Popular Mechanics
May 27, 2016
The Trick That Turns Your Grill Into a Top-Notch Smoker
They say that a great charcoal grill is just a so-so smoker. But do you really need to buy a $600 smoker to give your brisket the delectable flavor you seek? Weber’s all-in-one chef, cookbook author, and food blogger Jamie Purviance says you don’t have to splurge or hack apart your grill to make it a smoker. You just need to know the snake method.
“Innovations are happening in barbecue all the time,” he says. “The snake method is one the more recent innovations, and it is just now going mainstream.”
The method involves building a stacked wall of briquettes leaning against each other like dominoes in a semicircle. Light the charcoal on one end and let it burn like a fuse down the path of briquettes over the course of half a day. Snake method works on any circular charcoal grill, like the one you might have at home or the small one you take on camping grills. It’ll hold a steady temperature all day and slow-cook ribs, brisket, pulled pork, fish, and whole turkeys and chickens. By dinner you’ll have tender, fall-off-the-bone barbecue.
Weber Grill