
- In comparison with the cost of electricity and other forms, the BBQ pellets help you save more money in the long run. Furthermore, their heat production is effective for any demands from smoking to heating rooms.
Disadvantages of the Smoking Pellets
Of course, everything has its bright side and its dark side. Although there are some disadvantages while using the smoking pellets, I think that they’re not a big problem.
- Since these pellets are mainly used in the pellet smoker, they need electricity in their operation. To automatically feed the pellets into the burning chamber, the smoker requires electricity to do it. In addition, the thermostat on the stove needs the use of electricity to work.
- Although the amount of ash production from the smoking pellets are not much, removing and cleaning it might be difficult. To reduce your stress of cleaning the ash, you should remove it after cooking.
Which Flavor of the Smoking Pellets Should You Get?
Pairing the smoking pellets with the food you’re going to cook is important to get the flavor you want. Below is what you need to know.
- The pellets from alder are known as the most versatile ones because of their gentle scent and flavor. Except for using them with lamb, these pellets can emit a great amount of smoke on beef, chicken, pork, seafood, baked goods, and vegetables.
- The pellets from apple mainly use with pork, poultry, baked goods, and veggies thanks to their slightly fruity smoke. And if you use them for making an apple pie, they can bring your dish to a new level.
- If you require a hearty smoke flavor, the cherry pellets will do a great job. Beef, poultry, pork, lamb or baked goods, all can get the best flavor and delicious cherry smoke if cooked with these pellets.
- The hickory pellets might be used widely in BBQ because of their strong flavor to most meats. In case you prefer a little strong, try mixing them with the apple or oak pellets.
- With a gentle aroma of sweetness, the pellets from maple are great for cooking beef, pork, lamb, vegetables, baked goods, and especially turkey.
- The mesquite pellets are quite popular in Texas because they inspire the meat (beef, chicken, and fish) with the hearty smoke flavor.
- The oak pellets are a little stronger than apple or cherry, yet a little lighter than hickory. So, they are ideal to use for fish, beef, and baked goods.
- Want a deliciously nutty and a little spicy flavor on beef, pork, lamb, poultry, veggies or baked goods? The pecan pellets will be an ideal selection.
- Using the big game blend for beef, poultry and pork will give you a robust and flavorful smoke, making your meal memorable.
Best Smoking Pellets Reviews
1. CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets
The CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix is truly outstanding for smoking/grilling various kinds of food. It’s because this product is made from the use the heartwoods of 4 high-quality smoking pellets including hickory, cherry, apple, and hard maple. As a bonus, there are no oils or any filler woods such as alder and oak. So, no matter which food you want to cook, you easily get the excellent result.
In case you still worry about removing ash after cooking, just use the 40PM Perfect Mix smoking pellets because they don’t produce too much ash. Sounds great, right? What’s more, this product lasts a long time and doesn’t come with an unpleasant smell, so it’s comfortable to use.
Another interesting thing is these smoking pellets have an instant-read thermometer so that you can check the temp quickly. Pick up the C or F display you want to view and then press its button to activate. This thermometer also comes with a power saving option that automatically shuts it down after 10 minutes.
If you feel unsatisfied with the previous pellets, I suggest that you should opt for the CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix.
2. Traeger Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets
When landing on the smoking and cooking industry, you easily catch the trustable name of Traeger. Not only does this brand introduce lots of excellent grills but it’s also famous for the best smoking pellets. And the Traeger Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural hardwood pellets are what I want to talk about.
As the premium BBQ wood pellets, you can easily get a unique pure hardwood taste. Furthermore, these pellets guarantee an excellent blue smoke to flavor the food. Also, Traeger claims that this product is 100% all-natural hardwood with no necessary fillers or agent.
No matter which cooking style you want to perform such as smoking, braising, roasting, or baking, the Traeger Grills Hickory always gives a particular flavor to the food. Since there is a great consistency while using this product, it’s truly cost-efficient.
Although the small drawback is not to adjust the temp up to 3200F, you can avail it for smoking beef, chicken, and veggies with ease.
3. RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend Pellets, 40 lb
For the first look, the RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend Pellets are dense and similar in size. So, they are great for lasting for hours as well as grilling/smoking any kind of food.
What actually makes this product stand out is the use of fresh wood only. Made from 100% hardwood and manufactured via a special process, the pellets come with a dense form that permits them to burn better and longer. Of course, this product doesn’t hold any filler. So, just open the bag and then you smell the freshness like they have just been cut.
Since the RecTec Grills Ultimate Blend is comprised of a hickory and oak combination, you’re guaranteed to get a strong yet overpowering smoky flavor. In addition, these pellets produce the good heat as well as lessening the amount of ash while cooking.
Although the Ultimate Blend is well-known for RecTec grills, this product can be used with other grills effectively. So, feel free to pick up this product if you love its features.
4. BBQrs Delight Wood Smoking Pellets – Super Smoker Variety Value Pack
BBQrs Delight Wood smoking pellets are known as the best selection if you’re scouting about for a flavoring pellet with the common fuel ones. Included 1-pound bag of each flavor, there are 6 famous flavoring pellets including apple, hickory, cherry, pecan, mesquite, and Jack Daniel’s. And each is suitable for any kind of smokers such as electric, charcoal or gas.
Since you just use 1/3 cup of pellets for cooking, each pack can be availed at least 10 times. And you are free to mix any flavoring pellets to experience your “own flavor” on any meat you want to cook.
Made of 100% apple wood, the BBQrs Delight Wood pellets from apple bring a fruity and sweet smoke that is ideal for grilling pork, beef, fish, poultry or wild game. Meanwhile, the hickory pellets are quite common and popular for barbequing, simply because they are made of 100% hickory wood.
Of course, other wood pellets are made of 100% of their names on the package. If you prefer to enjoy a particular smoke and stronger smoke flavor, choose the mesquite pellets. Or select the cherry pellets if you love the gentle sweet fruity smoke and a rosy color to the meat. In general, just check which smoky flavor you want and then pick up one.