For Better Grilling, Try BBQ Wood Chips

There is nothing better then BBQ meat that has been cooked or smoked with wood chips. If you are an avid griller then you already know the reason for using barbecue wood chips. However, lots of people don’t have a clue why this product is so popular.

Wood chips are very small pieces of wood that are added to your BBQ to create smoke. If you’re not already using wood to cook your food, the only way you’re going to get true smoke flavor is to add wood to your grill fire.

Using BBQ wood chips can send your grilling into the stratosphere. Whether you use a charcoal, gas or electric grill, wood chips will give you authentic barbecue flavor. There are special smoker boxes that can be placed in your gas and charcoal grills to add that special wood smoke flavor. Read the instructions for your particular grill before you try doing this.

When you use wood chips, take care to keep them burning quite slowly. This creates intense bursts of smoke that can make food bitter. If you soak wood chips in water for about 15 minutes before you use them, you’ll slow down their burn and make them smoke more. Make sure you let the wood drip dry for a few minutes before you add it to the fire. Ideally, your wood chips will be damp but not saturated.

When using a small smoker in your grill you don’t necessarily have to soak your BBQ wood chips first. Soaked wood chips will burn longer, but if you’re cooking a steak, you probably don’t want a long, slow grilling.

Wood chips are available in a large range of varieties that cater to all tastes. You can try cabernet, hickory or mesquite. The stores that sell BBQ wood chips will have flavor guides to help you wade your way through the new age of wood chips.

In general, the lighter the meat, the milder the wood chip you need to use. You can also try “heavier” flavors with lighter meats, though, such as using mesquite with chicken, but start with fewer wood chips.

If you choose alder wood chips, these are great to use with pork or seafood. The flavorful fruitwoods go best with veal, poultry and pork. Fruit woods include apple and cherry.

Maple and hickory BBQ wood chips have a strong flavor and are best used with beef, pork and poultry. Lamb, duck and beef also are great meats to use with mesquite wood chips, while beef or ham go well with oak wood chips, which is another strong flavor.

But remember that barbecuing is all about the meat. A substandard cut of meat is not going to be improved significantly by the wood chip you use. Make sure your meat or chicken is fresh and from a reputable butcher.

Don’t settle for just a plain old grilled steak or bland chicken breast cooked on bare coals - cook like a pro and enjoy the vibrant aromas and flavors that come from cooking with BBQ wood chips.

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