If you are an avid griller then you already know the reason for using barbecue wood chips. But many people have no idea what the big deal is about woodchips.

Wood smoking chips take your grilling to a whole new level. They can be used not only in a smoker, but on a gas or charcoal grill, as well. There are special smoker boxes that can be placed in your gas and charcoal grills to add real wood smoke flavor to your meats. There is nothing better then BBQ meat that has been cooked or smoked with BBQ woodchips.

Wood smoking chips or BBQ woodchips are available in a wide variety of flavors. They go from mesquite and hickory all the way to cabernet. Tomorrow there will likely be at least twenty more flavors of BBQ woodchips. But remember that barbecuing is all about the meat. If you don’t have a good piece of meat, there is no woodchip made that will make your meat taste any better. Make sure your meat or chicken is fresh and from a reputable butcher.

When using a small smoker in your grill you don’t necessarily have to soak your BBQ woodchips first. Although soaked woodchips allow your chips to burn longer, if you are cooking a steak you don’t need your BBQ woodchips to burn for a long time.

The stores that sell BBQ woodchips will have flavor guides to help you wade your way through the new age of woodchips. The lighter the meat type, the lighter the flavor woodchip you need to use. But it also doesn’t hurt to experiment and try mesquite with chicken, just begin with fewer woodchips then you would normally use.

The alder woodchips should be used with seafood and pork. Alder is a mild flavored BBQ woodchip. The fruit woodchips are also mild and are best used with poultry, veal and pork. The fruit woods consist of apple, cherry and other fruit BBQ woodchips. Maple BBQ woodchips are a strong flavor and are best used with beef, pork and poultry.

Hickory is another strong woodchip and is best if used with beef, pork and poultry. Beef, duck and lamb go well with the strong mesquite woodchips, and oak, another strong flavor, is good with beef and ham.

So the next time you decide to grill a great piece of meat consider using some of these BBQ woodchips and taste the great flavor and aroma coming off your grill.