There are many types of smokers out there, but one of the most basic is a best pellet smoker. These devices use pellets made from wood chips or sawdust as fuel for cooking food. They can cook a wide variety of foods, and they’re great for getting your meat just right.
The best pellet grill models have an automatic auger that feeds the pellets into the firebox where they burn at a high temperature. This makes them quick and easy to set up. You also don’t need to worry about charcoal briquettes anymore. In fact, it’s best not to use anything else if you want to make the best use of your pellet smoker.
You can even find some small kitchen appliances like a mini-convection oven that uses pellets instead of electricity. However, the most common type of pellet smoker is the standard size model with a single rack cooking area.
If you want to know how to use wood in a pellet smoker, then read on below. We’ll start by explaining what wood is good for, before going through all the different ways you can use wood in a pellet smoker.
What wood is good for
Wood is the primary ingredient in any pellet smoker, because these machines rely on it for their heat source. If you do decide to use wood in this way, then it’s important to pick the right kind.
Wood should be dry and hard enough to hold together when put inside the firebox. It can be any type of wood, including pine, cherry, maple, hickory, oak, pecan, mesquite, ash, etc. Even if you buy a bag of wood chips, you may still have to cut the wood into smaller pieces first.
As long as the wood is dry, hard, and free from rot, it will work well in a pellet smoker. For example, if you try to use wet wood in your pellet grill, then your meats won’t get cooked properly.
Different types of woods
You can choose to add specific types of wood depending on what you’re trying to achieve. Here are some examples to help you understand better:
Smoky flavor:
Smoked wood adds a smoky flavor to whatever you’re cooking. You’ll get the same effect when smoking with regular charcoal, so adding smoked wood isn’t really necessary unless you want to give your food a distinct taste
Long smoke time:
Long smoke times are perfect for grilling whole chickens or large cuts of beef. Adding wood to the firebox will slow down the cooking process, which means your food will take longer to cook. This is especially useful if you want to cook something that needs more than three hours to finish.
Low maintenance:
Pellet smokers are very low maintenance. You just need to load the firebox with wood every couple of hours in order to keep the flames burning brightly. If you’re using wood chips, you can leave them in the firebox overnight to save yourself a bit of work.
Easy cleanup:
You only need to clean your pellet grill after cooking, unlike other types of smokers. The entire thing can be taken apart easily and cleaned in minutes without having to dismantle anything else. Just pour hot water over the outside parts and wipe everything off with a damp cloth.
Temperature control:
There’s no need to worry about controlling the oven temperature when using a pellet smoker. As long as you add wood regularly, you can let the machine control itself. If you want to change the internal temperature however, you can always pull out the thermostat and adjust it manually.
These are the main reasons why pellet smokers are becoming increasingly popular. They’re incredibly versatile, and you can use them for almost any type of cooking. You could even use a pellet smoker to cook pizza!
How to use wood in a pellet smoker
Now that you know what wood is good for, here are several ways you can use it in a pellet smoker.
Adding wood to the firebox
This is the easiest option to consider. Just open the door and dump in a handful of wood chips. Then close the door quickly so that the air doesn’t escape. Wait for the fire to build up again before loading another batch of wood into the firebox.
Burning the existing fire
Many people think that adding new wood to the fire is easier than keeping the existing fire burning. This is true if you own a pellet grill with multiple racks. If you’re using a single rack, then you will have to light the fire once and keep it burning until you need to reload with wood.
Using the convection fan
Most pellet grills come with a built-in convection fan. This fan circulates the hot air around the firebox evenly so that you can cook with less wood while still achieving the same results.
Adding extra wood
If you really want to maximize your cooking space, then you might want to consider buying a wood chipper. A wood chipper is basically a machine designed to shred the wood into smaller pieces. This allows you to use the same amount of wood in the firebox while giving you more room to move around.
You can either place the wood directly onto the firebox or use the shredder to create a pile of shredded wood. Either way, you should add the wood to the firebox within 15 minutes of chopping it.
