How to Get Charcoal Flavor With a Gas Grill
Charcoal smoke imparts flavorful tones to barbecued meat, making it the preferred cooking method of many grilling purists. Gas grills effectively cook meat with more even temperatures than charcoal but--by themselves--fail to pass on the smoky flavoring to meat. Using hardwood smoking chips in conjunction with gas grills, outdoor cooks can achieve charcoal-like barbecue flavors. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Gas grill with multiple burners
- 2 lbs. hardwood chips of choice
- Large plastic mixing bowl or bucket
- 1 gallon water
- Gas grill smoking box, or 3 feet of heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Meat or poultry of choice
- Dry-rub seasonings
Instructions
-
Prepping Meat and Hardwood Chips
-
1
Apply dry-rub seasoning to the meat the night before cooking and allow it to sit, draped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. This allows the seasonings to absorb into the meat, curing it.
-
2
Dump the wood chips into the bowl or bucket and cover with water, allowing the chips to soak for at least an hour prior to cooking time.
-
-
3
Ignite the gas burner on one side of the grill, leaving all other burners off. Pre-heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
4
Place a handful or two of the saturated wood chips inside the smoker box or in the center of the aluminum foil sheet. If using foil, fold it over the wood chips several times to fashion a foil pouch and create a dozen or so vent holes in the pouch with a fork.
-
5
Place the smoker box or foil pouch on or near the lit burner underneath the cooking grate.Close the grill lid and allow the box or pouch to heat until the chips start to billow smoke.
The Grilling Process
-
6
Place the cured meat on the cooking grate above the unlit side of the grill and close the lid.
-
7
Reduce the gas so that the cooking temperature drops to between 200 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
8
Check the hardwood smoker box or foil pouch every 30 minutes to ensure smoke continues to flow. If smoking ceases, add more wet chips.
-
9
Use a meat thermometer to check cooking progress every hour or so.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Low heat, slow cooking times and lots of smoke are key to imparting smoky flavor to meat.
Whole chickens and roasts can take several hours of cooking with indirect low heat of about 200 degrees Fahrenheit combined with wood smoke. Consult a grilling cookbook or Web site, such as Steven Raichlen's BarbecueBible.com, for suggested cooking times based on meat type and weight.
Always use fire-resistant cooking mitts when putting chips into the grill or handling hot grates.Be sure to handle meat with long grilling-style cooking tongs to avoid burns. Use only chips from hardwood trees. Pine and other coniferous woods contain oils that cause a nasty flavor and transfer toxins to the food.
