On Smoke

We've had a few questions and misconceptions about smoke, wood fires and The Grillery, so here are some answers based on 20-odd years of experience with all of the above.

Smoke is inevitable. The old cliche "where there is smoke, there is fire" is true for ANY type of fire. Wood produces smoke, charcoal produces smoke, and yes, even gas generates the stuff, though usually not visible to the naked eye.

Smoke has flavor. What your flame feeds on will determine the flavor added to the food. Gas adds the least perceptible taste. Briquettes infuse your dinner with the wood and additives your brand combine in their ingredient list. Chunk charcoal gives a very light woodiness since it is nothing more than partially burned firewood. Natural wood provides the most campfire taste of all but you need to be careful to get the dry stuff as wet wood can lead to a visit from the fire department.

No doubt we are biased at Grillworks, Inc. The Grillery was invented to give the chef a fast way to cook over a variety of hardwoods. I cook over medium pieces of hickory and oak, but really don't get fancy beyond making sure I find the driest stuff possible. The inventor(Dad) prefers fruitwoods like apple, which give veggies and light meats like poultry and fish a more delicate smoky flavor. Yeah, I also use the chunk charcoal you can find in bags at the local Whole Foods - sprinkling a couple handfuls into my log fires helps keep a nice medium heat for the long haul.

Airflow also determines how much of that flavor gets added. The Grillery is open in the front, 1/3 on each side and closed in the back. The design pulls the air in the front and straight to the back wall of the firebox. The smoke follows this route up and out along the rear of the grill, while the concave heat reflector(welded to the back wall) bounces some of that rising heat into the center of the grill to hit the middle of the cooking surface. The Grillery's surface is hottest and nearest the rising smoke at the back, at medium heat in the center and warm at the front - this allows further control over cooking rates for your various entrees.

Whether you're looking to dive into the fun of exploring wood/smoke/food combinations or just want some easy campfire depth to your steaks, control over your fuel and your flames will land you with the flavor you're looking for.

Tip: you can use virtually anything to START your fire, just make sure that before you put the food on that any chemical or pungent(pine) fuel and smoke has burned away.

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