Pellets made only from pecan shells

[Michael_in_TX]

I ran across this today: https://smokinpecan.com/products/pec...42569989554354

They are pellets but made from 100% ground and compressed pecan shells; no wood (and no binders or fillers or additives).

I am a huge fan of pecan. I won't use anything else on chicken, especially. I am very curious. I might pick up a box.

Initially, I thought now wait a minute....burning the shell of a fruit is very different than burning the wood of the tree, but it may not be. Wood is primarily cellulose and it seems that pecan shells are that as well.

The reviews seem quite positive. The reviews that report far more smoke than traditional pellets do give me a bit of pause. Dirty, intense smoke has its place, but one can have too much of a good thing. Would my pork butt come out tasting like pecan pie?

Still, kinda cool.

(I did have to laugh at this entry in their FAQ. Dear people of the world, could we please stop trying to eat everything? lol.

)

[N227GB]

I've smoked with chips I hacked up from coconut shells with good results.

Posted from my phone.

[RonB]

If the smoke flavor if all pecan shell pellets is too strong, maybe you could mix some in with your regular pellets. This might be a way to get the exact smoke profile you want.

[Michael_in_TX]

Now that is an idea. Would also have them last a bit longer.

[au4stree]

I tried them in my pellet cooker about a year ago. Maybe I got a bad batch, but they bound up my auger and or were mostly dust, pellets didn't want to stay together. I have no complaints on the flavor, I resorted to finishing them off in the smoke tube.

[Michael_in_TX]

That also occurred to me with the no binder thing. "Purity" is one thing, but the product needs to hold together. Ambient humidity can only do so much.

[Uncle Bob]

They do have a binder, of sorts, just like any other wood fiber. It's the natural resins in them that get heated in the extrusion process which makes them act like a glue.

[texastweeter]

I use pecan shells from our orchard all the time when grilling. They will be great

[barelfly]

I think The Flat Top King - Pellets & Pits - has been using pecan pellets the last few months. If they are the same, he speaks highly of them.

[MBMorgan]

Just remember that pecan trees are merely a fruit-bearing variety of hickory ... so you should expect very similar flavor from their respective smoke. As far as pecan shells being used to make pellets, I'm dubious. I wonder if the shells possess sufficient lignin (the natural "glue" that binds pellets together when compressed).

[texastweeter]

Hickory bears fruit too.

[MBMorgan]

Whatever. I'll put it this way, then: All pecan trees are hickories but not all hickories are pecan trees.

[johnec00]

I've been using those pecan pellets in my A-Maze-n smoke generators for several years. They work fine and I like the smoke flavor.

[CandySueQ]

Added to fuel pellets, these are great! Straight for fuel in a pellet cooker, not so much, for reasons stated above.