Okay, let’s talk about this DIY smoker brick thing I did. I’ve always wanted a smoker, but those things are expensive! So, I thought, why not try building one myself? It sounded like a fun weekend project, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
First, I gathered all the stuff I needed. This wasn’t too bad, mostly just cinder blocks, some metal grates, and a thermometer. I think the whole project cost me around 200 bucks. Way cheaper than buying a fancy smoker. Oh, and I also needed a small hot plate for inside.
The basic idea is to stack the cinder blocks to make a box. Pretty simple, right? I started by laying out the first layer of blocks in a rectangle shape. Then I just kept stacking them up, making sure they were nice and tight together.
Once I had my box, I needed a way to get the smoke going. I put a small hot plate at the bottom of the smoker. On top of the hot plate, I placed an old cast iron pan filled with wood chips. When the hot plate heats up, the wood chips start to smolder, creating the smoke.
- Step 1: Get the cinder blocks, metal grates, thermometer, and a small hot plate.
- Step 2: Stack the blocks into a rectangular box shape.
- Step 3: Place the hot plate at the bottom.
- Step 4: Put a cast iron pan with wood chips on top of the hot plate.
Then, I put a couple of metal grates inside the smoker, a few rows up from the bottom, to hold the meat. These grates are what your ribs, or whatever you’re smoking, will sit on.
Getting it to Work
Once everything was assembled, I fired it up. I plugged in the hot plate, waited for the wood chips to start smoking, and then put some ribs inside. It took a little while to get the hang of it, figuring out the right temperature and how often to add more wood chips.
But, let me tell you, those ribs turned out amazing! The smoker did its job. And it’s a nice size, too. I could easily fit enough ribs in there to feed a crowd, I did at least 50 pounds that day.
The best part is, it doesn’t even use that much wood. So, it’s actually pretty cheap to use once you’ve built it. Plus, the whole building process was fun. I felt like a real DIY pro. And now, whenever I have friends over, I can show off my homemade smoker and serve up some delicious, smoky food. It’s a great feeling. You guys really should try this thing at home!
