I am needing feedback! I was informed that I could use a wood pellet stainless steel box over a gas burner on
a steel plate 10" by 10" and this would give the same effect of wood smoked! Please give me your opinion. I have had several heart attacks and unable to cut wood, or haul any longer. But I still want the smoked wood flavor. I have a smoker that is similar to a Backwoods Smoker that I would convert to gas if you think this would work. Any help would be appreciated! And may God Bless! Thanks;
squealingfeelingbbq@gmail.com
There are also great charcoal smokers available on the market and would suggest looking at them as well. Many competition smokers are charcoal fueled. Don't forget the most obvious - The Weber Grill also doubles as a great smoker as seen over and over again on this forum.
The 10 x 10 plate you speak of would act as your heat diffuser to try and keep the heat more consistent in a vertical cooker.
You do not necessarily need a stainless steel chip box, they also sell them made of cast iron and aluminum. As Casey Dog stated even an aluminum foil package can work just fine.
The results of using pellets / chips are not exactly the same as a wood fire but can produce good results. Wood even when seasoned will give off small amounts of water vapor in the burning process. and of course will produce much more smoke to bathe the food with.
There is nothing wrong with having a gas or an electric smoker, in fact I own both types as well. I Bought my gas smokers as holding ovens but have used them as the smoker they were intended to be many times with great results. I also installed an electric smoker in my basement for cold smoking sausage and cheese in adverse weather conditions. (Don't worry it is blocked in a fire proofed area and is also vented to the outside)
The pellets do work and are readily available from "doitbest.com" and picked up at a local hardware store, or from a local "Treager" Dealer (but priced higher). Make sure you also use only "Food Grade" wood pellets and not heating pellets.
I prefer to use wood chunks and chips in the propane units because I think they produce much more thin blue smoke than the pellets appear to produce. They produce a great food product and the gas smoker can be regulated so that you do not have to spend a lot of time tending the fire and adjusting the air intakes.
The flavors from a propane smoker and a wood smoker are both great, but if you set the products side by side in a taste test you can tell the difference.
If you plan on using the propane smoker I would suggest the use of a water pan about 5" above the burner as your heat diffuser. As stated earlier pellets, wood chips, and wood chunks are available from
Do It Best. at reasonable prices. I use them when my supply of orchard wood is depleted.
Good luck on you adventure, keep us informed on your progress...
