So you want a smoker, huh? How to make one!!!!

[duckhuntr21]

That was really cool to share with everyone. Great idea and great instructions. I know what my first winter project will be next year.

[Duffman]

Nice work, well done!

[upnorth]

Geez even a dummy like me could follow those. Absolutely awesome job!!!!

[charliepete]

Nice job and pictures. I must admit I'm too chicken to chance an all wood smoker. I'd at least flash the burn box. Check out this china box link. I've used one to cook a pig and while I was a bit skeptical of the wood, it holds up and produces a nice pig roast.

china box

[MN Shutterbug]

I've never in my life purchased anything with instructions this clear and well defined. Great job on the photos, also.

[Andy Loos1432404924]

wow, that is great. Thanks for share.

[jeffreyd]

or that had all the parts with it

[Riich]

Thanks to everyone for all the compliments. I'm happy to share. This smoker idea was something I just came up with one day so I decided to build it and give it a whirl.

I ran the idea past my dad before the build to see what he thought of it and he laughed. He said "you better put wheels under it, or you will burn your house down", hence the wheel idea.

You would have to be mighty careless to actually start this thing on fire. Like I mentioned in the post, my ex brother-in-law actually baked some turkeys in his at 350 degrees. That is stupid, but I'm glad he did it and was stupid enough to tell me, it gave me lots of confidence in that you would be hard pressed to start this smoker on fire.

Let me repeat something I mentioned earlier, I personally see no reason to run a smoker much over 200 degrees. Period.

Again, thanks for all the compliments, and I hope you all decide to build one for yourselves.

[Riich]

what about drippings? do you place a cookie sheet or a 1/2 cake pan underneath the meat to catch the drippings and stuff from the meat you are smoking? I am wondering how "smokey" does it smell when not in use as well.....awesome post and pictures, would a guy have to use biscuits or could he get away with a different way of joining the wood?

I smoke lots of salmon, which is about the only thing I smoke that really drips much. I just line the bottom with tin foil. It's quick and easy to pull out and throw away.

If you are smoking sausage and it's dripping, you are getting it to hot.

As far as the smokey smell, it's actually very pleasant, and not near as strong as you might think. 99% of the people that walk in my garage compliment me on the smell, and that is only when you are walking by the smoker. Otherwise I don't think you even smell it.

I assembled my first one without bisquits. It's just a tad easier to line things up with bisquits, especially if you find a couple sheets of crooked plywood. It's hard finding nice straight stuff of any kind anymore. But you can do it without a bisquit joiner. Hold things where they need to be and have your buddy run some screws in. It'll work. Use glue also. I'm sure nails would even work fine.

[Riich]

Very Nice!!!

At what temperture and how long does it take to smoke various items?

Let me first say this, I don't like a ton of smoke flavoring. I've seen several instances of ruined sausage and it's usually due to being oversmoked. It gets bitter. You guys know the kind, it is the stuff your buddies give away because nobody in their own house wants to eat any more of it.

I put one pan of smoke to my country style sausage, and run it about 160 degrees. It is done in 45 minutes or so.

I run 2 to 3 full pans of smoke on summer sausage. It is done in 4 1/2 hours, with temps of around 200 degrees at the end. I say end because starting out I run it about 150 and it creeps up as the meat gets hotter. I cook it until the internal temp of the meat is 155 degrees F. You need to check that temperature and make sure you reach it!

I only smoke turkeys for a couple of hours. It gives them all the flavor you need, and then I freeze them to be put in the oven at a later date.

Any other specific information you are looking for, just ask. I'm sure there are lots of guys here that know lots about smoking meats, they can chip in too.

[DTro]

Hey Riich, if you could make an identical post (a new one), we could move it out and get it put on the front page for a little more exposure (keep this original one here for discussion). I know it's not easy to take the time to put together all those pictures in process, so a little recognition for your effort would be nice. So if you have a few minutes and you are interested, just start a new one here with the same info, and we'll take care of the rest.

[Bigsmitty]

Cool smoker! I have never seen one made from plywood. I am sure you did your homework but dont they use chemicals in the manufacturing of plywood? And how about fire safety? Are you comfortable using it next to the house like the picture? Or do you move it away when you use it?

[Riich]

Cool smoker! I have never seen one made from plywood. I am sure you did your homework but dont they use chemicals in the manufacturing of plywood? And how about fire safety? Are you comfortable using it next to the house like the picture? Or do you move it away when you use it?

I don't know all the answers as far as the chemicals are concerned. It may or may not be a concern, I've heard both ways. My partial solution was to run the smoker at 200 degrees for a couple of hours with smoke to sort of break it in, if in fact it does that. I do know this, the more you smoke the more the wood gets sealed up. In all honesty, I think I'd be more concerned about the stuff you are eating out of a can that you buy at the grocery store. I guess if someone has concerns about using plywood, they should do their own research and use their own judgement.

The picture of the smoker next to the garage wall was taken right after I finished smoking summer sausage. I sat on the deck ten feet away so I had no reservations about using it that close to the building. Normally, I do roll it away from my house or garage. It only makes sense to be careful.

[Tom Linderholm]

Absolutely fantastic work Riich, truly a gem of a post! Nice work and thanks for sharing!!!

[wtp]

I'm in the process of building one of these right now and came here for alittle more info. I think I'm gonna try use a adjustable limit switch like they use in a furnace and set it at like 225 or something so if the smoker does get to hot a fan will turn on and suck some heat out. I'm not sure my 4"x4" fan will hold up to the heat but I think it will. Just a thought that I would post and see if anyone has any comments on it before I put it in. I hope to be that far by tonight. Let me tell you this Riich that posted this is very clever. Very easy instructions. This thing is cool. Thanks for your time to put this info together.

[Riich]

I think you would be better served to just monitor your heat a little closer and forget the fan idea. You will find it is pretty easy to keep ahead of the game once you get used to how it operates.

[Riich]

I made a PDF file of these plans that anyone can print out. Drop me an email if you need them.

sixpack (at) beu (dot) midco (dot) net

[bloc004]

This thing is a work of art!!! I have a couple questions for you Riich:

You mentioned you usually keep the vent closed on the top. Does enough smoke escape elsewhere during the process that the top vent is not needed to let smoke escape, and not get a creosote taste?

What are the low and high temps of this rig? Can you keep a steady 150-170 degrees, but also be able to reach 250-300 no problem?

I am planning on doing one of these so I can do larger batches of sticks and sausage, so I am curious.

[Riich]

The top vent will let lots of smoke pass through, even when closed. Look at any floor register when it is closed, there is all kinds of daylight when you look through it. I only open mine in hot weather and when I can't regulate the heat low enough. I usually do most of my smoking in the late fall and winter, so usually I have no need to let more heat out.

A steady 150-170 is VERY easy. And oh yeah, you can get to 300 too, if you absolutely wanted too. Don't, there is no reason to ever run a smoker that high.

A creosote taste? If you are tasting cresote, you are oversmoking something way too long. That's my opinion. I don't like a lot of smoke flavor, so I go easy on most everything I smoke.

Hope that helps.

[MERC70]

Smokers et all,

My son and I built one last spring. Have smoked 10, 20lb batches of beef jerky and 3 batches of pork loin ribs. Works great.

Recently mounted a Bradley Smoke generator and will smoke more jerky this weekend. Looking forward to cold smoking. Several things lined up.

Good project and good results...

Paul

[wtp]

Well it's done and it worked after alot of problems with the burner getting to much fuel and burning orange. I used 1/8" steel gas line fittings instead of copper and ended up drilling out the orfice at the end of the fryer hose and welding the steel line closed where it connects to the fryer and drilling out the weld with a tiny drill bit (size smaller then the orfice in the fryer hose) and now it works. thought I would post this in case someone else runs across this problem. I also made a flip up table that acts like a handle when the table is flipped up. took 8 1/2hrs to do 2 15 pound turkeys at 225 degrees at a breezy 25 degrees outside.

[wtp]

yes I know the regulator hose is suppose to come out the little door but with so many times of removing it cause of burnner problems it now comes out the front.

[wtp]

here is a test run. video is kinda crappy cause it is from my phone. This has my homemade cold smoker attached to it.

[Riich]

Wow, that thing looks awesome! Nice work.