Whether you want to eat a mild and bright-flavored turkey or consume a strongly sweet-flavored outcome, even enjoy a turkey that is smoked with a blend of many kinds of wood pellet flavors, I can also recommend some of the best choices on the market. Roll down to keep reading:
Here are the best pellets for smoking turkey you can buy in 2024:
- Best For Turkey Breast: Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets
- Best For Quick Ignition: Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets
- Mild, Slightly Sweet Flavored: Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets
- Sweet, Salty Balanced Flavored: Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets
- Sweet Smoky Flavored: Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets
- Cleanest Burning: recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet
| 6 Best Pellets For Smoking Turkey | ||
|---|---|---|
Best For Turkey Breast | Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets | |
Best For Quick Ignition | Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets | |
Mild, Slightly Sweet Flavored | Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets | |
Sweet, Salty Balanced Flavored | Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets | |
Sweet Smoky Flavored | Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets | |
Cleanest Burning | recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet | |
Best For Turkey Breast: Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets
- Great taste and smell
- Long-lasting
- Burns well
- Expensive
Although the manufacturer said that the Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets works well for most of everything such as beef, poultry, pork, lamb, seafood, baked goods, and vegetables, its effect on turkey breast is proven by customers. When using these pellets to smoke turkey breasts, the latter has a consistent heat, great smoke and flavor.
| Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 20 lbs |
Material | Wood |
Highlight Features | Hickory, maple, and cherry blend |
Although the Traeger All-Natural Wood Pellets aren't designed for turkey breast only, customers used this machine on this kind of food and achieved a wonderful result.
Best For Quick Ignition: Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets
- Good flavor
- Burns clean
- Long-lasting
- Great price
- Dusty
The Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets features quick ignition because it is free of oils and chemicals with a low content of moisture. So, what are the benefits of pellets' quick ignition? Why do you need these pellets?
Quick ignition allows the wood pellets to burn more efficiently because it can reach the ideal temperature quickly.
You can also save more money in the long run because you don't have to buy extra wood pellets for burning.
It's easier to start the fire, so there is no need for any manual action. Therefore, you can quickly smoke your turkey without struggling.
This feature minimizes more or less pollutants released into the environment, so it is a wonderful solution for lovers of the environment.
Finally, rapid ignition reduces the risk of unburned pellets to decrease the risk of fire hazard.
| Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 20 lbs |
Material | Premium solid hardwoods |
Highlight Features | 100% natural Maple, hickory, and cherry blend |
The Cam Chef Competition Blend BBQ Pellets bring many benefits for the best performance thanks to quick ignition.
Mild, Slightly Sweet Flavored: Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets
- Great for increased flavor
- Good smoke
- Not for people who love strong flavor
If you want to add a mild, slightly sweet flavor into your turkey, just choose the Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets. According to the information from the manufacturer, this product is designed to easily mix it with other woods such as cherry, oak, and maple to create a balanced blend. Customers who don’t like a too strong flavor enjoy this feature very much.
| Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 2 lbs |
Material | 100% real wood |
Highlight Features | Professionally crafted Cherry, Maple, and Oak blend All-purpose |
The Ninja XSKOP2RL Woodfire Pellets work well for those who like mild, slightly sweet flavored turkey or want to pair it with others.
Sweet, Salty Balanced Flavored: Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets
- Great smoke
- Good flavor
- Reasonable price
- Inconsistent sizes of pellet pieces
Don’t you like a mild and bright flavor? Do you need a strong taste of the turkey? Let this product satisfy you.
The Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets are the combination of many wood flavors such as 100% hickory, kona premium blend and 100% oak, kona signature sweetwood blend. Thus, it can provide your turkey with a sweet, salty balanced flavor.
| Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 2 lbs (8 lbs intotal) |
Material | Wood |
Highlight Features | A blend of premium blend; kona sweetwood blend; 100% hickory; 100% oak Free of fillers and additives Artificial flavors |
The Kona Best Wood Smoking Pellets are a strong blend of many kinds of woods, which can provide your turkey with a sweet, salty balanced flavor.
Sweet Smoky Flavored: Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets
- Burns well
- Good price
- No dust
- No flare-up issues
- Too fast to burn
If you love a sweet taste, here is for you.
The Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets contribute in creating a sweet smoky flavored turkey because of its apple hardwood pellets.
Do you worry if the sweetness of this type of pellet is created from any chemical? Luckily, this product is 100% natural to add a subtle sweet flavor to your turkey using no chemicals and additives.
| Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 20 lbs |
Material | 100% natural hardwoods |
Highlight Features | Free of chemical starters or additives |
The Fire & Flavor Premium All Natural Hardwood Pellets feature a sweet smoky flavor, so your turkey can have a stronger taste.
Cleanest Burning: recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet
- Well-built
- Good flavor
- Great smell
- Burns clean
- Pricey
If you don’t want to see too much smoke, this should be your solution. After using, customers said that the recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet is clean-burning. This feature brings many benefits.:
Clean-burning can decrease air pollution because it emits fewer pollutants (nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter), which contributes to changing climate and affects your health negatively.
This feature is more efficient because it creates more helpful energy without wasting too much energy.
| recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 40 pounds |
Material | Wood |
Highlight Features | 100% natural A blend of red oak, white oak, and hickory hardwood |
The recteq Ultimate Premium Hardwood Grilling Cooking Pellet burns clean, so it is environment-friendly.
How To Choose The Best Pellet For Smoking Turkey?
What Kind Of Turkey Flavor Do You Like?
Mild Complementary Flavor
A turkey with mild complementary flavor has enough smokiness, but there is a lot of room for spices, sauces, and natural turkey flavor. If you love it, try one of the following pellets:
Maple
The maple pellet has a light and sweet flavor, bringing a broad appeal, especially your turkey will have a dark gold color after smoking a long time.
Cherry
The cherry wood can provide your turkey with sweetness and a deep and rich hue on its skin. You can enhance its flavor with marinades, rubs, or a smaĺl amount of other woods. You can try to add this type of wood with hickory for a greater depth of smoky flavor.
Pecan
The pecan wood which is usually used in meat smoking, can not only add sweetness but also smokiness, and sharpness to your turkey. Compared to other fruitwoods, this choice is more robust because of its deep flavor and subtle nuttiness.
Although this wood pellet is great for smoking turkey, it isn't a wonderful combination with hickory. Both of them are strongly flavored woods, so their mix will create an unpleasant sour harshness to your turkey. However, if you need a more robust smokey flavor, you can add a small amount of hickory shavings or mesquite after smoking.
Apple
Apple - a classic wood pellet comes with a sweet and fruity flavor, but it is more subtle than pecan and cherry. This flavor is so mild that you need to smoke your turkey apple pellet for a long time. During this time, you must monitor your turkey to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
Alder
This wood pellet comes with a mild and earthy flavor that doesn't overpower like oak, mesquite, and hickory. Thus, it is usually used to mix with apple or maple woods or tone down stronger woods.
Strong Smoky Hit
Although mild smoke is considered as the best choice for turkey, many people love strong smoky hits. Below are some of them:
Mesquite
The mesquite wood is intensely smoky, so few people love it. However, this type of wood pellet can add a brilliant color and rich smoky flavor into your turkey. I don’t highly recommend it for beginners because it is bitter and unpleasant.
Oak
This wood pellet is strong, but generic for smoking. The oak wood can complement savory sauces and seasonings or blend it with other fruit woods for tempering the sweetness. For example, a mix of oak and cherry can create a medium strength smoky taste.
Hickory
This is a greatly traditional smoking wood, but its flavor is pretty strong. Thus, you can combine it with fruitwood such as cherry or apple for a turkey with a rich smoky flavor and a deep brown coloring without overpowering taste.
Which Brands Make The Best Pellet For Smoking Turkey?
Kona
Kona, which was founded in 2014, aims to produce unique outdoor products. This brand is famous for high-quality pellets that are made from 100% Douglas fir wood because of their high BTU output and low ash content.
What are the highlights of Kona pellets?
They burn hotter and cleaner than others since they are manufactured with less ash and emissions while offering a consistent heat output. In particular, their products are free of additive and binding agents.
FAQs
Are pellets better than chips?
In most cases, wood pellets are better than wood chips:
The wood pellets can provide your food with better flavor because they are made from compressed hardwoods. Depending on your preference, you can choose a suitable choice among a variety of flavors. Pellets burn evenly, so it can disperse into the flavor more evenly.
The wood pellets are more versatile because they allow you to use them in many kinds of grills, including pellet grills, kamado grills, pellet grills, and charcoal grills.
The wood pellets can produce a slow, steady and continuous smoke that helps you cook food evenly with an ultra-tender texture.
You can control your cooking process better with wood pellets.
What is the best pellet flavor for smoking a turkey?
There is not the best pellet flavor for smoking a turkey because everything depends on your preference. However, you can try the following solutions:
Cherry Wood
The turkey's naturally bland and lean nature and the deep, rich, smoky cherry flavor of wood pellets can create a wonderful combination - a subtle sweet flavor, but it requires the right temperature, the right time. After smoking, your turkey will have a deep red color.
Alder Wood
Though alder wood is usually used for smoking seafood, this non-traditional choice can make your turkey more delicious.
Maple Wood
Maple wood can provide your turkey with a mild, sweet, and aromatic flavor. After smoking, your turkey will have a beautifully rich, golden color.
Apple Wood
If you love a subtly sweet flavor of apple, you will want to choose this fruitwood. The smoke isn't strongly aromatic, so it doesn't overpower the natural flavor of the turkey.
Oak Wood
This is a classic option for red meat, but it can give you an excellent result when applying on a turkey. Cooking your turkey for a short time with this wood pellet can create a rich and earthy flavor without needing sauces and sides.
If you mix this wood flavor with fruitwood, you can easily have a great sweet and savory outcome.
Hickory Wood
The hickory wood is the most versatile type for smoking because of a wide range of its complex flavors and aromas. It can create not only a good taste but also a rich and brown appearance. But, it's hard for hickory smoke to balance your turkey without being overwhelmed.
How Do You Keep The Turkey Moist In A Pellet Smoker?
To keep the turkey moist in a pellet smoker, you can baste it with chicken or vegetable broth before smoking every 1-2 hours.
Should I put a pan of water in my smoker for a turkey?
Although using a water pan isn't a must, it can bring many benefits:
If the weather is cold, a pan of boiling hot water can maintain the smoker temperature. It is useful because the smoker can't work well in a too cold environment.
Moreover, the water pan can prevent flare-ups by catching the drips.
But, the water pan can cause the high smoke chamber humidity, making the turkey skin rubbery.
How many pellets do I need to smoke a turkey?
If you smoke your turkey at 250 degrees for 30-40 minutes per pound, you need a 20 pound bag of pellets.
Conclusion
What are the differences between the best pellets for smoking turkey with other wood pellets? If you make the right decision, the former can provide your turkey with a better and more delicious taste.
