Anyone else tried wood "pellets"?

Rob H

I just tried the mesquite wood pellets from BBQr's Delight. I used a couple of tablespoons in a small foil pack and was suprised on how well it worked. A little bit goes a long way. They have quite a few flavors. They also have a website: www.bbqrsdelight.com[p]Has anyone else tried these? Any comments?

RRP

Rob H, early on I bought a couple bags of those before I found apple and pecan chips available locally. As long as I can get the real thing I will. As for the pouch of alumimum foil you'll find that burns thru and just melts and makes you wonder where the vapors went. I ended up making a container fashioned from two soda can bottoms. Basically those pellets are just compressed sawdust held together with the same goop that they make charcoal brickets from.

McKevin

RRP,[p]Can't speak for all the companies out there, but Traeger would strongly disagree with your statement; [p]"Basically those pellets are just compressed sawdust held together with the same goop that they make charcoal brickets from."[p]From http://www.blackmountainbbq.com/Pellets.html[p]
First only the finest hardwood raw materials are sourced from all over the country. The pure raw material (sawdust) is then pulverized with hammer mills and dried. The dried material is then processed under heat and pressure. Lignin, which is the natural glue which holds plant fiber together, softens above 100 degrees Celsius, permitting the material to change shape. The hot lignin then acts like a glue to bond the pellet together.
Pelleting employs a hard steel die which rotates against rollers forcing the material through the die with pressures of over 10,000 PSI. As the pellet is forced through the die it is sheared off at the specified length, cooled, screened, and bagged into 10 or 40 lb bags.[p]General specifications for barbecue pellets are: 100% hardwood, 1" long or less in length, 1/4" diameter, less than 2% ash content, less than 2% fines, 10% moisture content, 8500 BTU's per lb, and about 40 lbs per cubic ft. density.

RhumAndJerk

Rob H,
I use Lil’ Devil smoking pellets a lot. They are great for a quick smoke flavor when you are not cooking low’n’slow. I do not place them in a foil pouch, just directly on the coals. The five to ten minute blast of smoke imparts all of the needed smoke flavor. I only use a small palm full.[p]I use the pellets for freshening up the smoke flavor of meat that has already been smoked or when I am grilling chicken breast or something else quick.[p]Hope this Helps,
RhumAndJerk[p]