The first attempt usually goes the same way. You throw a handful of wood chips onto the flame tamers, they flare, burn out in ten minutes, and the pork tastes like a normal roast. Smoking on a gas BBQ does work. It just asks for a different set-up to the one you use for snags and steak.
This guide covers the technique: how to arrange the burners, what wood to use, how to hold a low temperature with the hood down, and how to tell when the meat is done. It applies to most hooded models in our BBQs and outdoor cooking range.
What smoking on a gas BBQ asks of your barbecue
Three things make it possible. You need a hood that closes properly, so smoke and heat stay in the cavity instead of drifting over the fence. You need enough burners to run some and leave others off. And you need a way to read the temperature inside, whether that is a hood gauge or a probe on the grate.
The set-up is simple. Light the burners down one side, leave the burners beneath the food off, and put the meat over the cold zone. That is indirect heat: the food cooks in circulating hot air rather than by contact with flame. A wider BBQ helps, because the gap between fire and food is bigger. Something like the Napoleon Rogue XT 625 SIB 5 Burner BBQ ($2,999) leaves room to keep a large cut clear of the lit side.
Two burners is the practical minimum. You can smoke on a smaller unit, but with a narrower cool zone and smaller cuts.
Wood chips, chunks and how much to use
Chips are the usual choice on gas because they catch and start smoking quickly. Chunks last longer but need more sustained heat to get going, which is hard to deliver through a flame tamer. Fruit woods are mild and suit chicken and pork; heavier hardwoods sit better under beef and lamb.
Restraint matters more than variety. A generous handful is plenty for a first run, and too much wood gives a bitter, ashtray edge that no amount of resting will fix. Never burn treated pine, painted offcuts or anything you cannot identify — if it did not come out of a bag sold for cooking, it does not go in the BBQ.
Smoker box, foil pouch or smoker pipe?
The job is the same for all of them: hold the wood close enough to the heat to smoulder, but not so close that it bursts into flame. Which one you choose comes down to how often you plan to do this.
| Method | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Foil pouch | Trying it once before committing | Pierce the top or it steams; single use |
| Smoker box | Regular weekend cooks | Has to sit where it gets real heat |
| Smoker pipe | Tight gaps under the grate | Holds less wood, so top it up |
| Cast iron tray | Longer cooks and repeat use | Heavy and slower to come up to heat |
A foil pouch costs nothing. Wrap a handful of chips in a double layer of heavy foil, pierce a few holes in the top, and sit it over a lit burner. It is the honest way to find out whether you like the result before spending anything.
Past that point, a purpose-made box is easier to load, easier to position and does not tear. The Rogue Smoker Box ($63) sits over a lit burner and stays where you put it.
Where clearance under the grate is tight, a slimmer shape helps. The Napoleon Smoker Pipe ($38) slides into gaps a box will not fit, and the Cast Iron Smoker Tray for LEX/BILEX/Rogue ($125) suits anyone smoking often enough to want something that holds its heat.
Hood down, vents open and holding a low temperature
Once the wood is smoking, the hood stays down. Every lift dumps the smoke you just made and drops the cavity temperature, and gas can take several minutes to claw that back. Leave any rear or hood vent open, because smoke needs to move across the food and out again rather than stagnate. A sealed cavity gives you a sooty flavour instead of a clean one.
Low and slow also means the dial sits far lower than you are used to. Run the lit burners at their lowest usable setting, see where the cavity settles, then adjust one burner at a time. Wind and cold air pull that reading down, so a July cook in Ballarat behaves nothing like a March one in Darwin. If the temperature will not come down, too many burners are lit.
Doneness, food safety and smoking outdoors in Australia
Time is the least useful measure in any smoke. A shoulder that took five hours last month can take seven this month because it went on colder, or the day is windier. Cook to internal temperature instead, measured with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and kept away from bone.
Work to the published safe internal temperatures. Poultry should reach 75°C in the thickest part of the thigh. Whole cuts of beef and lamb are a matter of preference, but mince, sausages and rolled or stuffed joints need the same treatment as poultry. Rest anything large before carving.
Fire restrictions apply even when you are cooking with gas. Rules on total fire ban days vary by state and by council, and gas appliances, solid fuel and open fires are treated differently. Check with your state fire authority — the NSW Rural Fire Service, the Country Fire Authority in Victoria, or the equivalent where you live. If a big cut on a spit is more your speed, our guide to using a BBQ rotisserie covers that method instead.
A BBQ you are happy to run for hours at a low setting is worth having if this becomes a habit. The Coleman Revolution Dual Fuel BBQ – Shadow Gloss ($2,199) is one option if the cooking is going into a bench.
Smoking on a gas BBQ — frequently asked questions
Do you need to soak wood chips first?
No, and soaking mostly delays things. Wet chips produce steam until the water boils off, so you wait longer for smoke rather than getting more of it. If chips keep catching alight, the fix is a better enclosure that limits oxygen, not water.
How long does a load of wood chips smoke for?
Expect one load to cover part of the cook rather than all of it, so plan on topping up. Meat also takes on most of its smoke early, while the surface is still cool and damp, so adding wood late does less than people expect.
Can you use a smoker box on any gas BBQ?
Only where there is clearance between the cooking grate and whatever sits below it. Measure that gap before buying, because a box that will not fit under the grate cannot get close enough to the heat to smoulder. A pipe or a flat foil pouch is the workaround.
Will a gas BBQ ever taste like a dedicated smoker?
Not identically — think of it as adding genuine smoke flavour to a gas cook. A dedicated smoker runs lower and keeps wood burning continuously, which builds a deeper flavour and a smoke ring. On gas you get a cleaner, lighter smoke that most households are happy with.
Shop the range
Smoking gear is inexpensive next to the BBQ it sits inside, so start with a box or a pipe from our BBQ accessories range. If it is the BBQ itself you are after, the hooded models in our Napoleon BBQs collection are built for hood-down cooking. We deliver Australia-wide, delivery is free on orders over $100, and installation is available on request.
