How to turn a kettle barbecue into a smoker
Yes it’s true. You CAN turn that kettle barbecue into your own homemade smoker. Because a kettle barbecue has a lid, it can be firmly closed to help contain the smoke. All you need now is a sunny weekend to give this DIY trick a go.
If you’ve got even more time to play with (and some room in your garden), why not build your own cob oven?
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You’ll need:
- A kettle barbecue
- Extra-thick kitchen foil
- Aluminum dish or baking tray
- Charcoal
- Hickory wood chips (available from lakeland.co.uk)
- 1 litre water or a mix of 500ml water and 500ml cider (or beer or wine)
- A digital thermometer
Method
- Cover two thirds of the base/lower rack of your kettle barbecue with extra-thick kitchen foil, leaving the rest of the grill uncovered for the coals.
- Take an aluminium dish (you can buy these in any supermarket) or roasting tray that’s about the same size as the foil-covered area and put it on top, then line this with another layer of extra-thick foil. This will serve as the drip tray.
- Cover the un-foiled section of the barbecue base with charcoal and light the coals. Once they are glowing white, add a good handful of hickory or other wood chips.
- Pour 1 litre water or a mix of water and cider into your drip tray, then put the top barbecue grill in position. Close the lid and put a thermometer through the vents at the top of the barbecue (some barbecues come with their own thermometer).
- After about 15 minutes or so it should be at temperature (150C-180C) and is ready to cook with.
Smoking large joints of meat can take a long time so you may need to restart the smoker after a while. Remove the meat and keep warm, add more charcoal, relight and, when ready, add more wood chips, then continue with the smoking.
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