Looking forward to having barbeque tonight? Before you start cooking, you should look into getting the best wood pellets for smoking. Unfortunately, not all wood pellets for smoking are created equal. Despite their priciness, some have too much moisture in them, while others fall apart too easily and clog up your grill.
To help you find the best return for your investment, we have gathered the best wood pellets for smoking below for your reference. Hopefully, these reviews will provide you the starting point you need to get the best wood pellets for smoking!
Wood Pellets Reviewed
Traeger Wood Pellets
Bear Mountain Wood Pellets
Flame Genie Wood Pellets
Louisiana Wood Pellets
Pit Boss Wood Pellets
We tested 5 brands of pellets … our favorite was PIT BOSS (see our guide below for our detailed review)
Traeger PEL319 Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Grill Pellets
Crafted from all-natural hardwood, these hardwood grill pellets will give your food the rich wood-fired taste that will leave you longing for more.
What’s more, Traegar’s pellets are all formulated with the right amount of moisture, so you will get perfect blue smoke and a clean burn when you use them. However, some of the flavors – such as mesquite – may not be as natural as they could be.
Pros
- Comes in many different flavors, not just hickory, such as maple, mesquite, pecan, turkey, and more!
- Gives everything you grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, or BBQ a wood-fired taste
- Is made of 100% all-natural hardwood
- Uses sawdust from existing hardwood, so these pellets were created without harvesting a single tree
Cons
- Pellets are not actually made of hickory wood – they are alder and oak and use oils to give them flavor
- Can turn into dust and clog up the grill if not properly maintained
Bear Mountain BBQ 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets
Made from 100% all-natural premium hardwood, Bear Mountain BBQ hardwood pellets will give your food a robust smoky flavor. In particular, this product does a great job with ribs and brisket since Bear Mountain uses a delicious custom blend of hickory, cherry, maple, and oak to create their pellets.
Pros
- Sometimes don’t light very well
- Works better with meat than vegetables or seafood
- Customer service could be better – they sometimes do not respond to questions on time
Cons
- Puts out a lot of smoke, so if you’re looking for a smoky experience, look no further
- Pellets get very hot
- Very little sawdust in bag
- Affordable
Flame Genie FG-P20 Premium Wood Pellets for Fire Pits
High-performing and made from 100% hardwood, these pellets are allergy free and burn clean. You will be able to have a smoke and spark-free cooking experience with these pellets.
Like other products on this list, these pellets are made from a mix of multiple types of wood. The majority of the wood used is oak, and the pellets are approximately 80% hardwood and 20% various other woods.
Pros
- No additives or chemicals
Cons
- A bit moister than most types of pellets out there
- They do not burn as well as they should
- Flavorless compared to other types out there
Louisiana Grills 55405 Competition Blend Pellets, 40
This product gives your meat the taste it needs. Affordable and allergy free, these pellets are just as good as big name pellets. However, they can be a bit dusty due to not being as highly compressed as other brands, so watch out for that.
Pros
- Affordable
- Great for cooking meat
- Burns hot and great for wings, ribs, and steaks in particular
Cons
- Very dry – same hardness and dryness as wood burning pellets
- Pellets decompose faster than some other brands, so they can introduce a lot of sawdust to the burner
- Not so great for cooking vegetables
- Only one flavor – Competition Blend
Pit Boss BBQ Wood Pellets
Great for smoking short ribs, these pellets have no problem staying lit at low temperatures and produce a smokey flavor. These pellets are well compressed and not powdery. Further, they are quite affordable, making them a great bang for your buck.
Pros
- 100% hardwood blend – maple, cherry, and hickory
- No fillers included
- No chemicals, glues, or sprays
- Produces very little ash – an entire bag (40lb) of pellets will create only half a cup of ash, so this will make cleaning up very straightforward
- Versatile – works well for pork, chicken, beef, or vegetables
Cons
- Dustier than some other types of pellets
- Can burn out on low temperatures
- Only one flavor available – BBQ Blend
Which Pellet Flavor is Best for Which Types of Food?
Some pellets, such as the ones created by Traeger come in a variety of flavors. Others only offer one flavor, such as BBQ blend or competition blend. Below is a short and simple guide about which pellet flavors are best for which types of food.
Hickory
Hickory is one of the stronger flavors out there. However, it is not quite as strong as mesquite. Otherwise, it is similar to mesquite, but works better with pork than mesquite does.
Pecan
Pecan is similar to hickory, but with a nuttier taste. It is great for meat – particularly beef, pork, and poultry.
Mesquite
Mesquite is perfect for those looking for a smoky taste to their food. One of the strongest flavors out there, mesquite pellets, is particularly good for pork ribs, burgers, pulled pork, brisket, veggies, and steaks.
Cherry
Like apple, cherry is great at producing smoke rings, despite (and perhaps, in spite) of being very mild. It is great at cooking veggies, seafood, pork, and poultry.
Competition Blend
Competition blend is a mix of maple, cherry, and hickory. It is a great choice for cooking all kinds of things – be that vegetables, beef, seafood, poultry, or pork! However, if you want stronger and more specific flavors, you should pick one of the flavors above.
Our Winner: Pit Boss Wood Pellets!
In completing these reviews we ultimately picked Pit Boss as our favorite type of wood pellets. It is very important to buy the best wood pellets for smoking. By purchasing a competition blend or a specific flavor of wood pellets, you will be able to cook delicious smoked meat, seafood, and vegetables anytime you want.