Hello from Osaka! Just wanted to show off (and get constructive criticism on) a flower pot smoker I'm in the process of building and figuring out, pretty much in that order. I'm an apartment dweller, so something small and easy to move out of the way is a requirement. Apologies to anyone who has seen my other post in the new members section which contains some of the same information, but I'm looking for design tips here.
I went down to the local DIY shop the other day, bought 3 bricks and a couple of flower pots:
The inside diameter of the pots is only about 12-13 inches at the top, but the lip partway down fits a 28cm disposable yakiniku grill perfectly:
The cheese, by the way, turned out pretty rough. I tried cold smoking it with a Japanese product called "smoke wood," which is just a block of pressed sawdust that burns like an incense cone:
One stick of smoke wood was enough to melt even the cheese on the grill pretty thoroughly, so I've got high hopes for this thing as a hot smoker once I get my thermometer in next week. I've got a little 300w all metal heater ring that will fit in the bottom, I just need to figure out where to put the smoke wood, and how to rig up a drip pan. Space is going to be a problem here.
One issue I'm having, and a couple of questions: When I tried to smoke cheese, the small size of the smoker meant that there was a lot more heat down at the bottom, near where the smoke wood was smouldering away. Is this just because I had food too close to the heat source, or is there something I can adjust in my design to even things out a bit? Would swapping out my lid for a pot that's identical to the base help? Also, how much of an issue is airflow when using an electric heat source? (for when I go to hot smoking) The large drainage holes in the pots kept enough air flowing to keep the smoke wood lit, would more or less airflow help the heat distribution?
Thanks for looking!
-val
I went down to the local DIY shop the other day, bought 3 bricks and a couple of flower pots:
The inside diameter of the pots is only about 12-13 inches at the top, but the lip partway down fits a 28cm disposable yakiniku grill perfectly:
The cheese, by the way, turned out pretty rough. I tried cold smoking it with a Japanese product called "smoke wood," which is just a block of pressed sawdust that burns like an incense cone:
One stick of smoke wood was enough to melt even the cheese on the grill pretty thoroughly, so I've got high hopes for this thing as a hot smoker once I get my thermometer in next week. I've got a little 300w all metal heater ring that will fit in the bottom, I just need to figure out where to put the smoke wood, and how to rig up a drip pan. Space is going to be a problem here.
One issue I'm having, and a couple of questions: When I tried to smoke cheese, the small size of the smoker meant that there was a lot more heat down at the bottom, near where the smoke wood was smouldering away. Is this just because I had food too close to the heat source, or is there something I can adjust in my design to even things out a bit? Would swapping out my lid for a pot that's identical to the base help? Also, how much of an issue is airflow when using an electric heat source? (for when I go to hot smoking) The large drainage holes in the pots kept enough air flowing to keep the smoke wood lit, would more or less airflow help the heat distribution?
Thanks for looking!
-val
Last edited: