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If you are curious whether smoking meat on a gas grill is possible, the answer is yes. Learning how to smoke meat on a gas grill requires some basic tools and an understanding of how the process works.

Let’s also be clear that no gas grill is going to perform and be as efficient as any dedicated smoker. So temper your expectations regarding hiccups that may arise. That said, there are some great ways to infuse smoke flavor and it comes down to understanding two-zone grilling.

Let’s start by making sure we are working off the same definitions. Often people talk about wanting to “barbecue” when they actually are just grilling.

Grilling Versus Barbecue

Grilling is high heat cooking in which we are cooking meat over 375 degrees Fahrenheit (F) to lock in a sear and cook until the meat is done.

Barbecue, also knows as smoking or low and slow, is cooking meat at a low temperature, often under 300 degrees F, using both heat to cook the meat, and wood to add flavor. This guide is focused on smoking on a gas grill (or barbecue).

Two-Zone Cooking on a Gas Grill

Two-Zone Cooking is having a direct heat source and an indirect heat source. The direct heat source is the fire in a gas grill that is fed by natural gas. Indirect is any portion of the grill you have food where there is not a flame directly underneath. You can see much more detail on how it works in our guide for two-zone grilling.

For smoking meat on a gas grill, it is easiest to do this with a grill that has at least three burners (which most have now). The reason multiple burners is important, or having three separate controls for the propane flame, is because we are going to use at least one, if not two burners as our heat source that will ignite the wood, and then leave one burner off as the indirect side.

In our case, we are demonstrating how to smoke meat on a gas grill with a Three-Burner Weber Genesis 2.

How it Works

Smoke flavor is infused into the meat like any other seasoning. The smoke flavor comes from wood (wood chips in this case), and the heat will be maintained by the propane burner. The goal is to slowly combust the wood chips to let them burn over time and add the smoke flavor to the meat while the heating element actually performs the cooking.

1. Woods chips need to be placed in some type of vessel to allow them to burn — either a smoker box (strongly recommended), or a foil pouch. Igniting the wood and getting the wood to slowly combust will add your smoke flavor.
2. The heat from the propane is what is going to keep the desired temperature in the cooking chamber, not the wood chips.
3. In order for the wood chips to ignite, you have to be sure they get hot enough. Once they are lit, then you can reduce the heat. The chips will slowly burn until the wood is spent.
4. Airflow from outside the smoker will work its way through the grill and help to keep the wood chips combusting, however gas grills are very inefficient.

Tools Needed for Smoking Meat on a Gas Grill

Besides your grill, there are a few things you must have in order to successfully master this technique. Consider this your shopping list.

1. Spare Propane – I can’t stress how frustrating it is to plan smoking anything and not have enough fuel. Have two (full) tanks of propane on hand.
2. Wood Chips – Good wood chips (small pieces of wood) are the ingredient that adds smoke. Be sure they are wood chips, because wood chunks (fist sized wood pieces) are not as easy to use in most gas grills.
3. Smoker Box – If your gas grill does not have a dedicated smoker box (which you would know it has from the accessories), then a stainless steel smoker box is important as you will use the box to place the wood chips in and then on top of the heat source. We actually recommend two so you can replace the smoker box with a fresh handful of wood chips.

An alternative to the smoker box is aluminum foil – however we strongly recommend the purchase of a dedicated stainless steel smoker box. If you use the aluminum foil method, you need to poke several holes in the top and bottom to allow for airflow and smoke to escape.

Even better are starter sets that include everything like this barbecue starter pack from Cooking Gift Set.

Optional Tools

Now, there are a few “nice to have” tools that also make this experience easier and we highlighted a few.

• High Heat Gloves – One of the things that you will be doing is potentially removing a grate to replace your foil pouch or smoker box. High heat gloves are a huge help because you don’t have to worry about burning your hands.
• Leave in Blue Tooth Thermometer – You won’t be able to judge the relative temperature of the cooking chamber with your dome thermometer built into your grill because heat rises and likely it’s hotter than on the grill grate. So get yourself a high quality leave in thermometer, we stand by the Thermoworks MK4 Smoke Unit (there are a few models). They have at least two cooking probes, one for the cooking chamber, and one for your meat and they have great reach and integrate with an app on your phone to monitor the cooking.

Preparation

Before starting on the intended recipe, start with soaking your wood chips. Pre-soaking your wood chips allows the chips to slowly combust getting the most smoke flavor out of them. If they are dry, then you will find the chips quickly burn in 15 minutes or less, and you get little to no smoke flavor. We soak for at least an hour, and up to four. The chips will only absorb so much liquid, so no need for any overnight soaking. You will see the color of the water turn a light brown.

Smoking Meat on a Gas Grill

1. In a large bowl filled with water, pre-soak wood chips for at least an hour. After they have soaked, remove them from the water and place into a stainless steel smoker box.
2. Turn two burners on high to ignite the flame. Place the smoker box directly on the drip shield over the flame. Place a Bluetooth thermometer on the grill grates over the indirect heat. Close the lid and and run the heat on high until you smell and see smoke rising.
3. When you see that the chips have ignited, reduce the heat to your target cooking temperature, which is most commonly in the range of 225 – 275 degrees F. Note: The best place to monitor your temperature in the cooking chamber is over the indirect side of the grill where the meat will be cooked.
4. At the target temperature this is when to add your meat on the indirect side of the grill. We also recommend using a meat thermometer probe that you place into the meat and watch the internal temperature without having to open the grill.
5. Follow your intended recipe instructions, and if the cooking process will take longer than one hour, replace the wood chips once an hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Troubleshooting

• If it’s cold or windy outside, everything is going to take longer. It cools down the grill and forces more fuel to burn. So if it’s windy or cold (including cold rain), then plan at least 25% more fuel and more cooking time. That means plan on changing the wood chips every 30 minutes.
• Expect temperature swings high and low. Even on a dedicated smoker, there are temperature fluctuations. But expect more of them
• Don’t expect a smoke ring on every cook with a gas grill. Smoke rings are a red color on the outside of meat (usually beef and pork) and they are not indicative of flavor.

Recipe Ideas for Smoking Meat on a Gas Grill

• Smoked Salmon
• Reverse Seared Ribeye Steaks
• Smoked Tri Tip with Red Wine Marinade
• Reverse Seared Pork Chops
• Smoked Beef Bolognese (in our partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement)

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About Vindulge

Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.

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