Barrel Smoker

[Mike 56]

Anyone here cook in barrel smoker. We cook in ours All the time. Just get the coals hot add Wood chips hang the meat come back in three hours to check the meat. For my daughters wedding we cooked tri tip and chicken for two hundred it took five smokers.

Mike

 

[Blizzard of '93]

oh yeah, I've worn out (burned up?) 2 of 'em. 'water' smokers they are called. just the thing for a turkey. :thumbsup:

 

[Mike 56]

Yes smoked turkey is a fine meal. Everyone in my family has a smoker we put them together when we have to cook for a lot of people. I have five grown daughters with family's so we are always having a party for something. What can i say we are Portuguese we celebrate every thing.

Mike

 

[Blizzard of '93]

so that's why the Brazilians are always throwing down and partying? they're Portugese descent mostly you know. :hatsoff:
BTW that a fine looking cut of beef roasting there. any rub or marinade on it?

 

[Bountyhunter]

This area is under extreme fire danger now, and we cannot have any open fires, that means no charcoal grilles of any sort, nor any gas grills outside. They are even discouraging smoking outside. There were two big smokes that I could see yesterday. When a storm comes into the area, all the fire trucks head out and spot here and there to be ready incase of lightening.

So we are not celebrating any until they pull the fire danger.

I would like to see some full pics of the smoker and how it is constructed. What was in the original barrels? Do you burn them out to rid them of any residues?

 

[Blizzard of '93]

the ones I used were just the K-Mart sold type but they did well. I just let them get in bad shape when the paint burned off and they rusted through. I still use one but I have took some care with it, to scrub off rust and spray with grill paint. it's just like the one pictured has a dome lid. Brinkman is the maker IIRC. I have cooked several turkeys and roasts both pork and beef on it. and game also , venison. they just fall apart.

 

[Mike 56]

Blizzard, On that standing rib roast i used some rib rub i found at the bulk foods section at Winco. That was some good prime rib. I only get to cook prime rib once in a while. I do have shelf full of whole spices and herb garden out back so do like to make homemade rubs and marinades.


Bountyhunter sorry to here about your fire troubles.
We make the smokers out of what barrels we can find. Mine was a soap barrel. it had the top maid on it. I cut it off with a angle grinder. Let me tell you it a fine day in my house when i cut stuff with my angle grinder. I also use the angle grinder to cut the slots for the re bar. Drill six 1/2 inch vent holes near the bottom of the drum. For a charcoal holder i use a Chevy wheel (i am a Chevy guy). Remove the wheel weights and valve stem from the wheel. wash the drum and wheel well. When dry light 20lbs of charcoal in the drum. When the coals are hot add some fire wood. Use any kind of wood you would not mind cooking with around were i live it is almond wood. after the wood is burning good put the wheel in the drum and fill to the top with wood and let burn. The next day dump the ash hose down the wheel and the inside of the drum let dry and you are ready to cook. The more you cook in your barrel the better it will be.

Now to cook put 10 pounds of charcoal in the wheel if you are packing the barrel tight with meat put an extra 3lbs of charcoal on the bottom of the barrel. When the coals are hot i double rap two foil pouches with two hand fulls of wood chips in each poak holes on the top side and place them on the coals. Place re bar a cross the top of the barrel make s hooks out of wire chose hangers and hang the meat. Place the lid on top of the barrel leaving a small crack for the smoke to vent. It takes from 2 to 4 hours to cook depending on were you live and how much meat you have in the barrel.

Mike

 

[Blizzard of '93]

you seem to have the technique down to an 'art'.
I use the water or liquid smokers, the pan sets on brackets above the coals. there is an access door built in to add charcoal/wood as the smokeing goes along.
I haven't made any 'water smokers' but have made some real nice 'indirect grilling' cookers out of cut open beer kegs (stainless steel they will last forover) and they do a great job on all sorts of BBQ.

 

[bajabuc]

I brew. I brewed a smoked beer a while back. I use my water heater firepot and I have a commercial 8 gallon stainless steel pot I got at the scrap yard for 11 bucks. I got a good red oak fire going in the waterheater firepot and set the stainless pot on top of the grate/grill. Started the water boiling and mixed in my malt extract stirred it up so it wouldn't stick and took a large cover and capped the pot...the smoke found it's way into the beer...and I do mean smoke. I fermented it for a couple of weeks and settled it for a couple of more. Bottled it and let it carbonate for a couple more. Opened it and it smelled and tasted so smokey I couldn't drink it...Ah...but wait...there's more. I was grilling a while later and kinda got ahead of myself and had too much meat done and no place to keep it...so...I set one of those aluminum foil turkey pans on the side of the cooker on a couple of concrete blocks ...poured a couple of those smoky beers in it and marinated the meat I already had cooked. I can't drink the beer...but I sure can eat it.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

that'll work! :thumbsup:

 

[Allan Gray]

:shocked2: I've never seen one homemade. I've gone through 2 of the Brinkman Kmart smokers...used to do a decent smoked salmon in them using pear wood.
I now have a horizontal Texas made heavy gauge wood pit, but I've never done a rib roast as good looking as that!

They should give you a Nobel prize. :hatsoff:

 

[omarick1948]

I have a Brinkman (horizonal) smoker with a side fire box, that I have had 10 years and this past weekend smoked 40# of pork featherbones (riblets).
I take the meat and rub a mixture of spices into the meat several hours before I put them in the smoker adjusted to 220 degree's and use either pecan or hickory wood. I put a tray under the meat rack of the smoker, to keep moisture in and this helps tenderizing. Also made a Smoker out of a wooden oak whiskey barrel and modified it, so I can take it to Rendezvous to smoke meat. Works great! Takes between four to six hours to smoke the Featherbones the way we like them! I like to eat them with some smokey pito beans, sourdough bread and a cold "Brewski" or two or seven!....We love smoked BBQ in this here country!

Rick

 

[dave payne]

I have a horizontal brinkman for years and love it......would like to see a picture of your wodden whiskey barrel smoker......

 

[omarick1948]

Sorry hdgarfield,
I hadn't checked this thread in awhile. I'll send you a photo a little later. A friend of mine is borrowing it at present and he took it to a Rendezvous in Wyoming to show off his meat smoking skills to some friends.

Rick