Smoke with a gas grill

Currently I grill with a kettle type propane gas grill with a single circular burner toward the middle of the grill. I like the convenience of the gas grill, but miss the smoke flavor of the charcoal grill. Is there any way to increase the smoke while cooking with gas?

Sure! Soak a few hickory chips in water, beer, or other suitable liquid for 30 minutes. Wrap them in aluminum foil. Poke a few holes in the foil for the smoke to escape. Lay the pack on your lava rocks.

Longmill

HI,

I am new to the art of smoking with an electric water smoker. The manufacturer is CharBroil. Do the wood chips get placed directly on the heating element on the bottom? How do you know the amount of wood chips to use? I appreciate the help.

Flyer

I have a 3 burner Charbroil gas grill. I soak my chips for one hour and the grill is set up so you can set the burner box or foil pouch right atop the burner to get it smoking.

After smoking for awhile though some chips catch fire. Am I running it too hot? This occurs at around medium. Should I set it to low? Does it matter?

I've seenthe suggestion as well you can just set one or 2 chips unwrapped right on the burner plates. Is this better or wouldn't they just catch fire too?

Please advise. I'd love to try some smoking with my gas grill.

Thanks for the reply....Sounds simple enough. I'm looking forward to giving it a try over the weekend.

One thing to keep in mind...the burning of propane gas naturally produces water vapor in the grill(water vapor permiates the air in the chamber.) this "humidity" makes smoke penetartion of the actual flesh impossible. the suface will have a slight smokey flavor,but
the subcutanious meat will NOT have that deep smoky flavor that is desirable in true BBQ.
Charcoal WILL produce the desired effect.

I agree that cooking with charcoal creates much more smoke than propane. I originally grilled with charcoal, but have since moved to a condominium with a wooden deck. So for safety reasons I had to go to propane. After reading the replies about using hickory chips soaked in water, wrapped in a foil pouch, I thought I'd give it a try. The results were unbelievable. I've never seen that much smoke from the grill before. In fact, many of my neighbors offered to come over for dinner. It is my intention to by all of Steven's books (one at a time). I know that after reading some of the posts the books will be well worth the investment.


Thanks for the reply....Pete

Pete, how long did it take you to get that much smoke, and what temp. was it at? I've smoked a little on my weber gas grill, but never gotten a whole lot of smoke. I've got enough to make it noticable, but would like lots like you described.

Tex...I let the temperature climb to high heat...about 450 to 500 degrees and put the double wrapped foil pouch (with holes in the top) containing the soaked wood chips directly on the flame. Started to get smoke after 5-10 minutes (approx). I didn't really pay too close attention to how long. I started cooking and lowered the heat. Keeping the lid down as much as possible to let the smoke build. I Have a smaller sized kettle type of grill with a single burner that does the job okay. Wish I had a weber with multiple burners. It would make it a lot easier to experiment. Good luck, Pete.

Tex..sorry I didn't realize that I forgot to log in for my reply to you. I replied as a guest. Pete

Hi! I have been using my gas grill to mesquite grill steaks with excellent results. that friends rave about. I have a 4 burner "Cook On" grill. It doesn't have provisons for smoking, and the briquette holder gets in the way of the smoke box I bought when I am cooking direct. So I modified Steves method a bit.

I make my foil packs so they will fit on the burners without blocking the holes for the gas. Then I place them directly on the burner. After the grill is started, and it is at the right temperature, the smoke is pouring out, and I throw on the meat. I hope that this helps!

ranger one wrote:

Hi! I have been using my gas grill to mesquite grill steaks with excellent results. that friends rave about. I have a 4 burner "Cook On" grill. It doesn't have provisons for smoking, and the briquette holder gets in the way of the smoke box I bought when I am cooking direct. So I modified Steves method a bit.

I make my foil packs so they will fit on the burners without blocking the holes for the gas. Then I place them directly on the burner. After the grill is started, and it is at the right temperature, the smoke is pouring out, and I throw on the meat. I hope that this helps!

Sounds like it works pretty well for you. I know that when I use the foil smoke packs they generate quite a bit of smoke. I found that what works best on my grill is to make sure that the grill is on high heat and kept that way until the smoke starts pouring out. After that I am able to lower the fire, and still create a lot of smoke. Then I start to grill the food. Never thought a gas grill could make that much smoke. I can get significant smoke for about an hour, then it starts to reduce.

Pete

stovetop armadillo wrote:

One thing to keep in mind...the burning of propane gas naturally produces water vapor in the grill(water vapor permiates the air in the chamber.) this "humidity" makes smoke penetartion of the actual flesh impossible. the suface will have a slight smokey flavor,but
the subcutanious meat will NOT have that deep smoky flavor that is desirable in true BBQ.
Charcoal WILL produce the desired effect.

OK - I'm new to this, but wouldn't a propane grill used as a smoker have similar water vapor characteristics as a pan of water in a water smoker?

I always thought that the "humidity" effect would pull the smoke on to the food, and the moisture would act as a basting process, causing penetration of the smoke flavor. Maybe some of the more experienced could shed some light on this.

Most bullet style and upright smoking chambers have water pans. I use water while smoking and have never had a problem the penetration (of course a 'real man' would never admit having this problem). I've smoked chicken, beef, and pork using this method and the meat has a wonderful smoke ring. It is my understanding that the water is responsible for maintaining a more consistent heat and keeping the chamber from overheating.

Smoking with water has always worked well for me but after reading about some mods for my smoker, I think that next time I will experiment with sand in the water pan instead, to see if thermal mass improves the temps.