did something today i told myself i never ever would do

[polock]

wifey made the comment that she would like to learn to grill more but wouldn't cause our great big smoker/grill and 2 little webers are all charcoal grills and she doesn't want to mess with starting a fire... so i did the unthinkable.. i bought a GAS grill

it looks pretty, 65"brinkman 3 burner with one side burner, nice stainless steel cabinet underneath, built in tool holders the works, sucker has like 600" of cooking space... my main question... is there anyway to get the smoke taste of charcoal on a gas grill.. i thought of taking the small wood chip box from my dads gas smoker that he doesn't use and setting it on one of the burners for smoke, but not sure if that would work.. any pointers would be appreciated.. i can't live without the taste of charcoal grilled food.

i did get some of the ceramic briquettes but i don't think those will make it the same.

[SilverMallard]

Hank Hill is gonna have to kick your butt. LOL

[AZ_Trout]

The wood chip metal box - works very well.

You want to soak the wood, and watch for flame ups, but all in all you get a nice smokey flavor. I throw some mesquite, cherry or hickory in when I'm doing steak, and get a nice flavor.

Plus when it's cold outside - that gas grill has a big advantage over trying to get the charcoal to light.

[Randall]

Hank Hill is gonna have to kick your butt. LOL

yeah, nothing beats the taste of meat cooked over a clean burning fuel.

[Patricks on the White]

After hating and pitching my first gas grill a few years ago, I noticed that Weber was the first to extend guards over the burners on their grills to eliminate flare-ups. I looked for two seasons and finally bit the bullet, AGAIN. I have now pitched number 2, and, unless I lose my mind which is highly probable, I will NEVER own a number 3! One season on a gas grill and "wifey" will either become a firefighter that likes smokeless, burned meat, will never grill again or become a firebuilding,Weber fan.

Patricks on The White

[jdmidwest]

Patricks, with gas you must sit and watch the grill while it cooks your food. It gives ample time to savor some cold brews and relax. Although, I never could figure out what the higher burner settings were for other than to burn off the last time you used it. I always cook on low unless blackening something. Gas is better in winter because of the extra heat. I always use some wood chips for flavor.

[Growler]

Gas grill's are convenient (IMHO). You don't have to wait so long for it to heat up, and like jdmidwest said, they are better in winter.

My biggest piece of advice is keep it clean. Keep those grates spotless & oil them up before cooking. To add smoke flavor I roll up soaked chips in foil packets, then poke them full of holes. Lay these either directly on the flame, or just put on the grate.

I have also had good luck using indirect heat on mine...burners lit on one side, meat on the other, then finish over direct flame.

I also do a lot of other cooking over the gas grill. Since I don't like the lingering odor of things like bacon & such, I put an iron skillet on mine for cooking those outdoors.

While it may not replace your charcoal burner entirely, it is a tool that you should experiment with, and you may actually learn to like in the future.

Good Luck!

G

[mcp633]

I have an extensive array of grills/smokers (4)adorning one of my decks. I too was a pure charcoal man and never imagined a day when I would own a gas grill. That was until I was working part time at Sears and got a great closeout winter deal on a Kenmore 4 burner model. I couldn't resist for some reason. My neighbor (read friend) about fell off of his deck when he saw it. He knew how anti-gas I was. I bbq at least 4-5 nights a week and take great pride in my work. I did find a cast iron box that will hold soaked wood chips and works fine to add the smoke flavor the foil packets as mentioned above work well too. It's nice for indirect heat and I even sprung for the electric spit thingy. I use it quite a bit, especially in the winter and for steaks (I can get that daddy HOT), but I must say that NOTHING, AND I MEAN NOTHING, COOKS LIKE A WEBER KETTLE! I DON'T CARE THE PRICE. NOTHING COOKS LIKE A WEBER!

[Terry Beeson]

I use to do a LOT of cooking on my deck and depending on what I was cooking and how big a hurry I was in, I rotated from charcoal and gas. I LOVE my gas grill for a steak meal, rotisserie chicken, or even burgers when I'm in a "hurry." I had a true "gas" grill (hooked to my natural gas line, not propane) and would get home from work, throw some veggies in an aluminum foil pack, fire up the grill, slap some meat on the grill with the foil packs, add a couple of slices of Texas toast towards the end, and have dinner ready in no time. In the summer, this saved a lot on the A/C bill and in the winter, was a nice change from "indoor" cooked food.

As for smoking, the chip box is OK, but will never take the place of a good charcoal smoker with chips. Of course the BEST smoking is to use a true wood smoker with the firebox on one side and the smoke chamber seperate.

Of course, if Hank Hill were to see this smoker set-up, his comment would be "just kill me now..."

If you've never tried the veggie foil pack, you are missing out! This works on either gas or charcoal.

Frozen veggies of your choice

Diced potatoes

Onion

Garlic - minced or chopped

Seasonings to taste - Lemon pepper, cajun, Greek, or whatever "melts your butter."

Speaking of butter, PLENTY of butter or margarine( BLASPHEMY!)

Mix all but the butter, place on foil (or in foil pack) and put butter on top. Close up the pack or fold the foil to form a pack. Try to get all the air out of the foil pack. Place on grill - if you have a "bread rack" on the lid, this is the best place to put the packs. Cook until the foil puffs and is sizzling - long enough for the veggies to all get cooked through. Depending on heat, could be 10 minutes, could be half hour or even more.

Get ready to enjoy some GREAT veggies!

[damselfly]

i have a gas grill and like it quite well....as for smoke flavor.....i have only used the cast iron box that was mentioned above. we soak the wood chips, remove one of the grates and place it right above the flame....close the lid and wait until you can see smoke coming from the grill.....then start cooking. it give food the smoke flavor somewhat, but is not as intense as a 'regular' grill so to speak. i imagine you could add additional chips as needed, but we never have.