^^^
on soaking the chips--I meant the conventional wisdom is that soaking them means they generate MORE smoke. But the bbq guys who were debating it online the other day (in the WaPo food chat, I think) said that after experimentation, it didn't make that much difference.

To smoke stuff on the gas grill, you use the indirect heat method. Preheat and clean the grill, then turn the middle burners off and leave only the end ones on, about medium. If it's a 3-burner model, turn two burners off and leave only an end one on.

Let the temp cool to about 250. Put your meat on the side that doesn't have direct heat. Add a packet of wood chips--if your grill has a chip drawer, terrific, if not, wrap your chips in aluminum foil, poke a bunch of holes in the aluminum foil, and throw that packet in--that'll generate the smoke. (I read a debate the other day about whether to soak the chips first. Conventional wisdom is yes, so they don't burn as quickly and generate much smoke. But the guys debating it online said that after trying it both ways it didn't seem to make much of a difference.)

You're not going to get nearly as much smoke, and therefore nearly as much smoke flavor, as you would with a wood fire, but you'll still get some flavor. This is going to work better with smaller pieces of meat with lighter flavors--think chicken pieces (not whole chicken) and fish. Or maybe sausage, which has its own flavor anyway. It's not going to work as well with big things like pork shoulders, hams, or whole birds. You could do a brisket this way and it'll come out cooked, but not as beautiful and smoky as over a real wood fire.

Same idea on timing--start early and go low and slow. 225 to 250 for hours and hours. Close the cover, and then don't peek. (Every peek costs you a quarter hour of cooking time.) Make sure your propane bottle has enough gas to go all day.

And don't -- DON'T -- add sauce while it's cooking. "There's two kinds of cooks--them that puts sauce on the meat and cooks it, and them that cooks the meat and then puts sauce on it. I ain't got time for them first fools."

If you want to try your hand at smoking, I suggest a water smoker as a way to start out. (It's sometimes called a "bullet smoker" because of its shape--it's vertical-cylinder shaped.) The fire is in the bottom, a pan of water or marinade goes in the middle, one grill on top of the water/marinade, and another grill on top. It is a very easy, forgiving way to learn smoking--not as drafty and unpredictable as an offset smoker, not as likely to dry stuff out because you have the water pan in there keeping things moist, and not that expensive. I bought one of these at Walmart a million years ago for $28 (a Brinkman, I think) and had a ton of fun with it in grad school. I think now at home depot they're still under $50.

Using one of those, I didn't find brisket was that hard. It was one of the first things I made and I made it often. Never screwed one up, always came out great. Dry rubbing it the night before is a good idea, but there were times I just dry rubbed it right before I put it on and it also came out OK.

You just get up and start the fire about 6 or 6:30 in the morning, put it on, and then let it go for 8 to 12 hours. You have to add wood every couple of hours, and keep an eye on the temp--you want it between 225 and 250. Low and slow.

You can also do chicken, pork shoulder, wings, sausages, and ribs. All very easy and tasty. A bullet smoker holds a lot of meat; you can feed 35 people with it if you pack stuff in and make a lot of sides.
The BBQ hotshot guys with their offset smokers may look cooler, but the water smoker is pretty foolproof.

You can buy a smoker box and wood chips at Sur la Table. Stick it under the grate and turn on the grill. We use it more for smoky flavor than actually smoking the meat though.

As an alternative, you might want to experiment with quick smoked chicken thighs on your gas grill. I've done this several times to good effect. Before I preheat the grill, I take the grates off of the far right side, then preheat and clean the remaining grates. I add a chunk of wood in the smoker box during the preheat on high. This adds less smoke than you'd think, because it's really too far off to the side, so don't worry if your grill doesn't have one. I then turn the far left and far right areas of the grill down to low, turn off the heat to the middle area and put the chicken thighs (usually just add salt, pepper, and granulated garlic a half hour before) on the non-heated portion closer to the left side, then add another chunk of wood directly onto the flames on the far right side. For me, this arrangement allows the heat to stay at a little below 300. I put the lid down and eave the thighs undisturbed for around 30 minutes and check their temperature, then when they are just shy of done, I give them a quick sear on medium to further crunchify the skin, then let them rest for a bit. You might want to check them earlier the first time.

With this method, they are not as smoky as they are when I use the smoker, but there is a definite smoke flavor, the flesh is moist, and the skin very crispy. My husband and kids love these even though they generally prefer white meat.

(OP here)- not set on brisket, and definitely not for today. Was just thinking it would be a fun, new thing to try. If it really is as complicated and not as good on the gas grill as I suspected, then I'll pass. Thanks for the input!

Anonymous wrote:I really want to try this, but all the instructions/recipes seems so complicated- I don't want to buy a 10+ slab of meat to screw it up! Anyone done this?

Brisket is not a novice bbq dish.

Iit is not done on a gas grill.

If you are cooking for others, go with a different meat.

If your heart is set on brisket, have it catered.

Brisket is a very expensive meat for a novice or inexperieced person to easily mess up.

There aren't many bbq meats that one can say this about.

Anonymous wrote:Never done it, but my brother smokes brisket with excellent results. Thing is, I don't think a gas grill would produce very good results. You need wood or at least charcoal. Even more complicated!

I suggest Red Hot and Blue or the place in Glover park whose name I can't remember.

Red hot and blue does not have good brisket.

Also, brisket takes a long time to prep.

To do it right, you want to do trim it and do a dry rub the night before.

Brisket takes hours at a very low heat to cook it properly. If you are planning to eat it today your are already too late to cook it.

My husband is an expert smoker and makes melt in your mouth brisket.

He preps it the day before so the flavors get to work.

The smoker starts up before dawn, maybe around 3:00 AM. I am not sure exactly because I am sleeping.

He puts the meat on and the brisket cooks for hours.

Brisket must reach a certain temp and be at that temp for a certain amount of time in order for the fat to break down. If you reqch that temp it will melt in your mouth. If you don't the brisket will be dry and nasty.

After you reach that temp you remove it from the heat, wrap it in foil, then towels, the. Place it in a cooler for 30 minutes or so until you cut it.

Starting before dawn, the brisket is usually done around four or five in the afternoon.

Never done it, but my brother smokes brisket with excellent results. Thing is, I don't think a gas grill would produce very good results. You need wood or at least charcoal. Even more complicated!

I suggest Red Hot and Blue or the place in Glover park whose name I can't remember.

To smkoe a brisket you need a smoker.

You cannot smoke brisket on a gas grill.

I really want to try this, but all the instructions/recipes seems so complicated- I don't want to buy a 10+ slab of meat to screw it up! Anyone done this?