I've made a cardboard box smoker http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Cardboard-Smoker/?ALLSTEPS before, but I wanted something a little more sturdy, so I made one out of a mini grill and some air conditioning ducts. The total cost for this project was $9 since I got the duct for $3 and the riveter for $6 at the flea market, and I found the mini grill in a dumpster (it's amazing what people throw away in rich neighborhoods). The hot plate belongs to my roommate, but you can use a charcoal or wood fire instead.
Step 1: Materials
1. A piece of sheet steel about 4 foot by 2 foot. Thickness isn't too important, as long as you can bend it into a circle. You might want galvanized or painted steel to prevent rust. I got my sheet metal by tearing apart a duct.
2. Mini grill, or a full-size grill for a larger-capacity smoker.
3. Rivets or screws to hold everything together.
4. Electric hot plate.
You will also need these tools:
1. Power drill.
2. Riveter or rivet gun.
2. Mini grill, or a full-size grill for a larger-capacity smoker.
3. Rivets or screws to hold everything together.
4. Electric hot plate.
You will also need these tools:
1. Power drill.
2. Riveter or rivet gun.
Step 2: Build Process
1. Find the circumference of your grill to make sure the metal is big enough to make a full circle, then add a few inches for the overlap of the joint. Mine came out to about 4 feet.
2. Cut out the metal in the right size.
3. Bend the metal around a pole or other round object to make it into a cylinder.
4. Make sure that the cylinder will fit inside the grill, and that the grate will fit inside the cylinder, then tape the cylinder together.
5. Drill holes through the metal where the two sides of the cylinder come together and rivet these holes together to make a complete cylinder.
6. Add screws or rivets to hold the grate up inside the cylinder.
7. Add a coat of paint if you like.
2. Cut out the metal in the right size.
3. Bend the metal around a pole or other round object to make it into a cylinder.
4. Make sure that the cylinder will fit inside the grill, and that the grate will fit inside the cylinder, then tape the cylinder together.
5. Drill holes through the metal where the two sides of the cylinder come together and rivet these holes together to make a complete cylinder.
6. Add screws or rivets to hold the grate up inside the cylinder.
7. Add a coat of paint if you like.
Step 3: Fire it Up!
My favorite type of meat to smoke is pork ribs, but you can smoke all kinds of meat. My next project is to make elk jerky.
Add a sauce or dry rub of your choice to the meat (good recipes can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_11125,00.html and here: http://www.barbecuen.com/rubs.htm )
Place the electric hot plate in the bottom of the mini grill and turn it up all the way. Put a pie plate or other pan full of wet wood chips or sawdust onto the burner, then put the cylinder and the lid on top.
Put the meat on the grill and let it cook for a long time (I would cook it for at least 8 hours). Check on it every 30 to 60 minutes and add more wood chips as needed. You can adjust the vents on the bottom and lid of the grill to allow air in or smoke out.
When the meat is fully cooked, take it out and enjoy!
Add a sauce or dry rub of your choice to the meat (good recipes can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_11125,00.html and here: http://www.barbecuen.com/rubs.htm )
Place the electric hot plate in the bottom of the mini grill and turn it up all the way. Put a pie plate or other pan full of wet wood chips or sawdust onto the burner, then put the cylinder and the lid on top.
Put the meat on the grill and let it cook for a long time (I would cook it for at least 8 hours). Check on it every 30 to 60 minutes and add more wood chips as needed. You can adjust the vents on the bottom and lid of the grill to allow air in or smoke out.
When the meat is fully cooked, take it out and enjoy!
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"We had a local sheetmetal shop cut the pieces to size and then roll the drum sections for us, which cost about $200. You can use just about anything made of steel--as long as it's not galvanized. If you can find one, try a food-grade steel barrel."
Read more: Build Your Own Backyard Smoker - Popular Mechanics
Here is the link:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/metalworking/3372796-6
Lowes sells 10' x 20" aluminum flashing. Its thin material and you can use a standard paper hole puncher to punch for rivets.
Circumference = Pi x Diameter
Ex. 14" Grill top diameter requires about 44" of the rolled up flashing. You can get two smokestacks, 38 or so inches tall.
You can use a yard stick as a guide and a cheap razor knife to cut it. Its lightweight, but can very easily be reinforced. If you want, and at the cost of a little material, you can reinforce it to hold a tank.
If you "bend" it, you can clamp it between two pieces of wood..... again, a little research on a redneck bending brake...
I have a son who is allergice to milk, soy, peanuts, and eggs. I make him biscuits, pancakes, cobblers and all kinds of things that he would otherwise not get to experience in life if it was left to commercialization products only. Plus i love to go camping. Through instructables, ive made aclohol coke can burners, Joule thief and fuji camera lights, solar battery as well as peltier devices that, when placed over a cup of boiling water, will keep some leds running for a long time with the simple burning of a tea light candle. I have a weber, table top grill not unlike the one in your instructable. I keep all my cooking supplies inside.
An additional idea or two.
Make a spit:
Rivet a couple of washers, opposite from each other near the top of your smoker. Then devise a "spit". Second hand stores sell oscillating fans for 3 or 4 dollars. The small electric motor generally has a 5 or 6 rpm rating. Use a counter weight to offset the amount of torque required to turn your spit, and it would expand your options. Most come with a capacitor, and through experimentation or research you will have a really cool conversation piece :)
Make it collapsible:
It may not interest you, but by thinking out of the box, other people doing other things might would benefit if you were able to "undo" the stack, then re-roll them back up.
Make it shorter by half and you have the ability to "roast" things at a temperature above 250 deg F. I use open pit cooking to cook briskets, butts and shoulders, but as Charlie Daniels would say, "boy lemme tell you what!", if you take a big ole ribeye thats been covered with your favorite concoction, get you a stoking fire and that smoke stack will trap the heat around that steak and the top will be open. There is a differnce between cooking on the grill top and cooking with the meat an inch or two below the surface. I dont like cooking steaks "covered". I like my meat to be marbelized and not the same temp all the way through.
First off let me say that I like this idea and think with a slight change to materials it could be awesome. Perhaps someone can offer a cheap alternative to the galvanized stuff.
I'm a chemist and deposit zinc oxide on surfaces at many different temperatures (25C to 300C). As the comments above state, galvanized metals should NOT be used in food applications. Zinc oxide will contaminate food, even at the temperatures for this application, particularly given the long times involved smoking. It is not necessary to reach the melting or boiling point of a substance in order for it to have a vapor pressure. This is why water will evaporate out of a cup left on the table. Just to make sure I'm not crazy, I checked the MSDS for zinc oxide and have a few numbers/facts for you.
The OSHA limit for exposure (8 hour work day) is 0.9 BILLIONTHS of a pound/cubic foot of air. (9.36E-7 lbs/ft^3)
The chronic toxicity exposure is 0.1 THOUSANDTHS of a pound per day. (1.1E-4 lbs/day)
I know people have commented below about things such as heating ducts etc. I will admit that I am unfamiliar with the details of an HVAC system. However, if galvanized duct is used between the heater and the chimney then any possible contaminates will be vented outside. Also given what I know of environmental rules and those who make them it doesn't mean it's a good idea just because they have approved it.
Thank you for reading all this. It's just my two cents so feel free to ignore me.
Regards,
Ttalos
I make bird cages and have to deal with this all the time. Your best bet is just get aluminum Or steel drum. Just make sure to oil the inside of your smoker well too.
we need a metallurgist or bronze/brass foundry person to write in. I have never heard of lead being present in zinco plated metal, which is gal steel.
Thank you for your comment regarding galvanized steel duct in heating systems.
This can be very, very bad to breathe.
So what if zinc oxide gets in the food? Sun block often contains zinc oxide. I get sunblock in my eyes, nose, mouth, etc when I go swimming. I have never had any issues with zinc poisoning.
I probably would not sprinkle zinc oxide on food as a seasoning, or use zinc oxide in high temp cooking, or use zinc oxide to store pickles.
I do not need to hurl myself at irrational and non-factual fears, such as grouping a galvanized smoker with "miscarriages" in order to get our point across. You don't believe making a food smoker out of galvanized steel is a good idea. I think using galvanized steel is an acceptable risk. We can have our different opinions, and I like to base my opinion on fact, not fear. You may feel otherwise.
So some trace are going to get in the food.
But at these temperatures it should be fine in theory.
But here the reality if you wife or daughter loses a child due to a miscarriage your going to wonder.
I personally would soot myself if it was my step-daughter as there be no way to know one way or the other.
Bottom line Zinc is not used in cooking EVER!!!
The great benefit being that you can control the temperature to produce heat necessary to have smoke and no flames (which is more difficult with more 'primitive" smokers that use charcoal …
Great !…
Thank you !…
wen i try this imma think about adding a little door on the bottom of the steel to easily add more wood or coals
(Nice job)