Help a first timer

[joefromphilly]

I have never tried smoking meat before. I just got a three burners Weber gas grill with a metal wood box and a box of hickory chunks . I soaked the chunks for 30 minutes and put them on the grill over the left burner and lit all the three burners on high. Heat got to 600 degrees. The wood started smoking white smoke. I turned the center and right burners off and turned the left burner ( under the wood box) sown to about half . The white smoke ended . When the temperature got down to 250 degrees I put the boneless pork shoulder over the turned off center burner. The temperature stayed at 250 for about an hour until I saw the temperature increase to over 500. I opened the lid and saw that the wood was flaming.
What did I do wrong?

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I have never used one of those before so I can’t comment on how to use it. But you might have better luck with a pellet tube/maze! Could just let it burn through your whole cook!

 

[smokerjim]

Never used one either, but I dont think you need to soak wood, wonder if that white smoke you seen was just steam. Other than that I really can't comment because i have no experience with that set up.

 

[Newglide]

I haven't used one of those boxes either but I have smoked several buts on a weber gas grill before I got a kettle. I never soaked the chips, I would make several foil packs filled with the wood chips and poke holes in the top and bottom and put it under the grate and on the flavorizer bars. I typically only lit the burner under the foil pack and left the other side turned off which is where the meat would go. Once the foil pack burned up the chips I would put in another foil pack. Don't worry if you don't see a ton of smoke, you don't want alot of smoke. Try to keep the lid closed because once you open it the wood will get oxygen and flame up, keep a spray bottle handy incase you do get a flare up. It worked for me until I could get a kettle which is much easier to work with than a gasser for smoking a shoulder.

 

[normanaj]

Gas grills as such are not the ideal medium for smoking but if you are going to do so I highly recommend using a smoke tube that burns pellets as your smoke generator.

What I would tell you is with a 3 burner grill such as yours is light all your burners to start to burn off any junk and possible "nasties",then just use one end burner and set it to low and use a separate digital dual probe thermometer with one of the probes placed at grate level near where you plan to place your food,give yourself a little time after turning off the two other burners before you place your probe as the above grates will obviously be hot. Now monitor your temp and adjust that one burner as needed to get the desired temp.The second probe comes into play later.

Back to the smoke tube.Fill it with pellets and light it with a propane torch and let it burn for about 10-15 minutes before placing it in the grill.When you do place it do NOT put it over the lit burner,it will burn on its own and produce smoke.The longer the tube the more burn time you will have.

Now all that's left to do is place your food away from the lit burner,make sure you place a drip tray under your meat too.Also having that dual probe thermometer is necessary,one probe to keep an eye on grill temp and the other to monitor the internal temp of the food.

 

[zwiller]

^ Very good info normanaj . I would HIGHLY suggest finding a used MES on FB Marketplace. They're like $50. Set and forget temps. Use the chips you got if you want but would still recommend the tube and pellets as it will give you TBS for like 4-5hrs. If dead set on gasser, pick a day to play around with it and test. In my Jenn Air I had to have 1 burner on low and 2 others off to get smoking temps (225-275F) The box and chips never worked well for me. Tube and pellets did but still not as good a smoker. I will say at slightly higher temps 300-350F it worked rather well like wood fired grill. Mild smoke. Perfect for bird.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/wood-fired-yardbird.314837/

 

[sandyut]

Gas grills as such are not the ideal medium for smoking but if you are going to do so I highly recommend using a smoke tube that burns pellets as your smoker generator.

I agree, before I got a smoker I tried a little cast iron "smoke box" and foil pouches etc. They just dont work all that good IMO. I dont think soaking wood chips really does much. You want smoke, so wet wood doesnt get you there.

A smoke tube with pellets is likely the better option, but the best option is to buy a smoker. I have my pellet grill next to my gasser and they make a great pair.

 

[Colin1230]

Welcome to the forum Joe.
Good advise above for sure. I reserve the gas grill for grilling and roasting for the most part. But, I have played around with the smoker box, pellet tube and foil packs. They all work to some degree with the pellet tube being the best option. Just don't expect smokehouse restaurant flavor. Now that you have the Weber gas grill, keep an eye out for a Weber kettle. It is one of those 'must have' backyard items.

 

[Fraser]

I have never tried smoking meat before. I just got a three burners Weber gas grill with a metal wood box and a box of hickory chunks . I soaked the chunks for 30 minutes and put them on the grill over the left burner and lit all the three burners on high. Heat got to 600 degrees. The wood started smoking white smoke. I turned the center and right burners off and turned the left burner ( under the wood box) sown to about half . The white smoke ended . When the temperature got down to 250 degrees I put the boneless pork shoulder over the turned off center burner. The temperature stayed at 250 for about an hour until I saw the temperature increase to over 500. I opened the lid and saw that the wood was flaming.
What did I do wrong?

Welcome!
I haven’t used your rig in a dogs age but it CAN be done! First off, skip the soaking; wood is what they make boats from, all you’re doing is creating steam (that’s what water pans are for. More on that later). That’s likely the “white smoke” you experienced. Also, I’d recommend small chunks rather than chips. If need be, cut them down a bit to fit your metal wood box. Next, place your box over left burner (as you did) but turn burner to low. Leave center and right burners off. Place a drip pan under the grate on the right and the pork shoulder above it on the grate. Close the lid and have an adult bev. This is gonna take a while.
Check your box every so often (45 min or so) and refill as necessary. What you’re looking for is a slow smolder. Optionally, you can add a little water or broth to the drip pan for some extra moisture.
Depending on your pork it’ll likely be 5-6 hours before you see the color you’re looking for. At this point, you can wrap in foil, pull the metal wood box (you won’t need any more smoke) and, if you have a leave-in thermo, place in the pork, then back on the right side and crank the left & center burners to medium. Now you’re headed for probe tender, around 200F internal.

Hope this helps!
-Fraser

 

[processhead]

Rather than sacrificing a piece of meat while you are learning how to regulate the heat in your grlll, I would suggest using a large noncombustible container with roughly a gallon of water in your smoker.
A gallon of water is about the same weight as an 8 lb pork butt, costs nothing, and gives you something that looks like meat without the cost.
The advice of others about using a smoke tube and just one burner is excellent. A grill is not designed for low and slow smoking but it can be done. IMHO, you need to do some test runs first and figure out how to regulate the temperature inside the grill as well as monitor the internal temperature of the meat.