left over wood?

No worries.

Unburned wood isn't an issue. You can leave it in there so it can complete the next time. Some people even add a piece of charcoal to try and get some smoke ring.

Just do a search on wood, in the owners section and you'll get lots of topics.

How much wood is purely subjective, but start with less than you can think, it's hard to eat oversmoked food.

David,

Unlike some other Cookshack users, I seldom, if ever, get too much smoke - that is the flavor I am hunting for. On short smokes we may have half of the wood unburnt and on long smokes, like for a brisket or large butt only ashes will be left, so don�t worry about the end pieces, just put in enough wood to get the flavor you are looking for. I found that it is the TYPE of wood that will make it bitter or over smoked. I don't use oak or mesquit at all and seldom use hickory. If I want a medium flavored but well smoked flavor, we use pecan, orange or apple. If looking for lots of smoke, but mild flavored, red bay wood or alder it the best. For what it is worth! If I just wanted a hint of smoke flavor, we use our Cameron�s pan smoker on the grill or in the oven, but it won�t come close to our Cookshack. It�s all in the individuals taste.

Smokemullet

Let me know if you need some plum wood. Some workers cut down a plum tree by my house and I took a nice 6 foot long 8 inch diameter piece for myself. I can MPS a section of it to you. Shoot me an e-mail with your address if you want some.