The Snake Method of Smoking Meat in a Barbecue Grill

My friend Deann shared a link on how to smoke at a low temperature in a barbecue grill:

The snake method works by building a half-circle ring of charcoal around the inside edge of your circular charcoal grill. You then place a couple lit briquettes at one end of the ring – or snake – that will continuously ignite the adjacent charcoal briquettes.

The gradual lighting of the charcoal gives you consistently low and controllable temperatures over an extended period of time. You might also hear this method called the fuse.

This is ideal for meat you want to smoke for several hours without having to add more charcoal in the middle of the cook. It allows you to fire up your smoker quickly while giving you a steady, long-term heat.

When properly set-up, the snake method virtually eliminates the need for messy refueling as it can run constent for 12 – 15 hours. This is especially helpful in grills and non-dedicated smokers as they typically don’t have the insulated walls that regular smokers do for heat retention and stability.

That is why the snake method is so beneficial in grills such as the Weber Kettle. Your heat is stabilized by the charcoal snake and water pan and not insulated walls of thick rolled steel like a dedicated smoker.

Though the snake method works wonderfully in Weber Kettles and other circular grills in general, once you get the hang of it you can apply it to other BBQ pits and grills such as kamado style smokers.

I have a slab of bacon curing in the fridge right now. Our smoker has bit the dust, and this looks like a good option.