When it is time to start looking at your smoker as a multi-faceted solution, it’s important to consider what your options are and how you are going to get more out of the fixture.
The best solution is to find out whether or not it will help prepare meals in a unique manner.
One option is to ask, can you use a smoker as a charcoal grill?
You can use a smoker as a charcoal grill as long as it is done carefully. To do this, light the charcoal, let the fire burn down, add wood chips, and then let the vents regulate the temperature until it’s set at 220 degrees.
This should be enough for it to work as a charcoal grill.
You will want to be methodical while doing this and keep tabs on the temperature. Otherwise, it will not be hot enough to work as a charcoal grill and you will not get the results you are after.
Steps On How To Use A Smoker As A Charcoal Grill
1. Light The Charcoal
To get started, you will want to light the charcoal.
This is going to help prepare the fixture to begin working as a charcoal grill. You will want to make sure it is prepped in a way that is efficient and is not going to get in the way of how you prepare food.
At this point in the process, your only goal is to get the smoker to a level where it can be used as a charcoal grill.
Do not worry about the temperature.
All you are going to do is light the charcoal and then let it sit.
2. Let The Fire Burn Down
Now that you have lit the charcoal, you are going to begin working on burning the fire down.
This is a step that is important.
You don’t want to go with a situation where the fire does not burn as this is dangerous. It is something you are going to want to account for when it comes to doing things the right way.
If you don’t let the fire burn down, it is not going to be ready for the wood chips later.
Be patient during this step and do make sure the fire burns down. It will take a few minutes to get to this stage.
3. Add A Handful Of Wood Chips
At this point, you are going to want to focus on adding a handful of wood chips into the mix.
The goal here is to ensure the wood chips are set up the right way.
You will want to only add a handful because that is enough to begin warming the smoker. If you add too much, it will not maintain the heat as it needs to.
The handful of wood chips should get the job done and make sure the smoker is ready to go.
4. Use Vents To Regulate The Temperature To 220 Degrees
When you have added the wood chips, you are going to realize the smoke will intensify.
This is normal.
The goal now is to use the vents with the smoker to begin focusing on the temperature. Before this, you will not be looking at the temperature but as soon as the wood chips are in there, it’s time to re-focus on this aspect.
The vents will help release some of the heat.
This is key as you are going to want to stabilize the temperature at somewhere around 220 degrees. It can be a little higher than this if necessary.
Final Thoughts
Follow these steps when learning how to use a smoker as a charcoal grill.
If you want to use a smoker as a charcoal grill, start by lighting the charcoal, letting the fire burn down, and then adding a handful of wood chips. This will prep the charcoal grill and make sure it is ready to work as intended. Once done, open the vents to control the grill’s temperature and ensure it is set at 220 degrees.
This should be good enough to make sure the smoker works as it needs to.
Be diligent when looking at the smoker’s temperature to make sure it does not rise too much. If you do realize this type of change, the focus should be to bring it down by opening the vents further.
