Food-grade hardwood sawdust makes excellent material for barbecue pellet fuel.
Traeger pellets are hardwood sawdust compressed into small, cylindrical sections about the size of rabbit feed. These pellets, as well those from other manufacturers, serve as fuel for Traeger and other brands of pellet barbecue grills. They are made out of sawdust from food-grade hardwoods. In addition, Traeger pellets can also be burned as fuel in pellet stoves and pellet basket inserts in fireplaces and wood stoves. You can buy bags of Traeger pellets at hardware stores, home improvement centers and barbecue stores, or you can make your own barbecue pellet fuel at home.
Instructions
1. Select hardwood sawdust from wood that would make desirable barbecue fires such as oak, hickory, mesquite, apple or cherry wood. Make sure the sawdust contains no chemical preservatives or insecticides that could contaminate food. Ensure there are no pebbles or dirt in the sawdust.
2. Set up the pellet mill and turn it on. Wait for the metal dies inside to heat up. Place a plastic bucket below the chute.
3. Feed small shovelfuls of sawdust into the hopper of the pellet mill. As the metal dies compress the sawdust into pellets, will eject out of the chute and into the plastic bucket.
4. Let the pellets cool after they land in the bucket. They will be hot from contact with the metal dies. Turn off the pellet mill after it has processed all the sawdust into pellets. The pellets are now ready to burn in a Traeger grill or other pellet-burning appliance.
5. Store cooled pellets that you do not use right away in sealed bags. Store the bags in a dry location.
