Making a smoker

[Dennis Steele]

The freezer is getting full this season!

I have been cooking up lots of game with the recipies everyone is sharing here on the forums, but I would like to try smoking some of the game I have.

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to build an inexpensive smoker? I want to save some money for the upcomming ice season.

[Jim Almquist]

Way back when my dad made one out of a old frig and used a hot plate for the smoke. I think the frig was good because he was smoking tulibees. I think the only thing he had to do was vent it. On tv I saw Alton Brown use a card board box to smoke salmon. Just a couple of ideas for you. I have one of those brinkman charcoal ones that I like alot. I bought a electric insert but I like the charcoal better cause I can control the temp a little better as the electric gets to hot. I also like to make my vension jerky with the smoker to add a little more flavor. Hope this helps and have fun smoking.

[MN Mike]

I can't find it right now but last year I stumbled across a neat little smoker plan I found on google.They built it out of 2" x 2" studs but I can't remember what they put on the outside, maybe plywood. It wasn't very big, maybe 2' square or so and about 4' high.

They set the smokehouse on patio blocks and put a burner for a turkey cooker in the bottom.

When it comes down to it, you don't need much to make a smoker. It doesn't take much heat to make these work.

We use ours for lots of things, chickens, pork shoulder, prime rib, venison snack sticks and summer sausage.

We just got done making a BUNCH of dried venison, MMMMMM, bring on the S.O.S.! well maybe not but it makes great jerky.

Mike

[Skunked-Rookie]

Go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and get a range (stove)(sometimes they will give you it for free just to get rid of it) take off whatever you don't want to be on it. Drill a hole on the side toward the top for a vent. (someone else would have a better idea what size would be best). place a wood chip box in the bottom of the oven. Use it like an oven, only difference is using it on a low heat for smoking.

I have not made one of these, but my grandpa just did and it seems to work pretty good. Its not pretty but its very cheap to make.

[jigguy]

I don't know for sure, but I think that I would be very careful about using any old refrigerator. The old ones are a porcelian lined and the newer ones are a plastic material. I have heard that the plastic ones can give off a toxic and harmful odor. Again, just what I have heard. IMO, the price and the work it takes to build a homemade smoker hardly justifies itself when compared to a new one (less than $100.). Maybe someone will have a smoking deal on one this Friday.

[Pharcta2]

Buy a $25 hot plate and a $15 galvanized garbage can (the hot plate won't get anywhere near the temperature to start worrying about the galvanizing burning off). Cut a small hole in the bottom of the can, about the same size as the container you'll be using for the wood chips (I use an old cast iron pan). Also cut a series of small (2") slits through the lid. I went as far as getting some cheap grill grates fromm Wallyworld on clearance ($2 a pop). I then drilled holes through the can sides to put in metal rods that will either hold the grates or hold sausage links. Put the can up on a couple of bricks, plug in the hot plate, and put your chips in the pan. I get get the meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees in about 5 hours if the temp is above 50. If the temp is from 30 to 50 I "cold smoke" for 4 hours and finish everything in a 175 degree oven.

[colonel42]

I bought an electric one with a thermostate from fleet and have seen them at the builing material places. I spent about $60.00 for everything. Works awesome. Took one of the trays out and had a buddy make me two more and can do about 15 lbs of sausage at a time.

[MN Mike]

Well I found the plans, gives you some ideas anyway.

Smoker Plans

Mike

[Norsk Fisker]

Mine is an old fridge: electric fry pan wired into an electric oven thermostat, vented with a piece of conduit in the top and a drain hole in the bottom. Put chips in the fry pan, set the temp and plug it in. BE SURE TO FIND AN OLD STEEL LINED FRIDGE, NOT PLASTIC.

I saw a fridge smoker listed for free on hsolist about a week ago.

[jigstick44]

I am in the process of doing the same thing but with an old Telephone switch cabinet. I plan on purchasing a single propane burner from Northern, they are about $20. And then we are going to insulate the walls with foil faced insulation. A friend gave me a chimney stack for the top that has a damper in it. Then about the only other thing we plan to do is put some brackets on the inside to put some wood dowels on to hang the meat. The cabinet itself is 2' deep x 3' wide x 6' tall. We paln to put her together the last weekend of the year and smoke up some venison sausage, hopefully it works. The company I work for throws these cabinets out every once in awhile and gives them to the scrap guy, not sure where he takes them. But a few of the guys here have made smokers out of them and they say they work great and you can get alot of meat in them at one time.

[Gordie]

A good friend of mine built one similar to the one in the photos but his is 4x6 and is 2x2 constuction and 1/4 inch luan plywood and he uses the same burner that is pictured it works very well he can do roughly 2 doz turkeys at once and they are so tastey he also uses a cast iron chicken fry pAn to hold the wood chips in.