15
Operating Your Outdoor Grill
5. With the canopy closed, preheat the outdoor grill to
a temperature of 225 to 300ºf. Make sure the burner
under the smoker box is lit. Once the outdoor grill
reaches the above temperature range, allow an addi-
tional 15 to 20 minutes for smoke to gather inside the
grill compartment.
6. Open the canopy and place the food on the grates
as close to the smoker box as possible. Doing so will
allow the smoked flavor to penetrate the meat.
7. Close the canopy. During cooking, check the food
periodically using the temperature information on the
Safe Cooking Temperature Chart
on page 16.
Check the internal meat temperature with a meat ther-
mometer to determine doneness.
adding more wood chips:
•
Wood chips should smoke for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Adjust the flame under the smoker box if the wood
chips burn too quickly.
•
replace the chips frequently during the smoking pro-
cess. Use hot pads and tongs because the smoker box
will be very hot. Do not remove the hot smoker box.
Instead, have the chips drained and ready to go into
the smoker box.
note:
When you open the canopy,
you extend cooking times due to escaping heat.
Smoker Wood Chip Types
Wood Type
Type of Smoke
Good for Cooking
Alder
Light delicate smoke
various types of
fish, especially
salmon and sword-
fish. Also good for
chicken and pork.
Apple/
Cherry
Sweet fruity smoke
Chicken, turkey,
ham, pork and
game birds.
hickory
Smoky, sharp flavor
for true southern
barbecue
Pork ribs and shoul-
der, chicken, beef,
wild game and
cheeses.
Maple
Sweet and mild
smoke
Poultry, vegetables,
ham and bacon
Mesquite
Sweet, burns hot,
can be bitter if
burned for a long
time
Most meats (es-
pecially beef) and
most vegetables
Oak
Distinctive and
pleasant smoke
Brisket, chicken
and pork
Pecan
More subtle flavor
than hickory
Burns easily, good
for lower tempera-
ture smoking
Pork, chicken,
lamb, fish and
cheeses.
Smoker Cooking
Use the smoker box to add a smoked flavor to grilled
foods. You can also use the smoker box with the rotis-
serie. Smoking is always performed with the canopy
closed.
warning
•
Smoker wood chips are soaked with liquids which
create steam and smoke while grilling. this steam
can be very hot and dangerous.
•
frequently, the smoker box will need to be refilled
during cooking. Proceed with caution. the box will
be extremely hot. Steam and hot metal surfaces can
cause personal injury and possible fire.
•
Using wood chips that have not been properly soaked
will catch fire (small red embers will appear in the
smoker box). If the wood chips begin to catch fire,
add a small amount of water. Wear hot pads and
keep body parts clear while adding the water to avoid
steam burns.
Using the Smoker Box
1. While the outdoor grill is cool, remove one of the
small grates and a small flame spreader from inside
the grill compartment. rearrange the existing grates
and flame spreaders to leave an opening where you
want to insert the smoker box. Dacor suggests using
the far left side.
note:
You can not put the smoker
box over the top of the optional sear burner, which is
located on the right side.
2. Before lighting the outdoor grill, soak about two to
three generous handfuls of your choice of wood chips
for at least 30 minutes. refer to the chart, right, for
wood types, characteristics and foods to smoke with
each type of wood chip.
3.
Pour off the water from the soaked chips and fill the
smoker box about half way. Close the smoker box lid.
reserve some chips to add later.
4. After loading the smoker box with the soaked wood
chips and while the outdoor grill is still cool, insert the
box into the grill compartment in place of the grate
removed in step 1.