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Step 1
Know the difference between wood chips and wood pellets. Chips are simply bits of wood while pellets are compressed sawdust. Both are designed to burn slowly, releasing flavor and smoke and are suitable to use when barbecuing.
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Step 2
Recognize what type of wood is used for barbecuing. Some popular varieties are cedar, hickory, oak and fruit woods such as apple wood. Each will add a distinct flavor to your food, so don't be afraid to buy different varieties and experiment with barbecues.
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Step 3
Choose a lighter, fruity variety of wood such as apple wood when smoking fish, pork and poultry.
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Step 4
Select an all-purpose wood such as hickory or oak to add a good, smoky flavor to meats, fish and poultry if you're not sure what to use for these or other kinds of meats.
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Step 5
Buy some wood chips or pellets that have been coated with different flavors like mesquite and whiskey to add interest to the basic smoked flavor of the wood chip.
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Step 6
Experiment with different foods and wood chips when barbecuing. Meat is always a safe choice as it's best known for the smoky flavor, but fish, veggies, breads or virtually anything you can imagine can be smoked with wood chips to add interest to the flavor.
