Bourbon Brownies on the Smoker - Homemade Brownie Recipe

These homemade bourbon brownies are rich, fudgy, chocolatey, and made right on the smoker or grill. Adding bourbon to the brownie batter gives them a deeper flavor, while cooking them outdoors adds a subtle smoky character that you won't get from a traditional oven-baked brownie.

This bourbon brownie recipe shines the most when made on the smoker, making it a great dessert for backyard grilling, tailgating, or any time you want to put your smoker to work beyond meat. The brownies are baked at 350°F until fudgy in the center and can be made on a smoker, ceramic grill, pellet grill, or conventional oven.

Equipment

• 8x8 Baking Dish
• Two Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Cooking Spray for Greasing the Baking Dish

Dry Ingredients

• Granulated sugar: 1 ½ cups
• All-purpose flour: ¾ cup
• Cocoa powder: ⅔ cup, sifted if lumpy
• Powdered sugar: ½ cup, sifted if lumpy
• Dark chocolate chips: ½ cup
• Sea salt: ¾ teaspoon
  

Wet Ingredients

• Large eggs: 2
• Vegetable or canola oil: ½ cup
• Bourbon: ¼ cup (We used Four Roses Small Batch)
• Vanilla: ½ teaspoon
  

Instructions

1. Preheat your smoker or grill to 350°F. Set it up for indirect cooking so the baking dish isn't directly exposed to the heat source.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and salt.
3. Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, bourbon and vanilla in a separate bowl that will be large enough to add the dry ingredients to.
4. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix only until combined. Avoid overmixing to help preserve the brownies' fudgy texture.
5. Transfer the batter to a greased 8x8 baking dish. Place the dish on the smoker and cook at 350°F for approximately 40–50 minutes.
6. Bake for 40-50 mins, until you are able to stick a toothpick into the center of the pan and pull it out clean.
7. Allow the brownies to cool before cutting. This gives the center time to set and makes cleaner cuts.

Tips

This recipe also works great in the oven! You don't need to smoke these brownies or bake them on the grill, it's just another way to add flavor to them.

If you don't feel like making the brownies from scratch, it is also possible to simply swap out the water in any pre-mixed brownies, and follow the recipe on the box. Most recipes call for 2 tablespoons of water, you can either replace that 1 to 1 with bourbon, or if you want a more potent flavor, I frequently use 1/4 or 1/2 a cup of bourbon to the mix. Note, the more you add, the less structure the brownie will have.

During cooking and baking, while some alcohol does evaporate off, typically a large proportion of it will remain. Keep this in mind when serving these to guests.

Why Make Brownies on a Smoker?

The rich flavors of chocolate are complimented incredibly well with a bit of smokey flavor from the grill. Brownies aren't as delicate as other types of desserts, allowing them to be baked in a smokey environment without being overcooked. Because of their naturally dark color, you don't need to worry about any off discoloration either.

During hot summer days, making your desserts on the grill/smoker is also a great way to keep your house nice and cool, even when you're craving a fresh baked treat.

Can You Make Bourbon Brownies in the Oven?

Absolutely. This recipe works in either a smoker, grill or conventional oven. The smoker adds a subtle smokey flavor that pairs incredibly well with the chocolate and bourbon. But if you don't have a smoker, or simply want to make this recipe easier, the oven produces the same fudgy brownie texture just without the smoke.

What Grill/Smoker Can You Use to Make Brownies?

Any grill or smoker that is capable of indirect cooking can be used for baking. You will need to set it to 350 degrees and hold that temperature with indirect heat for this recipe.

We grilled these on the Primo Ceramic Grills with their Heat Deflector Plates, which add a barrier between the heat and the baking dish so they don't burn.

Most ceramic grills will have the same features and larger kettle grills that allow for the fire to be built on the opposite side of the grill can also work (please note, the brownies may need to be rotated while cooking to prevent one side from being overcooked).

Offset smokers are also a good option for baking brownies on the grill, since the fire for these units is in an offset compartment so the brownies aren't exposed to direct heat.

Pellet grills are also another great option since they also do not feature a direct heat source.

Gas grills will be the most limited option for making brownies. There are some gas grills that have pellet boxes to add smoke, and if the grill is large enough, it is possible to offset brownies from the heat source enough to bake them. But this will be dependent on the gas grill.

Does the alcohol cook out of bourbon brownies?

While some alcohol may cook out of the brownies, there will be alcohol present in the completed recipe.

Alcohol-free Version / Substitutions

To make this recipe alcohol free, simply swap the 1/4 cup of bourbon with 2 tablespoons of water. You can also experiment with the recipe by using brewed coffee instead of bourbon!