DIY Smoker Project

[HumbleHomeCook]

I really like cooking on my 14" Weber Smokey Joe. It's just my wife and I the overwhelming majority of time so while the grill space is a little limiting, the easy storage, quick prep time, etc. make up for it. I fire up the Joe right on the front porch. Super convenient.

I watched several YouTube videos on using the Joe as a base to make a smoker without having to modify it. Like I said, there's a lot of videos on it and folks have varied approaches but the gist is, you use a 32qt tamale pot for the smoke chamber. So, I ordered the major components and will be getting to it when things come in.

Many people say you have to crimp the lip of the pot to get the lid to fit but that's fine with me if I need to. I'm not going to paint mine like so many others do. SInce I already have the Joe, this should be a pretty economical way to get some convenient smoking done.

I'm excited to have the project to mess with and see how it turns out.

Here's one of the better videos out there:

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

The project shall begin in earnest later this week.

 

[JAKsQandBrew]

You can add some felt gaskets to help seal the pot into the bottom of the Joe. A single layer of felt around the outside of the pot should help keep the smoke in the chamber and stop too much air getting to the coals. You can also do about the same with a long snake of foil run along the seam.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

You can add some felt gaskets to help seal the pot into the bottom of the Joe. A single layer of felt around the outside of the pot should help keep the smoke in the chamber and stop too much air getting to the coals. You can also do about the same with a long snake of foil run along the seam.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Bensbites]

I think you basically made a Webber mini smoky mountain smoker. I think Harry so cooks his high end bbq on them and suggests seasoning the inside with rounds of hot dogs. The fat will render, airsolize and gunk up /seal the holes.

edit. Look here for his seasoning processhttps://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2014/03/fire-control-and-seasoning-a-new-weber-smokey-mountain-pit/

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I think you basically made a Webber mini smoky mountain smoker. I think Harry so cooks his high end bbq on them and suggests seasoning the inside with rounds of hot dogs. The fat will render, airsolize and gunk up /seal the holes.

edit. Look here for his seasoning processhttps://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2014/03/fire-control-and-seasoning-a-new-weber-smokey-mountain-pit/

Thank you.

Yep, it's basically a mini WSM and that's what most folks call it.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Alrighty... She's ready to go and today is the maiden voyage.

Lessons were learned.

Reckon I should've gotten better pictures of the insides. I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom to start vs. cutting out a ring. I didn't need to mess with the lip or the base for a good seal.

I decided to go with a two rack setup just for potential versatility and maybe to try maximizing the space on such a small unit. I put a bolt in the lid vent to keep that cooler to touch but that's mostly for when I'm using the Smokey Joe just as a regular grill. Which again, I have made no modifications to the grill itself.

It is a less than ideal day for smoking. Overcast with sprinkles, maybe 60F and a constant 10-15mph wind. But here we go...

Here, I've wrapped the terra cotta pan in foil, put in a disposable drip pan and installed the two grates. Everything is loaded up and chimney started:

Initial startup:

Settled in and with all vents wide open, holding around 225F:

Given the weather and this being the first time out, I went with a whole chicken. Will update here in a bit...

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

About four hours in and I pulled the chamber off to check the coals. Heavily ashed over on the surface and needing to be stirred. Plenty of good coals and zero need to add anything.

But, the wind has finally died down and that combined with freshening up the coals has the temp climbing. Creeping up to around 250F in about 20mins. Chicken is about 145 on the breast and I'm only going for about 155 so I'll let it go.

The lesson is both that the coals need to be touched up after some time and I think also that on a calmer, and especially warmer day, temp monitoring will be more important.

Almost there...

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Given the conditions and my complete lack of experience with this setup that lead to a lot of checking and prodding, I'm super happy!

Wind started to die down and the temp of the cooker started to go up. So, on nicer days, I'll need to be more mindful of temp control.

But yep, this is going to work nicely!

The wife loved it so all good.

 

[gregfisk]

Of course she loved it, she didn’t have to cook.
That’s a clever way to add usefulness to your bbq. I use an electric smoker that I absolutely love. It has temperature control and a meat probe built in which is very convenient. We have a cherry tree in our yard that I cut small branches off of. I cut those into small 1” pieces right before needing them so they’re still moist. The flavor is really fantastic with fresh cherry wood. Your chicken looks fantastic by the way. My smoker has a water pan, I wonder if you would benefit from using one?

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Of course she loved it, she didn’t have to cook.
That’s a clever way to add usefulness to your bbq. I use an electric smoker that I absolutely love. It has temperature control and a meat probe built in which is very convenient. We have a cherry tree in our yard that I cut small branches off of. I cut those into small 1” pieces right before needing them so they’re still moist. The flavor is really fantastic with fresh cherry wood. Your chicken looks fantastic by the way. My smoker has a water pan, I wonder if you would benefit from using one?

She's doing ribs today!

I could put water in the aluminum drip pan if I wanted. I used to do a fair bit of smoking and I've never been convinced that water pans really contributed to the end product. I'll get back to playing around this summer. It may well be noticeable on this small of a cooker.

I have a plumb tree that I'll be harvesting some limbs off of. Very cool to have a supply of cheery wood at your fingertips.

 

[gregfisk]

I don’t know if the water helps either? I just use it since it’s there and I figure it can’t hurt. Some recipes call for putting herbs or beer or whatever in the water pan. I don’t really see how that could help anything?

I did pulled pork last weekend and it turned out great. 220 degrees for about 8 or 9 hours. I bet plum would work well. I have a plum tree but haven’t tried smoking with it yet. I’ll have to give that a try.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I don’t know if the water helps either? I just use it since it’s there and I figure it can’t hurt. Some recipes call for putting herbs or beer or whatever in the water pan. I don’t really see how that could help anything?

I did pulled pork last weekend and it turned out great. 220 degrees for about 8 or 9 hours. I bet plum would work well. I have a plum tree but haven’t tried smoking with it yet. I’ll have to give that a try.

My brother in law uses plum from a tree in his yard and he loves it so I figure it's worth a shot.