Smoke on a Gas Grill
Create a two-zone indirect heat setup
The key to your smoking success (no matter what type of grill you’re using) is the ability to control your temperature for a long period.
You won’t want your temperature to go above 300°F or expose your meat to direct flame.
For a gas grill, that means preparing a two-zone indirect setup.
The grill will have a “hot zone” and a “cool zone,” hence the name.
To do this, you will have at least one burner turned on, providing heat while your food is cooking on the opposite side via the ambient temperature in the cooking chamber.
A water pan is optional but serves two purposes:
The water acts as a heat sink, stabilizing the internal grill temperature
Adds humidity to the cooking chamber throughout the cook
The water pan helps keep the temperatures inside your grill stable by absorbing heat.
Don’t worry, it doesn’t steam your meat! Because it’s not hot enough to boil, it acts more as a temperature regulator.
The water absorbs heat and helps minimize fluctuations in temperature.
The moisture also mixes with the smoke and propane combustion gases, creating flavors you cannot get with smoke alone.
But this is important to note: You are not steaming the meat! Steam can make the meat mushy and destroy meat flavors.
If you keep the oven temp at 225°F, the water should not boil because the surface area will allow evaporation that will cool the water, keeping it below 212°F.
Hard to believe, but true. If the water is boiling, you are running hot. Turn it down.”
If you have a two-burner grill, you can only have one burner on and the other off.
If you have more burners, you have different options to get the right temperature.
Here are some configurations you can try if you are using a four-burner grill:
Setup 1 On Off Off Off
Setup 2 On Off Off On
Setup 3 On On Off Off
The idea here is to experiment with the heat controls and the number of burners while measuring the ambient air temperature on the other side, where your food will sit.
Once you’ve found a configuration that can hold steady between 225 – 250°F, you can go back to that setup time and again.
It’s important to remember that there are other variables to consider.
Your grill will act differently in the summer than it will in the winter, if it is windy outside, or even if it is raining.
Bottom line, you really do need to experiment with your grill and try different options before you can understand how to maintain your desired cooking temperature.
Monitoring grill temperature
The built-in thermometers on propane grills are ok in a pinch, but they’re not always as accurate as you need them to be, especially when you are smoking and want to keep the temperature nice and stable.
It may surprise you to know that they are commonly off by as much as 100°F!
That’s not very helpful when we’re trying to maintain a steady low temperature for barbecue.
To make monitoring temps easier on yourself, we recommend using a quality digital thermometer.
How to make smoke on a propane grill
So far, we’ve covered how to configure your propane grill for smoking, but how do you produce smoke?
For smoke flavor, you’re going to have to combust wood inside your grill using wood chunks, wood chips, or wood pellets.
While some high-end gas grills come with a built-in smoker box, most of us will need another option.
Luckily, there are some neat toys you can pick up that will help you turn your grill into a smoker.
Wood chips, wood pellets, and wood chunks all have their pros and cons
Some options require a cheap accessory, but we’ll also give you a DIY approach that doesn’t require any gear.
Pellets and chips can’t be simply placed on top of a burner since they need to be deprived of oxygen to smoke. To do that, there are several accessories you can use.
1. Create smoke with a pellet tube
Pack this bad boy with smoking pellets, light one end with a lighter or blowtorch, and lay it on the grill grate, and it will burn for up to 4 hours.
That’s a heck of a lot easier than replacing wood chips every 30 minutes.
The smoke generation is nice and steady, and they are easy to clean up.
These tubes are so good at creating smoke that people with dedicated smokers often add them as well to get a little extra smoke.
They come in different sizes depending on how long you want to smoke, but the 12″ is a good option for most uses.
Another popular option if you like to use wood chips is the simple Smoker Box; a stainless steel box you can fill with wood chips and place directly over the burner.
Smoker boxes take dry wood chips vs. soaked wood chips, causing a more natural and even smoke.
People soak wood chips for DIY smoker packets so they don’t catch fire and give off dirty smoke, but a smoker box doesn’t have holes in the bottom, which prevents proper oxygen flow for ignition, causing the chips to smolder steadily in the box.
2. Make an aluminum foil pouch
If you don’t want to shell out any money for a pellet tube or smoker box, then there are a couple of simple options that are probably already kicking around in your kitchen cupboards.
You can make a pouch out of heavy-duty aluminum foil and fill it with either pellets or wood chips, poke holes to allow oxygen to get in and out, and you’re good to go.
Likewise, you can try placing wood chips or pellets in a disposable aluminum pan and placing it on top of your burner.
This is controversial, but you’ll most likely want to soak your chips for 30 minutes beforehand to prevent them from catching fire.
They’ll start to smoke on the burner after 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Place hardwood chunks directly on the burner
This is about as simple as you can get. Get a chunk of hardwood set right above the burner and let it smoke away.
Hardwood chunks placed directly over a burner can produce smoke
The placement can be a little tricky, as you don’t want it to be in direct contact with the flame, causing full ignition, but if it’s not close enough, it won’t burn.
You can wrap the bottom in heavy-duty aluminum foil and set it closer to the burner flame to get good, steady smoke, but just be sure the chunk doesn’t come to full flame, which would overheat the cooking chamber and cause possible damage.
How to smoke on a gas grill: step-by-step instructions
Getting your gas grill set up for smoking isn’t complicated.
The first time you do this, get everything ready beforehand and cook something simple like chicken wings, ribs, or pulled pork so you can focus on nailing your grill setup.
So get your food and any sauces or rubs ready, and make sure your smoking wood or pellets are handy.
And lastly, you want to make sure you have a good supply of propane. Nothing worse than running out and having to rush to the store halfway through a 6-hour smoke.
Have at least half a tank of propane for shorter cooking times like ribs or chicken. For longer cooks like brisket or pork butt, having at least one full tank is highly recommended.
Step 1: Light your propane burner to medium heat
Turn on the burner that is on the far left of your grill and set it to medium heat. If using a digital thermometer, insert it now and close the lid.
Monitor your temp until you reach your desired cooking range, typically around 225°F – 250°F.
Give your grill time to preheat and get to your desired heat. If you quickly overshoot your desired temp, turn your dial down.
If after 20 minutes you are still only at 180°F, turn up your dial-up.
If you’re having a hard time getting your grill to 225°F – 250°F, you may have to consider turning on additional burners if you have them.
This may seem tricky, but once you’ve played with your grill a little bit, you will know where you need to be to cook at your desired temperature.
Step 2: Add your wood
Once your grill is preheated, it’s time to add your wood.
Make sure you use a pair of heavy tongs or a pair of high-heat gloves to remove the grill grates to gain access to your wood.
Place a chunk of hardwood, a tinfoil pouch, or a tray of wood chips/pellets directly over your burner.
If using a pellet tube, pack it with pellets, use a lighter to light one end, and place it on your grill grate.
Once you see wisps of smoke, it’s time to place your food on the grill away from the heat.
Step 3: Get smokin’!
Place your meat on the opposite side of your grill, away from your lit burner, close your lid, and you are good to go! Keep an eye on your temp and adjust your dial accordingly.
Depending on what you’re cooking, you may need to add more wood before the meat is done, especially if using chips. Check periodically and add more accordingly.
Tips for smoking on a gas grill
1. Don’t oversmoke
If this is your first time smoking meat, one word of caution: don’t use too much wood. It may be tempting to use half a bag of wood chips, but trust me, there is nothing worse than over-smoked meat.
You’re better off just using a half cup of wood chips or pellets, or a single small chunk of hardwood, your first time around.
After you’ve cooked your meal, you can decide if you would like more smoke flavor or not. If you think your meat could have been a little smokier, just remember to use a little more wood next time.
2. Use the right type of wood
Anytime you’re cooking with wood, it’s good to keep the types of wood in mind. The same goes for smoking on a gas grill.
Whether using pellets, chips, or chunks, you’ll want to experiment with different types of wood depending on what you are cooking.
While the importance of matching the wood type with certain types of meat is exaggerated, there are some good principles to keep in mind.
3. Plan how much space you will need
Remember that you will have significantly less grill surface to work with than you are used to.
Depending on the size of your grill and the number of burners, you might be limited to 50% or less of your total grill surface.
Final thoughts
Now you know how to set up your gas grill for smoking, you’ve got no excuse not to go and make some delicious barbecue.
