Combo Apartment friendly Smoker

SNARK!!!!

I'd get banned if I posted that one! 

But I'd have to yell AKULA!!! (Russian for shark) to get their attention.

I finally have some Qview for you folks.

I swung by the Bazaar today and picked up my smokey pot.



It consists of a bottom chamber that will be the fire box.

Pt II

The "racks" look like this.



I think I can get a smallish Butt in there with just one rack set inverted (spacer knob thingie down).



The problem I have atm, is the hot plate ain't so durned hot.  It cycles too soon and after 2 hours I still had no smoke and the temp (according to my cheapo Char Broil thermo) stalled at 150 F and wouldn't budge.  I shut the plate down and moved into the kitchen and used the gas range to test a little and I was able to quickly get smoke and move the temp up over 200 F. 

Problem is, I will be murdered in my sleep if I smoke up the house so I'll have to find a better heat source and  keep it on the balcony (with the door close of course).

I also found a 40 Watt iron yesterday and set up my can.  SWMBO says we CAN find chips or dust around town so I hope to have something together for a cold smoke at least this weekend.

Oh, I forgot to mention, my Ukrainian Smokey Pot is about 14 inches across and maybe 12" deep with one rack in.  All alum.

Actually, its a steamer pot. 

Yeah, whole chickens, butts even a slab of brisky or salmon.  I'm ready as soon as I can find a heat source to get my wood chunks going or some hardwood saw dust.  I'd love to have something together this week end so I can dig in on Monday, but I may have to settle for using the oven this time around.

Well its been almost a year since I slid by this thread.

I did give up on the hot plate idea as I haven't bothered to look for a better one.  I'm using the gas range since SWMBO is away for a couple months.

I have done 2 good smokes in it this month and one that didn't pan out.

I did my pig neck smoke that turned out purty tasty.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121271/trying-a-pig-neck-for-first-go

Then a couple days later I did some burgers and brats in it.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121440/another-good-smoke

Thursday I tried to do more burgers and some wings.  I found a CI pan at the bazaar and thought that would make a great fire pan.  Maybe it will, but I have to leave the water pan idea out next time.  

Stupid me, I set the alum water tray in the CI pan and put some oak chunks around the edges and loaded the smokey pot and lit the gas.  A little bit later I heard hissing.  Hissing?  That can't be good.  Yup, the water tray boiled over into the fire pan and all I was getting was steam   Ok, for a steamer pot, but I want a SMOKEY pot!  The good news is I can at least attain 212* but that seems to be my temp limit in this little thin walled alum pot.

I tried to dump out the water and dry the fire pan on the burner, but this smoke was just not meant to be.  The grease from the burgers ran into the chunk pan and again foiled any attempts to get smoke.  They cooked up nice and tasty, but not smokey.  The wings cooked up nice and juicy too.  I'm going to fry them off to finish cooking them and drop em into some Buffalo sauce today.

I just finished cleaning up the gooey mess from the smoke that wasn't and will try a different set up with the CI chip pan/water tray deal.  I want to try to get a good smoke on a butt then wrap it and finish in the oven at 250* until it falls apart with a slight push.

Spasibo Sasha!

Really, the ventilator above the plita does a very good job of removing most of the smoke that comes out of the smoker.

I really like it here in Simferopol.  My friends in our little rinok take very good care of me and I have a wonderful wife.  I'm well known in our area and several small cafes in town so I enjoy a little bit of celebrity here as "The American".

To live is good but to live good is better, eh?