Real BBQ flavor comes from the smoke produced from using real fruitwoods and hardwoods. The flavors in smoked foods come from the sugary resins contained in fruit and nut woods like, Apple, Alder, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Mesquite, Oak, Black Walnut, Pecan, Orange etc. As the wood burns in the BBQ grill or smoker, the wood, if burned incompletely, gives of unique flavors in the smoke. These flavoring compositions coat the meat in the smoker an begin to be absorbed into the meat. As time passes on the meat absorbs these flavors deeper inside as it cooks. Now you end up with a meat that is slow cooked to be tender and flavored by the fruit wood resins.
Charcoal, gas, or electric BBQ grills provide heat but do not provide the delicious flavor from using natural wood. The first BBQ grilling was done with real wood fires and the flavor was great. Then as people moved into the city, as a matter of convenience, charcoal was substituted because it was lightweight. In the 1960's the gas grill was invented and it was more convenient than charcoal. It took people a while to realize that there was really no difference in taste between food grilled over charcoal and food grilled over a gas flame. People are now starting to realize that what was left behind, for the sake of convenience, was the real barbecue taste that only real wood smoke can provide. The SmokePistol™ and the GrillKicker™ are now bringing back the real barbecue flavor in a convenient way.