Adapting gas grill recipes for SmokeFire


 
Michael Neely

Michael Neely

New member
Hi all, I’m new to this forum and to the SmokeFire, but I’ve had a Weber Genesis 330 for years and love it. Most of the recipes on the Weber website and in the app are for gas or charcoal. My Weber Book of Grilling is falling apart because I’ve used it so much, and it never let me down. Does anyone have strategies for adapting those gas grill recipes to the SmokeFire? For example, most of them use indirect heat, which isn’t an option in the smoker grill per se.

Thanks for any advice.
 
I don't know about adapting a recipe from one grill to the other as they're vastly different types of cooking for the most part. Though the SF does have the advantage of cooking at a bit higher temps than a coventional pellet cooker. So, it may not end up as different as you might think
 
Welcome here!

A couple thoughts: placing your food on the upper grate or placing foil pan(s) on the flavorizer bars of your SF are mostly equivalent, in my estimation, to an indirect cook.

Consider sharing a couple specific recipes that you do often and maybe some folks will have other thoughts.
 
Lew Newby said:
I don't use this to guide my cooks but you have an info source on your phone. The Weber Connect app has lots of recipes for the Smokefire and will give you a guided cook. Just follow the app. It might be worth a try.
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That's what I use, just as a base for temps, times.
 
It wasn't much of a learning curve switching from lp and coal. Best advice, use the temp probes to monitor the food and grill temp when smoking. If your looking, your not cooking. The SmokeFire is virtually set and forget once your comfortable with it. I only use the app for monitoring the grill.

Welcome to the SmokeFire Forum Michael. We love pictures. Enjoy your new smoker. I have a feeling your gas grill is going to get little use from now on.

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Yep, believe me. You will really enjoy your new SF. If not only just the pellet life. It's so nice to not have to worry so much about the machine and concentrate more on your food. Yes it will be a little like your indoor oven (only in that you dial in a temp and rally not needed or wanted to be opening it up all the time).
Your SF will need slightly different care than the more "conventional" units many of have. Not necessarily more jkust different. But you will enjoy it. And don't fret too much about trying to follow something to the letter. I've never used a "recipe" other than watching my S&P ratios in a rub :D.
I think you will find it quite intuitive (though yeah believe me you may have a failure here or there) but without those you don't learn
 
Thanks everyone for the welcome and the encouragement! Yes, on the gas grill I used recipes for inspiration on the rubs, marinades, and brines, and as a guide to the time and method of cooking (indirect, direct, sear,...) but verified meat doneness with a thermometer, which of course necessitated opening the grill and probing the meat. I've done it long enough that way that I never bothered getting an externally linked thermometer...lazy in retrospect. Of course, I didn't always follow a recipe either. :)

I have the Weber Connect App, but I haven't found any SmokeFire recipes. Searching "smoke" in the app pulls up lots, but the first step in most of them is "soak the wood chips" and then "prepare grill for indirect cooking". I even looked for the specific recipes that came with the SmokeFire on a glossy insert, e.g. "Classic Roast Chicken - For Weber SmokeFire", which is not in Connect app either, although you can find it on the website, along with lots of other recipes for SmokeFire indeed. Just not in the app, which is the latest version (currently 2.3.1). Am I missing something?

Interestingly on weber.com under the Mastering Smoke resources, they don't even talk about pellets or SmokeFire. Seems like they haven't caught up with their own product line, even though it's been around for a few years.

But yes, I'm looking forward to getting into it, and I'll post some pics, probably of the Thanksgiving turkey. I've spun it on the rotisserie over the gas flame for years, so this is going to be a new treat. Now if Amazon would just hurry up and deliver the Weber pellets...Can't seem to find any locally, even here in the Pasadena, CA area. Lots of Traeger, but I've read in multiple posts that they tend to jam the auger and better to use Weber or Lumberjack, which I also haven't yet found locally...:unsure:
 
Michael Neely said:
I have the Weber Connect App, but I haven't found any SmokeFire recipes
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Is that the one they tell you to download with the smokefire?
Most of what I'm seeing are for the smokefire, like brisket, butts , turkey.
Basically they tell you time , temp and to set up direct or indirect with a foil pan on top of the flavorizer bars.
 
timothy said:
Is that the one they tell you to download with the smokefire?
Most of what I'm seeing are for the smokefire, like brisket, butts , turkey.
Basically they tell you time , temp and to set up direct or indirect with a foil pan on top of the flavorizer bars.
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As far as I can tell I have the right app: Weber Connect. I've attached screenshots, one showing nothing when searching "smokefire". I've also just searched "smoke" and that pulls up a lot, but none of them for SmokeFire or pellet grill. Can you give me a specific recipe you've found for SmokeFire and I can search for that? Thanks very much.
 

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LMichaels said:
If you have a Costco or Sam's they have great deals on great pellets. Don't be afraid of them
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Thanks very much. My Costco only carries Bear Mountain, Kirkland, and Traeger. Home Depot only had Traeger. I read a lot about people feeling like BM and Traeger jammed the auger or had inferior flavor. Anybody tried Kirkland brand? The price on all of them was more than Weber pellets from Amazon. I'm going to see if my local hardware store up the street can help. They carry Weber wood chips, but I haven't seen pellets. Ridiculous in a giant urban area such as where I live. I imagine I'll find something local eventually.
 
Look for LumberJack pellets. Very affordable and many believe they make the Weber pellets. My local grocery store carries them even. Outside of CookinPellets and Lumberjack, most other brands are 70-80% oak or alder for single species pellets. Meaning ‘Hickory’ pellets are often 80% oak, 20% Hickory. I believe LJ’s MHC blend might be the Weber GrillMaster blend. No oak, only maple, hickory, and cherry.
 
Michael Neely said:
As far as I can tell I have the right app: Weber Connect. I've attached screenshots, one showing nothing when searching "smokefire". I've also just searched "smoke" and that pulls up a lot, but none of them for SmokeFire or pellet grill. Can you give me a specific recipe you've found for SmokeFire and I can search for that? Thanks very much.
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This is one for Tomahawk pork chop.
Pretty generic. i don't get why you would use water in the pan if going for 500 but I'm also new to SF.
 

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Hey guys, the cookbook I was going to post and use today is "The New Gas Grill Gourmet" by A. Cort Sinnes-1996,2005. Should I toss it?
 
I cannot imagine the Kirkland are anywhere near as costly as Weber pellets. I only pay $12.99 for 40#. I really stock up on them. And honestly I like them a lot. Others here have tried them as well. The Sam's IIRC are made by Bear Mountain and also excellent but 14.99 for 40#. I tend to go for the Kirkland ones a little more. I find them a little less "dusty", and a little more uniform in size (less little ones like Sam's). But honestly Sam's (SmokeHouse) have never caused an issue in either my Member's Mark or my Z Grill. I think the flavor profile is about the same as they're pretty much the same mix of woods (oak, cherry, hickory)
 
LMichaels said:
I cannot imagine the Kirkland are anywhere near as costly as Weber pellets. I only pay $12.99 for 40#. I really stock up on them. And honestly I like them a lot. Others here have tried them as well. The Sam's IIRC are made by Bear Mountain and also excellent but 14.99 for 40#. I tend to go for the Kirkland ones a little more. I find them a little less "dusty", and a little more uniform in size (less little ones like Sam's). But honestly Sam's (SmokeHouse) have never caused an issue in either my Member's Mark or my Z Grill. I think the flavor profile is about the same as they're pretty much the same mix of woods (oak, cherry, hickory)
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You must not live in California.:LOL: Sales tax is high with us (10%), but not that high. Man, they are jacking up the price here. Or maybe that's the online price; I haven't had the grill long enough to price them in the warehouse itself.
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timothy said:
This is one for Tomahawk pork chop.
Pretty generic. i don't get why you would use water in the pan if going for 500 but I'm also new to SF.
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I don't think that is for SmokeFire specifically as there is no smoking and the pictures are of a gas grill grate. Obviously one can make them with the SmokeFire, but it would be nice if Weber actually included some recipes with instructions for SmokeFire, like "best done over hickory", "use Smokeboost with this" etc. It would help us SF newbies cross over.
 
Michael Neely said:
I don't think that is for SmokeFire specifically as there is no smoking and the pictures are of a gas grill grate. Obviously one can make them with the SmokeFire, but it would be nice if Weber actually included some recipes with instructions for SmokeFire, like "best done over hickory", "use Smokeboost with this" etc. It would help us SF newbies cross over.
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Yea I think they just copied and pasted some recipies for gassers.
 
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