Building a smoker

[BobHearn]

Howdy -

I've got an old US Stove Wonderwood that I was originally going to use for the house, but then realized that I would be better served by getting a new stove (pellet or solid wood, I haven't decided yet). My friends and I like to smoke a lot of meat, and it occurred to me that I could possibly use the Wonderwood as the basis of a large smoker. Has anyone out there ever done something like this, or put any thought to it?

Bob

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep.

 

[BobHearn]

Is that yours??

 

[BrotherBart]

Is that yours??

Yep. It smokes ribs and pork butts that are to freakin die for. Drawers are just the right width for aluminum broiler pans.

I keep it hidden behind the wood pile.

 

[cmonSTART]

Whoa, is that a file cabinet on top of an old wood stove?????? :bug:

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. That 4.3 CF firebox served me well from 1985 to 2006. Busted a weld and I just couldn't stand to part with it so it is now the firebox for the redneck meat smoker. Pull out a drawer, drop in the meat in a broiler pan damper down and come back 14 ours later for heaven.

If the 30-NC screws up it will become a smoker also.

 

[nshif]

BB
Im going to build something similar with my old fisher. are the drawer bottoms still in there?

 

[BrotherBart]

BB
Im going to build something similar with my old fisher. are the drawer bottoms still in there?

Yep. The drawer bottoms protect the meat from the direct heat from the stove exhaust. And hold the broiling pans up. The only problem is going to be when the drawer rollers start to die from the heat but I have more drawers or will change the rollers to metal.

 

[myzamboni]

Just found this and thought you all would find it interesting: http://www.cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

There's a lot of ways to build a smoker but using a galvanized pail would be very low on my list.

 

[wahoowad]

A quick google search reveals numerous fairly trustworthy websites that suggest cooking in a galvanized container can be unhealthy.

(broken link removed)
(broken link removed to http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftsep04.htm)

I'm about to pull a briskett and 2 butts out after an all-night smoke. I use charcoal in one of these Weber smokers:

I find it a pain in the ass though after fooling with it a couple years. It can be awkward to reach the meats for turning/basting/checking, is hard to load for ribs, etc. Sometimes the charcoal can be problematic. I'm not a purist and I like the idea of using electric. I might adapt that design and finally put a stainless steel beer keg to use.

 

[BobHearn]

I'm not a purist and I like the idea of using electric. I might adapt that design and finally put a stainless steel beer keg to use.

Well, if you decide to get rid of that Weber bullet, let me know ;-)

 

[bjorn773]

Here's mine. An old air compressor and parts washer.

 

[bjorn773]

Oh yeah, and about 40# of welding rod!!

 

[myzamboni]

There's a lot of ways to build a smoker but using a galvanized pail would be very low on my list.

You don't have to use a trash can. Some people buy a large clay flower pot and use the drain plate as a lid.