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For those who love the taste of smoked foods but don't like the expensive retail price in supermarkets and gourmet shops, there is an option. Smoke your own! Hot smoking, although time-consuming, is easily done and you don't need to have one of those fancy $10,000 offset monsters shown on the cooking shows. Smoke-cooking most foods can be done in a kettle-style grill, a vertical smoker, a gas-fired grill, or even on your stovetop.

Smoking with a Charcoal Grill

Even though it can be done on a grill, remember that smoking is not the same as grilling. Smoking food takes a long time at a low temperature--usually around 225 degrees F., but grilling needs to be done quickly at a high temperature. If you have a traditional charcoal grill, such as the ever-popular Weber One-Touch (the 18 1/2-inch and 22 1/2-inch models range from about $100 to $180), you can smoke food by banking the charcoal on both sides of the kettle and cooking the food indirectly. To produce smoke, add to the coals some wood chips that have been soaked and drained. Place the meat, seafood or vegetables in the center of the cooking grate above the drip pan.

Using a charcoal grill requires some practice and a lot of patience. First you need to get the charcoal burning. The easiest way to do this is with a charcoal chimney, a large cylindrical device with a handle that allows you to pour the hot coals into the grill. Using a chimney is simple: fill the chimney with hardwood charcoal, place a couple of sheets of crumbled up newspaper under the bottom of the chimney and light the paper. In about 15 minutes, the coals will be ready.

A couple of hints about charcoal: use only natural charcoal, charcoal that doesn't have additives and never use "self-lighting" charcoal. That's charcoal that's been impregnated with petroleum products to make them easier to light. Self-lighting charcoal often imparts an off-taste to food, especially when smoking "low and slow." The same holds true for lighter fluid. It will give food a strange taste that isn't particularly pleasant.

Another aspect of charcoal grill smoking is learning to regulate the grill's temperature. Most charcoal grills have two sets of vents, one on the top of the grill and another on the bottom. The bottom vents control the heat of the fire (the wider the vents are open, the hotter the fire) while the top vents control the amount of smoke that stays in the cooking chamber, the wider the top vents are open, the less smoke remaining in the cooking chamber.

And with any grill, gas or charcoal, the temperature needs to be monitored. The easiest way to check the grill's temperature is to use a remote-reading thermometer placed on the cooking grate adjacent to whatever's cooking. Polder makes a good unit that is popular with many backyard cooks. To monitor the grill temperature, simply insert the probe through a small potato or wine bottle cork and place it in the center of the cooking grate. Plug the cable into the thermometer unit and place the display outside the grill. Cover the grill and wait for the temperature to stabilize. Adjust the lower vents to regulate the temperature.

With a charcoal grill, the fuel and the wood chips need to be replenished on a regular basis. About an hour or so into the cook, start another chimney half-full of coals. When the coals are ash-covered, distribute them evenly over the burning coals. Add more drained chips, cover the grill and continue smoking. Try to replenish the fuel and wood quickly because the longer the cover is off of the grill, the cooler the grill will get, and the longer it will take to smoke-cook the food. (The higher-end Weber Gold models have a hinged cooking grate to make refueling easier.)

Using a Vertical Smoker

Vertical smokers have a heat source (usually charcoal, but gas and electric models are available) at the bottom, a water pan above the heat and usually two cooking grates. One of the more popular is the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (about $250). Jim Minion, a champion barbecuer from Washington, developed a method to keep the smoker cooking for a long time without a lot of attention. On the BBQ circuit, it's known as the "Minion method." In a vertical smoker, fill the fire ring with charcoal. Fill a charcoal chimney about 1/3 full of charcoal and light. When the coals are ash-covered, pour the lit coals into the fire ring. Add a couple of fist-size chunks of your choice of wood for smoke. Leave the exhaust vent completely open and use the bottom vents to control the pit temperature. Using the Minion method, the smoker should keep cooking for about 12 hours without refueling, depending on ambient temperature and the wind.

Both kettle-style and vertical smokers can use a popular accessory, a power draft unit that controls the amount of air going onto the charcoal. The unit uses a fan to blow air into the charcoal chamber depending on whether or not the temperature is where the cook wants it to be. If the temperature at the cooking grate is below the target, the fan comes on; if it's above, the fan stays off, effectively starving the fuel and reducing the temperature.

Another probe can be placed in the food to monitor the cooking. Two of the most popular units are the BBQ Guru Competitor and the Stoker. The BBQ Guru Competitor can only control one smoker while the Stoker can regulate up to four different smokers at the same time. Both units cost around $200.

Smoking with a Gas Grill

To smoke on a gas-fired grill, the grill must have at least two burners, ideally side-by-side, to allow for indirect cooking. Since most gas grills don't have smoker trays for wood chips, either use a commercially-prepared tray such as Sam's Smoker Pro or an aluminum foil pouch made from two sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil with some holes poked in it. For gas-smoking, use either soaked and drained wood chips or special smoking pellets like those from BBQr's Delight.

For gas grill smoking, preheat the grill with both burners on high for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the cooking grate, place the smoking tray or foil packet over one of the burners and place a drip tray over the other burner. Turn off the burner under the drip tray and close the cover. Once smoke begins to come from the tray or foil packet, reduce the heat to medium or low depending on the burner's output. Place the food over the drip pan, close the cover and smoke-cook until the food is cooked. As with a charcoal grill, the temperature should be maintained at 225 degrees F. and the wood chips or pellets should be replenished as needed.

Stovetop Smoking

Indoor smoking is not complicated but it does require a good exhaust fan to keep the smoke from permeating throughout the house. Several companies manufacture stovetop smokers, but one of the more well-liked models is sold by Camerons Professional Cookware. The company offers three smoker models, including one that can be heated by Sterno. They also offer a smoker tray for grills.
While the specialty units are convenient, indoor smoking can also be done by fabricating a smoker using a wok with a rack or steamer basket.

To use a stovetop smoker, place 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of wood shavings or pellets in the bottom of the smoker base. Put the drip tray and wire rack on top of the chips. Put the food on the rack and close the sliding cover almost, but not quite completely. Then place the smoker on a burner over medium heat. Once smoke starts to wisp from the smoker, close the smoker and start timing.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup granulated onion
1/4 cup celery salt
1/4 cup seasoned salt
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dry ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.

1/4 cup snipped chives
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper sauce
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and blend to a thick paste. (If using skinless chicken, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the paste.) Rub the paste over the poultry, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons hot Hungarian paprika
2 cups ketchup
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup cane syrup
1 whole tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1 (12-ounce) can beer
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

Melt the butter in large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, salt and paprika. Cook, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Simmer at low heat, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for an hour.

Yield: About 2 quarts
Heat Scale: Mild