When fire foods cook, they release smoke and flavor into the air. But if you’re grilling something that’s resting directly on a flame (like steak or chicken breasts) without any sort of rack or other outdoor cooking tool in between it and the heat source, some of this smoke can get trapped inside your food, which can make it tough to properly sear. To prevent this, use a smoker box for your grill sessions.
Smoker Boxes
The smokes above are just some examples—there are many different types available online at places like BBQ Traeger, for example. The basic idea is that small compartmentalized wooden boxes are put in place between your food and the heat source to have a large surface area to throw heat onto but still allow you to keep an eye on whatever you’re barbecuing. They work best as indirect cooking tools because they let airflow circulate around the food while still allowing you to maintain direct contact with it with tongs or other tools.
If you have a gas grill and want to add smoking flavors to your grilled foods, use this easy method to add authentic smoky flavor to your food. This is a great way to add flavor if you don’t have access to any hardwood smoke (from a smoker or hardwood fire).
While most people know that wood chips are essential for maintaining a smokey flavor, many don’t realize that they need to be soaked in water before adding them to your smoker box. This will keep the chips from falling out of the box during use. In fact, soaking them first can make them burn much faster while smoking, and they’ll give you a better taste in both time spent and money spent.
The last thing we need is another reason to be nervous about leaving our kids alone with our pets; but keeping them away from this contraption is one way to ensure they’re not getting into trouble while Mommy’s out grilling chicken breasts or whatever it is that people actually cook on their gas grills these days (all of which makes me sound very old).
Although it’s important not to let the smoker box get too hot, there are ways you can help prevent it from getting too hot. The first thing we recommend is using tongs or gloves so you don’t burn yourself. You’ll also want to throw the chips in the garbage after using them for smoking. If you don’t have tongs, you should let the smoker box cool before cleaning it out with a brush, and then wash it with soap and water. Finally, dry your smoker box thoroughly before storing it away from kids.
All the tastes, smells, and aromas that make a backyard barbecue so memorable are created by one thing: Wood smoke. That thin haze of brownish-yellow is made up of thousands of microscopic burning particles. It’s as complex and nuanced as any wine, with a flavor all its own. Foods exposed to wood smoke develop a distinctive flavor and aroma that sets them apart from food cooked on gas grills alone.
Add wood chips to your charcoal or hardwood charcoal for a taste you won’t soon forget. With just six simple steps, you can achieve the complex smoky flavor all great grill masters strive for:
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