Wood Pellets vs Wood Chips

When it comes to firing up your grill or smoker, two of the most abundant sources of fuel out there are wood pellets and wood chips.

Turns out, there's quite a bit of difference between wood pellets and wood chips for smoking and grilling. 

Wood Pellet Pros:

1.Wood pellets burn slow and hot, making them ideal for cold smoking, converting a gas grill into a smoker, or adding light wood flavor to a charcoal grill.

2.It's almost impossible to "over-do it" with wood pellets – rarely if ever will your food results be bitter.

3.On a per pound basis, wood pellets are extremely cheap.  Combined with the fact that they’re slow burners, this means that your dollar goes a long way when using wood pellets as your fuel of choice.

4.If you own a pellet grill, wood pellets are the way to fuel your grill to make delicious foods

5.Wood pellets produce minimal ash and therefore require minimal cleanup. 

6.You are using repurposed wood, which is a small positive contribution to our ecosystem.

7. Wood pellets are widely available in many different flavors.

Wood Pellet Cons:

Compared to wood chips, chunks, logs, and lump charcoal, wood pellets produce a moderate amount of smoke and flavor.  That’s not a bad thing in all situations, but might be if you’re trying to impart lots of flavor for BBQ.

Since they were designed for use in pellet grills and smokers, they are a little tougher to get results out of when used inside of other grills and smokers.

Wood Chips Pros:

1.Provide strong bursts of smokey flavor that can be ideal for shorter grilling sessions.

2.When used in moderation, they can be a great flavor value add for charcoal smokers.

3.Many electric smokers and propane smokers are designed specifically for use with wood chips.  Each of these styles of smokers has a heating element that burns wood chips at an ideal temperature.

4.Can easily be combined with charcoal briquettes to add extra flavor.

5.Wood chips are widely available in many different flavors.

Wood Chips Cons:

It’s very possible to “over-do it” with wood chip smoke.  If you don’t moderate, your food could turn out bitter – especially with stronger flavors like mesquite.

You can’t use wood chips with a gas grill like you can with pellets.

Generally a little less bang for your buck compared to pellets.

Whether wood pellets or wood chips are used, they need to be installed in a smoking tube for use.

The stainless steel BBQ smoking tube can evenly release the smoke, lasting 2-7 hours, can make the food taste better.