Soulive
Well-Known Member
How can I do it? I have the 24" (roughly) wide Weber charcoal grill. Can I use that to smoke some pork butt? I'd also like to do pork tenderloin, fish, and chicken. I'm a noob with this stuff...
Try this forum: Smoking Meat Forums There's a ton of information here. I use my 3-burner gas grill by removing the grate on one side and wrapping hardwood chunks in foil and placing the foil wrapped packets directly on the metal burner shield. I only use that burner on low to produce temps of about 275F and place the meat on the far side. I smoke whole chickens for about 4 hours and a pork shoulder for about 10 hours (if I remember correctly). You'll need a digital probe that I also use for brewing. Some hard core meat smokers will insist that you need a dedicated smoker but my grill works great. Good luck!
I tried this once. It worked ok. Here's how I did it:
Pile all your charcoal on one half of the grill. Hang a piece of heavy aluminum foil from the middle of the grate to keep the heat indirect. Start the fire (preferably NO lighter fluid). Keep the airflow to a minimum by closing the vents almost completely. Once the fire is stabilized, throw a few good sized chunks of hardwood on it. Put the meat on the side opposite the fire, and try to keep the temp low (no more than 250°F for pork butt) without snuffing the fire...that's the hard part!
I'm fairly certain I've read about folks keeping the fire completely contained in a chimney when smoking. A little Googling is probably in order to see what that technique entails.I usually use a chimney to light my coals. I don't know if that will hurt the situation...
I'm fairly certain I've read about folks keeping the fire completely contained in a chimney when smoking. A little Googling is probably in order to see what that technique entails.
I'm lucky I have a double grill BBQ so I can fire up one side and cook on the other. Great for joints and parties.
This site has some good info also
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/grilling101/smoking.aspx
I also like like this one
http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/
Resurrecting an old thread here, but...
Soulive, did you follow up on any the suggestions here? Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheaper charcoal smoker? I see BGE results and they look fine, but I'm really only testing the water at this stage!
I tried this once. It worked ok. Here's how I did it:
Pile all your charcoal on one half of the grill. Hang a piece of heavy aluminum foil from the middle of the grate to keep the heat indirect. Start the fire (preferably NO lighter fluid). Keep the airflow to a minimum by closing the vents almost completely. Once the fire is stabilized, throw a few good sized chunks of hardwood on it. Put the meat on the side opposite the fire, and try to keep the temp low (no more than 250°F for pork butt) without snuffing the fire...that's the hard part!
+1 on this. It's how I use to do it untill I got a smoker. Keeping the fire low but still going always was a chore tho.
so you just toss in a few more brickets when the fire gets low? is that the plan?
ps: i'm up for buying a smoker, as my grill is only the 20" one and a bit small for this way of smoking. any adivce? simple little $80-$90 deal will do the job or save pennies for a BGE?
I would add more coal that was ready and burning to the fire if needed. I had a metal bucket I had poked holes in, and I would use that to get the coals ready and hot. If you just throw coal on the fire with out getting it lit first it makes your food taste funky.
I would get a basic vertical smoker, they have electric ones that you can use whatever kind of wood chips you want with.
I use a 55 gallon barrell drum smoker. The nice thing about a 55 gallon barrell drum is the mini weber grill fits perfectly in the bottom. I get the mini weber packed full of coal until I can just barely still fit the top grate on. Then when the fire is red hot I put a big pan of water on the top grate. 6 inches from the top of the drum is where the grill grate from regular sized weber sits and holds all the meat. Then of course lid on top of that. I'll get a picture of it posted here as soon as I find one.
So I light the extra coals in a second chimney or something, and when they are hot, I pile them in?
yep, thats what i do.
I'm going to buy a charcoal smoker. Brinkman or something, about $80. What possible harm can come of it?
I'm going to buy a charcoal smoker. Brinkman or something, about $80. What possible harm can come of it?
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