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Cheap redneck ceramic smoker

by psikot1 on July 19, 2007

Table of Contents

Cheap redneck ceramic smoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Cheap redneck ceramic smoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Hardware store time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Have a soak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Assemble smoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4: Have a rub down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 5: Cook and chill out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 6: Time to pull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
Intro: Cheap redneck ceramic smoker
this is a slow cooking smoker. the process takes an overnight soak and most of next day cooking but it is cheap and works better than some hundred dollar metal smoker
my neighbor got.
inspired by Alton Brown of Good Eats

Image Notes Image Notes

1. the whole rig 1. the reward

Step 1: Hardware store time

Hardware includes -
you will need an 2 large terra cotta, or other earthenware non-lead non-glazed planters that fit on top of each other, an electric hot plate that will fit in the bottom of the
planter, standard grill grate that fits inside of the "bottom" planter, and a replacement grill thermometer whose probe fits inside the planter hole while the dial can rest on
top, a "garbage" pan without a handle or heavy duty pie pan, and wood chips. i bought the planters at the same hardware store as the grate, hot plate and thermometer to
make sure they fit together.

Software includes -
1 1/2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup regular salt
3/4 cups molasses and
2 quart of water
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon whole fennel seed
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
last but not least a whole pork shoulder AKA Boston butt 6-7 lbs.
optional -
burger buns
BBQ sauce or my fav pickle juice mixed with some mustard and hot sauce

Image Notes Image Notes

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 1. pan 1. thermometer in hole of planter
2. hot plate

Image Notes Image Notes

1. grill thermometer with stem that fits in hole 1. hot plate that fits inside of pot

Image Notes
1. meat with rub on grate that fits inside or if necessary on planter

Step 2: Have a soak

then the pork must be brined overnight in a solution of 1 1/2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup regular salt, 3/4 of a cup molasses and 1 quart of water heated to dissove the salt
and cooled with 1 quart AKA 2lbs. of ice. add meat when brine is cool and store in refrigerator with a clean bowl and weight on top to keep meat submerged. i heated the
mixture in a large pot, cooled it, put meat in with bowl covering it, put the lid on and placed the whole thing in the fridge overnight.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 Image Notes
1. pot with meat, bowl and weight

Step 3: Assemble smoker

place one planter on top of spare bricks, wood or any heat proof piece of ceramic, metal ect. place hot plate inside of planter and run cord out of bottom hole and connect
to extension cord (don't do this indoors), place unsoaked wood chips on pan or metal plate, turn hot plate to medium high and place pan on top. put grill grate on pot and
rubbed meat on grill grate, top with upside down planter to fit over the top and place grill thermometer in hole of pot. preheat smoker to 240 degrees before adding rub to
meat and meat to smoke.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. the whole rig 1. grill thermometer with stem that fits in hole

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. hot plate that fits inside of pot 1. chips on hot plate in planter

Step 4: Have a rub down

this is the rub that i used but you can use any you like and apply liberally to meat, use more than you think you need, this made about 1/4 of a cup.

1 teaspoon whole cumin seed

1 teaspoon whole fennel seed
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika

grind whole spices in a clean coffee grinder until they turn to dust then add other ingredients and pulse a few seconds to combine. place in any shaker with small
openings and apply liberally to all sides of meat, use all of the rub.

Step 5: Cook and chill out

let the smoker come up to 210-230 degrees, if it goes above 250 turn hot plate down. then relax, watch it every hour or so to make sure smoke is still sneaking out of the
smoker. when smoking slows (about 2-3 hours) take everything off (with hot pads please), add more chips to plate and put it back together.
A fast method is smoking for 3 hours, wrapping tightly in aluminum foil and finishing in 300 degree oven for 4 hours.
A slow method is smoking for 12 hours. total smoking time for my 7lbs of pork was 8 hours of smoking and 1 bag of wood chips adding more chips 3 times.
Either way its done when it falls apart when pinched with tongs.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 Image Notes
1. meat with rub on grate that fits inside or if necessary on planter

Step 6: Time to pull

when its tender wrap the pork in foil and rest for 30 min to an hour before placing on your biggest cookie sheet and pulling pork apart with 2 forks only pull what you need.
place pork on burger buns with some BBQ or my fav pickle juice mixed with some mustard and hot sauce and devour with or w/o coleslaw. Keep leftovers (if you serve
less than 10 people) whole and store in fridge.

P.S. the pan and grate need to cool and soak for a while to get clean.

Image Notes
1. the reward

Related Instructables

How to build a Brick Barbecue Cardboard Cold Homemade Lox Memphis Styled Classic Beef
barrel smoker by solelord Smoker by BBQ Brisket by jerky made on a
by sandds
by Ruettiger sandds LarouexBBKing smoker by
legendaryfrog

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
Comments
31 comments Add Comment

vincent7520 says: Jan 17, 2011. 4:22 PM REPLY

Well …
This seems more a BBQ grill with a cover than a smoker : you get the taste of the smoke thru a sauce not thru the process.
I mean, it 's so beautiful to have meat or fish smoked with a very slow consuming (not burning) wood with the benefit that you can keep you meat for a longer
time.
After all salt and smoke were the refrigerator of our ancestors before refrigerator time !…
It does not have to take a lot of time, like 24 - 36 hours as they do in the smoking industry : one of the biggest thrill (besides sailing) in our vacations was to
smoke the mackerels we just caught on a small stainless steel smoker on the beach or on a quay. We bought it in Sweden about 12 years ago when we
sailed there. What you need is ample provision of saw dust (birch preferably, avoid oak, all kinds of pine and all "red" woods…) … line and fish hooks, and a
smoker. Our lies in the bottom of the Barfleur harbor (France) following a hazardous jump from the boat to a pontoon by one of the crew member (no I will
not give you the name ! And anyway I'rather have a piece of metal in the water than having to recover fast someone who made a bad fall…).
But then, as always, this instructable is so tempting that it gives me the idea of making a new one out of scrap. An other job on the list that is slowly changing
into a "wish list".
When project comes true be sure I'll post it (with the mackerel in place !…)

wheelnawheel says: Jun 27, 2010. 11:30 AM REPLY

Most people that make their ideas and inventions public without a patent is because they like to be inspirational and just give things away, whether they get
credit for them or not. Alton Brown is a master chef that get's paid very well. I'm glad he had no problem with putting this smoker on his TV show.

spylock says: Mar 6, 2010. 11:39 PM REPLY

My smoker will be finished tommorrow providing I can find a replacement cooking grate,I will be smokeing a pork tender loin next Saturday useing your basic
method,though I guess we all have our favorite/secret rubs.The finished meat looks very good by the way.

the rural independent says: Jan 21, 2010. 8:46 AM REPLY

I'm wondering about cleaning up afterward.

My smoker (manufactured) has a water pan that all the grease pretty much drips into, so it is all consolidated in one pan and I just have to clean that up.

With yours, do you have much grease at the bottom or does it collect in the wood chip tray - or just burn off?

Great instructable. Thanks for sharing!

www.theruralindependent.com

ironsmiter says: Jul 20, 2007. 7:32 AM REPLY

I wonder if the rat's(pets) would like a smoked cornish game hen for thanksgiving, to match the webber smoked turkey? is it the molases that turned your
meat black in the final picture(cajun style/burnt?) or was the hot plate just up too high? try adding ONE more step. grab an extra pot and tray at the store
while you're there. put the hotplate on the tray. then the pan/woodchips. then invert the extra pot. now put the origional 2-pot smoker over the rig, and fire it
up. should also allow you to run your hot plate at a higher temp, meaning better?/thicker smoke production. If you try the three pot method, let me know how
the temperature stability of the smoker is effected. by not having the chamber "open" it should retain it's heat better. Glazing should NOT be an issue on your
pots. painted pots are a definate nono unless you painted it yourself with engine paint(if your exhaust manifold won't burn it up, the hot plate won't likely
either :-) if you know your pot glazing, or glaze it yourself... it should be just fine. defintely avoid lead based glazes. also watch out for bright green glazes that
MAY be copper based... if in doubt, avoid.

Esmagamus says: Jul 15, 2009. 5:13 PM REPLY

And what about the engine paint? Have you got any idea of what they put in it? Even lead based glazes can become quite harmless if you force them to
leach out all of the lead. I wouldn't use it, but I wouldn't use engine paint either.

psikot1 says: Jul 20, 2007. 6:45 PM REPLY

also the multi-planter method is more like "cold" smoking AKA preserving not cooking. the single planter is "hot" smoking AKA cooking with smoke, with a
lot less hassles, simplicity is delicious.

psikot1 says: Jul 20, 2007. 6:40 PM REPLY

the "black" is from the smoking, not burn.

BentSlightly says: Dec 19, 2007. 9:12 AM REPLY

"Hardware includes - you will need an 2 large Terra cotta," Any ideas on sizes of pots that workout to do a turkey? I have seen Terra cotta pots that are
gigantic, would a little bigger be better?

Esmagamus says: Jul 15, 2009. 5:06 PM REPLY

Get yourself a old wooden chest and poke holes on top of it. I did that so I could smoke about 20 sausages at the same time. Worked too good.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 M F says: Jun 2, 2008. 9:00 PM REPLY
Will stacking work?> What if I use two smaller pots on top of the big ones for jerky or such?

josephprivott says: Sep 15, 2008. 8:27 AM REPLY

not really, for either. I would use a different method than the one here for Jerky; this is more suited to the meat pictured.

Esmagamus says: Jul 15, 2009. 5:00 PM REPLY

Submerge everything in a strong sodium hydroxide solution (careful, it's caustic!). It's such a powerfull degreaser I use it to clean creosote stains on my stine
stairs.

LasVegas says: Jul 20, 2007. 2:06 AM REPLY

This looks a lot like a Alton Brown, Good Eats eposode. If that's where you got the idea, you should at least give him some credit.

psikot1 says: Jul 20, 2007. 6:42 PM REPLY

True it is. i forgot to give him credit, my bad. he is in there now, want the episode number?

Freakin Einstein says: Sep 20, 2008. 5:36 PM REPLY

Forgot? Uhh yeah....Ok.

LasVegas says: Jul 20, 2007. 11:02 PM REPLY

Episode's not so important. Since you actually did build it, the Instructable's fine as long as credit is given where it's due.

matt_the_webguy says: Jul 20, 2007. 12:54 PM REPLY

I agree LasVegas, that's a total Alton Brown rig. Give credit where credit is due. Sorry psikot1, just because you used a slightly different pot, you
shouldn't pull a "Vanilla Ice".

bigcat says: Jul 6, 2008. 9:54 AM REPLY

I learned how to do this 20 years ago in Boy Scouts, so should there be credit listed to them too? Just because someone uses it on TV doesn't make
it specific to them. Plus, using Kosher salt has been around for quite a while. So by saying that Alton's use of kosher salt is his trademark, shouldn't
people like Emeril Lagasse give credit to Justin Wilson every time he uses cayenne pepper?

bfpazza says: Sep 26, 2009. 7:44 AM REPLY

lets get a grip here. neve seen so many armchair lawyers in one place. even alton brown admits on his show these are not his ideas but things he
has seen done. still not giving credit to where he saw them done. an idea is not copyright. a patent is only for a new device. u cannot patent a
changed device. as well as the credit about the pot from esmagamus? check on the net there are over 2000 manufacturers of these pots. not
even an issue. so no copyright, no patent, no trademark infringement. an idea and maybe u guys should just thank him for taking the time to show
you.

Esmagamus says: Jul 15, 2009. 5:01 PM REPLY

Nice idea. Give credit to the manufacturer of that vase (might be me!)

CatMan says: Jul 20, 2007. 11:07 AM REPLY

MUST be Alton Brown material. notice the use of Kosher Salt? it's almost a trademark...

Freakin Einstein says: Sep 20, 2008. 5:33 PM REPLY

THIS IS TAKEN FROM FOOD NETWORKS ALTON BROWN...Great idea, I did it myself and it really works. Howver, you should give credit where credit is
due. You took Alton Brown's idea, his recipe and his whole half hour program hook, line and sinker and didn't even give him credit for it.....Did you used to sit
behind me in Algebra?

doubleabattery says: Jul 26, 2007. 2:08 PM REPLY

Great Instructable! Yes, slow smoked meat is going to be black due to the smoke. I've got a big propane smoker, but this would be a great rig if I was just
smoking for a small gathering and didn't want to pay $14 for a propane refill.

alexanderm says: Dec 4, 2007. 1:54 AM REPLY

soaking the wood chips prior to use will allow them to smolder, instead of burning... which means you still get a smoky flavor, without the dark
blackening.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/
 Lenny K says: Aug 2, 2007. 1:52 PM REPLY
Question on the smoker. I have all the necessary parts including a 1000 watt electric hotplate. problem is all the ones I've looked at have an auto on/off
control so they don't burn up or something. Is there one i can buy that doesn't have that or is there someway to bypass this heat reostat? I can't get my temp
above 150 degrees cause it keeps shutting off.

psikot1 says: Aug 2, 2007. 6:04 PM REPLY

most hot plates have adjustable thermostats. i don't know if you have one thats made for cooking or if its a glorified warmer, but if yours doesn't you can
pick one up for around $10 at the hardware store.

indyguy says: Jul 22, 2007. 8:43 AM REPLY

Wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of the finished project ready to eat. It would make a nice cullmination of your efforts.

psikot1 says: Jul 21, 2007. 6:52 PM REPLY

this is the best thing EVER

seolfor says: Jul 20, 2007. 11:24 AM REPLY

Looks great. I'll have to try making this.

rimar2000 says: Jul 20, 2007. 8:11 AM REPLY

Very good.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-redneck-ceramic-smoker/