Smoking meats on a Weber gas grill?

[nightlady]

Hsa anyone had good luck smoking a brisket on a weber gas grill? If so, how did you control flareups and how did you season the meat? How do yo know how hot your fire needs to be?

[Andy M.]

I cannot smoke on my Weber gas grill because I cannot maintain a low enough temperature. For smoking and slow cooking a brisket, the temperature should be around 225F.

[suziquzie]

I've found Weber has excellent customer service. I've never tried smoking on a grill, but my bet is if you sent them a note on thier customer service page at weber.com you would get some help.

[RPCookin]

Here you go!!!

I just made 2 racks of baby back ribs smoked on my Weber Genesis B. This is the method I used. I made a tray of heavy duty aluminum foil folded in 4 layers, about 1 foot long. Then I just turned on the front burner (of the 3), on high and put the smoker tray on the flavor bars under the grate right over the lit burner. I put some lightly wetted chips (not sure that the wetting is even necessary) in the tray and the ribs on the back half of the grate. To keep the temp down to about 220-230 I put a 10" landscaping spike under the corner of the lid to keep it open about 1/2 inch. I just watched the thermometer and added chips as needed for about 4 hours. All I can say is WOW!!!

I used a fairly generic rub of chili powder, chile molido, oregano, paprika, black and white pepper, and kosher salt, then finished with my own sauce.

I'm fairly impressed... embarassed to say it but I am.

[JillyBean]

DH has smoked on our gas grill too...not a Weber though, but I've seen it done on one of those fancy ones!

He uses 1 part wet to two parts dry wood chips. Make a foil packet, seal it up and poke holes in it to let the smoke out. He used one packet an hour (the packets were about the size of a hard-cover book). Our grill had two burners, one on each side. He lit one side and left the other cold. The packet goes directly on the lava coals and the meat goes on the rack on the cold side. Maintain about 250 and in four or five hours it should be done. Works really well as long as you keep an eye on your temp.

[JillyBean]

RP, the rub sounds goooood!

[Jeekinz]

Originally Posted by nightlady

Hsa anyone had good luck smoking a brisket on a weber gas grill? If so, how did you control flareups and how did you season the meat? How do yo know how hot your fire needs to be?

Just grill as you normally would, but add a foil packet or small smoker box of chips.

True smoking does not use a propane/gas grill, only wood.

[RPCookin]

Originally Posted by Jeekinz

Just grill as you normally would, but add a foil packet or small smoker box of chips.

True smoking does not use a propane/gas grill, only wood.

Maybe that's true for a purist, but those of us who haven't the money or the room for multiple cooking systems have to work with what we have. You'd have a hard time telling what I did today from ribs cooked over real wood. Not to mention that good hardwood is hard to come by here in the Rockies. All we have is pine, aspen, etc... have to make do with an alternate heat source and store bought hardwood chips..

And if I grilled as I normally would, it wouldn't work at all. The Weber gas grill just cooks too hot for smoking unless you work out a system. What I did works for mine, but might not work for all Weber grills, and certainly not for other brands. You just have to experiment until you find the right combo for your grill.

[breakawayfun]

It's a little challenging, but it can be done.
The key is in the prep work - The day before :
cover the brisket with a layer of yellow mustard
then press on your rub - if you can't make your own, Penzey's Spices offers excellent choices
cover the brisket in plastic wrap and fridge overnight.
take out your brisket for at least an hour before "smoking"
I purchased a steel covered smoker box vs. the cast iron version (approx $10 at lowes, HD etc. at the same time you can purchase wood chips (hickory works best for brisket)
Soak the chips for at least 30 min.
Put the chips in the box and directly on the primary flavor bar.
put the grates back on and fire up the primary grill - I found that "med. high" should get you to 250.
Put your brisket in a disposable roasting pan (fat cap up) & place on the grates over the side of the burners that are NOT on.
Adjust the primary grill to get to 225/250
Ever hour utilize a "mop" to moisten - 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 3/4 cup water & 2 tablespoons soy sauce.
Figure cooking of 7 to 8 hours. approx a pound per hour or 175 internal.

[Al Pine]

Originally Posted by RPCookin

Here you go!!!

I just made 2 racks of baby back ribs smoked on my Weber Genesis B. This is the method I used. I made a tray of heavy duty aluminum foil folded in 4 layers, about 1 foot long. Then I just turned on the front burner (of the 3), on high and put the smoker tray on the flavor bars under the grate right over the lit burner. I put some lightly wetted chips (not sure that the wetting is even necessary) in the tray and the ribs on the back half of the grate. To keep the temp down to about 220-230 I put a 10" landscaping spike under the corner of the lid to keep it open about 1/2 inch. I just watched the thermometer and added chips as needed for about 4 hours. All I can say is WOW!!!

I have used a very similar method to this on my gas grill, many
times. It works great. If you adjust the heat control knob for the
one lit burner to medium-high (or close to it) you may not need
to prop open the lid.