Preparing the wood is also important. If the product that you are smoking is large or dense in structure and you want the flavor to penetrate more deeply inside you may want to moisten the wood by soaking in water, sherry or juice. You will find that when using juice such as apple cider that the sugar content will cause the product to color to a rich even phase more quickly while still allowing the pours or the product to stay open to accept a deeper penetration. It is not advisable to use this moistening technique with thin or small products as the smoke flavor may become over bearing and the character and integrity of the product lost.