Smoking your meat as opposed to cooking it directly over an open flame not only gives the meat a tasty smokey flavor, but also keeps the meat tender due to the slow and indirect cooking process . The best part about smoking your meat is that you can change the flavor of the smoke by using different types of wood. Placing maple wood chips in your smoker will give your meat a distinctively different taste than other types of chips.
Charcoal Grill
Step 1
Prepare the meat to be smoked by marinating it, adding a dry rub or covering it in your favorite grilling sauce. Keep it in the refrigerator if you don't plan on cooking it within one hour.
Step 2
Place the charcoal chimney on top of the grill and fill it with lump charcoal. Place two or three crumpled up pieces of newspaper in the bottom of the chimney and light it. Allow the coals to heat up for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 3
Remove the grill grates and pour the hot coals into the coal tray in the BBQ smoker. Fill the water tray with about 1 qt. of water and place the grates back onto the grill.
Step 4
Open the access door on the side of the grill and place a generous handful of maple wood chips directly onto the hot coals inside of the grill.
Step 5
Place the prepared meat directly onto the grill and allow the meat to cook between two and three hours. Check the meat using the meat thermometer to determine whether the meat is done.
Propane Grill
Step 1
Prepare your meat ahead of time by marinating it, adding a dry rub or smothering it in your favorite grilling sauce. Keep it in the refrigerator if you don't plan on cooking it within one hour.
Step 2
Place the maple wood chips in a bowl and fill the bowl with water. Allow the wood chips to soak for abut 30 minutes.
Step 3
Remove the grate from your propane grill and place two of the large aluminum lasagna trays over the right and center burners. Make sure there is enough room on the left hand side of the grill for the aluminum cake pan.
Step 4
Take a handful or two of the soaked maple wood chips and place them into the aluminum cake pan. Separate the wood chips so that there is enough room in the bottom of the cake pan for the chips to breathe. This will allow the chips to smoke properly.
Step 5
Cover the aluminum cake pan with aluminum foil and poke holes in the foil to allow the smoke to escape.
Step 6
Place the grill grate back over the lasagna trays and place the aluminum cake pan over the left-most burner. Position the electric thermometer off to the side of the grill with the thermometer stem inside of the grill.
Step 7
Turn the left burner to high and close the lid. Allow the grill's inner temperature to reach about 225 F before adding the meat.
Step 8
Add the meat to the grill as soon as smoke starts coming out of the grill. Close the lid over the meat and allow it to cook for about three hours, replacing the chips every 45 minutes.
Step 9
Check the inner temperature of the meat using the meat thermometer after about two and a half to three hours to determine whether the meat is done.
Tips and Warnings
- Beef, lamb and veal steaks are safe to eat at an inner temperature of 145 F. All pork can be eaten at 160 F and the same goes for ground beef, veal and lamb. All poultry should be cooked to an inner temperature of 165 F before being eaten.
Things You'll Need
- Charcoal or propane grill
- Charcoal smoker
- Charcoal chimney
- Lump charcoal
- Newspaper
- Aluminum lasagna trays
- Narrow aluminum cake pan
- Water
- Aluminum foil
- Maple wood chips
- Water
- Meat
- Electric thermometer
- Meat thermometer
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