How to Use a Smoker Box on a Charcoal Grill (7 Steps)

Adding a smoker box to your grill is a great way to add smoky flavors to your favorite meats. It is also an excellent alternative to purchasing a separate smoker unit that can be expensive and takes up space.

Knowing how to use a smoker box can be overwhelming if you are not sure what to do.

Following simple instructions can make the difference between using it correctly and not.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Season Your Smoker Box
2. Choose Your Wood Chips
3. Fill the Smoker Box
4. Preheat the Grill
5. Remove Grates And Put the Smoker Box On
6. Place the Grates Back On
7. Put Your Food on the Grill

Step 1: Season Your Smoker Box

Oftentimes, when you first purchase your smoker box, there can be a chemical residue that is left behind. When this happens, you have to take the time to season the box to get rid of the remnants.

To season your smoker box, all you have to do is wash the box with soap and water, let it dry, then place it on your grill. Turn the grill to as high of a heat as possible and leave your smoker box in it for about 20-30 minutes.

Keep in mind that you should leave the lid of your charcoal grill open while you season the smoker box. This is because the chemicals that you are trying to burn off the smoker box can lodge in the lid of the grill.

Step 2: Choose the Type of Wood Chips to Use

Choosing the type of wood chips you should use in your smoker box depends entirely on the flavor you want to instill into your food. Certain woods can supply you with a subtle flavor while other woods bring in a strong flavor.

If you want a flavor that is strong and flavorful, you should think about wood chips that are made from mesquite or hickory. Mesquite is known to be a wood that produces quite a bit more smoke than other woods.

Hickory is also known to be a wood that produces a very distinctive flavor that makes your meats taste phenomenal. This is because it has a smoky flavor that gives meat and other foods a robust flavor.

Step 3: Fill the Smoker Box With Wood Chips

Once you have seasoned your smoker box and have chosen the wood chips that you wish to use for your grilling, you are ready to load them into the smoker box. It is important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how full you should fill your specific box.

Most recommend that you fill the wood chips only about halfway to allow room for the combustion to happen. This does not mean that you cannot add more in later, you just want to have room to light the wood chips and allow them to burn properly.

Additionally, another advantage of not filling the smoker box up with wood chips is that you want to leave room for the oxygen to get between the wood chips. This will allow more smoke to occur which will result in a better smoky flavor for your food.

Step 4: Preheat Your Grill

As you are getting ready to cook with your smoker box whether it is your first time or not, you have to first preheat the grill.

Charcoal Grill

The way you do this is to light the charcoal on the grill and give it time to heat up.

As the charcoal heats up, it is suggested that you keep the lid to the grill closed so that the charcoal heats evenly.

Propane Grill

Open the lid of your grill, set the dial to ignite, and press the igniter button.

Once it is lit, you can close the lid so the grill will evenly heat up.

It is important to note that you should give it plenty of time to heat before moving on to the next step.

Before moving to step 5, please note that some smoker boxes do not rely on the burners or charcoal for heat to create smoke.

For those, you light the chips with a lighter or torch until they start to smoke.

Pretty quickly, the fire and heat spread to other wood chips or pellets, which creates smoke that will last. If you have this type of smoker box, do not place it over the flame directly as it can cause damage.

Step 5: Remove Grates And Place Your Smoker Box

On a Charcoal Grill

Once you have determined that your charcoal is heated to the maximum temperature, you should be ready to begin the next step. This means that you should remove the grates and then place your smoker box on the grill.

Keep in mind that the grates on the grill will be hot since they have been in the unit while the charcoal is heating. Remove the grates carefully and place them somewhere where they won’t burn something until you are ready to replace them.

Place your smoker box on the grill in the desired position for the best outcome for smoking your food properly. Some grillers choose to place them directly on top of the charcoal in the middle, however, others like to place them in the corner of the grill depending on if they are going for an offset method.

While you can place your smoker box on the grill grates, this is not recommended if you want to get the maximum smoky flavor in your food.

On a Gas Grill

Smoker boxes are best placed directly on the grill grates or heat deflector above the burners on a gas grill. The grates should be removed and the box placed where you prefer.

You can either leave that part of the grate out (if it’s a multi-piece grate) or place the box on top of the grate if there isn’t enough room between the heat deflector and the grill grates.

Step 6: Place the Grates Back in Position

After you have chosen the perfect position for your smoker box, you can replace the grates.

You should make sure that you have placed the smoker box correctly or the grates will not go back in place properly.

Again, you will want to be careful as you replace the grates since the charcoal grill is hot and you are working close to it.

You should also make sure that the grates are put back correctly so that you will get the best cooking experience possible.

Step 7: Put Your Food on the Grill

Now that you have followed all of the instructions on how to prepare and place the smoker box on your grill, you should be ready to make your food.

Whatever food you have chosen to cook, you will need to make sure that it is ready to go at this point.

Once the grill and smoker box are ready, you will not have time to prepare the food that you are grilling.

Since your smoker box has been placed on the grill, you can put your favorite foods on and get ready to enjoy that added smoke flavor.

Top 7 how to use a smoke box on a gas grill edited by Top Chef

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