Craving for freshly flavored food with an intense smoky touch? If the answer is, yes! you don’t need to rush anywhere but just need to welcome a new member into your kitchen. Have you wondered what is that? If you are ready to say hello to Smoker Box, you can also get the distinct flavor added to your meal.
A Smoker Box is a container made up of metal with tiny holes on it. It holds the wood chips which when burnt give a smoky flavor to the food when kept over a gas or charcoal fire. If you desire to surprise your non-vegetarian friends with a flavorsome and delicious curry of fish or mutton and get their admiration, you should definitely bring this sweet little box to your home.
Smoker Box can be used for both hot smoking and cold smoking purposes, it ensures a unique taste of your meal without much exposure to the heat. It will make the food juicier and better.
Types Of Smoker Box
Contents
Smoker Box Under- Grate
Under-Grate Smoker boxes are mostly made up of cast iron or stainless steel. It should be able to retain the heat as it is placed between the flame diffusers beneath the gas grill grate. Installing the smoker box under the gas grill leads to excessive smokiness and exceptionally flavored food. The different shapes in which it is mostly available are round, V-shaped, flat, and tube-shaped. It helps to focus the direction of smoke directly towards meat or any other stuff you are cooking. It should also have adaptable vents for the flow of smoke in a controlled manner.
Smoker Box Over-Grate
The Over-Grate Smoker Box can be found in a cubed or rectangular shape. They are available in distinct sizes so that you can determine the number of wood chips to use at a time. As the name suggests, this box is kept on the grill top and the smoke is driven away from the edibles. If the gas grill consists of a lid, it will enhance the taste of the foodstuff when cooked with a closed lid.
Disposable Smoker Box
A disposable smoker box can best be used due to the fact it is by and large manufactured from aluminum foil. It is expected to be disposed of after being used. Place it directly on any kind of grill to add on wood flavor. The vents should be of uniform size and at an equal distance to spread the smoke evenly. It is recommended to be a well-organized box since it is a clean and safe way to get a scrumptious taste of veggies, pork, meat, poultry, and many more.
Free-Standing Smoker Box
A free-standing smoker box is made up of cast iron or stainless steel. It is generally larger than the other smoker boxes due to which it uses more wood chips per cycle than required in general. It can be directly used on a charcoal oven.
How Does Smoker Box Works?
Let’s focus on the process now to understand how the smoker box really works. You can just stick to these steps and use them on a gas grill.
- Switch on the burner for around 10-15 minutes to heat the gas grill.
- Soak the wood in water before it is heated so that the wood smokes and does not burn. Put the desired wood chips inside the smoker box to get the flavor you want.
- Lit up the burner then keep the Smoker Box over it.
- Upload the meals to the grill after the smoker box starts smoking.
- Add the wood chips if required.
The grill’s temperature should be observed. - After reaching the desired temperature, remove the smoldering wood and the food from the set-up.
- Switch off the grill burners.
Use A BBQ Smoker Box With The Help Of A Charcoal Grill
As we are already aware of the fact that smoker boxes are mostly made up of stainless steel or cast iron. The vents on it allow the flow of smoke. Fill it with wood chips. Keep it over the lit-up charcoal grill in the BBQ. After the wood starts producing smoke within a few minutes, place the foodstuff over the grill.
It can also be made through indirect methods by putting the hot charcoal around the food either wrapped in the foil aluminum or placed in any flat container. Unload everything after the purpose is fulfilled.
Set up the smoker box as close to the fire as possible. Try to place it a bit to the front side so that you can check on it easily and add more wood chips at regular intervals. Keep in mind to keep it in such a way that it does not disturb the grilling area by any chance.
Size Of The Smoker Box
The smoker box should be one-third the volume of the grill used for cooking. The length ranges between 8-12 inches and the width between 4-6 inches.
Best Wood Chips For Smoker Box
Till now we have been only discussing placing the wood chips inside the Smoker Box but have you ever wondered which kind of wood chips you need? Most of the customers have doubts in this area and they end up messing up everything. Just making the choice of the kind of the wood going inside your grill can spoil your hard work. Each wood type goes best with one or the other food, what matters is the flavour it produces. Here are some lists of the wood chips and their speciality. You can go through it once before you light up your burner on the grill.
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Mesquite Wood Chip
It is a strongly flavoured wood which is best for beef varieties. It is not commonly used for white meat or fish but it can go well with bluefish and mackerel.
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Hickory Wood Chip
Hickory pairs incredibly with bacon and red meat. It has a strong aroma and is a well-liked flavour for BBQ.
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Apple Wood Chip
Apple is a good supplement to pork and poultry, it is mild and sweet and can be used with other types of woods to enhance the taste.
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Fruit Wood Chip
Fruitwood chips like cherry and pear bring out delicate smoke which does not vanquish the food taste. It goes well with fish like tuna and salmon.
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Oak Wood Chip
Oak has vigorous smoke which is good for pork and ribs.
You should never use softwoods from the conifer family like fir, cedar, spruce, and pine as it releases black sticky resin compound which is bitter and also toxic for human health. If you want the amount of smoke more, then use thick wood, the thicker the wood will be the more will be the amount of smoke it generates.
FAQs
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What Are The Steps On How To Use A Smoker Box On A Charcoal Grill?
To use a smoker box in a charcoal grill you should follow a few steps with precaution so that it does not hurt you by any chance. Preheat the grill till it reaches the maximum temperature then put the smoker box filled with wood chips. Don’t overload it. Keep it as close as possible to the charcoal fire after closing the lid. Use tongs to shift the position of the smoker box. When the intensity of smoke increases, lower the temperature of the burner. Let the food get cooked. Wait for some time then you can serve the dish.
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What Is A Smoker Attachment For The Grill?
You can use the Side Fire Box as an attachment to the grill using bolts after removing the ashpan. Tighten the bolts then insert the parts already detached.
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What Is The Best Method For Using A Gas Grill As A Smoker?
Expose as many wood chips as possible, directly to the burner. Indirect cooking methods will be appreciable.
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What Is The Best Wood For Smoking Meat?
There are many types of wood because of this people get confused to distinguish which one to use while cooking meat, pork, and other food. Hickory is the best wood for smoking meat. It imparts an intense or deep smoke to the meat. Hickory is the desired wood for smoking most meats and pork. If you are not going to blend more than one wood then you can go with this for adding a scrumptious flavor to the food served. It has a mesmerizing aroma and is very popular for BBQ.