Newbie question about wood for smoking

JimF

Do people prefer wood chunks or wood chips for smoking?[p]At what point in the cook do you add wood for smoking?[p]Do you bury the wood in the charcoal or put it on top?[p]Do you soak wood chunks before using like you do for wood chips?[p]How do you make sure that the wood lasts for a long cook?[p]Thanks for any answers you can provide,
Jim

uncbbq

JimF,
Do people prefer wood chunks or wood chips for smoking?
Chunks, it seems, but both, really.
At what point in the cook do you add wood for smoking?
The beginning. Let the heavy smoke settle down.
Do you bury the wood in the charcoal or put it on top?
Folks do it both ways. You can get some "late smoke" by the fire burning into a buried chunk away from the started area.
Do you soak wood chunks before using like you do for wood chips?
Most here soak neither.
How do you make sure that the wood lasts for a long cook?
The first hour or so is the most important. Most people here seem not to add more smoking wood, but some do.[p]The bottom line: experiment and develop your own preferences. I don't think there's any magic way. The phrase "it's all good" is almost always true around here.

Why1504

JimF,[p]You should also try smoking pellets. Many competitive BBQ'ers use these. They are very easy to use and don't take up much space. Also, you can get lots of variety on flavors. These include mulberry, sassafrass and orange. Orange is great with shrimp. The pellets are available online, just do a search.[p]Personally, I use chips, chunks, and pellets. I mix them in the coal and rarely soak the chips.