Pellets

Have questions about our pellets? Let's talk about use, quality, storage and more!

You may also want to check out our Pellet Flavor Guide.

ABOUT OUR PELLETS

Traeger wood pellets are made from 100% natural hardwood--that means no fillers, binding agents, bark material, or artificial additives. Our pellets are sourced from five, Traeger-owned U.S. mill facilities. The different types of wood we use burn and release flavor differently, so each pellet flavor requires its own unique blend of natural hardwoods to provide consistent flavor and performance.

PELLET BLENDS

In addition to our standard flavors, we also sell a variety of pellet blends (combinations of different flavors with possible additional spices and herbs). 

All pellets are a blend of either Alder or Oak plus the wood flavor:

• West Coast Mill: Alder + Other wood
• East Coast Mill: Oak + Other wood

Allergens & Additives

• CROSS-CONTAMINATION: We have multiple mills; however, they both produce multiple types of pellets. Therefore, we do not have a specific mill for Pecan or any other pellets.
• ADDITIVES: Pellets contain no additives. They are held together by the naturally occurring lignins in the wood from the extreme pressure applied in the pellet press equipment.
• SOY: Our wood pellets' production involves using a small amount of food-grade soybean oil, which functions as a lubricant for our machines. The food-grade soybean oil is infused with natural woods, herbs, or citrus in some of our specialty wood pellet flavors. The food-grade soybean oil helps combine these natural flavors into our 100% hardwood pellets during our patented production process. 
• PECAN: In our Pecan pellets, there is no pecan allergen since that protein is not present. Currently, the only blend we produce that uses pecan is our Texas Beef Blend. Additionally, the burn temperature would eliminate any trace amounts of allergen substances and would not be present in the air emissions.

For more information on allergens and food sensitivities in our pellets, see Allergens & Dietary Restrictions.

Which Pellets Should I Use?

You will get amazing results using any of our pellets for any food, but we do have some recommendations. Check out this chart with some of our popular flavors to take your cooks to the next level.

Can I Substitute Pellet Flavors?

Sometimes you may not find the flavor pellets you want because they're out of stock, or you want to use what you have. Here are some comparable substitutions that will give you a flavor similar to what a recipe calls for.

PELLET QUALITY

Good, quality pellets should have a nice sheen to them and you should hear a nice "snap" when breaking.

The NUMBER ONE cause of temperature issues is poor pellet quality. If you are experiencing temperature issues, always begin troubleshooting by removing and replacing the pellets and vacuuming out any residual sawdust from the hopper and from the auger tube. 

How to Store Pellets Properly

Did you know many grill issues can be attributed to old or poor-quality pellets? Proper pellet storage will help ensure you are making the most of your cooking experience.

• Pellets should be stored in a dry, airtight container to prevent moisture and humidity from compromising pellet quality.
  • If you live in a humid climate, we strongly suggest storing your pellets indoors. Many customers store their pellets in their garage, but even humidity in your garage may compromise your pellets.
  • A newly purchased or even a newly opened bag does not guarantee fresh pellets, especially if exposed to high humidity or moisture. 

How to Tell if a Bag of Pellets is Bad

Keep an eye out for the following to determine if a bag of pellets has been compromised.

• Sawdust: Some sawdust at the bottom of the bag is normal, but sawdust throughout the bag is a tell-tale sign that pellets are decomposing. Keep your eye open for sawdust clumps as well.
• Crumbling: Pellets will easily crumble when trying to break them in half.
• Moisture: Any moisture within the bag is a sign that your pellets may not burn efficiently.
• Dullness: Bad pellets often are light in color, have no sheen and look dull.

MY PELLETS ARE A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN MY LAST BAG

Some variation in color from bag to bag is natural. Since all Traeger pellets are made of 100% natural hardwood, there is variation in color due to the wood itself and the environmental growing conditions of the trees. This does not have any effect on smoke flavor or burn performance.

MY PELLETS CLUMPED TOGETHER IN MY FIREPOT

Check out our Firepot article for more information.

HOW MUCH GRILL TIME WILL I GET OUT OF A BAG OF PELLETS?

The following burn rates are approximations and should not be referred to as guarantees as they may fluctuate depending on the following variables:

• Grill Size/Model
• Hopper Size
• Type of Grill (AC or D2)
• Type of Wood (pellet flavor)
• Ambient Temperature (Temp Outside)
• Number of Lid Openings

WILL I VOID MY WARRANTY IF I USE NON-TRAEGER PELLETS?

You are free to use any brand food-quality grill pellets with your Traeger without fear of voiding its warranty. Home heating pellets have adjuncts, binders/glues, biomass, and softwood that will create performance and reliability problems that are not covered by warranty.

• Note: we only test the performance of the Traeger-branded pellets that we produce. Therefore, we do not design our grills for other brand pellets, and they may not provide the same heating, smoke, or flavor performance that customers expect.