Slow smoking meat with charcoal or hardwood is the only way to make authentic BBQ. While die hard purists have no problem shelling out hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a wood/charcoal smokers, most backyard cooks use gas grills. I, too love the simplicity and consistancy of cooking with gas, but often miss that authentic smoked flavor that hardwood provides. Previously, I always had to use my small, makeshift smoker for cooking ribs and other BBQ. With Sam's Smoker Pro, I have another option. Now, I can enjoy the ease of use of gas and still get authentic hardwood smoked BBQ.

Sam's Smoker Pro is a heavy duty metal smoker box that sits below your grills grate, directly on the heat source. This allows you to either grill directly or smoke indirectly. Either way, your food gets infused with real hardwood smoke.

I used Sam's Smoker Pro this weekend to slow smoke babyback ribs. The Smoker Pro didn't quite fit under the grate of my Charbroil Commercial Series gas grill so I just removed the grate entirely. I placed the smoke box directly on flame guards on the right hand side of the grill and set the heat to medium. I set two racks of ribs on the left side grate with no heat directly below them.


I filled Sam's Smoker Pro with about 3 cups of Sam's Cowboy Blend of hardwood chips. I didn't soak the chips as I normally would because I wanted to see how quickly they would produce smoke and how long they would last. I was incredibly impressed with the amount of smoke produced by the chips. Within a couple minutes of closing the lid, fragrant smoke was pouring out of my grill's vent. The unsoaked chips  produced a solid amount of smoke for a little over an hour. I used the tool provided by Sam to open the Smoker Pro and replenish the chips.

Sam's Smoker Pro couldn't have performed any better. The chips burned well and for longer than I expected. The smoke produced an excellent smoke ring on the ribs and the flavor was exceptional. Cleanup on Sam's Smoker Pro was also incredibly easy.

I expect to use Sam's Smoker Pro again and again. On days when I don't feel like messing with my charcoal smoker, Sam's Smoker will still give me the ability to cook quality wood fired meat. If you're a gas grill user that has considered purchasing a charcoal or wood smoker, you may want to look at Sam's Smoker Pro as an inexpensive alternative. You can't beat the ease of use.

To learn how to order Sam's Smoker Pro, click the title of this review. See my star rating for Sam's Smoker Pro on our "Product Reviews" page.