Barbequing in the United States is a tradition as well known as apple pies and the fourth of July. Grilling hot dogs and steaks in your backyard is one of the most American traditions out there and that’s why there are so many grills and brick ovens in residential areas around the USA.

This is why it’s important that you learn how to use a smoker grill combo. After all, using one will help you to have parties and invite friends and coworkers over for celebrations and birthdays.

What is a smoker grill combo?

A smoker is an apparatus that is used for cooking at low temperatures. It should be ideally used in a controlled environment for the smoking of food. Temperature control is essential for ideal operation since a lot of fires can be generated if the heat gets out of control.

If a piece of cooking equipment can hold a low temperature for several hours and it can create smoke, then it can technically be qualified as a smoker. There are various different types of smokers that are sold; ones that work with wood and charcoal pellets and ones which are fully electric.

Different Types of Smoker Grill Combos

There are various different types of smokers that are sold, ones that work with wood and charcoal pellets and ones that are fully electric. Here’s a quick look at the main smoker and grill combos you can get if you want to prepare your own tasty smoked meats.

Grills With Offset Smokers

Charcoal grills, gas grills, and wood grills can all be designed with an offset smoker as a grill expander. The offset smoker is usually pretty small compared to the grill and fits on the side. With offset smokers, you can add the coals created in the grill to the smoker to warm up the unit.

Meats can then be smoked while you keep a fire going on the side to produce more fuel for your smoker.

Wood Pellet Smoker Grill Combo

Pellet grills can look a lot like an average wood grill but they’re designed with a lid that seals tightly. By adding the right wood pellets to your pellet grill and closing the lid, you can smoke meats while they’re being grilled.

Charcoal Smoker Grill Combo

Instead of wood, these grills use charcoal to produce heat. Charcoal smoker grills usually have a vertical design with added chambers to make extra room for wood pellets to enhance the smoky flavor of foods. Charcoal grills with a horizontal design usually come with an offset smoker on the side.

The designs of grill smoker combos can greatly vary and new models are being produced every so often. You can now even find portable grills and electric grills that can be used for smoking. These combo units are ideal for people who love to prepare a greater variety of tasty foods all on the same grill.

Get a smoker grill combo

Get a smoker grill combo first. Don’t splurge too much on one since you can probably get one at a decent price, but the fancy ones don’t add too much value to your meat. Remember, it’s your ability more than the grill itself that makes the meat taste good.

Steps for Using a Smoker Grill Combo

Once you’ve acquired your new smoker grill combo, it’s time to put it to the test. Using a smoker for the first time can feel a bit intimidating; but hang tight, in the following steps, we’re going to show you the basics to help you get started.

Prepare smoker grill combo

Open up the firebox and toss in charcoal pellets, then set them on fire. To smoke up the grill, you need wood that has been soaked in water for thirty minutes. Throw that on to the flaming coals to produce smoke.

Remember to start with a temperature of 400 F and then bring it down to an internal temperature of about 200 F. The direct heat of the flame decontaminates the grill grates.

Flavor your Meat and Create Moisture

You can smoke just about any type of meat, but the cooking times for different meat cuts vary quite a bit. Thinner cuts and lighter meats are quicker to prepare compared to thick cuts of red meat like beef.

Before you start preparing your meat, you should add herbs and spices to a hard foil bowl filled with water and then mix them up. Then, place the bowl under the grill grate so that it is just below the cooking surface.

This process creates a lot of moisture for the meat, which will aid in the meat absorbing the smoky and spicy flavors. This is what the smoker grill combo is made for.

Juicy, flavored meat is hard to achieve and you will probably not be able to do so on your first try, but you will get better and better at it as you keep practicing.

For more flavorful food, you can add spice and seasoning directly on the meat cuts. Remember to cut the meat to size before placing the food inside the cooking chamber or you could find it hard to fit everything on the grill.

Put the Meat on the Grill

Next, place the cuts of meat on a grill grid over the spiced water and start cooking. The meat cuts should have one inch of cooking space between each cut. Make sure to check the temperature is set right where you want it. The temperature should be adjusted for the size of the meat and how well you want it done.

Close the Lid

To prevent heat loss, you should close the lid and keep checking on the meat as it cooks from time to time. You need to leave the meat in the smoker grill combo for about 1 hour to 90 minutes before checking on the smoking process the first time. Opening the lid too often may sap the heat from the grill and that’s a bad thing. Doing so may also contaminate the meat, so be careful.

Control the Temperature

Regulating the temperature is the entire game with cooking up anything. If you’re baking, frying, sautéing, or even grilling up some food, if the temperature runs away from you, you’re in trouble. Hence, you’ll need to regulate the airflow of the smoker grill combo if you want to regulate the temperature here.

Ideally, you should use a meat thermometer in order to keep track of the temperature. You should maintain a consistent temperature throughout the entire operation, so remember to keep the thermometer close by.

The dampers can also help to regulate the airflow. Open the upper or bottom damper as wide or narrow as you need to depending on the temperature regulation. The ambient temperature, as well as the wind also helps determine how much you need to open them.

Check the Food and Fuel

You need to open the lid of the smoking chamber and check the food every so often. It depends on how high the setting is and what you’re cooking. A meat thermometer with temperature probes is ideal for checking how well the food has been grilled because you can monitor your food temperature with ease.

Make sure to check the food every half an hour or so just to be sure, and make sure to check the water basin under the food if it needs a refill. You can add more fuel to the smoker box if you deem it necessary, but do all of this in moderation. Don’t lose sight of the main goal, which is to cook up some grub.

Clean up and Serve

Once the meat has been prepared, the first thing you should do is set it aside on a plate, and then leave it to cool. While the food is cooling, use a steel brush to clean the grill of any leftover meat and charcoal dust. This will prevent any burns or bruises that you may suffer as a result of negligent cleaning.

When the grill is cooled, you can clean it much more thoroughly, but for now, while you just want to go over it to preserve its function while the food cools, this is enough.

This guide is bound to help you out when you want to grill up some meat for your coworkers or friends whether you’re celebrating a birthday or a promotion or even a small holiday. Just remember that patience and diligence always goes a long way to promote safety and efficiency when you’re grilling up some grub.

Last Updated on September 2, 2021 by Judith Fertig