You can get real smoke on a gas grill

Yes, you can get real smoky flavor on a gas grill using wood chips. It won’t be exactly like a charcoal or offset smoker, but it’s close enough.

The easiest method: make a foil packet. Soak a cup of wood chips in water for 30 minutes (or skip soaking if you want faster, dirtier smoke – but soaking gives more consistent smoldering). Drain them, pile them in the center of a double layer of heavy-duty foil, fold it into a flat packet, and poke a few holes in the top. Put that packet directly on the burner grate, under the cooking grates, on one side of the grill. Turn that burner to high. Within 10 minutes you’ll see thin blue smoke. Then turn that burner down to medium, preheat everything, and put your food on the other side for indirect cooking.

If you have a smoker box (often a metal box with holes), skip the foil – fill it with dry or soaked chips, put it over a burner, same deal. The key is to keep the smoke going without overheating your grill. Once the chips are done smoldering (20–30 minutes), the smoke stops. You can add more chips if you want, but most things only need 30–45 minutes of smoke. After that, you’re just heating.

One tip: don’t open the lid every five minutes. Let the smoke build. And don’t oversmoke – wood chips on gas