How to Make a Gas Grill into a Smoker
Making a Gas Grill into a Smoker
In case you’re eager to enhance your barbecue skills, it’s probably the perfect moment to give that grill a few advancements! Should you possess a collection of basic outdoor cooking tools, transforming your gas grill into an exceptional smoker is quite straightforward.
All you need is a metal tray or sheet-metal pan, some charcoal or wood chips, and a little patience. A simple modification will transform your gas grill into a smoker, with the benefits of both types.
In this blog, you will learn how to make the change yourself with this step-by-step guide thoroughly, with how each part of the process is completed.
How to Make a Gas Grill into a Smoker?
Here are the steps on how to convert a gas grill into a smoker:
Step- 1
Get the right metal tray or metal sheet pan and use it for this project. Place it on your gas grill in place of the original tray for grilling, with only its tip sticking out slightly above the burners. You will fill it later with water and the wood chips that you will need to create smoke.
Step- 2
Once you have your metal tray in place, fill it with water. Note that the tray sometimes prevents you from opening the gas grill’s lid all the way. So, make sure to have a long-barrel barbecue lighter ready to light an open flame under the water container when needed.
Step- 3
Light three to six charcoal or wood chips. You can use briquettes, hardwood sawdust, or even oak cubes. Place them on top of the water in your tray and let the burners heat them for about a minute before placing them on top of the grate guard (make sure to cover the flames with a sheet of aluminium foil).
Repeat this process every 20 to 30 minutes throughout the cooking period until you have burned all your wood chips.
Step- 4
Place your food on the grill grate and close the lid. The cold smoker will create a lot of smoke, so you don’t want to be around it for very long. Add the wood chips to the water in your tray before placing your food on the grill grate (do not use too many wood chips; you should not be able to smell them after five minutes).
Step- 5
Let the food smoke until the cut sides of the ribs are golden brown, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. You can baste it with wood chips during this time if you like (basting keeps the meat moist). If you want to cook it longer, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you do not leave your smoker unattended.
Step- 6
Give it a final baste with wood chips and then remove your food from the grill grate. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Important Note: The “How to Make a Gas Grill into a Smoker” procedure is only for starting. Once you have mastered this technique, you can move on to these next steps.
If you want to smoke with charcoal or wood chips, then you will need something like this. It is called the Big Green Egg and it’s an egg-shaped cooker with an oven on top that can be used as a smoker (there are models without the oven as well).
Even if you are an expert griller and want a different “flavour” for your food, you can still put it in the oven and smoke it with wood chips (smoking preserves food longer).
What equipment and materials are required to convert a gas grill into a smoker?
Well, these are just the basics but there are a lot of special materials and accessories you can use. First of all, there are charcoal cubes. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on their purpose; you might want to get some that have been soaked in water.
Then you will need an aluminum pan or tray that is big enough to contain your charcoal basket. You also need a long-barrel barbecue lighter to light the charcoal. And last but not least, if you intend to use wood chips, you will also need an aluminum pan or tray so that the chips can catch the smoke.
Once you have all these materials, it is a piece of cake to make your gas grill into a smoker.
What precautions do you have to take while converting a gas grill into a smoker?
Always remember that you need to be extremely cautious when dealing with fire. You can get burned badly or even cause a fire if you are not careful. Many beginners have ended up with nasty burns because they put their hands too close to the grill when it is on fire.
As for smoking, there are a lot of different woods out there and each one gives your food a different taste. As a general rule of thumb, you should use oak and hickory to smoke meats and pork, respectively. They are the most common woods that are used for smoking food.
You can smoke with wood chips as well, but they require the use of a special smoker like the one above. Applewood chips are another option as well. Any wood with a nice aroma and soaked in water is perfect for smoking food.
Conclusion
That’s all for this article. Now you get how to make a gas grill into a smoker on your own. If you know something else about it or want to share something with our readers, please comment below. Thank you for reading!