Did you choose the ideal smoker pellets, only to be let down by the performance after lighting it up for the first few times? Users frequently come to the conclusion that the type of pellets is more crucial than the style of grill after some pellet grilling experimentation. 

Here are some pointers on selecting the best pellets for the greatest outcomes.

• Softwood or Hardwood

There has been much discussion over this, but hardwood prevails. For good reason, smoker pellets  are made entirely of hardwoods. Although hardwood has more steady burning rates and consequently more stable temperatures, softwood can nevertheless produce greater heat. The whole objective of smoking food is to produce a purer smoke flavour, and hardwood is renowned to deliver this.

• Additional fillers or entirely flavoured wood

Many pellet companies use fillers to reduce the price of their goods. The maker of the pellets can reduce costs by adding oak or alder, but flavour is severely sacrificed in the process. The type of wood you want will have a stronger smoke taste if you use 100% flavoured hardwood. When purchasing, especially if the price appears too good to be true, use caution. Do your study because some pellet mixtures contain up to 80% fillers. 

• Beginning with the flavour

It’s crucial to start with the smoker pellets flavour since it will enhance the natural smokiness of your meat, which will change how your meat tastes when it’s smoked.

For instance, according to experts, apple, alder, and pecan pellets pair well with poultry while oak, mesquite, and hickory go well with beef.

While you should choose maple, cherry, or apple for your vegetables, oak, mesquite, and alder are better choices for seafood.

• Check for food grade

Make sure you are only cooking with food-grade pellets on your pellet grill. It’s a common misconception among grillers that heating pellets—the wood pellets used in wood-burning stoves—will perform as well.

Many varieties of heating pellets are created from woods like pine or spruce that you wouldn’t want to use for smoking. Your food’s flavour will be ruined by these woods. Heating pellets may also contain binding agents that could taint the flavour of your meat and be made from wood goods like plywood or particle board.

In other words, there are no actual guidelines you can rely on when it comes to safe wood sources and binders as heating pellets are not made with food consumption in mind. This is not a problem if you use the wood to heat your house, but when it comes to food, you run the risk of losing more than just the flavour.

Conclusion

Smoker pellets are the simplest to use. Pellet smokers are extremely simple to use because they are thermostat-controlled, much like your kitchen stove.

You only need to select your favourite cooking temperature once; the smoker will take care of the rest.

And by “the remainder” we mean adding wood pellets to an integrated fire pot at various points throughout the cooking process to maintain a uniform temperature.