Offset Smoker vs. Regular Grill

• Regular grills can be challenging for slow-cooked barbecue, because the meat remains close to the hot coals even if you've arranged the coals at one side and the meat at the other. Offset smokers place the coals and hardwood smoke chips in a separate combustion chamber, joined to the larger cooking chamber. Hot, smoky air passes through the cooking chamber and out a chimney, heating and flavoring the meat. The best of these use what's called a reverse offset arrangement, with hot air running under a metal baffle to the far side of the smoker before it's allowed to rise and come back to the chimney. That provides lower cooking temperatures and better heat control.

Grill on the Firebox

• The firebox, or combustion chamber, is a small charcoal kettle in its own right. Many models are designed to permit grilling directly on the firebox, with a removable grate for the food. The cooking surface is typically small, as it would be in a portable tabletop grill, but you can easily adjust the vents to provide big-league cooking temperatures. Use a probe thermometer to monitor the temperature, bringing it to around 450 degrees Fahrenheit before putting on your steaks. Grill them as you normally would, turning after 5 to 7 minutes, until you reach your preferred level of done-ness.

Use the Smoke Chamber

• Some offset smokers are designed to do double duty, with their smoke chambers acting as a full-size barrel grill in time of need. They aren't always built for it, especially the models using a reverse offset, so check your manual or the manufacturer's website first. Light your coals with an electric or chimney starter, or scoop some from the firebox if you've already been cooking. Once you have a good bed of coals established, grill the steaks as you would on any other kettle. The smoke chamber of an offset is usually pretty large, so you can prepare a lot of steaks on it if necessary.

Vent Your Difficulties

• If your firebox and smoke chamber aren't set up for grilling, and you aren't up to modifying them for the purpose, your other option is simply to crank up the heat. You'll need to monitor the temperature at both ends of your smoke chamber with probe thermometers, to see where it's hottest. Open the vents on your smoker to increase airflow and drive up the temperature, and wait until it stabilizes at a temperature of 450 F or higher before grilling your steaks.