You don’t need to buy an expensive smoker to enjoy a perfectly cooked meal enhanced  with a flavour of smoke. Your charcoal or kettle barbecue can be turned into a smoker.  All you need are a bag of charcoal, wood chips (NOT chunks or sawdust) from a non-sap  laden tree variety and a good piece of meat.  firelighters natural

1. Prepare your Meat 

It’s always best to make your meat ready few hours or even a day before cooking in a  smoker. First, place the meat in a large dish and pour the marinade of your choice, make  sure all the meat is coated with marinade. Then, cover with a lid or cling film and leave it  in the refrigerator for 2-6 hours or better, overnight. 

2. Prepare Wood Chips 

Soak the wood chips in water for at  

least 2 hours or better, overnight; the  

more soaked the chips, the more smoke  

they produce. 

3. Start the Barbecue 

Place the disposable aluminium  

container or any other heat resistant container next to your charcoals and fill it halfway  with water. 

There are two reasons for this: the water will keep the meat moist and tender, and it will  control the temperature around the meat.Light the charcoal.

When you’ve reached a low heat of about 120 C (can be checked by using a barbecue  thermometer), place 1 cup of drained wood chips on the charcoals. Position the meat  onto the grate directly above the water container, away from the charcoals. 

Cover the grill making sure all the vents are closed. Smoke for the amount of time  indicated in your recipe. 

4. Keep an eye on the Temperature 

You need to check the temperature every 30 minutes. If the temperature begins to rise  higher than 100 degrees, open the lid and let the charcoals burn off a bit and top it up  with some more drained chips. If the temperature drops, open the vents and add more  charcoal and wood chips. 

5. Turn the Meat 

Every 30 to 90 min, turn the meat. If your recipe contains a barbecue sauce, apply it in  the final 30 minutes of cooking. 

6. Ready to Serve 

Your meal will be ready to serve when the meat on the bone will start pulling away, and  when trying to turn the meat, it will fall off the bone. 

Transfer the meat to a platter, add some more sauce and let it rest for 15 minutes. Now  serve with your favourite sides and enjoy!