How to make a meat smoker at home?

How to make a meat smoker at home?

Real barbecue entails cooking cuts of meat over a duration of approximately 5-6 hours near the temperature of boiling water to make the tough meat succulent and flavorful. A good cook has the ability to make good BBQ in anything. Smoking Meat Geeks can give you an idea on the basic of smoking meat. However, if you want to build your own meat smoker at home, then this is the right place.

Here are the steps that must be followed:

Preparation

Meat smoker can be made out of a honey barrel. The first and foremost step is to empty the barrel and store the content in it in some place. Get the grinder and cut the opening. The 55-gallon honey barrel will serve as an ideal meat smoker once it everything has been executed perfectly. A barrel containing fuel or oil is a pretty much mess compared to using a food grade barrel. Consider this option in order to make the entire process convenient.

Construct the stand

The next step is to make a base on which the barrel would stand. You can use old fence posts to turn them into a stand. Cut the posts at different lengths. Two of them must be of the length of the barrel while four of them must be for the legs. Two posts will hold the barrel while other four will be attached using drilling holes. The legs can be made more stable by securing them with plywood. Once you have created the base, put the barrel on the top and make sure it is balanced.

Attach the lid and grill grates

The brackets must be added to hold the grills and keep the lids from falling inside. A lower rack must be added as well to hold the coals and allow more air circulation. The brackets and hinges must be made of stainless steel otherwise you will have to face the hassle of burning off the fumes the first couple of times you grill.

Burn off the inside

For the first time, lit a fire inside the barrel. This will burn off all the paints, coatings and all the residual stuff that you don’t want during the actual barbecuing process. It is an important step to follow or otherwise something unwanted would happen when you are barbecuing the meat for the first time.

Finishing touches

This is the final step to make your own meat smoker. The last thing you must do is add a handle, temperature gauge and air vents. It would ensure that the temperature is at control and there is enough air circulation. Also make sure the barrel is sprayed with a highly heat resistant paint. It would not only customize the barrel but paint prevents from the barrel to get rusty.

These were the steps to make a smoker at home. The only thing that is left is to test your homemade smoker will real life BBQ.