From a grill to a smoker
- Thread starter pacanis
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Ask-A-Butcher
Senior Cook
Nice ribs, Jeekinz
Jeekinz
Washing Up
You'll be fine with the packet. But if you get hooked, don't say I didn't warn ya. 
I picked up some wood chips yesterday, mesquite and hickory. They are also getting apple and cherry in (I love that hardware store, they have everything).
So, on the bag it says make a foil pouch, poke some holes in it, but it says to leave the chips dry..... It says to place it ON the grill.
If I am going to place it under the grate, on top of the flavor bars.... is that why it was mentioned to soak the chips? How long would I soak them for?
Tomorrow I'm going to try some short ribs. I ran into a recipe for them while trying to find the answer to this small dilemma. I don't have any of the ingredients in the recipe, but I've got the gist of time and method.
So, on the bag it says make a foil pouch, poke some holes in it, but it says to leave the chips dry..... It says to place it ON the grill.
If I am going to place it under the grate, on top of the flavor bars.... is that why it was mentioned to soak the chips? How long would I soak them for?
Tomorrow I'm going to try some short ribs. I ran into a recipe for them while trying to find the answer to this small dilemma. I don't have any of the ingredients in the recipe, but I've got the gist of time and method.
Uncle Bob
Chef Extraordinaire
Pacanis said:
There are two schools of thought about whether to soak or not to soak flavoring woods.
Always has been, always will be. If I were to use the foil pack method, I would leave them dry. (They are not going to flame out and burn up) If I were to place them directly on the charcoal/coals then I would probably soak them for 30 minutes to an hour. (Odds are they would flame out and burn up)
Another idea for gas grills, other than the foil pack method. Use a cast iron skillet or a metal pie pan, and place about 8 or 10 lit charcoal briquettes inside. Sprinkle your "soaked" wood on the briquettes, and place the skillet/pan anywhere inside out of the way.
Thanks for the reply, UB.
Your method with the charcoal in a pan sounds like you would have the smoke instantly, which seems to make sense. The bag of chips that I have said not to put anything on the grill until you have smoke.
At any rate, how long does the smoke last? Whichever way I go, do I need to have backup chips at the ready if I'm going to try smoking something for 5 hours?
Your method with the charcoal in a pan sounds like you would have the smoke instantly, which seems to make sense. The bag of chips that I have said not to put anything on the grill until you have smoke.
At any rate, how long does the smoke last? Whichever way I go, do I need to have backup chips at the ready if I'm going to try smoking something for 5 hours?
Uncle Bob
Chef Extraordinaire
Pacanis said:
How long the smoke will last has to many variables to give a definative answer. If you are using the foil pack method (wet or dry) I would suggest having a couple of back ups ready to go. If you use soaked wood on charcoal then have some back up also..It's just wood, and if you don't use it...it will not hurt. Also, I doubt you will need flavoring wood for the entire cooking process. After the first couple of hours, the meat has all the smoke flavor it needs anyway. Too much smoke will turn the meat black and make it taste bitter. In the beginning ere on the side of too little smoke rather than too much!
Have Fun!!
Jeekinz
Washing Up
Now look what you made me do! lol
Hey, where's the end results Jeekz?
I tossed mine on 45 minutes ago. Had the grill heating up before that and the foil pack of chips on top of the grill grate, left dry and directly above one of the lit burners, 15 minutes before that. So how much "smoke" is there supposed to be? I can barely smell anything different before the smell of the cooking meat hits me. I don't see any smoke either. And when I opened up the bag of wood chips I expected to be hit with a liquid smoke kind of smell, but could barely smell anything. That's the smell when I open the grill lid, something's different, but it's certaiinly not smokey smelling
Sure it's blowing 40 mph here and I can't see 200 yards over most of the time, but my grill is fairly secluded on a porch.... Should I wad up some foil and plug the two rotisserie holes on either side of the lid?
I tossed mine on 45 minutes ago. Had the grill heating up before that and the foil pack of chips on top of the grill grate, left dry and directly above one of the lit burners, 15 minutes before that. So how much "smoke" is there supposed to be? I can barely smell anything different before the smell of the cooking meat hits me. I don't see any smoke either. And when I opened up the bag of wood chips I expected to be hit with a liquid smoke kind of smell, but could barely smell anything. That's the smell when I open the grill lid, something's different, but it's certaiinly not smokey smelling
Sure it's blowing 40 mph here and I can't see 200 yards over most of the time, but my grill is fairly secluded on a porch.... Should I wad up some foil and plug the two rotisserie holes on either side of the lid?
Jeekinz
Washing Up
Hey, where's the end results Jeekz?
I tossed mine on 45 minutes ago. Had the grill heating up before that and the foil pack of chips on top of the grill grate, left dry and directly above one of the lit burners, 15 minutes before that. So how much "smoke" is there supposed to be? I can barely smell anything different before the smell of the cooking meat hits me. I don't see any smoke either. And when I opened up the bag of wood chips I expected to be hit with a liquid smoke kind of smell, but could barely smell anything. That's the smell when I open the grill lid, something's different, but it's certaiinly not smokey smelling
Sure it's blowing 40 mph here and I can't see 200 yards over most of the time, but my grill is fairly secluded on a porch.... Should I wad up some foil and plug the two rotisserie holes on either side of the lid?
You need to place the pouch as close to a burner as possible. Directly on top of the flavorizer bars is recommended. Leave the cooking grate directly above the pouch OFF so you can change out the pouch easily while cooking.
Too late.
I didn't soak the chips, so I figured on top of the grill would be better, where the instructions on the bag said. I opened the packet up this morning and they are a little darker.... like something was happening. I think I'm going to toss them on top of the deflector today just to see what happens or if they catch on fire. Live and learn.
I didn't soak the chips, so I figured on top of the grill would be better, where the instructions on the bag said. I opened the packet up this morning and they are a little darker.... like something was happening. I think I'm going to toss them on top of the deflector today just to see what happens or if they catch on fire. Live and learn.
Jeekinz
Washing Up
Soaked or not, they need to be close to the heat source. They won't catch on fire because there's next to no oxygen.
Here's the smoker box I was talking about.
