Simple, cheap smoking?

How can I do it? I have the 24" (roughly) wide Weber charcoal grill. Can I use that to smoke some pork butt? I'd also like to do pork tenderloin, fish, and chicken. I'm a noob with this stuff...

Try this forum: Smoking Meat Forums There's a ton of information here. I use my 3-burner gas grill by removing the grate on one side and wrapping hardwood chunks in foil and placing the foil wrapped packets directly on the metal burner shield. I only use that burner on low to produce temps of about 275F and place the meat on the far side. I smoke whole chickens for about 4 hours and a pork shoulder for about 10 hours (if I remember correctly). You'll need a digital probe that I also use for brewing. Some hard core meat smokers will insist that you need a dedicated smoker but my grill works great. Good luck!

I tried this once. It worked ok. Here's how I did it:

Pile all your charcoal on one half of the grill. Hang a piece of heavy aluminum foil from the middle of the grate to keep the heat indirect. Start the fire (preferably NO lighter fluid). Keep the airflow to a minimum by closing the vents almost completely. Once the fire is stabilized, throw a few good sized chunks of hardwood on it. Put the meat on the side opposite the fire, and try to keep the temp low (no more than 250°F for pork butt) without snuffing the fire...that's the hard part!

you can smoke ..........just put the charcoal in a pile on one side and whatever you want to smoke on the grill on the other side (away from the heat). We use a charcoal barrel grill and do that. We use the big chunks of hickory and put them on the grill above the charcoal. Works like a charm......also if you put a pan of some apple juice in there it will help keep it moist.

summersolstice said:

Try this forum: Smoking Meat Forums There's a ton of information here. I use my 3-burner gas grill by removing the grate on one side and wrapping hardwood chunks in foil and placing the foil wrapped packets directly on the metal burner shield. I only use that burner on low to produce temps of about 275F and place the meat on the far side. I smoke whole chickens for about 4 hours and a pork shoulder for about 10 hours (if I remember correctly). You'll need a digital probe that I also use for brewing. Some hard core meat smokers will insist that you need a dedicated smoker but my grill works great. Good luck!

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Thanks for the site, I'll check it out...

Yuri_Rage said:

I tried this once. It worked ok. Here's how I did it:

Pile all your charcoal on one half of the grill. Hang a piece of heavy aluminum foil from the middle of the grate to keep the heat indirect. Start the fire (preferably NO lighter fluid). Keep the airflow to a minimum by closing the vents almost completely. Once the fire is stabilized, throw a few good sized chunks of hardwood on it. Put the meat on the side opposite the fire, and try to keep the temp low (no more than 250°F for pork butt) without snuffing the fire...that's the hard part!

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Yeah I guess maintaining temps can be tricky. I usually use a chimney to light my coals. I don't know if that will hurt the situation...

Soulive said:

I usually use a chimney to light my coals. I don't know if that will hurt the situation...

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I'm fairly certain I've read about folks keeping the fire completely contained in a chimney when smoking. A little Googling is probably in order to see what that technique entails.

Yuri_Rage said:

I'm fairly certain I've read about folks keeping the fire completely contained in a chimney when smoking. A little Googling is probably in order to see what that technique entails.

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I hadn't thought of doing that. I'm googling now...

edit - found this and its the same grill I have http://video.epicurious.com/?fr_story=13f77ccc5362132872a909249542d8fd634d5fca&rf=sitemap

Look at my gallery for ideas on how I do it.

I'm lucky I have a double grill BBQ so I can fire up one side and cook on the other. Great for joints and parties.

orfy said:

I'm lucky I have a double grill BBQ so I can fire up one side and cook on the other. Great for joints and parties.

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Yes, I too enjoy smoking joints.

This site has some good info also
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/grilling101/smoking.aspx

I also like like this one
http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/

jfish63 said:

This site has some good info also
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/grilling101/smoking.aspx

I also like like this one
http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/

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Thanks man

Resurrecting an old thread here, but...

Soulive, did you follow up on any the suggestions here? Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheaper charcoal smoker? I see BGE results and they look fine, but I'm really only testing the water at this stage!

cd2448 said:

Resurrecting an old thread here, but...

Soulive, did you follow up on any the suggestions here? Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheaper charcoal smoker? I see BGE results and they look fine, but I'm really only testing the water at this stage!

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I followed Yuri's method but kept the fire contained in my chimney. It worked well and I will use the same method in the future...

Yuri_Rage said:

I tried this once. It worked ok. Here's how I did it:

Pile all your charcoal on one half of the grill. Hang a piece of heavy aluminum foil from the middle of the grate to keep the heat indirect. Start the fire (preferably NO lighter fluid). Keep the airflow to a minimum by closing the vents almost completely. Once the fire is stabilized, throw a few good sized chunks of hardwood on it. Put the meat on the side opposite the fire, and try to keep the temp low (no more than 250°F for pork butt) without snuffing the fire...that's the hard part!

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+1 on this. It's how I use to do it untill I got a smoker. Keeping the fire low but still going always was a chore tho.

Brandon O said:

+1 on this. It's how I use to do it untill I got a smoker. Keeping the fire low but still going always was a chore tho.

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so you just toss in a few more brickets when the fire gets low? is that the plan?

ps: i'm up for buying a smoker, as my grill is only the 20" one and a bit small for this way of smoking. any adivce? simple little $80-$90 deal will do the job or save pennies for a BGE?

im looking for the forums where they turn 55 gallon drums into smokers. my archive is hosed up on my email right now so when i find the email i sent myself ill post the link.

http://www.theqjoint.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=21

cd2448 said:

so you just toss in a few more brickets when the fire gets low? is that the plan?

ps: i'm up for buying a smoker, as my grill is only the 20" one and a bit small for this way of smoking. any adivce? simple little $80-$90 deal will do the job or save pennies for a BGE?

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I would add more coal that was ready and burning to the fire if needed. I had a metal bucket I had poked holes in, and I would use that to get the coals ready and hot. If you just throw coal on the fire with out getting it lit first it makes your food taste funky.

I would get a basic vertical smoker, they have electric ones that you can use whatever kind of wood chips you want with.

I use a 55 gallon barrell drum smoker. The nice thing about a 55 gallon barrell drum is the mini weber grill fits perfectly in the bottom. I get the mini weber packed full of coal until I can just barely still fit the top grate on. Then when the fire is red hot I put a big pan of water on the top grate. 6 inches from the top of the drum is where the grill grate from regular sized weber sits and holds all the meat. Then of course lid on top of that. I'll get a picture of it posted here as soon as I find one.

Also, I would love a BGE. If I wasn't spending all my money on beer stuff I'm sure I would end up getting one. However, it's through cheap equipment and lots of trial and error that I've figured out this is a permanent hobby for me.

Brandon O said:

I would add more coal that was ready and burning to the fire if needed. I had a metal bucket I had poked holes in, and I would use that to get the coals ready and hot. If you just throw coal on the fire with out getting it lit first it makes your food taste funky.

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So I light the extra coals in a second chimney or something, and when they are hot, I pile them in?

Brandon O said:

I would get a basic vertical smoker, they have electric ones that you can use whatever kind of wood chips you want with.

I use a 55 gallon barrell drum smoker. The nice thing about a 55 gallon barrell drum is the mini weber grill fits perfectly in the bottom. I get the mini weber packed full of coal until I can just barely still fit the top grate on. Then when the fire is red hot I put a big pan of water on the top grate. 6 inches from the top of the drum is where the grill grate from regular sized weber sits and holds all the meat. Then of course lid on top of that. I'll get a picture of it posted here as soon as I find one.

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I'm going to buy a charcoal smoker. Brinkman or something, about $80. What possible harm can come of it?

cd2448 said:

So I light the extra coals in a second chimney or something, and when they are hot, I pile them in?

yep, thats what i do.

I'm going to buy a charcoal smoker. Brinkman or something, about $80. What possible harm can come of it?

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I think you will be very happy with it. Smoked meats are great. Hard to mess up pork, i'd start with that.

cd2448 said:

I'm going to buy a charcoal smoker. Brinkman or something, about $80. What possible harm can come of it?

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The problem with the cheap rectangular Brinkmanns is the charcoal pan. It's literally just a porcelain coated pan, which doesn't allow enough air to reach the coals. In just a half hour or so, they ash up and smother themselves, which means you constantly have to open it up and stir the coals. Of course every time you open the door, heat escapes and compounds the problem.

I modified mine by drilling several holes in the pan, and placing a small round grate inside. (It was a Weber replacement rock grate.) This lifts the charcoal above the bottom of the pan so the ash has somewhere to fall, and allows air to come in from below. It's now MUCH easier to maintain the proper temperature without constant attention.

I also put a large paving stone in the bottom of the smoker, to provide some thermal mass. Seems to help.

I would check wall mart.....the smokers are on sale at this time of the year. Also their is a big difference between HOT smoking & cold smoking. when you do BBQ it is hot smoking When you do bacon or fish perserving it is called cold smoking