There are a lot of options when trying to decide the best pellets for your grill. First and foremost, I recommend everyone experimenting to find what works best for you. That said, here is a list of what I like to use when cooking various things at home:
Burgers / Brats – Hickory, Mesquite or Pecan – You want to hit the burgers with as much smoke flavor as possible since it is a shorter cook time.
Pork Ribs – Cherry or Mesquite
Pulled Pork – I really like Pecan here, but Cherry, Hickory, Apple and Mesquite would be great as well
Brisket – Mesquite and Hickory – When it comes to big, beautiful beef, go strong with flavors
Chicken – Pecan, Apple and Cherry – Chicken is not a very strongly flavored meat so you can go lighter
Veggies – Hickory and Mesquite – Again, it’s a short cook time so I like stronger flavored woods here like
Steaks – Pecan, Hickory, or Mesquite.
Salmon – Apple and Cherry, or in a pinch, Pecan
Whole Turkey – Cherry and Apple over Mesquite – If you are serving this for Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t go super heavy with smoke flavor here
Pizzas – Pecan wood pellets all the way
When In Doubt, Foil It Out
What do you do when you only have a strong-flavored pellet but don’t want to over-flavor the meat? Solve it by wrapping with aluminum foil. Many times I’ve wrapped meat once I was happy with the color or to keep the meat from taking on more smoke than desired. It’s a great technique.
How Many Pellets Does a Pellet Grill Use?
On average, a pellet grill will use about a half a pound per to two and a half pounds per hour depending on the smoke setting. The higher the setting, the more pellets you’ll use during your cook.
Can You Use Heating Pellets in a Pellet Grill?
Using heating pellets is typically frowned upon, and we don’t advise it either. There’s a reason there’s a distinction between the two, between the types of wood that they often use (pine and spruce for example) to the types of fillers they contain, heating pellets can either pose a health risk or ruin the taste of your food. Stick with food grade pellets and you’ll ensure the safety and great flavor of your food with each cook.
You do what works for you and what creates the best results. People will remember the meal, the flavors, and the fellowship, not what pellet flavor you chose.
Remember the first rule of your barbecue – it’s YOUR barbecue.
How We Designed Our Wood Pellets
When it came time to make a pellet for the Z grill line of products we took it very seriously. We wanted to make the best wood fuel pellets on the market. We tested all the top brands, took pages and pages of notes comparing everything from heat output and flavor to efficiency and ash created. We also went to several factories and asked the hard questions concerning the use of flavor oils, additives, fillers, and woods such as Alder. We wanted to ensure what we put our name was hands down the best pellets for our grills.
Once all the data was compiled and the interviews were done we found some commonality between the top brands.

1. They only used high-quality wood and nothing else in their pellets. No flavor oils, binders or any other additives were used or needed when the best woods were used.
2. Hardwood species such as Oak was the primary ingredient used even in their blended pellets. Alder avoided since it was determined to not create as much heat and could attribute to flameout issues in some pellet smokers.
3. This “keep it simple but honest” philosophy of pellet manufacturing hands down created not only the best burning pellet but the most flavorful food. The rich flavors of the right pellet fuel was genuinely a difference you could taste.