In the begining.....

[siege]

My first smoker was pretty rustic. It was basically a big wooden packing crate. It sat a few feet up the hill from a cinder block firebox connected via aluminum drier tube. We fed it with branches from an abandoned apple orchard near by.

So, in the begining....what kind of a smoker did you start with ?

 

[noboundaries]

Your story is a heck of a lot better than mine. I started smoking with a Weber Kettle.

Although, the first thing I EVER smoked was a snake I caught in survival training and carried live through a Florida swamp in the top pocket of my flight suit (not my idea). Smoked it inside a teepee made with parachute panels.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The Crate my have been Rustic but that style of smoker is generations old and never fails to do the job. Better for Cool Smoking than Hot but, the concept is still used today.

My first smoker was a $50 Mecco Bullitt Smoker. I would not be able to regulate the temp, even if I knew I was supposed to, at the time. First smoke was a Rack of Spare Ribs. The charcoal bowl was loaded halfway with Kingsford's finest. Then given a healthy squirt of Liquid Starter and set a blaze. When they turned gray, I added 6 big chunks of Hickory. Added the Water bowl, and the grate. Had to curl and tie the rack and place it on its side to get it to fit. The Billowing White was flowing, and I kept it that way for 3 hours. A pot fork pushed into the meat was showing tender, so I pulled them, cut them up and sat down to eat with my wife and MIL.
HOLY CRAP!!! Bitter does not cover the nasty, lip burning, astringent flavor of these Ribs. They were Black as Pitch and smelled like it too. One bite was all anyone could handle, the Dog took one sniff and walked away, giving me a disappointed look!
It was a year later, after watching many BBQ cooking shows with my MIL, that she decided I needed to try again and surprised me for my Birthday with a very nice New Braunfels Hondo. This was the early 90's when they were made of thick steel.
I could have used SMF back in the day...JJ

 

[siege]

Your story is a heck of a lot better than mine. I started smoking with a Weber Kettle.

Although, the first thing I EVER smoked was a snake I caught in survival training and carried live through a Florida swamp in the top pocket of my flight suit (not my idea). Smoked it inside a teepee made with parachute panels.

Nothing wrong with your story . Thanks for a very interesting share.

 

[siege]

That's hilarious. You've come a long way, chef jimmyj !

 

[Jabiru]

Before UDS were invented, we used a 44 Gallon barrel with a piece of Roof gutter about 3 feet in length from the drum to the fire.

We used a modified Oral Sheep Drencher to pump the brine in :)

Worked very well.

Mostly used for salmon we caught and pork from the wild pigs we killed.

 

[daveomak]

I built a fire pit out of cinder blocks... Expanded metal food grate and alder to fire it... That was in 1969... Salmon was the entree... the we did venison ribs.. ribs seemed to be the go-to in our group forever... Then I moved up to venison front and hind quarters with friends... whole pig... seems smoking/bbq has always been on the menu..

 

[Norwester55]

My brother and I got bored waiting for Thanksgiving dinner in '72 and whacked together a wooden outhouse sized smoker. I even cut a 1/4 moon shaped vent in the door. Used it for years smoking many hundreds if not thousands of lbs of fish, alder only. Probably 6-7 yrs later all that fish oil on the walls ignited one night. It was a heck of a blaze! Dad just laughed and said "remember when you were kids and I built that steel smoker? That was because my wooden smoker burned up too." Thanks for the warning dad.

 

[fivetricks]

My first was an ECB. story very similar to Jimmys only my entree was chicken wings. Ugh. I feel queasy just thinking about them.

 

[gmc2003]

Char griller duo with side firebox. I still have it, but it mostly sits as a lawn ornament these days.

Chris

 

[bradger]

It was basically a big wooden packing crate. It sat a few feet up the hill from a cinder block firebox connected via aluminum drier tube.

I think you should bring back "old smokey" it sounds perfect for smoking cheeses.
And yes i'm calling it "old smokey"

 

[sawhorseray]

A Luhr-Jensen Little Chief in '74 for smoking salmon, first of four 22" Weber kettles in '77. I was a lot younger back then. RAY

 

[BigW.]

Brinkman electric. No temp control, just on or unplugged. Worked somewhat in hot weather, not even close in January. Had to use it in enclosed porch New Years day to get it hot enough to smoke a pheasant & rabbit. Porch smelled great for months after that. Dog chewed threw the cord not long after.

 

[kawboy]

ECB. Still have it. Smoked buffalo fish and suckers. Growing up I wasn't really aware you could smoke stuff other than fish! After I inherited it from my dad, I learned of other uses. Did a pork shoulder. Heard 165 was done, so tried to pull it. Big mistake! I know much better now.

 

[siege]

I think you should bring back "old smokey" it sounds perfect for smoking cheeses.
And yes i'm calling it "old smokey"

"Old Smokey" is long gone. It was a 6' x 6' crate. On the roof were two holes that had a plow disk we slid around to adjust air flow. It had rows of cup hooks screwed in the ceiling, and we used spring type clothespins to hang fish by their tails from the hooks. Brined over night, dried to form a pelicle, and 2 more days to smoke. We did do cheese once. It tasted and smelled like fish. The operative word is ONCE. LOL.

 

[SouthernSmoked]

Ingredients for an Epic Fail:

Assemble, as listed, from top to bottom.

Gutted hot water heater.
Racks from an old refrigerator.
Cast Iron pot (for wood chips).
Seafood burner.
Hose.
Propane tank.
Box of matches.
Chicken parts.
BBQ sauce.

Tools needed for assembly: 3 stupid teenagers.

 

[TxwrightxT]

I started grilling with a 20 dollar Little Old Smokey. 15 years later I’m back to a medium Old Smokey . Now I’m just learning the fine art of smoking, rather than throwing pieces of meat over a blazing fire lol

 

[jcam222]

My story is more boring. I started only a few years ago with an MES40. After about a year of that I changed to a charcoal fueled 270 Smokers cabinet. I love charcoal and use it often. I may someday add a stickburner to the collection.

 

[browneyesvictim]

5 gallon metal bucket with bottom cut out and coat hanger wire.

Fresh caught trout, gutted leaving the heads on. Poke the wire through from the outside-in of the bucket then through a string of fish heads, then through the other side. Repeat. Let fish hang vertically. Set bucket over stones with smoldering alder branches underneath. Use the lid as a top vent to control airflow. This was mid 70's. This was grandpas smoker. I will forever cherish this memory.

 

[daveomak]

Stones as a smoke/heat difuser....