Barbecue/Wood Pellets

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Expert: - 2/19/2004


Question
I usually buy the small bags of flavored wood pellets from internet companies. I recently noticed a 25 pound bag of wood pellets for pellet stoves being sold in my local bulk warehouse store and wondered if these are essentially the same. A full bag is $9.00, where the little bags are $2.95 each. They look the same. Are they safe to use for grill cooking?

Answer
I don't have enough information to be able to answer your question -- it becomes a matter of who is the manufacturer of the wood pellets, and whether they really are the same or not.   If the pellets have anything like paint, glue, oil, or other impurities, I would not recommend using them.  Try contacting the manufacturer for more information, explaining your intended use.

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Expertise

I can answer questions having to do with grilling or barbecuing meat (but not pork), poultry, fish, and vegetables over charcoal or wood. I also have some expertise in marinades and spice mixes. I cook only with charcoal and wood, so please do not ask me any questions about gas or electric grills.

Experience

I've been cooking with fire and smoke for 25 years, using charcoal and wood almost exclusively. While I do not usually cook with gas, I'm willing to try to answer cooking questions in this area. I cook meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and I've experimented with a lot of different recipes and techniques. I am not able to answer questions about grilling or barbecuing pork. Most recently I've been using slow-cooking (indirect heat) techniques, and have been very successful at it.

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Not applicable to this area of expertise.

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