Introducing smoke to gas grill burgers

[gitaryzt1985]

Has anyone used a smoke tube/box when grilling burgers on a gas grill? I want to give this a try, but am a little concerned it may give the burgers a "ham" like flavor. Sometimes my burgers take on a little ham/bacon like flavor on the gas grill, so I don't want to use smoke if that is the flavor it imparts.

What do you guys think? Maybe it's the worcestershire

 

[gmc2003]

Unless your putting bacon or ham in your burgers I'm having a difficult time figuring out how your getting that taste, and no a smoke tube or box shouldn't impart any hammy flavor.

Chris

 

[gitaryzt1985]

Unless your putting bacon or ham in your burgers I'm having a difficult time figuring out how your getting that taste, and no a smoke tube or box shouldn't impart any hammy flavor.

Chris

Think like a liquid smoke type of flavor. The edges of the burger get red, and it takes like ham/liquid smoke. This happens mostly on charcoal, but can happen on a gas grill as well. Maybe its the worcestershire I put on the top after I flip.

 

[bluewhisper]

Yes there are smoker boxes, small stout metal boxes with perforations to let smoke out. There are also "puck" versions of the same idea. They go in the gas grill and they get hot enough to ignite the wood chips inside, but they can't catch fire because there isn't enough air supply in the box. So they smolder.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Smoke tube on the right of a weber genesis lady weekend.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Last*

 

[zwiller]

I am fooling with it now but a sear burner has taken my grilling to a whole other level. Gets waaaay hotter then the grill ever used to even wide open on a hot summer day. I will NEVER grill without one.

Recently tried my AMNPS tray on a brick nearest the cool side and it needs more air to really work. My Jenn Air has a hole for a rotisserie and that is even not enough. A tube might work tho. Honestly, I am still pretty happy with just the sear.

No idea about the ham flavor thing, I don’t get that.

 

[johnmeyer]

Click on this link:

Working With Wood Chips

For a gas grill, make sure to put the aluminum foil pouch of soaked chips directly onto the "flavorizer bars," and not on the cooking grates. They need to be as close the heat source as possible.

 

[mike243]

Dont bother soaking chips waste of time imo,find a shag bark hickory tree and pull some loose bark off, just use 3-5” to start with until u find the amount of taste you want.store bought chips dont have much flavor at all

 

[SonnyE]

It is my opinion, and experience, that my gas grill has just way too much air exchange in use to even begin to be any sort of sm00ker.
The gas burner(s) cause too much air movement for the smoke to be effective. And what smoke is made tends to shoot out the back with the excess heat.
So I have a smoker for smoking, and the gas grill for cooking.
I tend to smoke things, then finish cooking on the grill.
I find trying to smoke in my gas grill is about like a fart in a hurricane. Hardly noticeable. :confused:

 

[rc4u]

I use a cast iron small box that I put pellets or chips or chunks that I split if to big. on top of the first burner at the end... my grill.. it is from the first gen weber genesis and 3 burner are horizontal to front and knobs on right side. I start all burners at 1/2 then when smoke appears I turn first burner to 3/8 and the center to low and leave end... then I put food on center.. jif to hat I kill center burner. and turn down last one... thes works excellent and can keep heat to 275 real easy and up from there.. and the smoke works so good I do ribs, spatch cock chickens, all time and steaks{smoke low at first then turn to high} I do my tater tots and fries on first then meat... its works so good for the smaller stuff I don't bother with the smoker till doing multiples of prk beef chicken ect… it did take a few times to get right.... but I hate it when someone kwho cant do it right says it cant be done or its not same...

 

[johnmeyer]

+1 rc4u.

That is very similar to what I do. Despite what others have said, you can get very nice smoke flavor this way, although I don't think you can build up two inches of bark with this method.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I too have had ok results using a chip box in the back of my grill. I find mesquite to be the best wood chip for this purpose. It’s a strong smoke but the airy nature of my gas grill never allows the smoke to become overwhelming. It works great with burgers and shrimp.

George