Transforming Your Grill Into A Smoker Is Almost Too Easy

If heaven has a chow hall, it surely smells like the inside of a Kansas City barbecue restaurant – no other smell is quite so divine as wood smoke mixed with slightly charred meat. Smoking meat at home might seem like it's out of reach for mere mortals, since few have the space or permission to dig an enormous fire pit in the backyard, but the bar to entry isn't nearly that high. Even apartment dwellers can use a stovetop smoker (which should be much safer than a grill on the balcony), but if you have access to a yard or patio and own a charcoal grill, Adam Truhler, aka The Grilling Dad, says you're halfway there.

Truhler tells The Takeout that he often uses a charcoal kettle grill for smoking ribs, pulled pork, and brisket (which is a meat that's not so good when grilled, but tastes amazing if you smoke it). As he explains, "The food is absolutely delicious and the setup is very simple." All you need to do, he says, is create a hot zone by tightly piling the coals on one side of the grill, taking up no more than one-fourth of the circumference, and close the top vents on this side while keeping them open over the coal-free area. The latter side, he says, provides indirect heat for cooking. As for the smoke, this is provided courtesy of wood chunks that you soak in water for 30 minutes before placing on top of the coals.

If you have a gas grill instead of a charcoal one, it's possible to use this as a smoker, but Adam Truhler says, "I don't find it to be nearly as straightforward or effective as smoking food on a charcoal grill." If you still want to give it a try, he says the grill will need at least two burners and three or more would be even better. For the hot zone, light one burner and leave the rest off. It's also best to remove the grill grates over the lit burner if possible — they won't be needed since the meat goes on the unlit side.

Speaking of wood, Truhler says with a gas grill, you'll need to use chips (also pre-soaked) instead of chunks. These won't go directly on the coals, but will need to be contained either in a bowl that you cobble together out of aluminum foil or a smoker box that sits on the heat deflectors above the burner (Truhler cautions that it needs to be in place before the burner is lit since otherwise, you'll be in for a painful experience). If the smoker box has a cover, he says to leave it off. Once you've filled the box or foil bowl with wood chips, light the burner and set the temperature between 225 and 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to maintain this temperature throughout the smoking time and periodically replenish the wood chips as well.

If you're grill-less but looking to purchase one, Adam Truhler has stated his preference for charcoal over gas for smoking purposes. He also advises choosing one with a surface at least one and a half times the size of the food, since this allows sufficient room for a cool zone. "Other than that, where there's a will there's a way," he says. That being said, if you plan to do a lot of smoking, you should probably step up to an actual smoker grill. Not only do the latter tend to be larger so you can cook more meat, but as Truhler explains, "There is a distinct difference between the flavor of smoke that comes from a smoldering fire and one that comes from a more fully combusting fire like that on an offset smoker." In his experience, he tells us, "The smoke flavor produced by an offset smoker is unbeatable."

As for what kind of smoker to start with, Truhler advises, "If you're busy and nervous about messing up, get a pellet grill." The downside with a pellet smoker, though, is that the smoke flavor won't be as intense as that produced by charcoal. A charcoal grill, he says, would be best "if you think grilling and smoking is a long-term hobby for you." Not only will you get better-tasting meat, but you'll learn how to master the fire to produce different flavors.