Cooking Article

Today's grillers are hungrier than ever for more flavorful foods
as evidenced by the steady increase in the sales of wood chips and wood chunks over the last several years (according to the Hearth
Patio & Barbecue Association).

"When you add particular kinds of wood smoke to your food
you are taking advantage of a technique that most people associate with charcoal. Actually
it's just about as easy to control wood smoke with a gas grill
and the results are fantastic
says Chef Jamie Purviance, author of
Weber's Real Grilling."

As one of the country's top grilling and barbecue experts
Purviance offers consumers useful tips when smoking meats
fish and vegetables on gas grills:

Choosing a Smoking Flavor. "The world of barbecue has its traditional pairings of certain woods with certain meats
like hickory with pork and mesquite with beef. Those traditions wouldn't last if they didn't taste great
but keep in mind that there are many flavors of wood and foods
other than pork and beef
that improve with a touch of smoke
says Purviance. Purviance suggests smoking with hardwoods provided they are sold dry and untreated. Avoid softwoods, like pine and fir, because they are too resinous for smoking.

According to Purviance, hardwood chips and chunks fall into three categories of flavor intensity: pungent (mesquite, hickory and pecan), moderate (oak, maple and alder) and mild (apple, cherry and pear).
Beef
lamb and pork handle the pungent woods really well
he adds.
For the moderate woods
I like fish
pork and poultry. It's amazing what a handful or two of oak chips can do for chicken pieces. Very quickly they pick up a deep wood-fired flavor without any bitterness. The mild woods have an even sweeter
fruitier quality
which works beautifully with chicken and also with vegetables."

Prepping the Wood. Not quite ready for grilling
wood chips should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes; chunks need at least a one-hour soak. Soaking ensures that chips/chunks will smolder rather than simply burn. Thoroughly drain and loosely fill the gas grill's smoker box
such as the one featured on some Weber Summitฎ grills
and leave enough room for air to circulate.

On the Rocks. Even without a smoking attachment
you can still enjoy the diverse
rich flavors imparted by smoking. Simply place presoaked wood chips in a foil pan
cover with aluminum foil
and poke enough holes in the foil to allow the smoke to escape. Once the grill is preheated
place the foil pan directly on the bars or lava rocks over the lit burner. Place the cooking grates on top
turn the burners on high
and close the lid. Begin cooking when the grill is fully smoking.

Smoking Sense. Whenever smoking your foods
Purviance offers this last reminder: Meats and vegetables will taste best if the smoke is kept inside the grill. So don't peek too much. Keep the lid down when grilling with wood. And
for safety
always allow the wood to cool completely before disposing it.