built a meat smoker today (pics)

[CajunBrah]

After reading bad reviews of inexpensive smokers ($100-300), I decided to build my own out of terra cotta pots. Here are my results and how it was made. Design taken from Alton Brown's Good Eats.

Materials:
18.5" terra cotta pot
16 3/4" terra cotta pot (lid)
electric hot plate
weber charcoal grate
heavy duty pie pan (thicker the better)
oven thermometer
disposable aluminum pan

I disconnected the heating element from the base & spliced the wiring to lengthen it.


Next the wires were passed through the bottom hole in the flower pot.


Reattached the wires to the heating element & placed it over 2 small bricks for a stable surface.


Heavy duty pie tin placed on top of burner with wood chips (preferably wood chunks which burn longer).


Disposable aluminum pan to catch drippings & prevent flare-ups. I then placed some U-bolts with brackets for handles.


Flower pot smoker now completed in less than 5 minutes. Placed on top of bricks for ventilation & to protect to hot plate's base. I chose to rewire the hot plate to have easy access to the heat controls. Also most hot plates have heat sensors and will kick off after reaching a certain temp. For smoking purposes, I wanted 200-220 degrees F, so this method worked best. Thermometer placed inside top hole to trap smoke & monitor ambient temps.


Smoked chicken & poblanos.


Meal time.


Ambient temps ran from 200-230 degrees which is the perfect range for smoking meats. I'm sure with a smaller pot temps could reach up to 250. All in all I am very satisfied with the finished product. Ideally I wanted a terra cotta bowl, but I couldn't find one in the size I needed.

Total costs: $70
And it works just as well as a $700 commercial ceramic smoker. It's not very aesthetic but it smokes like a champ.

The same set up can be used in a aluminum garbage can which would significantly cut down on costs. Smaller flower pots run much cheaper than the ones I used. A smoker can be built for $50-60 depending on materials.

[whiteboyy09]

meat smoker

[tha_deuce]

meat

[xJ_Sky]

smoker

[buresnipes]

job dave good man

[PBateman]

meat

smoker

[adamsteve14]

I've been wanting to do this as well as I saw it on Alton Brown too. Looks like an economical way to smoke meat.

[Warcup]

you like to smoke meat brah?

[MareeWanna]

Impressive, your meat smoker definitely got those cocks nice and dark.

[BoneSkinny]

Meat smoker........

[Staberella]

REPPED! Always wanted my own smoker but didn't want to pay $500.

[Miked1978]

Good job brah.

I got a cheap one I bought but it smokes like a champ. Don't read too much into reviews.

[Infinit350]

Nifty little trinket ya got there.

[p7nk]

i got two smokers bought..

**** building one

[MareNostrum]

dayuum look at dat chicken

[lefthandedstraw]

awesome man...

[Beatnik5]

Cool story bro, I helped my friend weld a big ass smoker last month.

A big ass air tank and $300 of 1/8th inch steel later got $1100 bucks for it.

[WhatUpDoee]

I'll give you an extra $70 to smoke my meat

[tha_deuce]

REPPED! Always wanted my own smoker but didn't want to pay $500.

you have a problem smokin meat???

[p7nk]

REPPED! Always wanted my own smoker but didn't want to pay $500.

for 43 dollars you can buy the barrel shaped(smaller one) one in my picture above

[CajunBrah]

smoked cocks were delicious for dinner. would eat again.

I've been wanting to do this as well as I saw it on Alton Brown too. Looks like an economical way to smoke meat.

REPPED! Always wanted my own smoker but didn't want to pay $500.

It was very easy & really cheap to construct. If you live in a humid environment, you might want to pass on a flower pot smoker. Hot clay + humid air probably wouldn't fair well for the integrity of the pots.

Good job brah.

I got a cheap one I bought but it smokes like a champ. Don't read too much into reviews.

Yeah, I was eying the Masterbuilt analogue smoker for $270. It just seemed poorly built for the price, so I passed. The next step up was $500+. Problem with the cheap, bullet smokers is that I couldn't find one with a temperature setting. They seem to work well for chicken, but run too hot for ribs or bisket.

i got two smokers bought..

**** building one

[img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4758359019_b7ccd1526b_z.jpg[/ig]

Looks good. If I didn't already own a charcoal grill, I would have bought a smoker/grill combo.

Cool story bro, I helped my friend weld a big ass smoker last month.

A big ass air tank and $300 of 1/8th inch steel later got $1100 bucks for it.

Nice. I wish I had access to welding gear. I would like to make a heavy duty smoker out of a steel drum.

[Kmart23]

admirin dem dere chicken aesthetics.

[yomomma212]

alton brown is amazing

and the food looks good too brah, will look into it

[Softworn]

have you tried to smoke pole yet?

[Teenytinyboo]

meat smoker

[Levronewannabe]

strong chicken buttsecks

[Rich89]

Why did you place some soft serve morning after drinking duece on the plate with your chicken?

[janxy]

Woah your meat smoker is big enough to smoke two c0cks at 1 time.

Good job man, nice build

[CajunBrah]

Why did you place some soft serve morning after drinking duece on the plate with your chicken?

Slow cooked pinto beans reduced to paste. They will blow up my ******* later.

[img]http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff66/zsavoie/GEDC0025-1.jpg[/ig]

Woah your meat smoker is big enough to smoke two c0cks at 1 time.

Good job man, nice build

It's big enough for 3 big cocks or 4 small ones. Not sure I can handle all that protein explosion. Next I want to bbq some brisket & pulled pork.

[05impalaSS]

I wanna smoke meat!






























































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