Trouble Generating Smoke With Smoker Box

[coldbrew]

Hi, I am relatively new to smoking with a gas grill, but with Meathead's book and instructions I have made pretty good pork ribs, whole chicken and a brisket once, but it lacks the real smoky flavor and smoke ring). My problem is getting a good supply of smoke from my smoker box. I have a Cavetools stainless smoker box that I use on a Weber Genesis 3-burner grill. I place the smoker box directly on the flavorizer bar that is on top of the only lit burner. I use Meathead's advice and do not soak the wood chips. With the burner on high, it takes a LONG time to generate any smoke, and once I turn down the burner to low (which gives me a grill temp of 230 deg), the smoke pretty much stops. I have also tried pellets which seem to work a little better.

Should I soak the wood chips? Should I put a wood chunk directly on top of the flavorizer bar? Should I put the gas grill in storage and buy a smoker? : ) Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. I don't have a gas grill and don't use a smoke generator, but some here use something like the Amazen Pellet Tube to generate smoke. You fill it with pellets and light it and it generates smoke as the pellets burn.

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana.

you just aren't going to generate a lot of wood smoke on a gas grill... most people on here subscribe to what meathead has said so I highly doubt anyone will tell you to forget that part and soak wood chips.

If if you are wanting heavy smoke flavor you need a stick burner.

[Max Good]

The problem with smoking on a gas grill is they are highly ventilated for safety reasons. Manufacturers want to insure the gas burners are never starved of oxygen and flame out while the gas keeps flowing under the lid. Hence no matter how much smoke you generate, most of it escapes the cook box quickly and doesn't get a chance to linger around the meat. Nothing beats a good, dedicated smoker.

[jgreen]

Welcome from Winnipeg. Sounds like we might be generating another cooker for coldbrew. Good luck resisting the MCS.

[EdF]

Ah, the process of creation!

[ecowper]

Welcome to the pit coldbrew ..... I'll echo what everyone else is saying .... because of the nature/design of a propane stove, you are not going to get a lot of smoke flavor. Smoke rings, and the good flavor we associate with BBQ, are the result of cold meat being exposed to the clean smoke from a hot fire. If the fire smolders, you get dirty smoke that gives you burnt meat and campfire flavors.

The good thing is you can achieve this sort of thing with something as easy and inexpensive as the Weber Kettle.

[coldbrew]

Thanks for the friendly welcomes and the insights. I've been happy with how the meat has cooked on the grill low and slow, but want what the smoke provides to make the food perfect. Two butts that I cooked to 203 deg were terrific even without a lot of smoke. I resisted buying a smoker until I knew this would be long term cooking. Guess I need to start researching what smoker will do the job without breaking the bank.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Three letters KBQ. Rob the bank if necessary.

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/smoker/karubecue-c-60-pit

[EdF]

I agree with my co-conspirator here!

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome coldbrew!

[kmhfive]

Welcome to fun and learning! I got a Weber kettle and SnS which I get great smoke flavor without breaking the bank…but I've also got a GMG Jim Bowie and I'm looking for a WSCGC… . Good luck with MCS!

[johnec00]

coldbrew Prior to getting an actual smoker, I used to get improved "smokiness" in my gas grill by inverting one of those disposable foil roasting pans over whatever I was trying to cook. Then I put a smoke generator under the "roofed meat". The a-maz-n tube smoker that was not available in those days might work pretty good. If you try it, don't put the smoke source directly under the meat, move the pan as far to one side as possible, and let the smoke go up into the empty part of the pan. If the smoke goes directly onto the meat, it will give you a creosote coating. Also, you'll need to punch some holes in the pan. This process worked pretty good for several years, but it's still not as good as a "real" smoker.

[bten]

This sounds like a technique that I want to try.

[coldbrew]

Hey johnec00, thanks for that great tip. I think I will give it a try until I commit to an actual smoker.

[Gilmore]

Definitely trying this!

[learning pellets]

I've had good results with Mo's Smoking Pouch (gold medal rated on this site) filled with pellets. Doesn't yield the results of my smokers but works well enough I take it on vacations to have smoke abilities when not at home. As stated above it's tough on gassers with there leaks by design but the pouch puts out a lot of smoke and work well with sprtizing to get that smoke flavor & ring.

[Elton's BBQ]

Well try this DIY; coldbrew

Gives some smokeflavor to your food on the gasgrill.

[Gilmore]

Oooh, just joined and this is right up my alley. I also have a weber genesis 3 burner and I've been experimenting with a couple of different things. I have one of the newer-ish Genesis models with the 3 burners running parallel with the grill grates. Be forewarned, I'm by no means an expert, but I'll try to share with you what I've found.

Setting the Gas
I only have one burner on (either far right or far left). I always have the burner adjusted somewhere between the lowest setting and half way depending on external conditions. If it's hot out and the sun is directly on the grill - it's on the lowest setting. Cold, shade, and wind - a higher setting. I'm sure you've seen or heard this a hundred times already, but a thermometer helps.

Smoker Boxes
I've tried 4 different things in this order and these were my experiences:

1. Rectangle box on the flavorizer bars above the burner
   • Didn't smoke well for me at all, couldn't get much smoke out of them.
2. Triangular Boxes from Home Depot that sit in between the grates
   • These produced lots of smoke with wood chips and chunks on the smaller side. If you're doing chunks, wrap the whole thing in foil and poke holes in it as needed. In my experience, these triangle boxes only last ~45 min to an hour or so and they take ~15 minutes to get smoking. So, what I did, was get two of them, and swap them or add chips to them every 30 minutes or so with a pair of pliers. Worked pretty well, and I probably should have left good enough alone... One thing I noticed with one box is that the food wasn't super smokey. Like someone mentioned earlier, gas grills leak tons of air by design, so you really have to get some thick smoke going if you want to taste it.
3. Foil Packets
   • Worked pretty good for me. I think I liked the triangle boxes a little better.
4. AMNPS
   • This thing gets such high praise that I absolutely had to try it. Plus, it's not crazy expensive. Every order I've received comes with a 10% discount code. PM me if you're interested and I can try to track it down to share with you. Anyways. First cook I did a tri-tip and the AMNPS was super easy to use, but the food didn't have much smoke. I think this was due to two reasons. The first, the food was only one for ~2 hours. Most smoked things are on for 4+ hours. The second is the air leaks again. Next time I used the AMNPS, I lit both ends and this created tons of smoke and I could actually taste the difference!

Long story short, if I was to go back in time knowing what I know and only buy and use one product, it would be the AMNPS. Also, if you think an electric smoker might be in your future, there's even more reason to buy the AMNPS because it supposedly works great for that.

[coldbrew]

[QUOTE=Gilmore;n363734][*]This thing gets such high praise that I absolutely had to try it. Plus, it's not crazy expensive. Every order I've received comes with a 10% discount code. PM me if you're interested and I can try to track it down to share with you. Anyways. First cook I did a tri-tip and the AMNPS was super easy to use, but the food didn't have much smoke. I think this was due to two reasons. The first, the food was only one for ~2 hours. Most smoked things are on for 4+ hours. The second is the air leaks again. Next time I used the AMNPS, I lit both ends and this created tons of smoke and I could actually taste the difference!

PM sent

[texastweeter]

if using a gas grill for longer smokes, I put away my smoke box, and make a BUNCH of aluminum foil pouches of wood. they each usually last about 30-45 minutes. I change them about every 45minutes to an hour. Like everyone else said, for HEAVY smoke flavor, gotta get a dedicated smoker though.