Indulging my inner redneck

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jswordy

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Last weekend, I indulged my inner redneck and smoked 60 pounds of pork and sausage. Smoked shoulder, ham, and three Boston butts. Finished up with a nice homebrew Mexican Cerveza. Mmmm!

It was foggy Sunday morning as I went out to check progress...



Oh yeah, 14 hours had done the job!



Grab the Bear Paws and rip 'er apart! There were several trays like this...



Cleanup, and ahhhh! A nice homebrew.

 
those bear claws work pretty good.

My daughter showed me how to shred meat using a Kitchen Aid mixer with the bread hook attachment....shred a pork butt in a about 1 minute flat. Briskets chicken breasts, same results...although I did have to bite my tongue when she shredded my perfect brisket...but it was dadgum good chopped bar-b-q afterwards.
 
Cleanup, and ahhhh! A nice homebrew.

I hope the setup had a few homebrews too!

That smoker is such a nice piece of redneck cookware (or artwork). I need the plans, though I think they probably involve a washed out chemical container and a can of Rustoleum. It's a beauty.

Edit: I notice a few bowls with food in them, where are the cats? I'm hoping not where I think they might be.
 
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I did not know you were doing that. You didn't mention it. You know I am just south of Oneonta, Al don't you. Did you forget to tell me!
 
those bear claws work pretty good.

My daughter showed me how to shred meat using a Kitchen Aid mixer with the bread hook attachment....shred a pork butt in a about 1 minute flat. Briskets chicken breasts, same results...although I did have to bite my tongue when she shredded my perfect brisket...but it was dadgum good chopped bar-b-q afterwards.

A minute is about what it takes with the Bear Paw brand claws. No electricity required! :h
 
I hope the setup had a few homebrews too!

That smoker is such a nice piece of redneck cookware (or artwork). I need the plans, though I think they probably involve a washed out chemical container and a can of Rustoleum. It's a beauty.

Edit: I notice a few bowls with food in them, where are the cats? I'm hoping not where I think they might be.

I built two, using barrels that had held solvent. Gave one to my neighbor. Burned out the barrels real good before starting, so all the paint was peeled off inside and outside. They are the perfect size for Weber grates, and once you carefully set the temp it stays there rock solid for up to 16 hours or more. I have a welder so I could go the extra mile on mine and put the Harbor Freight casters on and do a steel "rim" for the gimme Weber grill lid to rest on. But welding is not required. Here are some build pix. Easy to build. Happy to help you out. I can easily get the height measurements for the grates. I forget what they are.

Also, you can use the original lid from the barrel, but that limits you to a single grate to cook on. I always like a water bath/grease catch, so the bottom grate is always occupied with that. Plus, that bottom grate is probably too close to the fire for good smoking.

Fuel baskets are a Weber bottom grate and expanded steel sides. They are simply wired together strongly. The ash tray is a pizza pan. A bail from a 5 gallon bucket is attached to the top, and you lift it in with a fireplace poker hook after lighting the coals/wood. Fuel is a bag of charcoals, lit and then overlaid with the wood of your choice. I am partial to hickory and cherry. Apple is also good, and maple works well. I light the fuel using a Harbor Freight propane weed burner torch and 15 pound cylinder. NO starter fluid, lights them in less than 5 minutes total and sounds like a jet engine. What's not to like?



Detail of the valve setup. The valves are cheap at Harbor Freight. You see I welded the all-thread on, but you can use Original JB Weld and it will work just as well (the red and black long set package, not the blue and orange quick set stuff). At bottom, you see a 3/4" pipe stub sticking out. I welded these to the barrel, but you can use electrical clamp rings for threaded conduit, too. Simply seal the outside with the JB Weld if you use clamps. Use one clamp on each side. There are 4 stubs and nipple caps located around the bottom. You leave all 4 open to start, then close them up gradually until often you get down to just the valved one (depending on outside temp). A cheap H-F multi-hole saw will do to get the holes in the barrels for the pipe stubs. I had a nice hole saw, though.



This gives you a peek at the insides. Three 3" bolts stick in from outside to make a ring for each grate to rest upon. You use 3 because then there is no chance the grate will be tippy, which it might be if you used 4. There are 3 grates in each smoker. The bottom one is used for a water pan. The top 2 are for meat. The smoker can hold 100+ pounds of meat. You can also see my welded in ring at the top, so the Weber lid will fit tightly. They fit right on some barrels, but some are slightly too large. This fixes the issue. If you do not have a welder, a wider piece of metal can be bolted or pop-riveted in. The outside around the barrel lip is then sealed up with JB Weld. Works great.



Finished fabrication. My neighbor's smoker, on left, had a hinged lid from a Wal-Mart Weber knockoff grill. I got both grills free by just asking around for old ones. The temp gauge came from Wal-Mart and the Weber replacement grills and handles from Home Depot.



Painted with high temp black.



First burn. Always do a first burn for several hours before smoking with any new smoker, to season it and drive off any volatiles.



I've also got a double-barrel one that holds up to 200 pounds, but it is a more active smoking experience, as it needs to be tended more. But it can use an all-wood fire.





Goat legs on the double-barrel.



Babyback ribs out of the single barrel.



Hope you build one! I have had lots of friends copy this design after seeing how cheaply it can be done and how well it works. IIRC, I had $250 in both uprights, using gennie Weber grates (which I recommend, since they are heavier gauge and will last). Smokes just as well as a $1,000 Big Green Egg.
 
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Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to post that. I've got to go start asking if any of the barrels they get ink or lube in ever get thrown out. I know just the person to ask too! Thanks again!
 
Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to post that. I've got to go start asking if any of the barrels they get ink or lube in ever get thrown out. I know just the person to ask too! Thanks again!

You want a removable lid type barrel. Lots of times, you can pick up reasonably clean ones for $10-15. Let me know if and when you want the measurements.
 

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