Here in Japan, houses are right up next to each other, so when I smoke, I have to take my neighbors and their laundry into consideration. All things being equal, I'd prefer to use charcoal, but using gas makes me a better neighbor. When smoking pork butt, I'll often smoke until I hit the stall, then finish it indoors. I've been working on this rig for a few months now, and the final piece arrived yesterday, so I snapped some photos as I assembled it.
Here's the base: a table-top gas burner that uses butane canisters for fuel. They're about 90 cents each, and are about the size of a can of spray paint.
My wife finally finished her big can of coffee, so I scorched the paint off of it and made some notches in the bottom rim for stability, while still allowing for airflow.
This is a collar made of disposable aluminum pie tins that keeps heat and smoke from escaping when I use the charcoal pan.
Top view so far:
Next, I added a 16" aluminum disc used for separating pizza pans. I cut out the hole in the center, making the diameter of the hole a bit larger than that of the coffee can, so that the wood gets enough oxygen.
I was lucky to find this strainer in exactly the right size:
Not only was the diameter just right, but the handle was the perfect length...
...and there's still enough clearance under the water pan (which I nearly always use), and the strainer just fits through the door, though ash isn't usually an issue.
With this setup, I can be up and smoking in about five minutes. I fire up the burner to start, then once the wood gets going, I can shut off the gas and let the wood provide the heat for a while. When the temp dips to about 210, I turn the gas back on as needed.
Today's Q is almost finished (still wrapped in foil in the slow cooker), but I'll post some Q-view when it's pulled.
Here's the base: a table-top gas burner that uses butane canisters for fuel. They're about 90 cents each, and are about the size of a can of spray paint.
My wife finally finished her big can of coffee, so I scorched the paint off of it and made some notches in the bottom rim for stability, while still allowing for airflow.
This is a collar made of disposable aluminum pie tins that keeps heat and smoke from escaping when I use the charcoal pan.
Top view so far:
Next, I added a 16" aluminum disc used for separating pizza pans. I cut out the hole in the center, making the diameter of the hole a bit larger than that of the coffee can, so that the wood gets enough oxygen.
I was lucky to find this strainer in exactly the right size:
Not only was the diameter just right, but the handle was the perfect length...
...and there's still enough clearance under the water pan (which I nearly always use), and the strainer just fits through the door, though ash isn't usually an issue.
With this setup, I can be up and smoking in about five minutes. I fire up the burner to start, then once the wood gets going, I can shut off the gas and let the wood provide the heat for a while. When the temp dips to about 210, I turn the gas back on as needed.
Today's Q is almost finished (still wrapped in foil in the slow cooker), but I'll post some Q-view when it's pulled.
