DIY: smoker pit

In my old age I keep forgetting how many of younger folks never did this... went out and dug your own smoker pit... well it's ridiculously easy to do... first you need one of these things
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e722c3f29ed7.jpg[/atsimg]
then you'll want the wire rack from an old BBQ
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c6a768a4387c.jpg[/atsimg]

use the grill size to measure your hole width and depth... then you start digging... not to deep but deep enough that all your wood and meat/veggies are below ground level...

once you got you hole dug line the bottom with rocks... tap them down so there nice and solid...use more rocks to fill up the sides... about halfway up make a ledge to lay your grilling rack on... so it lays above the coals... you'll need a cover... a old piece of tin will work... but dont cover tightly... we need to get a little air in there too...

now for the fire ...dont use store bought lumber or pine for this...
You want to chop some kindling from the driest, most seasoned wood you have available. Make sure it is of the non-coniferous varieties such as hard woods, fruit woods and nut woods.

You want the kindling to be long slivers about the diameter of a match.. these can be carefully slivered from a wedge of wood using a sharp axe.. do be careful!

When you have a good handful simply make a sort of teepee with the long slivers and place some small pieces of your dryer lint firestarter at the bottom...(You did read my Dryer lint firestarter thread, right?).


As your small fire gets going you can begin to add some of your bigger pieces of seasoned, dry wood.. this is what will create the bed of coals that will sustain the heat for the long smoke. Let that first fire burn down to coals... roughly one hour... now you can add your meat...

You will need to add about 4 pieces of wood to sustain a nice 225 degree fire depending, of course, on the individual size of your smoker, and you will want to add a piece of wood onto the fire approximately every hour or so to maintain a constant temperature.

Just to make sure there is no confusion.. seasoned wood is that which has been allowed to dry in the open air for 6 or more months

When it comes to smoking meat, the time is not nearly as important as the temperature. Temperature should always be used to determine when the meat is done cooking rather than the time.

the time table below is taken from a favorite web site of mine

Type of Meat

Smoking Temp

Time to Complete

Finished Temp



Brisket (Sliced)

225°F

1.5 hours/pound

185 degrees



Brisket (Pulled)

225°F

1.5 hours/pound

195 degrees



Beef Ribs

225°F

3-4 hours

175 degrees



Pork Butt (Sliced)

225°F

1.5 hours/pound

175 degrees



Pork Butt (Pulled)

225°F

1.5 hours/pound

200-205



Whole Chicken

250°F

4 hours

165 degrees



Chicken Thighs

250°F

1.5 hours

165 degrees



Chicken Quarters

250°F

3 hours

165 degrees



Whole Turkey 12#

240°F

6.5 hours

165 degrees



Turkey Leg

250°F

4 hours

165 degrees



Turkey Wings

225°F

2.5 hours

165 degrees



Turkey Breast - bone in

240°F

4-6 hours

165 degrees



Boudin

230°F

2.5 hours

160 degrees



Breakfast Sausage

230°F

3 hours

160 degrees



Fatties

225°F

3 hours

165 degrees



Meat Loaf

250 -300°F

3 hours

160 degrees



Meatballs (2 inch)

225°F

1 hour

160 degrees



Spare Ribs

225-240°F

6-7 hours

Tender*



Baby Back Ribs

225-240°F

5-6 hours

Tender*



Salmon

140-160°F

5-7 hours

145 degrees



Smoked Corn

225°F

1.5 – 2 hours

N/A



Smoked Potatoes

225°F

2 – 2.5 Hours

N/A

Note: Be sure to use temperature to tell you when the meat is done.. time is just an estimate and is NOT an indicator of doneness.

well there you have it... your very own pit smoker... enjoy

Thanks.. gonna give this a try

reply to post by tinker9917


by all means please give it a try... let us know how it went
and if you get in trouble.. tell your mom I said it was okay to play with matches... just this once

And here I had been thinking of making a pizza out of white oak flour next fall. You just had to tell them how to have a real slow cooked smoked barbecue and not some nasty lighter fluid soaked charcoal briquets or flaming LP gas.

Keep up the good work

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by tinker9917

 

by all means please give it a try... let us know how it went
and if you get in trouble.. tell your mom I said it was okay to play with matches... just this once

Good Good!! i've read on a lot of ovens in the past but not so many smokers.

It all helps, thank you!

reply to post by Ahabstar


Ya know...
it's really surprising how many folks dont know even the most basic techniques for do it yourself stuff...
heck I was thinking about making another thread on just the many wounderful uses of common bleach...

PS throw your Pizza in a smoker pit and see how tender it comes out

Yum!!

There's nothing like real smoked meat and not something with that nasty liquid smoke flavoring in it. That pink line in the meat and that crust on the outside...I'm getting hungry.....

Your smoke pit sounds about like mine. I've got a couple joints of 4" plastic pipe buried from the bottom of the pit to the rock wall at the side of the wife's flower bed down the hill. Both ends are screened to keep out critters and bees. I never could get the pit to draw and smoke right until I added the "air intake".

One of my projects this summer is to cobble up a little smokehouse over the pit to finally hang and smoke some homemade sausage and briskets.

Neat.

I think I'll write up a bushcraft fish smoker and add it to your thread if thats OK mr D?

reply to post by Astr0


by all means please do...
Like I always say there in no one right way to do any of thise stuff... but even I learn new tricks by sharing ideas and tricks... like this

reply to post by HappyHermit


I have to be real careful with how deep I dig mine...
we have a real shallow water table so I'f I'm not careful I'll turn my smoker pit into a stew pot....

and now that were both hungry I'll go find me something tasty to munch upon

Thanks a bunch. Do you have information about beef?

reply to post by JDBlack


if you like here's a downloadable how too in PDF, you'll need the free acrobat reader to view
same source I used for my figures BTW only this one is in it's complete form
How Too Smoke meat (in PDF format)

Nice thread.

Also, the type of wood you use will affect the taste of your food.
Apple wood will give a certain taste, as well as hickory.
I prefer and recommend hickory or walnut bark to add a certain "mesquite" taste.
Cherry works too, as well as maple.
Mmm mmm!!!!


Just grab a local arbor guide and determine what trees you can identify in your area.


Very good advice.