BBQ build up

Phishnoob · 05-21-2007, 10:33 AM

We are buying a house and there is this shell of river rock and mortar waiting to be the ultimate BBQ. The little gas thing and the other stuff in there used as storage are on the way out and I will build it higher with a center arch with Von Briggle tiles as decoration.

I was thinking about getting a smoker box on one side and a frame on the other with some angle iron welded up to accept standard size grates. Has anyone built their own smoker or charcoal grill.

With a spit and the smoker this puppy will be ready to cook up anything.

Any ideas or suggestions?

AdamG · 05-21-2007, 10:44 AM

THis is something I found while searching:
This is a simple, usually very cheap, and easy to make smoker.

Your main piece of equipment..... just an old, simple refrigerator. It doesn't need to work, or still have the compressor. It just needs to have a door that still closes pretty tightly, (but if the door doesn't close tightly, you can still smoke meats or fish, you just need to improvise some kind of closure, such as a piece of tin and some duct tape if that's all that is available.)
Here's what needs to be done:

1. Cut a hole, about the size of your fist on one side of the refrigerator, close to the floor of the inside of the frig as possible. You can use a coping saw to start, or even a chisel. It doesn't have to be any certain shape, whatever is easiest. This will be for the draw of the smoke.

2. Cut a hole in the top of the frig, a little bit bigger than your fist. This will be the flue. (This is assuming this frig is the old style, that doesn't have a separate door freezer at the top or bottom. If it does, just make another hole in the freezer compartment floor, if it's a top freezer type, so that the smoke can flow up and out the floor. You can even take the freezer floor out completely if you want.)

3. Next, the best way to set up this smoker is if you can get a hotplate, one like you cook with on a counter top. This way you have a constant source of heat (to help "cook" the meat and to provide heat for the wood to smoke).

If you don't have access to a hot plate, then you will need to make some sort of firebox out of some type of metal. You might be able to find a small metal barrel of some type that you can fit in the bottom of the frig. Just make sure you set this firebox on some bricks or rocks, so the heat from the firebox doesn't melt the bottom of the refrigerator.

4. That's the basic setup. To use it, set a large metal pan or box on top of the hotplate or firebox, add Hickory Sawdust to the metal pan or box, and sprinkle a little water on the Hickory Sawdust (Don't fill the pan up with water and then add the Hickory Sawdust).

( The smaller the pieces of wood, the better smoke you will get. We always use Hickory Sawdust in our smokehouses, because it produces more smoke than wood chips.)

Next, make some sort of damper for draw (hole) in the bottom and the flue (hole) at the top of the frig. A piece of tin or wood would work for this. When you first start smoking, leave the draw opening and flue completely open. After 2 or 3 hours like this, close the draw to about one third open and the flue to one third open.

Now you are ready to start smokin'!! .

I HAVE ALWAY's wanted to do this, keep me posted on what you do!!!

Fly Guy · 05-21-2007, 10:54 AM

I smoke a lot.......(fish and meat to be sure

), and as far as cheap smokers. You can buy a Big Chief cmoker for less than $30 nd they work great as long as you can keep them out of the wind or outside temp less than 30. I used to use them all the time. I know have a fancy insulated humidity and temp controlled one that works better of course........but Big Chiefs work great.

Perry......that sounds AWESOME.

105 year old house. WOW

Phishnoob · 05-21-2007, 10:55 AM

I was going to try and have a local ironworks make the smoker from scratch. This is a 105 year old house and it needs to look vintage and work great and be there for eternity.

Some good ideas from your post though!