OFFSET SMOKER BUILD
I've always had a smoker or two around as I love the taste of smoked meats.
I've had several homemade smokers, a pellet grill and an electric Cookshack smoker, but none of them gave me the flavor of a true offset smoker.
Offsets are the most labor intensive, but there's no shortcuts in getting that true smoke flavor, so this time, I decided to do a build right.
I watched probably 40 hours of YouTube videos on everything from construction techniques, to fire management, wood selection, fire box and cook chamber sizes, sizing the proper smokestack diameter and length and finally to recipes on how to create great brisket, ribs and pork butt.
This is my creation.
I bought an old 60 gallon air compressor to use as the main cook chamber. I wound up buying a second 60 gallon compressor to use for the firebox.
I had to first weld the legs onto it, which required this weird angle to be cut into the pipe.
The legs are welded in.
I'm using non-pneumatic tires on one side and the other end will have skid plates so that it won't roll around while in use.
It's coming together...slowly though. This turned out to be a rather large, time consuming project.
This is the second compressor that will become the firebox.
I came up with this idea to mark the cut line for the firebox to attach to the cook chamber.
I just hung a section of the tank from the center hole and using a can of spray paint held very close to the edge line, I sprayed the pattern onto the cook chamber and this worked beautifully.
Now I have a near perfect arched cut line.
I had to weld on these outer gussets to keep the door from springing out after cutting the tank open. I removed these later and these definitely helped, but I still had some spring back to deal with.
Once I cut the door out, I welded internal gussets to help with spring back.
I welded the lid hinge on before completely cutting the door out so that the door will be perfectly aligned.
I welded on the door handle with a copper pipe over the steel rod so that it'll spin when opening and it'll keep the handle cool to the touch.
Next step, the cooking grates.
I cut out the hole for the smoke collector that'll support the smokestack.
I got the smoke collector sides in and the smokestack in place.
Now, I just have to weld in the side panels.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the actual installation and fabrication of the firebox, which was by far the most challenging aspect of this build.
As you can see though, the fit was pretty much spot on, which was such a relief.
I wanted to use a trailer dolly to move my smoker around, so I welded on a ball hitch receiver to the front. It works beautifully.
I used a 3/4 inch ball valve for the grease drain.
After seeing many YouTube videos of this baffle plate, I knew I had to make one for my smoker. This plate deflects a lot of the heat upward and greatly reduces the common hot spot that offset smokers have near the firebox. The also evens out the temps across the cooking grates with no more than a 10° difference from one side to the other.
I cut out the door and cut in these little stops to help me adjust airflow into the firebox. I also repurposed an old chipping hammer to make the coiled handle.
I welded in some braces to keep the door from warping as this box will get pretty damn hot.
Got the lower rack welded in.
And here she is. I fitted her with a top of the line Tel-Tru BBQ thermometer that's placed at grate level and it's accurate as hell.
I cleaned the interior with two cans of engine degreaser to get all of the compressor gunk off and then went in with two cans of oven cleaner. After brushing it all out with a wire wheel and cleaning it good, it's ready for the initial burn in.
This is the initial burn in while it's empty. I generously sprayed the inside and outside with canola oil to season it like a cast iron skillet. The oil really polymerized well and gave the smoker a really cool seasoned look.
So, this turned out to be one hell of a project. I already had a lot of the steel lying around and a neighbor very generously gave all of the 1/4" plate that I needed, but I'm still in about $1,100.00 on this. It's worth it though as new models can be upwards of $5,000.
This cost, however, does not include the hydraulic log splitter that I bought to get my splits down to the proper size, nor does it include the $350 I had to spend on 1/2 cord of oak, but it's still worth it.
On my first cook, I used almond wood and although some people like it, I'm not one of them.
On my second cook, I smoked three racks of pork ribs over oak and I can't believe how good they turned out. I'm gonna enjoy this little toy.
