How to Use Mesquite Wood Chips for Grilling

Use mesquite wood chips for grilling for a deliciously smoky flavor.

A smoker is no longer necessary to cook deliciously smoked meat. Cook with your grill and use mesquite wood chips for grilling. By soaking the wood chips thoroughly, you prevent them from burning inside the grill. Instead, the damp wood chips will smoke as they heat up inside the grill, creating a tasty smoke that will flavor your meats gently as they cook inside the closed grill.

Things You'll Need

• 1 lb. Mesquite wood chips
• Bucket
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Flat surface
• Sharp knife
• Grill
• Meat

Instructions

1. Place the mesquite wood chips into a bucket. Add water to the bucket to cover the wood chips. Soak the wood chips for one hour, and then drain the water completely.

2. Place a double layer of aluminum foil onto a flat surface. Pour the soaked wood chips onto the aluminum foil, and wrap the foil tightly around the wood chips to seal them.

3. Remove the cooking grate from the grill. Heat the grill. If you are using charcoal, light the grill while the wood chips are soaking so the charcoal will be ready to grill when the chips finish soaking. If you are using a gas grill, light the grill and preheat it on high for approximately five minutes.

4. Make two to three slits in the top of the aluminum foil pouch with the knife to allow smoke to escape from the pouch.

5. Place the pouch directly over the charcoal or the briquettes at the bottom of the gas grill. Replace the cooking grate over the aluminum foil pouch.

6. Add the meat to the cooking grate and lower the temperature on the grill to medium (if using a gas grill). Close the grill cover.

7. Cook the meat with the grill cover closed to allow the smoke from the mesquite wood chips to permeate into the meat as it cooks.

8. Flip the meat as desired and monitor the cooking process until the meat finishes cooking. Remove the meat from the grill. Turn off the grill or close the ventilation holes (for a charcoal grill).

References

• Grilling Recipes