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Best Wood Pellet For Smoking 2023: 5+ Detailed Reviews

Best Wood Pellet For Smoking 2023: 5+ Detailed Reviews

Top 5 Best Wood Pellets For Smoking 2023:

  1. Traeger PEL319 Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets
  2. Camp Chef Smoker Grill Competition Blend Hardwood Pellets
  3. CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets
  4. Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets
  5. Lumber Jack 100-Percent Maple Wood BBQ Grilling Pellets

Buying the right wood pellets for your grilling and smoking adventures might not seem too complicated. However, your choice will have a significant influence on your success and the taste of your smoked & grilled meat.

The problems do not end there. There are numerous brands on the market, all claiming to be the best, plus there are tons of different flavors and blends. So, where should you start?

We’ll help you find out all there is to know about wood pellets for smoking. Once you read our guide, you’ll be able to buy the best wood pellets for smoking and enjoy all the benefits of smoking meat on a pellet grill.

Be a part of a pellet grill and smoker revolution!


5 Best Wood Pellets For Smoking In 2023: Detailed Reviews

1. Camp Chef Smoker Grill Competition Blend Hardwood Pellets – Versatile blend suitable for smoking all types of meat

Image Credit: Amazon.com

Champ Chef Smoker Grill Competition Blend Hardwood pellets are made from premium solid hardwood. They are all-natural and food grade. If you do not mind pre-made blends, you will surely appreciate this combo as it provides versatile and well/rounded smoke flavor.

The combination of maple, hickory, and cherry hardwood complements almost any type of meat and is thus an ideal choice for smoking pork, beef, and poultry. You can use it to prepare fish and veggies too. 

Camp Chefs’ pellets have a good reputation. This brand is known for its high-quality products. You can count on optimum smoking results. The pellets will leave a minimal amount of ash for you to clean.

These Camp Chef premium wood pellets are sold in the form of 20-pound bags. The bags have a zip-lock type seal to keep the pellets safe from humidity.  You can buy a pack of two, four, or six bags at quite a reasonable price. 

Pros

  • 100 % natural, food-grade pellets for pellet grills and smokers 
  • Made from a variety of premium hardwood
  • Versatile blend suitable for smoking or grilling about anything 
  • Well/rounded smoke flavor
  • Made in America 
  • The minimal amount of dust and ash

Cons

  • Not for people who like to make their own hardwood blends 

2. CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets – High-end wood pellets for excellent smoking & grilling results

Image Credit: Amazon.com

CookinPellets 40PM Perfect Mix Smoking Pellets is a highly popular blend made from four types of premium hardwood: hickory, hard maple, cherry, and apple. It will provide a combination of sweet and smoky aroma for your meat. 

CookinPellets are sold in 40-pound bags without too many bells and whistles – it is all about what is inside. An army of satisfied customers proves that there are no gimmicks. 

The pellets are made only from the heartwood taken from the center of the tree logs. It does not contain any rind or bark. Fewer lignin results in less ash and less cleaning. Still, there will be a fair amount of ash to clean. There is no oil nor filler wood, such as oak or alder added either.

You can use this blend for almost any food you cook, grill, or smoke. It will provide you with a guaranteed combination of exquisite smoke flavors. It is on the higher end of the price edge, but a good reputation and excellent smoking and grilling performance make it worth it. 

Pros

  • High-end blend suitable for smoking almost all types of meat
  • No filler wood
  • An excellent hardwood mixture
  • Features four premium hardwoods 
  • A minimal amount of lignin
  • More than six hours of smoke

Cons

  • High price tag

3. Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets – A versatile blend that combines savory and sweet tones with a very mild tartness

Image Credit: Amazon.com

Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets are made by the Pit Boss company, a famous name in the smoker world. This particular blend is quite versatile and can be used with almost any grill or smoker you may have. There is no need to match the brand of pellets to the brand of your smoker or grill. 

Pit Boss BBQ Wood pellets come in forty-pound bags. They are made from high-quality wood from North America and are famous for burning hotter and cleaner than many other lower-quality brands. 

We have made it our mission to present you only 100% natural wood pellets, and thus these Pit Boss pellets are free of any sort of glues, spray-on scents, and chemicals too. They are held together by a natural wood adhesive, and that is why they burn so clean. 

This blend combines sweet and savory aromas with a hint of tartness. It is a combination of maple, hickory, and cherry hardwoods. It will endow your meat with a smoky taste and mild sweetness on top. It combines well with all sorts of meat. The price is excellent, especially considering the quality.

Pros

  • Excellent price and quality ratio.
  • Made from 100% natural hardwoods from North America
  • Work well with all brands of grills and smokers
  • Burn clean
  • Combines with all types of meat 

Cons

  • Not everyone will appreciate this combination of hardwood

4. Traeger PEL319 Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets – Clean burning 100% Hickory wood pellets

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Some of you may not like the blends we have offered so far, so we have decided to find the best 100% hickory wood pellets. Traeger PEL319 Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets are great for smoking and grilling but can be used for baking, roasting, braising, and BBQing as well. They come in a twenty-pound bag that should last you for quite a while as they create quite a lot of smoke. 

You will be pleasantly surprised by how little ash there will be left to clean after you are done smoking your meat. This is the result of them not having any fillers or additives whatsoever. Consequently, these food-grade pellets do not pollute the environment.

Hickory is known for endowing a pleasant smoky aroma to pork, beef, and poultry alike. You can use it to prepare vegetables as well. Hickory is the most neutral choice you can make taste-wise and is thus an excellent selection if you are new to smoking. Affordable prices and the good name of the company make Traeger a go-to brand!

Pros

  • Affordable price
  • Considerably less ash 
  • Pleasant smoky aroma
  • Neutral – suitable for all sorts of meat
  • Sourced and manufactured in the USA

Cons

  • Not the best option for high heat cooking

5. Lumber Jack 100-Percent Maple Wood BBQ Grilling Pellets – Pure Maple wood pellets from Northwood of Wisconsin

Image Credit: Amazon.com

If you do not appreciate combined flavors, we have another option for you. Lumber Jack 100-Percent Maple Wood BBQ Grilling Pellets are, as their name suggests, made from maple hardwood only. Slightly sweet maple wood will impart very mild sweetness to your beef and pork as well.

The company uses only virgin wood from the Northwood of Wisconsin, and therefore the pellets are all-natural. They do not contain any fillers, additives, spray-on scents, or oil. 

The logs are specially selected to include the right amount of bark to provide a unique flavor. 

Each pellet is able to impart the same amount of flavor because the wood is blended first. This time-consuming and expensive process also makes these pellets burn hotter and longer than many other brands.

Lumber Jack pellets are food-grade certified by independent testing laboratories. They are sold in twenty and forty-pound bags at a reasonable price. Being made from the whole tree, including the bark, these pellets give out more smoke and flavor but leave more ash to clean as well. 

Pros

  • High-quality maple hardwood from the USA
  • Food-grade certified
  • Can be used with all brands of grills or smokers
  • Affordable
  • Great wor smoking beef & pork 

Cons

  • More ash to clean

Wood Pellets Defined

Best Wood Pellets For Smoking Review

Wood pellets are, as their name suggests, made from all-natural hardwood. The wood is first dried and then ground into sawdust. Next, this dust is pressurized at extreme heat to create compact pallets. The pellets are held together by wood’s natural lignin.

Why Do People Go Through All This Trouble?

Wood pellet is the most accessible fuel you can use for your pellet grill and smoker. There are numerous other advantages. First, wood pellets produce a minimal amount of ash (less than 1%!), so it will not be much of a chore to clean after you are done smoking or grilling your meat. For example, you can burn as much as 40 lbs of pellets and you’ll be left with only around half a cup of ash.

You also need not worry about the air to fuel ratio. There is no need to sit next to the grill or smoker and monitor the process at all times like you have to when you use wood chips or chunks.

Finally, wood pellets are eco-friendly due to low CO2 production. Even if you include the production and transportation costs, burning wood pellets will still produce only about 34g carbon dioxide per kWh of heat produced. On the other hand, gas produces as much as 211 grams, while wood chips produce 64 grams. 


What To Consider When Buying Wood Pellets For the First Time?

The first time is always the hardest, but if you follow our guidelines, you will soon be able to shop for the best wood pellet on your own.  

When it comes to food preparation, you need to be very careful. Therefore, the first question you need to ask yourself before you pay for any bag of wood pellets is if they are food-grade pellets or not.

A newbie can easily make a rookie mistake and mistake heating pellets for food-grade pellets. Heating pellets are used ONLY for wood-burning stoves since they are most often made from wood that is not safe to use for food preparation. Some woods such as spruce or pine will completely ruin the flavor of your smoked meat, but that is the least of your problems. Namely, many heating pellets contain toxic chemicals or glues that can seriously damage your health.

Food-grade wood pellets never contain any harmful chemicals of that sort – they are 100% hardwood, with no chemical binders or glues whatsoever. Wood pellets for smoking have to meet strict standards to earn the right to be referred to as a food-grade product. These standards are not limited to ingredients only, strict sanitation procedures during the production and packaging have to be met as well.

Therefore, food-grade wood pellets are made for cooking purposes only. As a result, only certain hardwoods are selected. What are the criteria? Of course, the flavor and aroma they produce when smoking. 

What Food Grade Pellets Are There?

  • Hickory
  • Mesquite
  • Pecan
  • Cherry
  • Apple
  • Alder
  • Oak

Which Type Of Wood Pellets Should You Use For The Meat You Plan To Grill?

Each type of hardwood goes well with particular food or meat. If you want your smoked meat to taste the best it possibly can, you need to figure out which hardwood is its match made in heaven.  

There are eve flavored and blended wood pellets that are made with the sole purpose of enhancing the flavor of certain food. You should try to match the flavor of the wood pellets to the meat you plan to smoke.

What Wood Pellet Flavor Are There?

If you choose wisely, the flavor of your wood pellets will enhance the taste of any food you prepare on your pellet grill or smoker. We have made a list of recommendations, but you can experiment on your own too:

Beef

The best wood pellets you can choose when you are smoking or grilling beef are Hickory, Mesquite, or Charcoal. You can also opt for a blend that is sweet and smoky with an aromatic tang. For example, a combination of maple, hickory, and cherry will provide a great-tasting sweet & savory aroma. Oak hardwood combined with smoky Charcoal is another, a bit bolder combo to enhance the mouthwatering flavors of beef. After all, Charcoal guarantees the best flavors in outdoor cooking.

Poultry

Chicken is best smoked using Mesquite, Hickory, and Charcoal wood pellets. The soft fruity undertone is desirable as well, so you can opt for a blend that contains apple, cherry, or some other fruity undertone.

Pork

Once again, Hickory, Mesquite, and Charcoal are the best traditional choices for smoking any meat. Pork is no exception. Just like poultry, pork goes well with a sweet and fruity aroma and a bit of aromatic tang. Still, if you prefer a smoky bacon-like flavor, hickory is your best choice.

The combination of pecan, hickory, and mesquite wood is another good option, especially if you enjoy a full-bodied, robust flavor.

Is The Brand Important When Purchasing Wood Pellets?

As we have already advised you, you need to be very careful when choosing products that you will use for food preparation. Of course, a reputable brand provides a sense of security, but that does not necessarily mean that new brands should be avoided. 

If you can assess the quality of a specific brand, feel free to go for it. Price is not always indicative, but often cheaply made brands can do more harm than good. Low-quality pellets will not only ruin your meat but can wreak havoc on your pellet grill too. 

Let us summarize:

Choose the wood pellets that are food-grade and made from the highest quality hardwood Only. It would be best if the pellets you buy are free of artificial flavors and scents, glues, or any other chemicals that could damage your health. 

All-natural wood pellets are the best tasting ones too!


Conclusion

It is time to choose your favorite and start grilling and smoking delicious meat! We cannot help you much as we do not know what flavors and aromas you enjoy the most.

You will not go wrong with any of the options from our Top 5 list as far as quality and performance are concerned. 

If you want an all-in-one solution suitable for newbies and professionals alike, go for Traeger PEL319 Grills Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets.

As far as blends are concerned, we really enjoyed the smoky flavor of the Camp Chef Smoker Grill Competition Blend Hardwood Pellets. You might too, so give it a try! In fact, why not try all of them and let us know what you think?