In the age of instant gratification, your best bet for purchasing just about anything is on the Internet, smoking chips included.

Where to buy smoking chips online

If you are an online shopper, I recommend choosing from the selection of Wildwood Grilling smoking chips. There are six flavors available (Hickory, Maple, Apple, Cherry, Alder, and the Northwest blend).

Now, if you just can’t wait to fire up that smoker and shipping by land, sea or air is not quick enough for you, there are several other options. Smoking chips can be found in grocery and hardware stores, kitchen supply centers, BBQ stores and specialty food stores.

What to look out for when buying smoking chips

When shopping for smoking chips, typically, price represents quality. Smoking chips that are all wood and exclude pieces of bark have most likely gone through a kiln-drying process to assure the eradication of pathogens, like fungus and bacteria.

Heat-treated wood is still fairly inexpensive, although it is not necessarily the cheapest. Let’s face it though: we are dealing with wood chips here and the point of wood chips is to be burned up, so use clean wood and avoid any off flavors that can come from the burning of impurities.

Patience is key to smoking food successfully, so never rush it. Wood chips certainly won’t expire so stock up and have some standing by for the next time you decide to get that smoker rolling again.