Need a smoker

[Fishpdx]

Hello guys and girls ,

I recently got into smoked fish and need a smoker to smoke my fish I don't need any recipes but I just wanted to find out if you can make your own smoker. Because I don't want to buy a electric smoker and I want to use my wood, so anyone here made their own smokers? I saw some youtube videos of a smoker made from a refrigerator but i'm not able to carry that big stuff in my car. There was also a smoker made from a steel drum but I searched up amazon and their expensive like $90 .

 

[cddunn]

I remember an old episode of "Good Eats" where Alton Brown made one with a cardboard box, hot plate, cast iron skillet, a few thermometers and a rack or two.

 

[fish4life]

If you have a bbq you can do it with that. If it is a gas bbq and has more than one burner, turn on one of the side burners on low, take a piece of aluminum foil and place soaked wood chips in it and wrap it up with two layers of foil and make a pouch. poke holes in it with a fork and place directly on burner with holes facing up. place fish on the top grill if it has one if not place fish only on the grill that is not directly over the heat. Put the thicker pieces closest to the heat and the thinner pieces farthest away from the heat. Place a metal bowl filled with water directly above the burner on the grill above the foil pouch this will keep some moisture in the bbq and not let the fish dry out. close the lid and check about 45 min in and then every 15 min until done. It usually takes about 90 minutes for me to smoke a steelhead or coho. You can do the same with a charcoal bbq just put less charcoal so the heat is low and place foil pouch on top of briquettes place bowl of water and fish on grill and cover. If you want more info on this you can google it, that is how I found out how to do it and it works very well.

 

[hydropsyche]

Fish4life nailed it for BBQ smoking. I smoke everything from nuts, oysters, fish, poultry, fruits and veg. For most of my smoking I prefer alder, Hickory, apple, cherry, for pork, beef and game i use mesquite for a good deep smoky flavor on dark or red meats. As a chef I have experimented with many types of smoking the lil or big chief smokers are still my favorite. I generally us an Alto sham at work but its hard to dry smoke or cold smoke well. I actually prefer my products from the charcoal BBQ smoke system over the industrial smoker.

 

[DrTheopolis]

You can get an ECB Smoker (el-cheapo Brinkmann) for about $50.


Hickory will destroy fish. Apple, cherry, and alder are good.

 

[Raincatcher]

Just curious, Doc, how will hickory destroy fish? Does it break down the fiber or just make it taste nasty?

 

[DirectDrive]

Hickory is my fave.
Didn't know I was eating destroyed product.



:yikes:

 

[DrTheopolis]

Foe me anyway (and every person I know that smokes fish, all of whom have made that mistake exactly once), hickory is just way too strong a flavor for fish.

 

[JeannaJigs]

I'm a fan of a light hickory smoke on pork and fish. Never had bad smoked fish with a light pan of hickory chips.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[HereFishy]

Foe me anyway (and every person I know that smokes fish, all of whom have made that mistake exactly once), hickory is just way too strong a flavor for fish.

+1^.... I'm looking to get rid of my smoker. It's nothing fancy. Just a Brinkman charcoal smoker. Works very well. 20 bucks... get it OFF my patio...shoot me a PM

 

[rogerdodger]

I use half apple & half alder with just a few pieces of pecan tossed in.

 

[HereFishy]

I use strictly fruit wood chips (usually cherry wood) with a pan full of apple juice instead of water.

 

[billfisher]

I use half apple & half alder with just a few pieces of pecan tossed in.

I'll have to try that. My son in law in s carolina makes some killer porkchops with pecan.

 

[rogerdodger]

Need a smoker

pecan smoke is strong & darkens the surface so don't over do it.

 

[billfisher]

ok, Thanks for the heads up. Got a nice ho today at siltcoos I can try it on.

 

[DrTheopolis]

+1^.... I'm looking to get rid of my smoker. It's nothing fancy. Just a Brinkman charcoal smoker. Works very well. 20 bucks... get it OFF my patio...shoot me a PM

That's the one I was referring to. I've had a couple through the years, and they work just fine.

 

[DirectDrive]

Foe me anyway (and every person I know that smokes fish, all of whom have made that mistake exactly once), hickory is just way too strong a flavor for fish.

Yer an alien arnt ya ?

 

[DirectDrive]

Here's my converted Easy Bake Oven....
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/892050/Big_Chief_Smoker_Mods.html