If you are looking to smoke your food right in the convenience of your home, you will need to go for the best smoker box for gas grill.
A gas grill with an inbuilt smoker is truly a blessing in disguise. Even if you have a wood smoker it will work well for flavoring your grilled food.
You can find a range of smoker boxes on the market. But in this article, we will review the top 7 smoker boxes by taking various factors into account other than the price.
Char-Broil Cast Iron Smoker Box
Editors’ Choice:4.5 out of 5.0 stars
This Smoker Box made of cast iron by Char-Broil features durable construction and comes with a lid as well. The lid has vents in it and they play a very important role in directing smoke towards the food that you place on your smoker.
Due to its design, it allows wood chips to smolder instead of catching the flame. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about cleaning any messes once you are done cooking. Its dimensions are 1.38-inch x 5.13-inch x 8.12-inch and it weighs around 4 lbs.
Since it is made of heavy gauge steel, it will take some time to warm up. It might affect the overall performance of your wood chips, especially during crunch time. Apart from that, the box itself comes with a very small space in it and can only hold a few wood chips at a time.
The overall design of this smoker box ensures the wood in your smoker doesn’t catch fire.
Charcoal Companion Stainless Steel V-Shape Smoker Box
Editors’ Choice:4.4 out of 5.0 stars
This V-shaped smoking accessory has a sufficient interior space that works well with any type of gas grill out there.
The box measures to be 13.75-inch x 4.2-inch x 2-inch. With these numbers, it goes to show this smoker box can conveniently house longer wood chips as well.
The bottom side is triangular or V in shape and you can conveniently place it under your grill grate right between heat reflector bars for an excellent smoking effect.
This box also comes with a lid you can easily open/close with the hinges that will hold it in place.
The use of stainless steel makes it the best smoker box for gas grill because it can easily withstand high temperatures and can also handle different weather conditions.
Weber Universal Stainless Steel Smoker Box
Editors’ Choice: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars
This box is designed to fit all grills by Weber from the Q200 Series. But it can also fit larger gas grills for other brands as well. The smoker box has a universal yet very familiar design. You can conveniently place this box on the grill grates of larger grill units. It helps in significantly improving smoke delivery especially if you compare it with the stands smokers.
This smoker box also comes with a lid that has hinged and it makes loading the smoker box pretty convenient. The box has 15 slim openings to ensure proper smoke diffusion with maximum smoke output.
The dimensions of this smoker box are 9.7-inch x 4.7-inch x 2-inch. and you can place it under the grates of your grill for the best smoking experience.
Cave Tools Smoker Box for BBQ Grill Wood Chip
Editors’ Choice: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars
Cave Tool’s smoker comes with an optimized lid construction and comes with maximum capacity to hold wood pellets. No matter what type of gas grill you use, this smoker box is going to work very well for you.
The box comes with a wider and slimmer profile to ensure more wood can burn at the same time with a wider wood-to-metal area. It can cover more grill surface and holds more wood chips. It can easily hold up to 3 cups of wood pellets in it.
But it still is a pretty lightweight smoker box despite being made of quality stainless steel material. The dimensions of this smoker are 9-inch x 3-inch x 1.5-inch and it conveniently fits most of the grills out there.
Skyflame Wood Chip Smoker Box with Wavy Smoke
Editors’ Choice: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars
This smoker box comes with a W-shape and has a wavy pattern on the lid for better smoke infusions during the cooking process. Its dimensions are 12.5-inch x 3.3-inch x 2.5-inch and are entirely made of stainless steel.
The design and construction of this smoker box will allow it to withstand high temperatures inside your grill. It also comes with a lid that has a hinged design. It means you can conveniently add and remove your favorite wood chips whenever you need them.
With the stainless steel construction, this smoker box is very easy to clean and maintain. Due to its W-shape, the smoker box can conveniently fit the deflector bars and ensures intense smoky flavor to your food just the way you like it. And with the wavy pattern on the lid this smoker box ensures your food gets the maximum infusion of smoky flavor just the way you love it.
Cave Tools Smoker Box Maximum Wood Chip Capacity
Editors’ Choice: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars
This smoker box is made of 25% thicker stainless steel and it won’t warp no matter what. You can conveniently use it on your gas and charcoal grill.
This stainless steel smoker box for gas grill also comes with a hinged lid so you can conveniently add and remove wood pellets into it. With a wider design, this smoker box can cover more areas and can burn the pellets at a consistent rate.
The wood box also ensures the food gets an even amount of smoke infusions. Its dimensions are 9-inch x 5.1-inch x 1.3-inch and it weighs around one and a half pounds for convenient handling.
GrillPro Cast Iron Smoker Box
Editors’ Choice: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars
This cast iron smoker for gas grill can survive the high temperatures due to its material. You won’t have to spend much time on the cleanliness and maintenance of this box. If you’re looking for a compact design, this one is the right option.
The dimensions of this box are 8-inch x 5-inch x 1.5-inch and it can also fit in relatively smaller grills. But it still comes with enough interior room to hold at always a couple of cups of wood pellets.
Furthermore, it comes with a lid but it is not hinged to the body of the box, which is a bit of a shocker. It can be a bit of a hassle when you are loading or unloading your smoker box during the grilling process.
How to Use a Smoker Box on A Gas Grill?
There is no hard and fast rule for using a smoker box on a grill, different people have different techniques to use on their grills to smoke their food. However, the basics technique is pretty simple. This is especially the case when you are using a reusable smoker box.
You can always place your smoker box during the grilling process particularly in the second half of it. Just lay the box with pellets and allow the smoke to infuse into the food. You can also place the box earlier, take it out in the middle, and then put it back in.
Some people even leave it inside the grill. But it would be a better option for you to place the smoker box where there is a place available for you.
Do not place the box inside the grill right from the beginning and leave it inside until the end. This is especially the case if you are placing it on the grill grates.
Smoker Box Buying Guide
Here are some important points you need to keep in mind when looking for the best smoker box for a gas grill.
Materials
As you are going to place your smoker box inside the grill so it needs to be made of durable materials to withstand all that heat. Plus, this smoker box will also have wood pellets in it so it needs to tolerate a lot of heat.
And for that, you need to go for high-quality materials like stainless steel or cast iron. Stainless steel doesn’t take much time to heat up and is easy to clean. But cast iron stays hot for longer and produces a rich smoky flavor.
Cleaning and maintenance
These smoker boxes go right under the food and from there the fat drips into them. Therefore, you need to go for a model that is very easy to clean and stainless tell is the right option for you here.
Size
You should go for a smoker box that can easily accommodate a decent amount of wood pellets into it. It means you won’t have to refill the box again and again. It must go well with the size of the grill and shouldn’t be too small or too large to not evenly infuse smoke into the food.
Lid
A lid needs to fit tightly on the box but should be very easy to open. Without the lid, your wood pellets won’t smoke and will burn out pretty quickly. Lids also come with hinges so you can load pellets into them with convenience. They also come with patterns to make sure the smoke-infused into the food conveniently.
FAQs
Q: Where should I place my smoker box in the grill?
A: You can palace your smoke box right under the grates. There is a space between the flame deflectors and the grates. This is where you can place your smoker box. Some smoker boxes are designed to be placed over the grates as well.
Q: Do these smoker boxes work?
A: In the long run, they do pay off especially if you are a heavy BBQer and use large grilling equipment, investing in these reusable smokers will work better for you. If you don’t smoke your food much, it would be better for you to go for the disposable fossil smoker boxes.
Q: What types of wood pellets should I use?
A: The types of wood pellets you should choose for smoking rely heavily on your personal preferences as well as the type of food you are cooking. Just make sure you allow your food to properly infuse the smoke to the best results.
Conclusion:
The best smoker box for gas grill is the Charcoal Companion V-Shape Smoker. It has a pretty need design with a hinged lid and loading and unloading with wood pellets is not a problem even during the cooking process. It is made of stainless steel and can withstand high temperatures pretty easily.
Moreover, it has a universal design and you can conveniently use it with all types of gas grills. Smoking your food is smoothing that BBQ fans love the most. And if your grill doesn’t come with a smoker box, you can use such a reusable version of this box to flavor your food just the way you like it.
