Homemade Smoker Plans - How to Build Your Own Food Smoker

Are you looking for useful homemade smoker plans?

Here are some basic steps, instructions and tips you could use to build or make your own smoker at home.

Few things taste better than meats prepared in a smoker. Whether it is for a special occasion such as a holiday, or a break from the average dinner fare, smoked meats are one of the more delicious ways to prepare animal flesh of all kinds.

Gas or charcoal grills can be converted into a reasonable facsimile of a smoker, but one can be constructed by most weekend do-it-yourselfers that will provide many summers of successful smoking.

Much like barbecuing (not grilling), smoking relies on lower temperatures and extended cooking times. Most meats are smoked at a temperature of about 225-250 degrees F, and the specially constructed chamber allows for smoke to contact all the surfaces of meat. It is this slow roasting that gives smoked meats its unique flavor.

So what can you learn about homemade smoker plans?

Probably the easiest homemade smoker to cook up is made from a galvanized trash can. For this homemade smoker plan, the only real fabrication needed is securing some type of old grill grate about 1/3 of the way down the can.

All that remains then is to place a hot plate in the bottom of the can and drill a hole in its base in order to run the power cord. Placing a cast iron skillet filled with wood chips on the hot plate will provide the smoke needed to cook your food. Now you can place the lid on the can and you are ready to roll.

A thermometer mounted on the can would be ideal, but one situated on the inside will work well also. The only issue with this method is the heat loss experienced when you remove the lid to check your temperature. Adjust your hot plate control to achieve the constant temperature that you desire.

How about other possible homemade smoker plans?

Two large clay flower pots, the reddish orange ones, one inverted on top of the other makes an excellent meat smoker, running the power cord through the drain hole of the bottom pot. Positioning your old grill grate in the bottom pot, again a steel pie plate filled with wood chips provides the cooking medium. One major advantage of this type of smoker is its ability to remain relatively cool to the touch.

Smokers can even be made out of a large cardboard box if it is approached very carefully, and placed far away from the house.

Using this basic concept for homemade smoker plans, the list of items that can be used to make a smoker is varied - old grills, 55 gallon drums, old refrigerators, barrels and masonry blocks, to name just a few (a home made smoker can even be built out of an old bathtub in a pinch). You can even build an entire smokehouse if you check local zoning laws.

Once you have constructed your smoker using a homemade smoker plan, all that is left is to try it out using one of the many different flavors of wood out there, such as apple or the ever popular mesquite. Whichever you choose, be certain to observe all cookout safety measures, and you and your family are sure to enjoy many tasty platters of smoked meats.

Enjoy!

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