Next time you are going to cook some sausages on the BBQ, why not try hot smoking. It’s really easy to do and can be mastered quickly. There are lots of different ways to do it, and you can really get creative. Â Different woods can impart a lot of different flavors. Hot smoking tend to make sausages look fantastically mouth watering and smell irresistible.
Fresh sausages are known to be tough to cook without either drying them out or under cooking them. The trick is to cook them indirectly and use an instant read thermometer to keep an eye on them.
One of the best things about a Charcoal Kettle-Style BBQ like a Weber BBQ is the ability to throw the lid on it and smoke-out your food. That’s why I typically keep two BBQs on hand (figuratively), a normal gas grill, and a charcoal grill. You can still smoke on a regular gas grill though, so don’t feel limited to what you see here, let your creative juices flow.
Hot smoking is best when you use an indirect heat. You can do this easily with a charcoal BBQ by moving he coals to opposite sides of the  BBQ, or by only turning only one burner on with your gas grill BBQ.
– Soak your wood chips. The amount you need is going to depend how long you intend to smoke and type of wood chips, but roughly – a couple of handfuls. They should soak for a minimum of 30 mins.
– Light the charcoal.
– Once it is hot (about 20-30 mins), split it into two piles at opposite ends of the BBQ.
The charcoal chimney we used here is recommended purely because of the way it heats the charcoal up to an even temperature. You could easily make a pile though if you don’t have one handy.
– Remove the cooking grid, throw the wood chips on top of your charcoal, and replace the cooking grid. I do like to add wood chips occasionally throughout the smoking, but make sure to be generous at first, as the wood chips are most effective before the meat is fully cooked
– Put the sausages onto the middle of the cooking grid. If you put the sausages too close to the sides they will overcook.
– Close the BBQ and resist the urge to peak too often. Open the vent half-way.
– Take the sausages off the BBQ when they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees.
– Enjoy.
David B. October 20th, 2010
Posted In: BBQing HowTos
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