Have you ever wondered how fancy restaurants make such flavorful scented steaks or barbeque? The savory aroma that stretches from the kitchen grill to your nostrils, a feeling that the food itself is enticing you to take a bite, and the satisfying smell that gives you more joy when eating the dish.
This article is about to exploit the secrets behind the fragrant flavors the smoker has to offer. What type of wood pellet to use? How long do pellets last in a smoker? How many pellets do you need to make a fragrant dish?
A Brief Knowledge About the Smoker
Smoking is an ancient way of cooking and at the same time, preserving meat at a low heat temperature. It could take hours and maybe days for cooking meat. In the present time, smoking meat is not so different. Smokers are oven-like outdoor cooking apparatus that allows you to cook meat in a smoky environment using wood pellets.
Apparently, there are several types of a smoker; charcoal smoker, gas or propane smoker, offset smoker, and pellet smoker. Among its class, pellet smoker is by far most comfortable to use. The thing is, we’ll get to know how long do smoker pellets last.
Pellet smokers are thermostatically controlled with an automatic pellet feeder. Just set the temperature, plug in, and let the smoker do the work. It indeed operates similarly to a kitchen oven.
Smoking pellets
Smoking pellets is the ammunition that is fed into the pellet smoker. These are made from sawdust commonly sourced from hardwood and mold into pellets. Smoking pellets is the very reason smokers can produce mouthwatering food with a delicious scent. It comes in many flavors and variants; apple, maple, and pecans are a few examples.
What type of Pellet to Use?
Wood pellets give a tremendous change in the quality and taste of your meat. Remember the fragrant scent that entices your appetite to take a bite on the food? You can blame the wood pellet and smokes for that. Wood pellets are varied and created differently. Here we’ll discuss five (5) best-recommended wood pellets for smokers.
1. Traeger Hickory
First in the list, Traeger Hickory, considered as the Harley-Davidson of wood pellets, it’s a brand that lived by customer’s expectation. A hundred percent all-natural hardwood pellets. Traeger pellets are a famous and trusted brand. The hardwood pellet produced a natural aroma that enhances the quality and taste of the food.
2. Cooking Pellets
Cooking Pellets is a pellet that provides a blended scent of maple, apple, cherry, and hickory base.
Who on earth wouldn’t fall for such pleasing fragrant. No wonder this new brand snatched the second place on the list. Its reputation precedes its brand.
3. Pit boss Pellet
If you are looking for a classic smoke flavored meal, then Pit boss pellet is perfect for you. Its wood pellets are composed of mesquite, apple, hickory, and cherry. But that’s not all. Their brand is also famous for its whiskey barrel blend and barbeque blend. The pellets burn hot and clean since they don’t use glue or chemicals on the pellet.
4. Pennsylvania Cherry Wood Pellet
If you’re cost-cutting the budget but still want to buy wood pellets that provide a luscious scent. Why not try Louisiana grills brand, it is affordable, yet its pack size is twice bigger than the other brands. Its trademark pellets, Pennsylvania cherry wood pellet, is a cherry and maple blend, a perfect fusion for meat and vegetables.
5. BBQr’s Delight Smoking Pellet
The last in the pick but not the least, the BBQr’s delight smoking pellet. A simple non-blended wood pellet that comes in a variety. It gives you the liberty to mix different wood pellet flavors according to your taste or use one flavor at a time. Each pack comes with individual flavor, apple, mezquite, hickory, pecan, and Jack daniel’s.
Whatever wood pellet you choose or whatever flavor you prefer, blended or not, nothing beats a savory smell of smoked meat no matter how long do pellets last in a smoker.
Burning Rate of Wood Pellets
One common concern of many grillers is how long do pellets last in a smoker? Colloquially speaking, cooking in the smoker could cost you more pellets than you have already though. It takes hours and hours of cooking meat using a pellet cooker. So you better pile up a bunch of wood pellets.
Each wood pellet is made differently. Many factors can affect a particular pellet’s burning rate, such as temperature setting in the smoker, type of wood used (blended or not blended), content such as oils or other artificial scents. However, in the typical condition, the burning rate would still be the same.
But how long do pellets last in a smoker? Traeger hickory wood pellets, Cooking Pellets, Pit Boss Pellets, and BBQrs Delight Smoking Pellets are packed per twenty pounds, while Pennsylvania Cherry Wood Pellet is packaged to a forty pounds bag. A standard pellet smoker can burn one to three pounds of an all-natural hardwood pellet from low to high heat.
So how long do smoker pellets last? Approximately, a twenty-pound bag will last up to six to twenty hours, and a forty pound bag like Pennsylvania Cherry Wood Pellet will last twelve to forty hours, depending on the heat application.
The burning rate of the wood pellet is dependable on how long do pellets last in a smoker. A typical burning rate of the wood pellets mentioned above is approximately one pound per hour.
The Shelf Life of Wood Pellets
If not used and stored correctly, wood pellets will go wrong, and a fun fact, some wood pellets are already bad, to begin with. It will ruin the meat if you use a rotter wood pellet. To answer the question, how long do smoker pellets last? The shelf life of wood pellets can last up to thirteen years or even more, as long as it is stored in a dry and cool place.
Conclusion
Good food satisfies the stomach, but a pleasing aroma of the food satisfies the heart. In many instances, the scent gives a vivid meaning to the taste of food. The innovations of smokers and smoking pellets are a game-changer. It gives more flavor to the food and extends how long do pellets last in a smoker. Food tastes better with a pleasing aroma.
