# From a grill to a smoker



## pacanis (Feb 7, 2008)

Here's the inside of my Ducane propane grill. It's a four burner (front to back) and great for indirect grilling. At least I think so. I've cooked some pretty good ribs and chicken on it this way by only running the outside burners. As most of you know... I _love_ this grill  Should have bought it years ago, but even on the lowest setting it can still get pretty hot for cooking some foods. Nothing a higher rack wouldn't cure. So that's the gist of my grill.

So how would I smoke food on it?
My thoughts (to dispute because I know nothing about smoking) is that the wood chips need to sit over a flame (with water?) to get them "going". I'll assume directly on a couple of heat deflectors that you can see. So where does the food go? Would that go directly over the pan the chips are in on the grate above? So in effect the meat is also directly above the flame? Or off to the side? Or on a higher rack I could set inside the grill?

Looking for the ABCs of smoking without having to buy a smoker.
Man, was it really that clean?


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

I can use one of my propane grills as a smoker too. Not really a smoker per se. Mine has 3 main burners. For indirect, I leave the center burner off and use the 2 outside burners on med-low depending on what I'm cooking. The last time I used this method was on 3 7# beer can chickens, all in one shot. For those, I kept a temp of 350-375 deg and used about 2 handfulls of Hickory chips. 

My grill has a smoker tray with it's own burner. I place small lump or chips that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes or so. You can also use your favorite ale to soak the chips in. Keep in mind, the chips are only used as flavoring....kind of like a spice. Too much can be a bad thing. You'll have to play around to see what kind of flavors you like.

For anyone without a smoker tray, soak 1-2 handfulls of wood chips and place them in an aluminum foil pouch. Use heavy duty foil or 2 ply regular foil. Poke a few holes in the top of the pouch and place on top of your burners. In 4 minutes you'll have smoke.


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

Looking at a previous thread, you have the Ducane Affinity 4100?  The best pic I could find of the "smoker attachment" is a long tray that looks like it's mounted to the rear of the grill.  All you need to do is use the indirect method like you have been doing and put some soaked chips, not lump in that tray.  The rear burner will get the smoke going.


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## Ask-A-Butcher (Feb 7, 2008)

You have some good advice from Jeekinz, so I really can't add much.

Smoking is indirect cooking away from the heat. So putting your food on the top grate is a good idea. If you can get it to the right (in that pic), it would even work better.

As far as your grill getting too hot, I'd suggest purchasing some firebricks or use a pizza stone, put them over the fire and they will act as a heat sink to keep the temp down. 

Smoke? Depending on what you are smoking, use the foil paks as Jeekinz suggested, when one runs out, replace it with another. You shouldn't need any more smoke anyway. Meat will take on smoke until it reaches approximately 140° internal temp and after that it's just a waste of time and wood chips.


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

BTW - Those angle grates below the cooking grates are the flavorizer bars or heat deflectors. Do not cook on top of those, but that would be where the foil pouch would go.

My grill tends to be on the hot side as well.  I just use one burner then.  Just worry about the internal temp of the grill.  Your basically turning it into an oven.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2008)

It's a Ducane Affinity, but I don't remember which model... no back burner.
Foil pouch... great idea. I thought I had to buy one of those Emeril things he uses on the stove top, like a rectangular pan with a lid that slides. I didn't think about soaking the chips first.

So you suggest putting the pouch on one side, over one or two heat deflectors/flavorizing bars, then putting the meat on the other side. Good. For some reason I thought it had to be over the heat. Probably from watching Alton Brown make a smoker out of a flower pot and a hot plate 

Is the lid thermometer good enough or do I need to measure the temp right where the food is setting? Something like 225F, if I remember reading that somewhere right?

I'm looking forward to smoking something! Food that is


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

First off, does your grill have the "Smoker Attachment" the Ducane site states?

If not, use the foil pouch method.  The pouch will need to be placed above a lit burner. 

BRB..............


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)




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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2008)

Pretty nifty dwg.

Here's what I read from Ducane's site: "Some models include side burners, and the top-of-the-line has it all featuring our patented Rotis-A-Grate® rear rotisserie burner with rotisserie and smoker attachment."

Mine mustn't be a top of the line Affinity because it does not have it all (side burners, rear rotisserie, smoker attachment). If it had had it all, I probably would not have boughten it at the time because I would have felt it was overkill. I've had grills in the past with side burners and the only time I think I ever used one was to light a cigarette when I smoked 

I'm going to go back over some recipes I've seen here and give it a whirl when the temps even out. We've had some real up and down stuff here lately and I'm sure it would affect the burner settings for a steady smoking temp.

Thanks for all your help.


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

Pacanis, you can't compare your gas grill to a smoker in terms of cooking. All you need to do is set it up like the picture shows, the smoke only flavors the meat, not cooks it. 

It doesnt matter if the pouch is in there or not. The heat source is the burners.

I've done ribs the past 3 Saturdays on my Chargriller and had no problem keeping 225-250 degrees using only applewood. Wind can be a problem. Doing it on a gas grill is a walk in the park. "Set it and forget it."

If you have enough room, leave off the grate like your picture while your cooking so you can easily swap out the packets.

If you need to buy chips, Lowes and Home Depot sell bags of them.  I would recommend a smoker box.  It's a steel box that replaces the pouch method.  You'll see them near to the grill accessories.  I think they cost $7.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Pacanis, you can't compare your gas grill to a smoker in terms of cooking. All you need to do is set it up like the picture shows, the smoke only flavors the meat, not cooks it.


 
You kind of lost me there....
I thought the item you are smoking cooked from the heat of the burner(s) rising up through the wood chips and distributing throughout the enclosed area. I see now you have the other burner lit that doesn't have any chips above it, but obviously adds indirect heat.
So you're saying that smoking meat, fish, whatever... doesn't really cook the food? 

When I do ribs I set them over the two UNLIT burners in the center, have the two outside burners lit and cook them indirectly.
If I was to add smoke packets over the two outside burners I'll assume that be considered smoking them.... Would that not also be cooking them?
Is it only a terminology thing I'm missing here?


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## Jeekinz (Feb 7, 2008)

pacanis said:


> You kind of lost me there....
> I thought the item you are smoking cooked from the heat of the burner(s) rising up through the wood chips and distributing throughout the enclosed area. I see now you have the other burner lit that doesn't have any chips above it, but obviously adds indirect heat.
> So you're saying that smoking meat, fish, whatever... doesn't really cook the food?


 
Using both outside burners allows even temps.  If you were to use a kettle, you would make a pile of coals on opposite ends of the base of the grill.  The chips need to be placed directly above a heat source.  



pacanis said:


> When I do ribs I set them over the two UNLIT burners in the center, have the two outside burners lit and cook them indirectly.
> If I was to add smoke packets over the two outside burners I'll assume that be considered smoking them.... Would that not also be cooking them?
> Is it only a terminology thing I'm missing here?


 
That is the correct method.  But the smoke is only flavoring, it doesn't add or take away from the cooking temperatures.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2008)

Gotcha. I didn't mean to imply that it was the smoke that did the cooking. I knew it was only there for the flavor.
Now... what to do for my first smoke.......


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## Ask-A-Butcher (Feb 8, 2008)

pacanis said:


> Gotcha. I didn't mean to imply that it was the smoke that did the cooking. I knew it was only there for the flavor.
> Now... what to do for my first smoke.......



Baby Backs? Salmon? Chicken Thighs?


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2008)

Can you smoke shortribs? I have a bunch of those from a front quarter I got in the fall. I've been holding off doing anything with them...


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## Uncle Bob (Feb 8, 2008)

Pacanis...Why don't you think about quartering a chicken, 2 breast quarters, 2 leg quarters, or maybe to make it even easier...just 4 leg quarters. It's delicious, it's easy, and it's very forgiving. Also it's cheap. If things don't go just right the first time you aren't out a lot of $$$. Take your first few times out to get aquainted with your cooker. Learn what it will do, and what it want do. After each cook make notes about what you did exactly!! Also, What went right, what went wrong? What you liked, what you didn't like etc?

  Mostly, Have Fun!!!


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2008)

Leg quarters did come to mind. Aside from wings (just had some last night) I haven't done chicken on the grill in a while.
I'm going to see what I can rustle up at the hardware store today as far as wood chips go. That's where I got my grill and they have a lot of stuff I never paid attention to before, but I know I saw wood chips.

I have to wonder why they make dedicated smokers if you can smoke foods on a regular grill....


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## Jeekinz (Feb 8, 2008)

pacanis said:


> I have to wonder why they make dedicated smokers if you can smoke foods on a regular grill....


 
Because your doing what's called "Grilling" and adding smoke flavor.

This is smoking......you cannot get these results on a gas grill.
The firebox is off to the side next to the cooking area. 100% wood.  True BBQ.


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Because your doing what's called "Grilling" and adding smoke flavor.


 
Well, shhh. Don't tell anybody.... 
I can hardly see what you're cooking through all that _smoke_!


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## Jeekinz (Feb 8, 2008)

I started out like you with the chips and a gas grill.....hanging my head with despair.

I bit the bullet and bought a smoker. Never looked back.

Here's a closer look at it


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2008)

I hate it when my mouth starts salivating at 9:30 in the morning 

Great pic!


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## Ask-A-Butcher (Feb 8, 2008)

Nice ribs, Jeekinz


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## Jeekinz (Feb 8, 2008)

You'll be fine with the packet. But if you get hooked, don't say I didn't warn ya.


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## pacanis (Feb 9, 2008)

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.


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## Uncle Bob (Feb 9, 2008)

Pacanis said:
			
		

> 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?


 
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.


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## pacanis (Feb 9, 2008)

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?


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## Uncle Bob (Feb 9, 2008)

Pacanis said:
			
		

> 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?


 
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!!


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## pacanis (Feb 9, 2008)

Wonderful! I can't wait til tomorrow!


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## Jeekinz (Feb 9, 2008)

Now look what you made me do!  lol


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## pacanis (Feb 10, 2008)

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?


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## Jeekinz (Feb 10, 2008)

pacanis said:


> 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.


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## pacanis (Feb 11, 2008)

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.


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## Jeekinz (Feb 11, 2008)

pacanis said:


> 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.


 
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.


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## pacanis (Feb 11, 2008)

Thanks for the additional info!


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