Smoking on the Weber-Q200

Inspired by my first successful Pulled Pork experiments on the Q, I became very interested in generating smoke to complete the Pulled Pork experience. I put a lot of effort into finding a comfortable way to produce flavorful smoke on the Weber Q and must admit that it's not easy with a single burner. Consistently producing smoke and maintaining temperature with just one heat source is challenging. Those with grills that have multiple burners might find it easier. On larger gas grill models, it's simpler because you can often remove a grate to place a smoker box on the drip tray. This isn't possible with the Q. Below are some of my experiments and experiences.

What Doesn't Work

Using aluminum foil packets on the grate takes a very long time to produce smoke and yields very little. I filled the packets with chips. Those with gas grills that have multiple burners might succeed, but on the Q, it only works at high garage temperatures, i.e., full power on the burner.

My next idea was to place the packet on the burner, but the temperatures there caused the chips to ignite and the aluminum foil to melt. Fortunately, I hadn't placed any food on the grill for testing. It would also be annoying to have to remove the grease tray and add more chips during operation.

So, I tried creating a separate heat source for the chips at low temperatures using briquettes and a gas grill-charcoal mix.

The chips ended up in a fireproof dish under the grate.

The problem was that the charcoal burned out too quickly. There might be saturated air or something similar under the burner. I couldn't achieve consistent smoke with this method.

I then placed the dish on the burner and covered it to prevent the chips from catching fire again.

This worked only after I removed the foil. I also tried more holes, but it worked best without any covering. I used this setup several times as it was better than nothing.

It looked like this but only worked well when the grill grate wasn't used. This didn't make me entirely happy; I didn't want to spend extra money on a cold smoke generator. The goal was to produce smoke with conventional methods without buying expensive equipment.

I also experimented with beech wood. The mini-grate is a stainless steel pot holder. Due to direct contact with the flame, these chunks ignited quickly, pushing the cooking temperature so high that I soon abandoned the idea.

From the smoker oven, I took some shavings to burn like a spar-burner. Sometimes nothing happened, or the smoke was too intense and bitter. I kept experimenting.

What Works

Chips in a smoker box work. At low temperatures, it must be placed under the grate next to the burner to absorb enough heat for smoking.

The Real Only Way

The method that really works is using a SmokerTube filled with wood pellets. I got the tube for cold-smoking cheese but now use this method for everything on the Q. The pellets in the tube are ignited with a torch until they burn independently. Let it burn briefly to get embers, then extinguish the flames after 1-2 minutes. The pellets will burn gradually in the tube. The smoke is aromatic and maintains a consistent level over several hours, depending on the length of the tube.

Depending on where I place the smoke tube in the grill and the wind direction, I use foil to block one side of the Q to better trap the smoke.

For smoke on the Weber Q, I unequivocally recommend a SmokerTube with wood pellets. I most frequently use apple wood. I wouldn't want to miss my smoke tube while grilling.