I’d rather work with someone who sells “cooking” pellets or even uses a gimmicky term like “food-grade.” Of the bad reviews for these pellets that you’ll find online is that they use a base wood like Alder or Oak and then treat the wood with an oil in order to output a desired flavor. A number of resources and reviews will state they had a significant amount of ash production.
Competition Blend – Sweet and smoky with an aromatic tang. A premium blend of cherry, hickory, and maple hardwoods. Masterfully craft sweet, savory aroma combined with a soft fruity undertone for your beef, pork, chicken, seafood, desserts, fruits, or veggies.
I want to preface this entire guide by stating that this is what I’ve personally tested and like. The more hazardous risk that moisture imposes is its potential for growing toxins, such as mold or fungus. Additionally, once opened, use the opened bag of pellets first before opening the next one. Bags of pellets that are opened and unused for an extended time will become oxygenated. When it comes to safe storage, try to remember the BOOM method. They are a little more expensive than some of the other pellets we’ve cooked with.
Wood pellets are a great way to quickly fire up your smoker without the worry. By purchasing a universal blend or flavor of wood pellets and keeping them on hand, you can have delicious tender smoked meat anytime you want. I like that these hardwood pellets from Bear Mountain are available in both 20 and 40lb bags so if you find a flavor you really love you can stock up. Currently a top selling brand, CookinPellets offers a 40-pound blend of hardwood smoking wood pellets. Food grade wood pellets, on the other hand, are made purely from hardwood and lack any chemical binders or glues. Wood pellets used for smoking meat are compressed hardwoods that are extruded into a uniform size and consistency.
Ultimately, your choice will depend on your preferences and needs. While there may be some differences in terms of features and price points, either option can be a great pit boss electric smoker addition to any backyard setup to enjoy grilling in the great outdoors. To be frank, i’ve never had issues with excessive ash production through the use of these pellets.
As you can see, there is more to smoking the perfect meat than just firing up a grill and turning the temperature to low. It’s simple enough to enjoy, but complex enough for you to formulate a perfect blend of flavors, temperature and protein type. This means you may go through more pellets of one flavor versus another flavor. Oxygen contains moisture which will break down the wood pellets from the hardened capsules they are and cause them to crumble. Proper storage is essential for guaranteeing your wood pellets’ shelf life is maximized.
Not only will moisture break down the product, but it will also become a mold or fungus’s new habitat. Proper storage will prevent mold, fungus, or other toxins from entering or growing on the pellets. Depending on the type of meat you will be smoking can help you decide which flavor or combination of flavors to use. If you were to visit a lumber mill, you would see sawdust and wood pieces scattered all throughout the mill.
Love this sweet apple blend that goes wonderful with chicken and pork. Our R&D department develops high-quality, fairly priced grilling equipment. Just to be blunt, temper your expectations for shipping. You’re taking a bag of lb pellets, they’re being put into a previously used box and then shipped and handled by several different people. A number of the manufacturers above have their own opinions on each of these points.
The reason I sort of wrapped all of these into their own category has nothing to do with their quality – or to even imply they’re the same quality. Simply put, Pellet grill Manufacturers want to keep your business at all points of your grills useful life. Of all the pellet brands that are touted by most resources online, CookinPellets is the most common. They’re most known for being one of the only pellet brands that use only the hardwoods labeled on their product. While this may make wood pellets seem fragile, it is actually the opposite. Wood pellets that are food-grade and made from consumable hardwoods are safe for consumption.