How to Use Smoker Box On Gas Grill – Complete Guide

If you love and use a gas grill, then this is no reason to deny yourself the preparation of delicious smoked meat or seafood. A smoker box is an affordable and easy way to smoke food on a gas grill.

What is a smoker box?

A wood chip smoker box or smokehouse is a rectangular box with a lid in which there are slots. The lid is removable.

The smoker box is usually made of cast iron or stainless steel.

The principle of using a smoker box is simple – you put in it the kind of wood chips that you prefer.

Close the lid and put it in the grill. And then the smoldering chips produce smoke.

If you know how to use a smoker box, then you can always surprise your guests with delicious smoky flavor food.

What does a smoker box do?

During the grill’s heating, wood chips begin to smoke, thereby giving the aroma of smoke to the food being prepared at this time.

Small slots in the smokerbox lid do not block oxygen access to wood chips.

That is why it does not light up, but smokes and smolders.

The smoke flavor in the cooking food depends on how much dry wood chips you put in the smoking box and for how long you leave it in your grill.

How does a smoker box work?

If you try to throw wood chips into a working gas grill, it will quickly ignite and burn, leaving behind only a mess, and you will not be able to smoke the food.

Does a smoking box look like a real smokehouse?

In real smokehouses, large firewood burns slowly and smolders in conditions of limited air access.

At the same time, if you use a smoker box, it will help you create similar conditions on a regular gas grill.

The wood chips, which are in the smoker box, heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and then begin to smoke, creating all the conditions for smoking food.

Do I need to soak wood chips before smoking?

There has been a dispute among smoking lovers for a long time – whether it is worth soaking wood before smoking.

Many are inclined to believe that smoking will not get better from this unless the wood starts to smoke later than when it is dry.

So that the smoke gently rises from the box and is evenly distributed throughout the chamber, giving your food the same smoky flavor, put the smoker box next to the burners under the cooking food.

Type of wood for use in a smoker box

The type of wood you choose depends on the food being prepared. There is an ideal wood for every type of meat or fish.

The best wood for smoking meat, fish, and poultry

• Hickory is a very popular wood for smoking. It is a strong and distinct fragrance that gives the meat the taste of bacon.
• Oak – you can use red or white oak, both options are good. It’s heavy smoke, similar to hickory.
• Mesquite is a strong and bright fragrance. It goes well with fish and poultry, but do not overdo it with its use.
• Cherry/Apple/Peach – gives a mild smoke flavor. Great if you’re new to smoking.
• Maple – gives a soft and sweet smoke flavor, perfect for pork.
• Alder – delicate taste with notes of sweetness, very thin aroma.

Seasoning before first use

Your new smoker box may contain remnants of the production process – dust, dirt, and various oils. Of course, it will all burn on the grill, but this may affect the taste of your food.

How to properly wash the smoker box before the first use?

Before first use, a smoke box, wash with soapy water, and then rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Then place the smoker box in the grill turned on at full power, and add wood chips. Do not close the smoker box lid.

Leave the smoker box on the grill for about 20-30 minutes, then all industrial garbage will burn.

What smoker box is best?

Stainless steel

The most common material for smoker boxes is stainless steel, this material is resistant to corrosion, rust, and staining, and also retains heat well.

What should I pay attention to when choosing a stainless-steel smoker box?

When selecting a stainless-steel smoke box, pay attention to the thickness of the smoker box and give preference to the thickest.

This way you will avoid deformation of the smoker box under the influence of high temperature in the grill.

Aluminum

Disposable smoker boxes for smoking are made of aluminum foil.

And since aluminum melts at high temperatures, there is no need to put the smoker box directly on the heat source.

Cast iron

This material is not so common, it is more expensive than stainless steel, but also stronger.

If you take proper care of a cast-iron smoker box, it can last you a lifetime.

Disadvantages and advantages of a cast-iron box for smoking

The only disadvantage of a cast iron smoke box is that it heats up slowly, so you will need a little more time to smoke.

But this disadvantage is also an advantage because, with slow heating, heat is retained more efficiently, thereby preserving the smoke jet longer.

How to use smoker box on gas grill – step-by-step instructions

If you have never used a smoker box before, then you may have a lot of questions.

Where to put the smoker box? What types of wood chips should I use? How big should the smoker box be?

But in fact, using a smoker box on a gas grill is very simple.

All you need to do is just put the smoker box on the gas grill or charcoal grill and add your favorite wood chips.

Step 1. Preheat the gas grill

Before you start cooking, you need to preheat the gas grill or charcoal grill, if you use it. Also, if you place the smoker box in a preheated gas grill, the chips will start to smoke faster.

If you think that you have heated the grill too much and your wood just might catch fire, then turn off one or more gas grill burners to cool the grill.

Step 2. Place the smoker box on the gas grill

Fill the smoker box with the kind of wood chips that you have chosen and place the smoker on the grill.

Place the smoker box next to the burners of the gas grill, that is, next to the heat source.

Then make the fire maximum and after 10 minutes the wood chips will start to smoke. Do not open the grill lid for 15-20 minutes to prevent smoke and heat leakage.

Step 3. Turn down the temperature

At this step, it is necessary to reduce the power of the gas burners to the usual cooking temperature of 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now that smoke is coming out of the smoker box, you can start cooking smoked meat.

Step 4. Place the food on the grill cooking grate and keep the lid closed

Place the pieces of meat or fish directly on the grill cooking grate and close the lid.

If you want to cook food at a high temperature, then you can use the side burners next to the smoker box burner.

Cook your food for as long as it takes, with a calculation of 1-2 hours per pound.

From time to time, you can check if your smoker box is still smoking. If there is no more smoke, then you will just need to add more wood chips to the smoker box.

You may also be interested in reading our articles: What is medium heat on a grill and What to put under grill on grass.

Where to place a smoker box?

For high-quality smoking food, we need the chips to smoke for 35-40 minutes, and not burn immediately, so you definitely should not place a smokebox over a gas burner.

For the chips to start smoking, you need to place the smoker over the heat source, and not directly on it.

Where is the best place to place a smoker box on a gas grill?

In a gas grill, the best solution would be to place a smoker over the burner that produces the most heat. In gas grills, this is usually the back burner.

As soon as smoke appears, move the smoker box away from the vent or chimney.

You can also simply cover the air vents with aluminum foil or a piece of wood.

So you can place the smoker box on the grill, right next to the food being prepared, however, there is a chance that you will lose too much smoke before it reaches the meat.

Therefore, it is still recommended to place the smoker box under the grill grate.

Cleaning the smoker box after use

Before you start cleaning the smoker, let it cool completely.

You don’t have to throw away unused wood – just leave it for use next time.

Throw the ash into a metal trash can. Then rinse the smokebox with a garden hose to remove the remaining ash.

As soon as you see that the smoker box looks more or less clean, then you can wash it with warm water using dish soap and dry it thoroughly before putting it away for storage.

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Care of the smoker box

For your smokebox to serve you for a long time, follow some rules for caring for it.

Smoker box care tips

1. Thoroughly dry the smokebox after each wash to prevent rust.
2. Keep the smoker box indoors between uses.
3. To prevent rust and ash from sticking, you can lubricate the cast-iron smokebox with vegetable oil.
4. To easily remove the ash from the stainless steel smoker, use a non-stick spray or a thin layer of vegetable oil.

Tips for using a smoker boxes

Using smoker boxes is not so difficult, but some tricks will allow you to use a smoker box much more effectively.

Do not overfill the smokebox

For smoke, air circulation is needed.

Therefore, if you fill a smokebox with a large number of chips in the hope of getting a lot of smoke, then you will get the opposite effect, and there will be very little smoke.

Go low and slow

To get smoke that will cook your food for 35-40 minutes, your task is to heat the smoking chips, not burn them.

Therefore, place the smokebox with wood chips over the heat source, not on it, and show a little patience.

Open the grill lid

Every time you look under the grill lid, you lose smoke and heat. Therefore, you should not do this too often.

After a while, you will learn how to determine the smoking time of your favorite foods, and the need to look under the lid will disappear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use a smoker box in a propane grill?

Yes, you can use a smokerbox on a gas grill. In this case, you can cook smoked food on a grill that is not intended for smoking.

How do you use a smoker box on a grill?

It’s not difficult to use a smoker box. First of all, it is necessary to fill the box with wood that will smolder and smoke.

Then place the box in the preheated grill and close the grill lid. Thus, your food will be smoked for 35-40 minutes.

Get more tips in the article – How to Smoke on a Gas Grill.

What can you put in a smoker box on a gas grill?

In the smokebox, you can put chips of various aromatic kinds of wood intended for smoking, a mixture of various chips, flavors, and granules.

How do you use a pellet box on a gas grill?

It is necessary to place the pellet box on the gas grill, not on the heat source, but above it.

In this case, your pellets will not ignite but will give a dense and thick fragrant smoke.

Conclusion

Using a wood chip smoker box on a gas grill is very simple – just fill it with wood chips, place it under the grill of a heated gas grill and close the lid.

Then you can just enjoy delicious smoked food, which will diversify any menu.

Also, you may be interested in – How long to grill frozen burgers.