A while back, I posted some pics of a wine barrel I picked up. I will be competing in a wine barrel smoker contest cooking Tri Tip in August. I finally finished it last weekend. Here are pics of the build in process.
Lots of sanding involved along with cleaning up the bands
Screws added to hold the stays together when I cut off the top. Otherwise, you end up with a pile of oak. I used stainless steel screws.
Ready to cut the top off.
It was pretty nasty inside. Must have been wine residue. Nothing a good pressure wash couldn't take care of.
Found this at Home depot. Used the bottom for the fire box. Added bonus was the vent for the top. Also got a 22.5 in grill for the cooking grill.
Used the bung hole as the air intake. May be changing this.
A little chestnut stain to doll her up. Added an old Bradley temp probe at grill level.
Soaked her for a couple of hours and started the fire. There is about 2" of water in the bottom in case some coals get away. Don't want to end up with a bunch of oak charcoal and a few steel bands.
She holds temps pretty well. Held 250* for 4 1/2 hours on one chimney of charcoal.
Off to a comp this weekend but plan to cook my first Tri Tip next weekend
Hope you enjoyed the pics.
Lots of sanding involved along with cleaning up the bands
Screws added to hold the stays together when I cut off the top. Otherwise, you end up with a pile of oak. I used stainless steel screws.
Ready to cut the top off.
It was pretty nasty inside. Must have been wine residue. Nothing a good pressure wash couldn't take care of.
Found this at Home depot. Used the bottom for the fire box. Added bonus was the vent for the top. Also got a 22.5 in grill for the cooking grill.
Used the bung hole as the air intake. May be changing this.
A little chestnut stain to doll her up. Added an old Bradley temp probe at grill level.
Soaked her for a couple of hours and started the fire. There is about 2" of water in the bottom in case some coals get away. Don't want to end up with a bunch of oak charcoal and a few steel bands.
She holds temps pretty well. Held 250* for 4 1/2 hours on one chimney of charcoal.
Off to a comp this weekend but plan to cook my first Tri Tip next weekend
Hope you enjoyed the pics.