Using wood chips, or wood chunks, is a great way to add delicious smoky flavor to your food, and either will provide great results.
The big difference is that chips burn more quickly than chunks.
If you plan to add just a handful or two of chips for a light smoke over 20 minutes or so, then the burn rate is not a real issue.
If you want to smoke your food for an hour or more, it might be more convenient to use chunks. Depending on their size and the amount of air getting to the fire, they will burn that long, or even longer.
It's usually a good idea to soak chips (not chunks) in water for at least 30 minutes before adding them to the fire to help keep them from going up in flames. Just be sure to drain the wood of water first so you don’t extinguish the fire.
Click here to learn how to use wood chips/chunks in a charcoal grill.
Click here to learn how to use wood chips/chunks in a gas grill.
Click here to learn how to use wood chips/chunks in a smoker.
Click here to find our recommendations on which wood to pair with which type of food.
You can find our wood chips, wood chunks, smoker box, and cedar planks here.
