Hey guys, I just signed up today. I have a question about wood chips. New Year's Eve I smoked a beef tenderloin for the family. I marinated it in olive oil, thyme, rosemary, basil, dijon mustard, etc... I used some merlot wood chips (I know it's not traditional, but I wanted to try them) with a metal smoker box I put on the grill rack above the burner. The tenderloin was great, but when I was cleaning up I noticed the wood chips were just charred. Is this normal or should I be cleaning a pile of ashes from the smoker box? :roll: