Willy Smoke is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
"I don’t care for a good barbeque", said no one ever! If there is one thing which has undivided opinions and everyone enjoys to some extent, it is a good BBQ. The smoked meat, with all the delicious and juicy flavors is incredibly rewarding and brings the whole family together. BBQs are more of a tradition now than simply a way of cooking.
A gas grill takes much of the cleaning work out of the entire process of barbequing and makes it highly convenient. One way to keep things delicious and clean is to use a smoker box. It can be hard to find the perfect smoker box but is incredibly important for the perfect smoked dish.
There are multiple aspects that need consideration, and people often find the process of choosing a good smoker box for a gas grill daunting. However, you no longer have to worry, as we have the complete buyer’s guide for the best smoker boxes for gas grills. This includes all the relevant information you need to know and some incredible product recommendations.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Smoker Box For Gas Grill
- OUR TOP PICK: Skyflame Universal Stainless Steel Smoker Box
- Broil King 60190
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: Charcoal Companion Smoker Box
Comparison of the Best Smoker Boxes For Gas Grills
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick  |
| View Latest Price → |
 |
| View Latest Price → |
Best Budget Option  |
| View Latest Price → |
 |
| View Latest Price → |
 |
| View Latest Price → |
Can Any Smoker Box Be Used With a Gas Grill?
Some gas grills do come with a dedicated smoker box. If your gas grill does not have one, you can simply use a stainless-steel smoker box to achieve the same effect. The metal construction will conduct heat to the wood chips piled up inside the box, whereas the holes on the lid of the smoker box will enable the smoke to give your food that smokiness and char.
Skyflame Universal Stainless Steel Smoker Box
Furthermore, the smoker box should be compatible with the size of your grill, otherwise, it won’t fit. There are other factors that need to be taken into consideration as well, which are discussed in detail in the next section.
What Makes a Smoker Box Great For a Gas Grill?
When it comes to buying a smoker box, people tend to get confused, as they don’t know what to look for in one. There are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration when you decide to invest in a smoker box. Let’s take a look at them:
Size
This is a very important consideration people often forget to make after getting too excited by the features a product offers. The first thing you need to consider is whether or not it’ll be compatible with your grill. This means that the smoker box should be able to fit inside the grill easily.
Ease of Cleaning
The product should not spread ash everywhere, making it impossible to clean. Instead, opt for a product that has a convenient-to-clean design, like ones with a non-stick coating, which makes wiping ash away easy.
Guarantee
It is important to look for a product with a warranty. This ensures it is durable and reliable and will prove to be a good long-term investment for you.
Willy's Top Picks - Best Smoker Boxes For Gas Grills
Here are the three best smoker boxes for gas grills:
Review of the Best Smoker Boxes For Gas Grills
There are plenty of products out there that claim to be the best. However, the reality is that some of them aren’t a great investment. It can be tough to find a product that is reliable and performs well from the array of options available. Therefore, we have some incredible options that are top-notch with high functionality.
Let’s take a look at them:
Best Overall:
Skyflame Universal Stainless-Steel Smoker Box
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Buyers find the product incredibly well-designed and of great quality. It has a durable, sturdy construction, which allows it to be well-received by consumers, as they consider it a long-term investment. It is highly functional, therefore, it proves to be a consumer favorite product.
Why it Stands Out to Us
It caught our attention with its unique, dense wavy outlet design. The design allows it to produce more smoke and leaves a large area for smoking food. Furthermore, the overall stainless-steel design makes it highly durable and sturdy, as well. Plus, the unique hinged lid design makes it easy to access.
Who Will Use This Most
This product is fit for those of you planning larger meals with bigger portion sizes. The large size of the product enables it to work for a larger-sized grill and produces sufficient smoke. It is highly durable and truly one of the best products you can get your hands on in terms of convenience and efficiency.
Bottom Line
All in all, the product is phenomenal. It features a stylish and incredibly sturdy design that enables it to be highly durable and reliable. It is built from superior quality materials, which allows the product to be of high quality and stand high temperatures. This is, therefore, a great investment.
Runner-up:
Broil King 60190
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
This unit works wonderfully for consumers. Even though some did complain that the product was a little hard to refill when needed, that isn’t a deal-breaker in any way. Buyers find it incredibly efficient and convenient to use, which is what makes it a consumer favorite.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The unit captured our attention with its highly functional design, which is reliable and durable at the same time. It performs exceptionally well. Furthermore, it has two chambers which give the food an even more intense smoky flavor. It also is highly efficient and convenient to cook in.
Who Will Use This Most
This product is great for those who expect quick results. It features a base that is placed directly on top of the Flav-R-Wave, which allows it to smoke quickly, saving a lot of time. Furthermore, the unit is a little hard to refill, thus, keep that in mind. Also, it does give an intense smoke flavor, which is to be mindful of.
Bottom Line
Overall, the product is one of the best you can get your hands on. The design is very stylish and innovative, as it takes into consideration the placement of the product, as well as its efficiency. It truly is hard to beat. It’s highly durable and reliable, too. Thus, it’s worthy of your investment.
Best for the Money:
Charcoal Companion Smoker Box
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Buyers are very happy with this unit due to a number of different reasons. Firstly, it is built with great-quality materials, which makes it highly reliable and durable. Furthermore, it features an incredible warranty, which makes it a long-term investment. It is a consumer favorite product.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This unit piqued our interest due to many reasons. Firstly, it is easy to clean, as the ashes remain in the smoker box. Furthermore, it is built from high-quality stainless steel, which makes it sturdy and durable. Plus, the product is designed in a V-shape, which fits between the flame detector bars and gives food an intense smoky flavor.
Who Will Use This Most
This product is one of the most versatile in the market. It is incredibly affordable, thus it would be accessible for a larger audience. Furthermore, it is incredibly efficient and easy to clean, which makes it convenient to use. It can withstand high grilling temperatures with ease.
Bottom Line
All in all, the unit features a stunning design that enables it to be highly functional. It features an easy-to-use design, which is designed for optimal customer convenience. Furthermore, its high quality and sturdiness make it a complete deal. Thus, it’s a worthy investment.
4. Cave Tools Smoker Box
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
This unit has seemed to garner a lot of affection from consumers with its incredible construction and stunning design. It features an easy-to-use and easy-to-clean design, which allows it to be incredibly convenient. Furthermore, it is reliable as well, given the wonderful warranty it offers.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This unit captured our attention due to a number of different reasons. The design is sturdy, durable, and rustproof. Plus, it is efficient and fast, as well. Furthermore, it has a hinged lid, which allows easy access for adding more wood chips, if necessary.
Who Will Use This Most
This unit is the perfect gift for any BBQ enthusiast. The overall construction is highly reliable and durable, as it is made from 25% thicker stainless steel, which prevents warping, which is great. Plus, it is efficient, thus, it is perfect for those who don’t typically like smoke boxes, which take too long to generate smoke.
Bottom Line
All in all, the unit is of top-notch quality. It carries multiple features that make it easy to access and highly functional, as well. Furthermore, it is highly durable and reliable, and carries a wonderful warranty service. All of these factors combine to make this unit worthy of investment.
5. Kaluns BBQ Smoker Box
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Consumers really appreciate this unit. The overall size is perfect for most grills, as it is compact and portable. Furthermore, it can hold up to 6.3 ounces of wooden chips. It is very easy to add more chips to this unit as it has a hinged lid. Plus, the warranty features are incredible.
Why it Stands Out to Us
It stands out to us for a number of different reasons. The product has a heavy-duty stainless-steel construction, which is rust-free and easy to clean. This makes it durable. Furthermore, it features a conveniently designed hinged lid, which allows one to add more wood chips easily.
Who Will Use This Most
This product is great for those looking for an easy-to-clean and efficient unit. It can start letting smoke off in as little as ten minutes after it has been burning on the grill. This enables the product to be less time-consuming. Furthermore, the construction is easy to clean, as well.
Bottom Line
Last but certainly not least, this unit is a true gem. There are plenty of products out there, but not many quite like this. The incredible performance it gives, combined with the stunning design makes it a complete package. The unit is durable, reliable, and truly worthy of investment.
Benefits of Investing in a Quality Smoker Box
If you still aren’t sure whether or not to invest in a quality smoker box, then perhaps looking at the benefits it can offer you will aid you in making a decision. Let’s take a look at them to further clear things up:
Durability and Reliability
Good-quality smoker boxes are made from high-quality materials like stainless steel, which allows them to be durable. It also ensures that they withstand high temperatures and are rustproof, as well.
Easy Accessibility
A good, quality smoker box will have a hinged lid. This feature makes it easy to add and remove wooden chips whenever needed, thus granting easy accessibility.
Easy to Clean
If you opt for a quality unit, it’ll be easy to clean. It will highly likely be coated with non-stick material, which would allow one to wipe the ash away easily. Furthermore, it won’t spread the ash, instead, it will keep it in the box itself.
How to Use a Smoker Box on a Gas Grill
In order to smoke on your gas grill, you need certain accessories, which are: a smoker box, smoker trays, and wood chips. Once you have that, follow the steps given below.
- In order to use a smoker box, the first thing you need to do is soak your wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes. This is important, as you want them to smolder inside the smoker. If you simply throw them in dry, they will flash and not give that smoky flavor you need. Check the recipe for the number of wood chips you need.
- Next, start your gas grill while following all the safety and lighting instructions. To light the grill, you will first need to open the lid, so the unlit gas streams don’t accumulate in the cook box.
- Afterward, open the valve on the propane or natural gas tank slowly and wait as the gas travels to the gas line.
- Now, turn all the burners on high, including the smoker burner.
- Close the lid and let the grill preheat for up to 15 minutes.
- Once the temperature reaches 500 degrees Fahrenheit, clean all the cooking grates using a grill brush.
- Now, turn down the outside burners to the recommended temperature according to the recipe and turn off the middle burners. For now, turn the smoker box dedicated burner to high.
- Next, you will open the smoker box while using the long-handled tongs and grill net. Grab some of the wood chips using the tongs and let the excess water drain off, then drop them into the box. You need to spread out the wood chips, so they cover the bottom of the box, exposing as many chips as possible to the burner below. Add as many as suggested by the recipe.
- Then, close the lid of the smoker box and the lid of the grill and wait for the smoke to start pouring out.
- It’s now time to lower the heat of the dedicated burner under the smoker box to medium, so the wood smolders slowly.
- Now, you can arrange the food in the middle burners and make sure they are unlit. Close the lid of the grill as soon as possible. The temperature of a gas grill can be controlled by simply turning knobs.
- In most cases, you only need to turn on one or two of the main burners during cooking. If you want to cook at low temperatures, turn all the burners off except the dedicated burner under the smoker box.
It is important to realize that most of the smoke will gather around the smoker box. The closer your food is to the smoker box, the smokier flavor the flavor will be.
If you are still confused and don’t quite seem to grasp the concept of it all, perhaps looking at the video below will clear out any issues.
Conclusion
Who doesn’t like a little char and smokiness to their BBQ? For many, having a grill isn’t just about the meal, it’s a matter of tradition. This is precisely the reason smoker boxes came into existence. They work on gas grills and are capable of allowing you to create delicious and scrumptious meals with a smokiness and a certain amount of char.
However, when it actually comes to finding a suitable unit for themselves, people often are baffled by the notion, as it simply seems too complicated. This is because of the sheer number of options available. Hopefully, by the time you reach this section, you’ll have a better idea of why you should choose to buy a smoker box, what to look for, how to operate it, and some incredible options.
People Also Ask
When it comes to buying the perfect smoker box or simply understanding how they work, people seem to be confused. This is precisely the reason why we picked out your most frequently asked question and answered it in hopes that it helps you and clears any confusion you may have.
Do Smoker Boxes Work on Gas Grills?
Yes, smoker boxes do work on gas grills and come in different orientations. Traditionally, gas grills aren’t used for smoking, instead, they are used for direct and indirect grilling and split roasting. However, you can employ a device called a smoker box to get that some of that smokey effect. A few high-end gas grills do come with a built-in smoker box.
