Since grills share features with smokers — like a heat source, an air inlet, a main cooking chamber with grates, and a smoke stack — turning a grill into a smoker isn’t impossible.

In a smoker, the heat source smolders wood chips, which lets off smoke that slowly cooks your food. Meanwhile, in a grill, the heat source has a direct hand in cooking the food.

Hence, to use your grill as a smoker, all you have to do is make the grill smolder wood chips. Start by wrapping some wood chips in aluminum foil so you have a small packet.

Poke holes on top of the packet to let the smoke out during cooking. Then, fill an aluminum pan with water, the steam from which will stabilize the cooking chamber’s temperature.

Next, if you're using a gas grill, choose a side you want to crank up the heat on. For a charcoal grill, pile your coals on one side (the hot zone) and leave the other side bare.

When ready, remove the grates from the hot zone and set the water pan over the burner. Put the chips next to the pan and as close to the heat source as you can without burning it.

If you’re using a charcoal grill, place both the pan and the wood chip packet on top of the coals. Now, fire up your grill, ensuring its temperature reads between 225° and 300° F.

As the wood chips start to smolder, put your meat on the unheated side of the grill and shut the lid. Replace the wood chips every three hours and refill the water pan as needed.

When the meat probe displays the correct temperature for your desired doneness level, switch off the heat and enjoy the smoky, slow-cooked meat you cooked using your grill.