Smoking meat on a gas grill

If you've ever wanted to add a little bit of smoke flavor to your gas grilled meats, read on. There are a number of ways to do it.

You may have a grill that has a built in smoker box. That is the easiest way. Soak some wood chips in water for an hour or longer to get them good and wet before adding to the box. It is being wet that helps them smoke vs char and helps to add the smokey flavor without making the meat seem like it was over a campfire.

You may also buy a seperate smoker box. This is typically the method that I use. Once again, soak the chips, add them to the box, and put the box over one of the burners on the grill. The particular grill I use has 6 burners so I am often able to dedicate one burner to controling the heat for the smoke. I like to set this up off to the side so the smoke is in the grill, but not coming up directly into the meat.

If none of the above are available, a small aluminum pan or even aluminum foil shaped to hold the wet chips can also be used. It allows the heat to go into the chips and smoke to come out with little cleanup required.

If you've never tried it, don't be shy. Smoke flavor added to your grill can get you the same flavor as the tru BBQ Houses around the country right at home.