Only use hardwoods such as hickory, mesquite, oak, pear, apple, cherry, or peach. Never use soft woods like pine or spruce as they have noxious resins and pitch that will ruin the flavor or your food. Dried grapevines are also excellent for grilling, but the flavor is too intense for lamb. Wood chips should be soaked in water for an hour before spreading them over the ready coals. When using a gas grill, spread the chips directly over the lava rocks.
Herbs can also do great things on the barbecue.
At gourmet shops you can buy bundles of dried basil stalks to use for grilling, but if your basil is lush in your garden, you can save lots of money by drying your own stalks. Fresh herbs can also be used. Use fresh rosemary to skewer scallops. Weave sprigs of fresh thyme into a London broil steak or lay fresh sage leaves on top of pork chops. Herbs that drop onto the coals, accidentally or intentionally, will give a lovely aroma to the cooking area as well as to the food.