Al - 55 gal drum smoker?

[ronp]

Hi all, I was reading about the BGE smoker and Al mentioned he made a smoker out of a 55 gallon drum.  I have 2 barrels and want to try this. Can anybody help with plans?  Al???? Thanks - ronp

[flinch]

We used an old refrigator.  Put the burner in the bottom underneath the fridge part.  Cut a stovepipe size hole up to the main compartment. Then I put a stovepipe chimney with a dampner up through the top to regulate the box temperature.  Then I took the racks out and put in two angle irons 3 inches from the top on each side running from front to rear.  I hang the long sausage casings on stainless steel rods suspended across these angle irons.   I have a box therometer sticking in from the left side and I have a temperature probe that I leave in the sausage after I close the door ( I have a snap lock for the door). The internal probe has a sending unit so I can check the internal temperature of the meat from the house. (cool) I follow the probe's manual on what temperature to reach and for how long.    I question what was in the barrels before you got them?  Could be chemicals??  I would make sure; Real Sure.

[ronp]

Thanks for the ideas, flinch. I have a refrigerator in my garage but it a side-by-side and I was hoping to fill it with beer LOL!  My barrels contained pure peanut oil so they should be fine.  Thanks - ronp

[flitz]

a cheap smoker that works good is a weber grill.
lay the charcoal on the bottom of grill with
your favorite wood.then put the grill in that
normally holds the charcoal.put your water pan on that.then put on the top grill and start smoking.

flitz

[Al Dente]

Barrels from cooking oil are fine, DO NOT use any other barrel.  The impurities will leech out when it gets hot and contaminate your food.  No matter how well you scrub it, you will never get it clean enough.

I got my plans on-line from a welding website.  I beleive it was Miller Welding.

[Matt E]

You can use a small box,drum can or building for use as a  "smoke house" . Isolate your fire away from the smoke house, about 10'. You can build your fire lower,in a small pit, and pipe your smoke angled up through stove pipe sections at the bottom or side of your box.By doing it this way ,you have no need to open the smoke house and disturb the process.By isolating the fire it will keep your smoke cool with no chance of cooking the meat. The smoke will rise up and around the inside of the chamber and vent out at the top. You need to cut a vent hole slightly smaller than your stove pipe to allow the smoke to collect in the chamber before exiting. We had a smoke house  and this post bought back memories of the taste of smoked bacon and ham and the wonderful smell of curing meat coming from our smoke house.    Use wet hardwood chips after you have a bed of coals( no resinous woods at all) to produce thick smoke,surprisingly corn cobs will impart a delightful taste to your meat as well.Cold smoking is my favorite way of curing meat. It the best way to get the taste I like. The larger the pieces of meat the longer it takes to cure.

[Bobby Urban]

How much do you plan on cooking/smoking in it?  You can build one like I am building and it will last a lifetime.  This way you can cook for the whole neighborhood if you want.  

Bob Urban

[Al Dente]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!