How to cook on the GE Profile Indoor Smoker

Here’s a quick rundown of the basics for how to cook on the GE Profile Indoor Smoker from the initial setup to serving time.

Initial setup and preheat stage

Choose what protein you plan to cook and adjust the grill temperature either using one of the presets or your own customized settings. Visit my article on indoor smoker settings for more details.

When you hit start, the grill will tell you to add water. There is a drawer directly under the display panel that pulls out. Inside that drawer, there is a container.

The minimum mark is 3 cups and the maximum mark is 5 cups. Add at least 3 cups of water. Close the drawer and push start again.

Now, the smoker will tell you to add pellets. The pellet hopper is in the top of the grill. Slide open the door and add up to 2 cups of wood cooking pellets. You can use any brand and any wood flavor.

Close the lid and press start again.

The grill will go through a preheat process, which takes 10-15 minutes. Once it’s complete, you can add your food and push start to start smoking.

Two cups of wood pellets will last about 4 hours. But timing will vary, depending on how high you have the smoke level.

You can add more pellets during the cook. However, before doing so, check the water drawer. If it’s reached the max mark, empty it and add clean water to the minimum mark.

---

How much food can the smoker hold?

The smoker comes with three racks. Each rack is 9.25 inches wide by 11 inches long. You don’t need to use all of the racks.

I find it’s easiest to remove the racks from the smoker. Then, add your meat on the rack and slide the rack back in the smoker.

To smoke a full packer brisket, you will need to trim it, cut it in half or separate the flat from the point. Then, place the brisket on two racks.

The smoker can easily fit a pork shoulder and whole chicken. Just slice the meat on one rack toward the bottom above the drip pan.

There is even enough room to place a pan of smoked mac and cheese on another rack above that.

If you use all three racks, it will fit 40 chicken wing pieces and three racks of ribs. However, you will need to cut the racks of ribs in half. Then, place two halves side-by-side on each rack.

---

How long does it take to smoke meat indoors?

The cooking time varies depending on what temperature your smoker is set at, what you’re cooking, the size of your meat and your desired final temperature.

The time it takes to smoke meat indoors is pretty much the same as smoking meat outdoors.

The smoker will start cooking your food in smoke mode. This is when the pellets smolder and add smoke flavor to your food.

After four hours, the smoker will transition into cooking mode. At this point, no more smoke is created. If you want to extend the smoke time, you can do that. However, most meats already absorb all the smoke they need to within that four hour setting.

---

How do I open the door without getting smoke in my house?

While the smoker is in smoke mode, the interior will be filled with smoke. If you open the door, that smoke will blow into your kitchen.

To prevent this, push the clear smoke button, which is below the dial. The smoker will run the smoke through the active filtration system.

In about 10 minutes the interior will be free of smoke, and you can open the door. To double check, press the light button, so you can see inside.

---

How do you know when the food is ready?

The best way to tell if barbecue is ready is to cook the food to the proper internal temperature. This varies with each protein.

Brisket is usually done at an internal temperature of 200F degrees or more, depending on the brisket grade.

Whole chicken needs to be cooked to at least 165F degrees in the breast and around 175F degrees in the thigh. Wings taste great when they’re cooked to 195F degrees.

Pulled pork shreds nicely when cooked to 200F degrees.

The GE Profile Indoor Smoker comes with a meat probe, so you can measure the temperature of the meat as it cooks. Once it reaches that temperature, the grill will notify you on the display and on the app that your food is ready.

Alternatively, you can also probe the meat yourself with a digital meat thermometer like a Thermapen. I actually use both the smoker probe and my Thermapen to check for accuracy.

---

Plan for carryover cooking

The GE Profile Indoor Smoker has a unique feature. Once your food is done cooking, it will transition into a keep warm stage. You can set this to anywhere from 140-170F degrees.

This feature is great; however, if you go straight from a smoke temp of 225F down to a keep warm temp of 140F without opening the door, keep in mind that it will take the smoker a while to cool down.

Therefore, your meat will keep cooking.

When I cooked my first brisket, I cooked it to an internal temperature of 203F degrees. Then, I let the keep warm setting hold the brisket overnight.

It completely dried out because the brisket just kept on cooking well past my desired temp.

PRO TIP: If you plan to go straight from smoking to holding with the keep warm setting, cut a couple of degrees off of your final internal meat temperature to account for carryover cooking. 

---

Serving your BBQ

You don’t have to let all meat rest. Brisket and pulled pork do best when they rest because they’re such big cuts of meat, but you can serve whole chicken, ribs and wings right away.

Just remove them from the smoker, place them on a serving platter and enjoy with your favorite sides.

When you’re doing dishes, don’t forget to clean your indoor smoker, too. I find it’s easiest to clean the window and walls while it’s still a little warm inside.

---

To learn more about the indoor smoker, such as the how to assemble it, the different settings, how to clean it and my review, click on the buttons below.

---

If this information was helpful, I would appreciate it if you would use the link below when you purchase your indoor smoker. After you make a purchase, I will be provided a slight commission at no extra cost to you.