How do I make food from my gas barbecue taste like it’s charcoal grilled?

Everybody loves the smoky flavour imparted to food by an authentic charcoal BBQ.

Gas barbecues, on the other hand are renowned primarily for their ease of use, combining the qualities of being simple to ignite at the touch of a button, with heat controlled by an easy twist of a dial and being almost mess-free to use.

However, if you’ve ever had concerns that when cooking on a gas barbecue you might miss out on exciting smoky barbecue flavours, or if you’ve ever wondered How do I make food from my gas barbecue taste like it’s charcoal grilled? then fear not, we have several suggestions for you to try which will help food cooked on a gas barbecue taste every bit as good as that from a charcoal grill.

Practice Lid Down Cooking

Our first and easiest recommendation is to always barbecue with the lid down.This traps smoke given off by the cooking process in the lid of your barbecue so that it can’t escape.

Driven by the convection process, heat will circulate smoke up into the lid, where it cools, and falls, surrounding your food, so that it has the best chance of permeating what you are cooking on the grill.

Cooking with the lid down will improve the flavour of your barbecue food, but exercise some caution as food will cook quicker this way, than if you are used to cooking with the lid up.

Weber recommend practising lid down cooking with all their gas barbecues as it is so effective for improving flavour.

Postion food over Flavorizer Bars

There is a common misconception that the smoky taste is created by smoke from the charcoal burning on a charcoal grill. However research has shown that in fact during normal grilling it is mostly the action of cooking juices dripping onto the super-hot charcoal then sizzling and vaporising which creates the rising smoke that penetrates food and imparts flavour.

Metal flavorizer bars on gas barbecues are designed to work in much the same way. Sitting directly above the gas flames, they are heated to a high temperature, and as food cooks, the dripping cooking juices vaporise on the bars, creating smoke which permeates the food on your grill, enveloping it in smoky flavour.

So positioning food above the flavorizer bars whilst it cooks will generate the greatest quantitiy of smoke flavour in your food. Most medium to large Weber gas barbecues use flavorizer bars in this way and it’s one of the many reasons that Weber barbecues are well regarded.

Western Red Cedar Planks

Ideal for adding a mild sweet smoked taste to delicate barbecue food, such as salmon, halibut or trout, Weber Western Red Cedar Wood Planks for can be used on any gas barbecue . Weber also suggest smoking cheese this way and recommend Brie or Camembert can be smoked on cedar planks too.

They are availabe in two sizes, which are ideal for steaks, smaller fillets or accepting a whole fish at once.

Easy to use, simply soak the plank in water before use (ideally overnight or follow instructions provided) and then place your favourite meat or fish on the plank and into the barbecue and start smoking away.

Not only does it make it easier to manage fish and meat in an out of the barbecue, but it adds delicious smoky flavour from the aroma created by the planks. Plus the set of 2 planks can be reused quite a few times, making them very good value for money.

Use a Weber Universal Smoker Box

We think we’ve saved the best method to get a smoky flavour on a gas barbecue ’til last. When cooking low and slow on a charcoal barbecue, it is common practice to add wood chips or wood chunks to create additional smoke. Exciting flavour combinations can be produced by choosing wood which complements the food on the grill. By using A Weber Smokebox, it’s easy to create a similar effect on any gas barbecue.

A Smoker Box is a metal container full of holes which lets in heat at the bottom and allows smoke to flood out of the top. The smoke will fill the lid of your barbecue and wrap around the food which is cooking on the grate, enhancing the flavour as it cooks. What’s more, it’s incredibly straightforward to use a smoker box.

How to use a Weber Universal Smoker Box

• Simply pre-soak your chosen Weber Wood chips for around 30 minutes and place them in the box
• Heat up your barbecue as normal (to save time you can do this whilst your chips are soaking)
• Put the full smoker box on the grate directly above a burner and close the BBQ lid
• Turn the burner below the Smokebox to full heat, until the box starts smoking.
• At this point the barbecue can be used as usual to cook indirectly with the lid down

When using this method, the hood will fill with the smoke from the wood chips, wrapping around your food as it cooks, imparting the delicious flavours and aroma of real wood smoke to the items on the grill. You’ll be able to explore mouthwatering dishes that make a fantastic centrepiece, such as smoky barbecue brisket that falls apart on the plate, or delicious pulled pork that melts in the mouth. You’ll find succulent smoked fish dishes are a delight for the tastebuds and even vegetable dishes can be brought to life with a bit of smoke in this way.

We recommend pairing the subtle sweetness of Apple Wood Chips as a great flavour booster for white meats, using Beech wood for a rich smoked flavour for barbecued beef, Whiskey Wood Chips to add a deep sweet smoke to pork chops, chicken or tenderloin. You can also uplift chicken or pork dishes by exploring the carefully balanced Poultry and Pork Smoking Blends.

We hope our smoky suggestions have given you food for thought.

To recap, practising lid down cooking, positioning your juiciest food over flavoriser bars and using Weber Red Cedar Planks or a Universal Smoker Box will all pay dividends in enhancing the authentic smoky flavours of your grilled food.

Also, if you are in the market for a new barbecue, you could try looking at a dual fuel hybrid model for gas barbecue convenience with the addition of real charcoal. Another option is to explore Wood Pellet Barbecues, which offer maximum real wood smoke taste and are just as convenient as cooking on gas.

You can browse all our gas barbecues and hybrid grills online, or alternatively, you can shop our smoking accessories as well.