MAKING A FISH/MEAT SMOKER, thinking to use a metal dustbin.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, any PW members made their own SMOKER from the above or ????  all advice welcome.  photos would be handy to see end result,  cheers

[silver pigeon69]

Think i heard something, somewhere, about not using galvanised steel?

[thepasty]

the temps are so low can there really be a problem with Galvanised steel? plenty of people on the net seem to be using them.

[Walker570]

45 gallon drum is by far the best....even better for a cool smoke two 45 gallon drums connected end to end with 6 inch pipe but that takes up room.  I made a hot smoker but one which I could control the heat and do really long cooks/smokes with a 45 gal drum.  Put a grill about 4 inches from the bottom and on one side to hold the charcoal and then another grill on the opposite side about 6 inches from the top for the meat/fish.  As I have put on here before, you can smoke and cook a whole brisket for 8-9-10hrs by controlling the heat and it falls apart.

If we are doing barbecue, I set it up at about 7am and initially have the meat unwrapped, I put four or five chunks of oak, plum, cherry wood which I have soaked in water for an hour, these go on top of the charcoal (you need a 'chimney' bucket to light your charcoal).  After about 2hrs I then wrap the meat in three layers of foil and keep the temperature at around 225 and the lid on. I turn it over after another two hours and add a few chunks of charcoal if needed, then let it sit until about an hour before serving and then unwrap and let it glaze.

You need to cut a hole about 4 inch diamter in the lower side of the drum below the charcoal to let air in and I have a hole in the top/lid which I can shut of or part open.

OOOPS almost forgot. I suspend a roasting tray about 4 inches below the cooking rack which I fill with water, this adds steam as well, keeps everyhting moist.

If you want to see 'barbecue' then pull up The Barbecue Pit Boys on you tube. Brilliant.

 

Edited May 30, 2018 by Walker570

[Terry2016]

Hi OPP

I made one for my dad last year, we smoke fish ducks and pigeon etc,, we used an old 2 section fridge,

Made a brick base to sit it on and to hold the main fire/ smoke chamber 

faced with wood frame and door with vent

Drilled holes through from bottom to first level fridge

Drilled holes to second fridge  

Cored a hole and put a flue on the top

Job done this is for cold smoke, if we hot smoke we move the fire tray up to the first fridge and meat /fish in 2nd it increases the temp.

 

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, silver pigeon69 said:

Think i heard something, somewhere, about not using galvanised steel?

hello, yes i see that, maybe i could use some type of paint,  

1 hour ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, any PW members made their own SMOKER from the above or ????  all advice welcome.  photos would be handy to see end result,  cheers

hello, i will have to make one at the small farm i sometimes shoot on so it needs to be quite basic thats why i thought of using a dustbin. i see one for a tenner on ebay in abingdon, i am only thinking trout that i catch up to 4/5 llb and it will stay at farm so family can use to, all though they do not like trout much, but did enjoy smoked trout,   

Edited May 29, 2018 by oldypigeonpopper

[Walker570]

10 hours ago, Terry2016 said:

Hi OPP

I made one for my dad last year, we smoke fish ducks and pigeon etc,, we used an old 2 section fridge,

Made a brick base to sit it on and to hold the main fire/ smoke chamber 

faced with wood frame and door with vent

Drilled holes through from bottom to first level fridge

Drilled holes to second fridge  

Cored a hole and put a flue on the top

Job done this is for cold smoke, if we hot smoke we move the fire tray up to the first fridge and meat /fish in 2nd it increases the temp.

 

 

Nice neat tidy job. Never thought of a double fridge/freezer unit. 

[ditchman]

make it out of bricks,....the more you use it the better it will get....

[fatchap]

If you can get hold of one an old wooden whisky/cider barrel make an excellent cold smoker adds to the flavour.

[ditchman]

2 minutes ago, fatchap said:

If you can get hold of one an old wooden whisky/cider barrel make an excellent cold smoker adds to the flavour.

yeah ...ive heard that before ...makes sense

[islandgun]

I made a hot smoker out of an old calor gas bottle, [make sure you get all the gas out before you cut out the door.?]  the good thing is theres a space under the bottle to place your heat source

Edited May 30, 2018 by islandgun

[Walker570]

1 hour ago, islandgun said:

I made a hot smoker out of an old calor gas bottle, [make sure you get all the gas out before you cut out the door.?]  the good thing is theres a space under the bottle to place your heat source

Fill it with water to the top having screwed of the connector before hitting it with a cutting disc otherwise your ears might start to sing a little.  I made a couple of small smokers using gas bottles but could only do small pieces of meat ..breast meats and smallish fish or steaks and still use it for that.  That is why I went to the 45 gal drum.

[fatchap]

I have been told by seasoned meat smokers the best thing to make a cold smoker out of is an old but still working fridge. Cold smoking they say is a bit russian roulette in the summer. It can go dramatically wrong if the temp inside hits the magical 40. So a working fridge is ideal.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, thankyou for the replies, i am limited as to what i can do at the farm with lack of tools, so i was looking for an easy to make jobby, i think will look for a ready made off free ad or boot sale, cheers

[figgy]

The Scandinavians and Alaskans use a wooden hut shed affair with the tube set in the ground to cool, the meat hangs in the shed and they set a seperate fire smoke generator away so it has plenty of time to cool. The larger the smoker chamber the less it will warm with the smoke.

You can buy good cold smokers online.

[Jonty]

OPP, are you wanting to cold smoke (just add smoke flavour without cooking) or hot smoke (cook and add smoke flavour)?

[oldypigeonpopper]

26 minutes ago, Jonty said:

OPP, are you wanting to cold smoke (just add smoke flavour without cooking) or hot smoke (cook and add smoke flavour)?

hello Jonty, i was making for the  farm family  i sometimes shoot on but they decided to buy one,

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 07/06/2018 at 13:11, figgy said:

The Scandinavians and Alaskans use a wooden hut shed affair with the tube set in the ground to cool, the meat hangs in the shed and they set a seperate fire smoke generator away so it has plenty of time to cool. The larger the smoker chamber the less it will warm with the smoke.

You can buy good cold smokers online.

hello, your right figgy, my friend from Estonia has a very old house on the north Island with an outside smoker