While you can burn just about anything to smoke your food, wood is the most commonly used material.

There are two main ways you can use wood when you barbecue.

1. As the main fuel source – The combustion of the wood produces heat, while also imparting a smokey flavor to your meat. Building a fire with logs in an offset smoker is an example of using wood as the fuel source. Pellet smokers are another example of using wood as both the fuel and the source of smoky flavor.
2. As the source of smoke flavor – while using another fuel source such as gas or charcoal. Examples of this include placing wood chips in an electric smoker or adding some chunks of wood to your lit coals.

The wood you use to add smoke flavor to your meat comes in many shapes and sizes, such as chips, chunks, or logs. The best way to use these different forms of wood will depend on your situation.