Cool Smokers Don't Have To Be Expensive

So here it is about 2:30 in the morning and i'm listening to my subversive Dixie Chicks Greatest Hits, "Long Time Gone". It's funny, once long ago i had drinks with them after hours at the Suttler's in Fort Davis. I miss them, but that's a whole nother [sic] blog and given the overly charged political season, i think it can stay for some far off day. Perhaps so long a Cowboy could Take Me Away. Sorry i couldn't help it.

It's a bit of a meander to get to this smoker, so with your indulgence, i'll attempt to make it as painless as possible. Back in 2001 when the shit hit the fan on September 11th, I had a nice little house with a pond and a grotto for my Virgin Mary statue, and something of an outdoor kitchen. I hadn't put the sink in yet, but that was about all that was missing. It wasn't very long before i realized my job prospects had all but dried up and the housing market was doing something funny. So, in a panic, sold the house, got an apartment, and went back to school to hedge against a poor economy i figured would rebound in a year or two. As it turns out, selling the house was the best idea, though it sits less than five minutes from The Ballpark in Arlington and Cowboys Stadium. Despite those things, it has lost nearly 40% of its value from when i lived there. I classify that as dodging a bullet. As for the economy rebounding, well i was overly optimistic to say the least. Okay, off to the University of North Texas and apartment living. I had to drag my smoker with me. I just couldn't leave it or the stove behind. To shorten this up a bit, with them sitting out in the elements like they did, rust destroyed them. So, for a number of years i have gone without a smoker because they were either cost prohibitive or just took up too much room.

Here a couple of months ago i got this idea for a smoker i could take apart when not in use and store under one side of my gas grill. When i told everyone about it, the general response was, " you want to make a smoker out of a trash can?" Well, the long and the short of it was, "Yes, yes i do."  

Despite the lack of enthusiasm, we visionaries just have to deal with that some times. I built it. I'm happy to report the smoker cost just less than 60 dollars and i got all the parts from Home Depot in one trip. I had that cheapo charcoal grill laying around, so it didn't add to the cost. We use it when we go to the park or the lake every now and again. I was hoping the smoker would be dual purpose, first be controllable in the 200-250 degree range for smoking and second be controllable in the 325-400 range to bake bread in. Here is what i discovered. It takes a good fire to get the smoke chamber up to 150-175 degrees. I'm fairly certain this is due to the aluminum dryer hose connecting the fire box to the can. I plan on changing it to a steel duct and that should raise my heat 50-100 degrees. Aluminum spills heat very well. That is one of the reasons it is used in cookware. Ideally, i'd like to get 225 out of it and then i wouldn't have to finish cooking the food in the oven, like i did this turkey.

I smoked the bird for +/- 5 hours and then baked it until the internal temp reached 200. I have to say that a fair amount of the broth they inject these things with did shrink away, but it wasn't dry in the least and i'm not a white meat eater. I got good smoke penetration. In fact, the smoke penetration was better than expected. I made this so that i could either suspend food with the can sitting upright or on a rack with the can laying on its side. This time i chose on its side. Inside, i placed the bird smeared with Kosher salt, Brown Sugar, and a bit of Chili Powder on my big Wilton rack with a pan underneath to catch the drippings. This is important! The last thing you need is to add to the fly population here. Here is a pic of the sliced breast. I took all of these pics with my cell phone, so they could be better, but it is what it is.

If you look, perhaps you can see a nice rosey ring around the perimeter of the breast. When i ate this last week, one of my friends asked if it was any good. What i say now is what i said then, " It's either really good or i was just in the mood for Turkey."  I'm really happy with my smoker and i'll be thrilled when i get the bugs worked out of it so i can make some of the breads i used to make that require a dry wood fueled oven. One more thing, as an added bonus to all this smoked meat madness, Which only took five or six sticks of mesquite by the way, I made a foil pan and filled it with Kosher salt. Periodically, i would stir the salt. Now, i have Mesquite smoked salt whenever i have a taste to add a little something smokey to whatever it is that i'm eating.

Next time i'll tell you about my cheap-ass kitchen towels. I mean cheap too. So cheap, you may just give up on paper towels like i did so many years ago. 

Until the next time i write, Peace be with you, Dave