At the Michigan Chicken Stock I brought a dozen smoked chickens for our dinner. Everyone loved it and several wanted to know how I made it and what type of smoker I used.
I have been smoking fish, pork, cheese, sausages and poultry for over forty years and have tried just about every type imaginable. Currently I am using a smoker I built for an old upright freezer.
I removed all plastic from the box and then lined it with sheet metal. Most freezers have a recirculation chamber that I incorporated into my design. At the bottom of the channel I mounted a fan that pull air and smoke out of the box and then ducted externally down and back into the box. This air blows across the electric dyer element that is the heat source for the oven. Without air moving across the element it will burn out.
I happened to have a double parcel mailbox that I used to hold the hotplate and fan. Smoke rises off the woodchip pan and is pushed into the smoker by the fan. A damper was mounted on top of the smoker. A rheostat switch is on the fan to allow me to adjust the speed. Having this arrangement allows me to introduce smoke into the smoker with a minimal amount of heat. A real handy feature if you want to Cold Smoke. A real great feature if you want to smoke cheese.
The electric dryer element I ordered come mounted in a 4" tube and I added a 4" elbow on the end of it. The thermostat allows me to turn the element on and increase the temperature. Even though the dryer element is made for 220V it wired it 110V.
The door to the box must be gasketed and use a heat resistant D shaped gasket to get a tight seal.
When completed you will have less than $300 in parts and materials and to buy a compable sized commercial smoker you would have to spend of $4000.
I quite often smoke as many 36 chickens at one time. I use a brine that consists of 1 cup of kosher salt, 2 cups of brown sugar, 4 tbs Insta Cure #1 and 2 gallons of water. One method is to but ice in the bottom a garbage can, then a large trashbag to hold your chickens and brine. That way you can keep the birds cold and not dilute your brine. I brine then overnight.
Place them in mesh bags and allow to hang until the skin is dry to the touch. If you smoke a wet product you will be less than happy with the result. I set the temperature of the oven for 180 degrees with the damper open and heat the birds for 1 hour. Next close damper and start introducing smoke into the cabinet. I will continue to add smoke for 5 hours. At six hours shut off smoke and continue to cook until internal temperature reach 170 degrees. Shut off oven and wait 1 hour before opening. This allows the birds to reach 180 degrees and the cool enough for handling. Remove from bags and package.
Exact cooking time will vary depending on smoker so try first with just a few birds.
My smoker http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=36178&id=100000103030851#/album.php?aid=847&id=100000103030851
I have been smoking fish, pork, cheese, sausages and poultry for over forty years and have tried just about every type imaginable. Currently I am using a smoker I built for an old upright freezer.
I removed all plastic from the box and then lined it with sheet metal. Most freezers have a recirculation chamber that I incorporated into my design. At the bottom of the channel I mounted a fan that pull air and smoke out of the box and then ducted externally down and back into the box. This air blows across the electric dyer element that is the heat source for the oven. Without air moving across the element it will burn out.
I happened to have a double parcel mailbox that I used to hold the hotplate and fan. Smoke rises off the woodchip pan and is pushed into the smoker by the fan. A damper was mounted on top of the smoker. A rheostat switch is on the fan to allow me to adjust the speed. Having this arrangement allows me to introduce smoke into the smoker with a minimal amount of heat. A real handy feature if you want to Cold Smoke. A real great feature if you want to smoke cheese.
The electric dryer element I ordered come mounted in a 4" tube and I added a 4" elbow on the end of it. The thermostat allows me to turn the element on and increase the temperature. Even though the dryer element is made for 220V it wired it 110V.
The door to the box must be gasketed and use a heat resistant D shaped gasket to get a tight seal.
When completed you will have less than $300 in parts and materials and to buy a compable sized commercial smoker you would have to spend of $4000.
I quite often smoke as many 36 chickens at one time. I use a brine that consists of 1 cup of kosher salt, 2 cups of brown sugar, 4 tbs Insta Cure #1 and 2 gallons of water. One method is to but ice in the bottom a garbage can, then a large trashbag to hold your chickens and brine. That way you can keep the birds cold and not dilute your brine. I brine then overnight.
Place them in mesh bags and allow to hang until the skin is dry to the touch. If you smoke a wet product you will be less than happy with the result. I set the temperature of the oven for 180 degrees with the damper open and heat the birds for 1 hour. Next close damper and start introducing smoke into the cabinet. I will continue to add smoke for 5 hours. At six hours shut off smoke and continue to cook until internal temperature reach 170 degrees. Shut off oven and wait 1 hour before opening. This allows the birds to reach 180 degrees and the cool enough for handling. Remove from bags and package.
Exact cooking time will vary depending on smoker so try first with just a few birds.
My smoker http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=36178&id=100000103030851#/album.php?aid=847&id=100000103030851
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