One question I get a lot from folks stopping by this blog is: “How do I construct a BBQ smoker.” Most of the time, folks are just not happy with the smokers they see in the home stores, or they want something with a bit more personality that what they’re finding there.
My Advice for Constructing Your Own Smoker? Go Retro-Baby
Custom built BBQs were all the rage back in the 1950s, before any weekend warrior could zip down to the local Mega-l0w-Mart and pick up a $100 grill. As a retro-style guy myself, I am happy to see more and more Barbecue enthusiasts looking to go hands-on today in terms of building their own barbecues.
Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
Your Mission: Construct BBQ Smoker
First Step: Make a Plan, Stan
I know you’re ready to get started on your sweet home-built BBQ smoker. However, before you start picking up cement, wood, mortar, and anything else you think you’ll need – you need to develop a plan for what you want in a backyard BBQ.
Do you want to go simple, or do you want the Taj Mahal of smokers? Maybe you want something that’s a bit more than your garden variety fire pit but not exactly a competition ready rig.
The cost to construct your smoker should drive your plan to a large extent. You can build a nice attractive fire pit with a basic metal grate, or you can drop some major cheddar on a gas or electric grill with several burners, storage cabinets, etc.
For my money, I’d probably opt for a simple wood or charcoal-fired barbecue. Going too complex may get you into an economy of scale issue – where it’d just be smarter to have the grill custom made.
DIY BBQ Smoker: Basics to Plan For
First things first – you’ll want to be sure you have selected a well-ventilated location for your smoker. One of the ideas I’ve had lately is to see about setting a double barrel smoker like the Big Baby smoker into a brick base so that it takes on more of a stylish presence.
The masonry required to build the base for this sort of smoker setup can be performed with some basic know how, a simple masonry book, and some basic pre-made metal parts. You could most likely put it together on a Saturday afternoon with a couple of buddies and the promise of a case of beer. Of course, the smoker itself might take another weekend and… darn… more beer.
Key Things to Consider When You Construct Your Smoker
- Location: Situate your barbecue in a place where there won’t be any danger from fire, and where you’ll be happy with it being for years to come.
- Look and Feel: You’re building your own smoker – so take time to be sure it matches the look and feel of your home and yard. You want to be sure it fits within its surroundings.
- Usefulness: You may not only want to smoke meat, chicken or fish. Consider your smoker’s flexibility factor, and decide if you also want it to be able to handle direct heat cooking and grilling.
- Year-Round Use: Your smoker is something you should be able to enjoy year-round.
- Maintenance: Keep your clean up options nice and simple, and make sure you can get to any smoker parts you may need to repair. The last thing you want to have to do is smash through brick and mortar for a BBQ smoker repair job.
A very popular choice for building your own BBQ smoker is the Ugly Drum Smoker, or UDS. Heck, I think even Darth Vader uses a 55 gallon drum smoker version!
Books and Other Resources We Like
Interestingly, there really aren’t many books for constructing BBQ smokers or taking a DIY Barbecue Smoker approach. But, there are a few we like. Take a look. I think you’ll find them useful.
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Deciding what type of BBQ smokers are best is sort of like trying to decide which type of car you like the most. A lot of them work based on similar principles, and many things play into what sort you buy for your family.
Today, you can get barbecue meat smokers in a whole host of varied shapes, sizes, and power options. For most folks, it’s just too hard to decide. The purpose of this post is to provide some guidance as to what types of BBQ smokers are out there, what features they provide, and how you can go about finding them.
Some Key Factors in Choosing Your BBQ Smoker
Choosing Your Fuel Source: Charcoal, Gas Or Electric
A good number of folks who consider themselves hard core “smoker heads” will tell you there’s only one fuel source to use when smoking meat… the one they like.
Thing is, sometimes charcoal just isn’t practical, due to its time constraints – so gas is the option. For purists – who like the use real lump charcoal and real wood – then they’re going to be willing to take the time needed to stoke, tend, and maintain the proper heat and smoke levels. Gas offers much less in the way of clean up and temperature is a bit easier to maintain. If you want to just “set it and forget it,” then look for electric BBQ smokers as your choice.
Determining the Proper Size: For Your Budget and Your Family
The size of your smoker will depend on how you plan to use it. Are you cooking for family meals and barbecues, or are you looking for something you can use to feed the crowd at your Church social? Maybe you’re looking for the starter rig for your first BBQ cook-off competition? In all cases, your size needs will differ.
Capacity and cooking surface size are the two biggest things to look at. For those family get togethers, you should go about 300 – 500 sq in. If you have bigger needs, you may want to go up to around 700 sq in.
Location, Location, Location – Where Will Your Smoker Be Used?
How you’re going to use your smoker plays into what type you’ll use, but where you’re using it matters just as much. For most of us, our grills and smokers are relegated to the back yard, the porch, or on our deck. If this is how you’ll use it, you can go bigger and stationary. But, if you’re short on space or want a more portable solution, you could opt for one of the many bullet style smokers on the market.
Obviously, if you’re going to competitions or larger cookout parties, you’ll need to be rollin’ on wheels, and there are many options for you in this category, too.
Paying to Play: How Much Should You Pay for Your Smoker?
If you plan to use your BBQ smoker on rare occasions, and you’re cramped for space, you can opt for a less expensive option. However, the key to good smoked barbecue is to cook it “low and slow.” For this reason, if you are going to smoke meat frequently, you should go with a good quality product. Look for things like warranties, read reviews, and check out customer service, too. All of these things should help you make a choice that will keep you smoking barbecue for years on end.
Great. So, Where Do I Get My BBQ Smoker?
For instant hands-on shopping, you may want to check out your local home store or department store. However, there’s a good chance that these stores will only cary a limited selection of BBQ smokers. If you want to maximize your selection of choices, then you need to look online as well.
Deciding what online store to buy from can be confusing. I tend to look for the following while sizing up an online BBQ smoker sales site:
- Is their site easy to navigate, does it provide good choices, and does it have product reviews?
- Do they offer easy to reach customer service to both help me make my selection and provide service after I buy?
- What are the prices like?
- How do they handle sales tax?
- What are the shipping charges? Note: Make sure the shipping charges aren’t inflated – as this is becoming a common practice.
You Can Always go the Build Your Own BBQ Smoker Route!
Constructing your own BBQ Smoker might be a personal source of joy, if you’re the DIY type. Consider the Ugly Drum Smoker! Heck, I think even Darth Vader uses a 55 gallon drum smoker version!
Online Stores We Like
Two of the best places to start your online BBQ smoker search are Amazon.com and GrillsDirect.com.
Amazon.com: Amazon provides access to Weber, Brinkman, Charbroil, and some others. While the selection of smokers isn’t the widest, they really do provide a great number of accessories. If you like Amazon already, this is a great place to start your search.
Shopper’s Choice: If you’re looking for wide selection, Shoppers Choice is the store for you. They provide a handy comparison capability so you can match up grills you find there head to head.
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