Turning a cast-iron grill into a smoker
I have a Char-broil gas cast iron grill. This is one of the style where the flame is under cast iron pans filled with lava rocks rather than cooking the food directly. Works great for when you don't want to bother with charcoal. But I digress.
My question is: I think this type of grill would make an excellent smoker, and has anyone tried doing so before?
- were you able to keep it at the right temperature? How?
- how much wood chips did you use? Did you soak them?
- did you try to seal it to keep the smoke in? again, how?
Best Answer
You can use a gas grill for smoking and indirect cooking. Run the burner on one side of the grill, and place the food on the other. Wrap wood chips in foil, poke a few holes in it, and place the foil pack over the active burner. You can soak the chips if you like. I've never seen much point in that, myself. The water evaporates rather quickly, and you're back with dry chips. Better to limit the oxygen supply to the wood so it will smolder, and place the smoke pack somewhere so that it does not have too much heat applied to it.
It absolutely does matter what kind of wood you use. Avoid soft and sap-laden woods like pine. Stick with hardwoods or fruit woods. Hickory is often paired with pork. Apple and cherry are used ubiquitously. Oak is strong, but imparts an interesting flavor. Mesquite can be too powerful for some people -- I personally use it for grilling, but never for smoking.
Finally, be aware that you are going to have some limitations with your gas grill. It neither holds nor convects heat in the same manner that purpose-built smokers and some charcoal grills do. You are more likely to have hot and cold spots on your grill, so you will need to examine what you are cooking each hour and adjust accordingly if necessary. You will also not get nearly as much smoke to your food, so you will also have to adjust how much wood you use accordingly (though many people make the mistake of too much smoke in their barbecue, so a gas grill's limitation in this regard can be a benefit).
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Can I turn my grill into a smoker?
You can also slow things down and use cast iron to bake in an indirect heat environment like on your smoker or grill set up for two zone cooking. The options at this point are seriously endless!How To Turn Your Grill Into A Smoker
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Answer 2
Any cooker with a lid that mostly closes the BBQ will work as a hot smoker. It doesn't have to be a perfect fit for hot smoking
Just add something that smokes with the radiant heat. Place it under the grill to the side, or on top of the grill if there is room. A crushed up bunch or tea tree or lavender twigs works fine. If the smoke runs out, add another bunch
Any wood will do, it doesn't need to be "fancy smoker chips" *. It doesn't need to be soaked or fiddled with in any way. Wood with nice smelling sap/oils seems to be better, but experience tends to indicate that any old wood will do
For temperature regulation, just concentrate on cooking correctly and safely. The smoke will do its magic regardless. You generally need more than ten minutes in smoke to make a decent impact, but for thin cuts or soft flesh fish you can do it in less
- Referenced from Nathan Myhrvold talk promoting Modernist Cuisine
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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