There are lots of woods used for barbecue.  Whether you use a gasser, charcoal or straight wood, I think it’s pretty widely accepted that wood flavor in the food is part of what people think of when they think ‘barbecue’.

The Virtual Weber Bullet site has a great page on wood here.

If you’re using a gasser, then you’re probably using either a foil packet or a wood box.  For this, you’ll use wood chips soaked in water or beer to produce smoke.  This works really well for a gasser, and gives a lot of flavor.  If you’re using charcoal, then chunks are a good choice for smoking or grilling.  Since the pieces or wood are bigger, soaking isn’t necessary.

I happen to like to use logettes, though if I switch to a stick burner (all wood smoker), I’ll use logs.  I get my wood either at Hawgeyes Barbecue or Bob’s Cooking Wood.  I get chunks from Hawgeyes, but switched to mostly logettes from Bob’s.

I have found what I consider my favorite wood by trying different woods with different foods.  I find that I like pecan with about everything.  In fact, I plan on getting a whole tree in Georgia this year to haul back to Ohio.  I’ve used other woods, but I like pecan with everything I’ve used it on, including fish (though I usually plank cook fish).

Wood is just another seasoning, and like any seasoning, too much can be added.  If the food turns out bitter, it’s likely that it’s had too much smoke thrown at it.