17 DIY Smoker Plans

Table of Content

• Shop For Trailer Plans
• DIY Smoker
• DIY Moonshine Still Plans (and 6 Moonshine Recipes to Try)
• How to Build Your Own Backyard Smoker
• How to Make Cold Smokehouse:
• Decide what type of smoker you will build

This detailed plan shows you how to build a smoker with limited time and effort so that you can enjoy home-smoked meat immediately. There are several projects that you can build if you want to create a smokehouse in your backyard. If you are not an experienced builder or are unsure exactly what you want, we highly recommend starting with the Concrete Block Smoker.

This also should be considered if you are planning on using wood charcoal. If so, this will influence the type of charcoal basket or trade you will need to design and keep in mind during your build. There are a lot of great looking old smoker build threads in the forum that don't show completed builds.

Shop For Trailer Plans

The Cinder Block Offset Smoker shows you how you can make a fantastic smoker at a fraction of the price of a steel one. This moderately difficult project requires only several types of cinder blocks, clay bricks, and a few other materials to complete. Even inexperienced builders can build it in a few days, and the result is a smoker that will last for several years.

This smoker works like a charm, and it's one of my favourite projects we have. This video shows how to build a smokehouse, make a wooden frame, and then make blocks out of concrete on the foundation. The first step is to determine where you want the smokehouse to be located and then mark it with stakes. The next step is to pour concrete in a rectangular shape on top of the marked area. Next, lay a few blocks on top of the concrete and assemble them into a small rectangular house for your smokehouse. Here’s a great plan that shows you how to make a highly useful unit that works for both hot and cold smoking.

DIY Smoker

Once you’ve got your drum, you’ll need to scrub it down and then buff the insides with fine sandpaper. These can be found in a vertical or horizontal format. Offset smokers are very popular; these are horizontal with an outside fire box and normally burn wood. Simply because it might not get to high enough temperatures to grill food.

Several wire-feed welders are sold at The Home Depot and Sears, and you can learn to do simple welding with only an hour or two of practice. Salvaged materials will be fine for your smoker's frame. You can use old water pipe, rebar or even electrical conduit. By making your electric smoker, you can focus on the smoking process and not worry about the smoker's temperature. This DIY Electric Smoker is made from pine, a metal grate, and hinges. The instructor provides specific instructions for each step in this video so you can easily follow along at home for a successful project.

DIY Moonshine Still Plans (and 6 Moonshine Recipes to Try)

Making a DIY meat smoker out of ceramic pots is simple. It’s likely you have someone who has two laying around. Order the smoker heat gasket and apply it to the top lips of the pot. Depending on the size of the drum you use, you can find many “off the shelf” grill grate options or you can go to a welding shop and have someone make you one. All you have to do is measure the diameter of the drum, and you are ready to go.

One caution about barrels--unless you can acquire a genuine food-grade barrel, make your own. Any barrel that used to contain noxious industrial chemicals is not a good option, unless you want to grow another eye on your elbow. I used heavy-gauge steel (just under 1/8 in. thick) to ensure a long service life and to add thermal mass for all-day, slow fires. The round cross section I made isn't necessary--a square or rectangular one will cook just as well, although it will be a little tougher to clean.

How to Build Your Own Backyard Smoker

With just a few pieces of wood, screws and nails, and wire mesh, your smokehouse will be ready in no time. The instructor walks you through each step of the process in detail. This is an easy DIY project that anyone can do at home. With this homemade smoker, you can make your jerky, sausages, dried fruits, and vegetables - any food that needs to be slightly cooked to bring out flavours better. This is a perfect and affordable way for beginners to try smoking without investing in expensive equipment. This smoker is made of an old 55-gallon drum, a paint stripper, and a barbecue.

This smokehouse design has a little more finesse than the first option just with the different uses of hinges and knobs. Either way, it is still a really nice and very functional smokehouse option. However, these are just plans that you have to purchase.

If you think that’s an attractive idea, this tutorial has all the details you need to tackle this large and challenging project. Smoking is a cooking technique that can produce the most delicious, succulent meats you’ve ever tasted – but unfortunately, top-end smokers are also likely to set you back a fortune. With the use of aluminum foil, wood chips, and ice, you too can cold smoke indoors. If you want a tender, smoky piece of chicken without the hassle of a whole smoker, this DIY hack is for you. You know you never use that cocktail shaker that came in a gift basket for your housewarming party years ago. Put it to good use and make some tasty cold smoked meat!

As you can see from our list above, getting a smoker doesn’t have to be expensive. You can make one from a trash can, flower pots, or even just aluminum pans and some stationery. You’ll need to cut an air intake on the front of the firebox door and remove the valve at the top of the tank, replacing it with a steel pipe chimney. Using an angle grinder, cut the top with the valve on it off the tank. Then you’ll need to draw out two doors, one for the firebox and one for the meat shelves.

You can see a full video of this kind of smoker being built on the TJMake channel on YouTube and a much larger version being created by Taste of Texas Barbecue. You’ll need to cut and weld together steel box sections to make the frame, steel plate to make the firebox, and steel tube to make the chimney. One of your clay pots is going to act as the charcoal holder. Place a brick in the bottom of that pot and put a small BBQ grate on top of the brick to hold the coals. When you are buying your drum, make sure it hasn’t been treated with an epoxy coating to prevent rust.

How to Make a Smoker: A DIY Build Guide

Table of Content

• How to Make a Winter Nature Journal to Pass the Cold Months
• Mack™ Reverse Flow Smoker 24x24x48, insulated firebox on right
• Upcycled Mini-Fridge Cold Smoker
• Pipe and Rolled Steel Smoker Plans
• How To Make A Smoker Box
• Flower Pot Smoker Creation

Before you toss it, read this tutorial on how to make it work for you again. Do you want a smokehouse that is going to be a conversation piece as well? If so, then you’ll definitely want to consider this one. However, the rest of this design is very traditional. It has been a tried and true method for many years, so it should get the job done for those looking to smoke their own meat. Would you like to have a smokehouse with just a tad more style than a traditional style smokehouse?

We have listed below amazing DIY smoker plans that will suit every skill level, from easy to complicated and advanced. This homemade smoker guide will show you how to make an inexpensive, easy and effective smoker that can be used for smoking food. The materials needed include a stainless steel bucket , two plant pots, wood for smoking burn, and a few other parts. The result is a simple but highly functional smoker that can be created using little money. You can use it to smoke meats, cheese, or even veggies. We used a stainless steel bucket as our base, but any other container would also work; even a plastic storage bin would work!

How to Make a Winter Nature Journal to Pass the Cold Months

The plan here is to turn a 55-gallon food-grade drum into a smoker in just a few hours, with minimal work and no welding. Building a smoker can be both very rewarding and a great way to save a few bucks. After it all cools off, wash everything and paint the inside of the smoke chamber with vegetable oil to prevent rusting. These smokehouse plans are a sturdy option to smoke your meat in.

This is because a steel drum is easily accessible; it’s already shaved to the perfect shape to create a smoker and is extremely easy, if not the easiest method, to build a smoker. When looking for the best smoker to make, you want something that can put out great smoke and keep your meat safe. This smoker was created in our backyard with cinder blocks, sheet metal, and expanded metal.

Mack™ Reverse Flow Smoker 24x24x48, insulated firebox on right

There is quite a variety of hot smoker plans to choose from, everything from small, backyard-sized drums to large, tow-behind-the-car smokers. Choose one that will serve your purposes without being too large or too small. You really don’t need much of a guide to drilling holes in a filing cabinet, but if you want to see this kind of smoker in action, check out this video by Broke Yakin. If you’ve got a sudden craving for smoked meat but don’t have a smoker, don’t panic. You’re only one quick trip to your local garden center away from making your own out of a pair of clay flower pots. The Brick Smoker is an advanced project but is quite attractive.

At the end of the instructions is a 15-minute video that you can follow step by step. Just think, that big pile of old pallets could become your next culinary adventure! And as a note, make sure that the pallets or repurposed wood you choose are not treated. Since the meat, or more often fish, is meant to remain raw, there is no opportunity for harmful microbes to be killed in the cooking process. The meat needs to be kept below 41 degrees, the temperature at which most harmful bacteria cease to grow. It is possible to cold smoke any kind of meat, but for food safety, all meat except fresh fish should be cooked before eating.

Upcycled Mini-Fridge Cold Smoker

This smokehouse literally reminds me of a little shed because of the roof that slants backward. This is a good design because water should stay off of the smoker which you need since it should be built with untreated wood. Then they added really nice smoke adaptors to make it a quality smokehouse.

One caution about barrels--unless you can acquire a genuine food-grade barrel, make your own. Any barrel that used to contain noxious industrial chemicals is not a good option, unless you want to grow another eye on your elbow. I used heavy-gauge steel (just under 1/8 in. thick) to ensure a long service life and to add thermal mass for all-day, slow fires. The round cross section I made isn't necessary--a square or rectangular one will cook just as well, although it will be a little tougher to clean.

Step 3: Cutting

Alternatively, if you have an arc welder, 10 ga. is about as thin as you can weld successfully. I shall “R E S C U E” and get a top dome made for my father’s homemade, practically unviable (20 kilograms +) grill.

You can smoke large items like whole chickens and turkeys, as well as small cuts of fish or steak. This smoker is affordable but easy to assemble, making it a great way for the home chef to begin their journey into smoking! You only need a cordless drill and some screws to make this amazing smoker for $35. By following the instructor’s instructions, you can build this smoker easily.

Our guide to drum smoking lists some of the top models, including drum smoker kits, that you can buy at great prices. To build the smoker, simply build a charcoal basket out of stainless steel or use a cast iron box. You can pretty much use anything else as long as it can withstand the extreme heat the charcoal will generate and allows proper air flow.

This option is a good choice for people who might not have a huge budget for a new smoker but do have a grill they could convert. The low ambient temperature of the earth would keep both the meat and the smoke cool. Hot smoking has been most commonly practiced throughout history, as it has a lower risk of food-borne illness. This build is a fair bit more complicated, but if you have the skills and equipment, it’s certainly a budget way to get yourself an offset smoker. Once you’ve sourced your parts and tools, you can have your DIY ugly drum smoker built in an afternoon, and, best of all, you won’t need to weld anything.