You can easily make a smoker out of a gas grill. Many people will not think that it is possible to smoke on a gas grill but the process is very simple. You just need a few items and you are going to fine with the smoking instructions. Now we have to say that the smoker that can be formed out of a gas grill is not going to be as good as a dedicated smoker but it is going to be good enough for you to get smoked food. It might not be the best smoked food but it is going to be decent.
Smoking Using Two Zones
This is a good method that can be used for grilling as well as smoking the food. It is known that smoked food takes a lot of time to cook in a slow manner. The two heat zones can be made possible in a big grill with more than 2 burners. One zone is said to be hot where you can sear the food you want. On the other hand the cold area can be used for indirect grilling the food. You can use this setting to smoke the food too since you are going to use the two zones to create smoke and to slow cook pretty easily.
The main goal here is to get as much smoke as possible out of the smoking tools. The direction of a smoker is also necessary for the cooking process. You are going to place the water pan and wood in the hot zone and the good food is going to go to the cold zone. Now there are many tools that you can buy in the market to make the process a little more easier and time saving but if you do not want to spend any extra money then we have got you covered. You dont need to spend any extra money. Just go with the old traditional method. It is going to take some time but it is going to be worth saving a few bucks.
Smoking Tools
Here are a few things that you need to know when you are smoking. You can smoke without the tools but the tools are going to make it much more easier for you. If you are someone who has not done this before and have no idea about smoking then you have to go and get the help of the smoking tools. Here are a few tools that you can buy for the process. Take a look.
A Box Of Smoke
Smoker box is known for the smoke that they can produce out of the wood pellets without burning them. If you have the money then invest it in a smoker box. They are not that expensive because it is just a metal box with some holes on the top. You are going to get a lot of smoke from the wood when they start to smolder. When the wood is not burning it becomes to smoke even more and this is what we need when we are smoking. The holes should be big enough to let smoke go through them. Smoker boxes comes in two varieties.
- The in-built smoker boxes that are attached to the side of the grill grate. This is going to be placed at the top of the own burner.
- The free standing smoke boxes are the ones that can be placed anywhere on the grill. You can place it over the grates or under the grates. There are also V-shaped models that are meant to sit in between the bars.
These are things that you want to look out for when you are buying a smoker box. There are many smoker boxes that can be found in the market. Some of them are good and most of them are not good. Take a look at the necessary features of the smoker box for it to be good.
- Metal. It should be used for construction.
- A lid should be present for easy addition of wood.
- There should be a means of prevents the ash from getting out and then sticking to the good food.
Disposable Smoking Tray
If you do not want to buy a smoking box then here is an alternative option for you. Aluminum serving tray is going to be the best to be used as a smoking tray. There is no need to replenish the wood so often when you are using the aluminum tray. You have to fill it with wood chips. There is a rumor going around that you need to soak the chips before you can use it but we are breaking the myth. There is no need to soak the wood chips prior to smoking.
Cover the tray with foil. Poke holes in the foil. Now place the pan on top of the burners. It should be at one side of the grill. Then put the grates in and turn the burner on high heat. The chips should start producing smoke soon and you can adjust the temperature according to your needs then.
Foil Pouches
If you do not want to buy a smoker box and you have no aluminum tray then the best you can do is get aluminum foil. It is important to note that this is not a tool but rather a third option that is not meant for beginners. This can be a little bit tricky to handle and a newbie might not be able to handle it. We are just adding it in the list here for the sake of knowledge. This method is going to burn the wood fast so you might get less smoke and you will need a number of these pouches to get the cooking process complete.
You should take a number of foils and place them on a flat surface. Then put the wood chips in the foil and then enclose them completely. You would want to poke some holes in the foil so that smoke can come out. Make sure to poke them on only one side of the foil. Then place it in the grill and replace them. After every 45 minutes.
The Primal Approach To Cooking
There is no tool or make shift tool involved in this kind of cooking. You can just go ahead and put a chunk of wood on the burners. It can be easy to create smoke in this manner but you have to clean it after you are done smoking and it is going to be a tiresome task.
Water Pan
A water pan should be used so that there are no sudden fluctuations in temperature and you are going to get a lot of moisture to prevent the meat from drying out. Fill the water pan with water but don't fill it up completely. Then go ahead to place it over the direct heat source. To prevent steaming you should keep the temperature of the oven under 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
Conclusion
That's all that we have for this article. We do hope that you have been able to follow the methods in which you can use a gas grill to smoke. For someone who does not have a lot of space or a lot of budget to buy a dedicated smoker, this method works fine enough. It is also pretty easy to make use of the simple gas grill to smoke the food of your choice. We have made it as simple as we possibly could. Even as novice can understand how to do it. You can buy the extra tools if you want or you can just make one with aluminum foil. Have a good day. Take care of yourself and happy smoking!
