So I made a mini smoker joe!


 
T

TroyRedington

TVWBB All-Star
I was asking for a WSM or a Cajun bandit for Christmas, and I got neither.

Its ok though, I got an xbox 360 with kinect, and a sweet new digital SLR.

But since I was kind of excited to experiment with some smoking without dealing with my performer, I decided to attempt the mini smoker.

I used a 1979 smokey joe that I found in the trash a month or two ago. It's a 3 daisy wheel vented model and it was missing its charcoal grate.

I picked up the 32qt steamer at walmart, and a new charcoal grate and cooking grate at farm'n'fleet.

I read the entire thread about the mod in this forum trying to figure out how to do it (since it seemed everyone did it differently)

I ended up cutting two D shaped lines on each side of the bottom and folding them up and in. I used a fire brick to get the shape. The holes are big enough for plenty of smoke to come through, and the way the flaps are folded make a nice pedestal for the 12" ceramic disc.

I figured the bottom cooking grate can sit on the claypot disc thingie. if this is a no-no, please tell me and i'll install some more bolts to hold the grate higher.

I eyeballed where to install the 2nd cooking grate. I figured halfway between the bottom and the top of the lid. I don't own a WSM, so I really don't know how the spacing works. And i've never smoked in anything other than a 22" kettle.

The project was really fun, and I couldn't believe how easy it really was. My friends jigsaw with a metal blade cut through the pot like it was butter.

I want to add a thermometer, but neither wal-mart nor farm'n'fleet had mountable ones. Where can i get one online?

I can't wait to try to smoke something on it this week!!!

Here's some pictors.
minismoker1.jpg

minismoker2.jpg

minismoker3.jpg
 
I had originally cut the d slots in mine and it works fine, but I eventually cut the entire bottom out of mine for the following reasons.

1. It limited how much charcoal I could stack in the base.

2. The center piece became dirty from smoke, and dirtied up my table when I brought the pan in the house.

Suggestions for your build:

1. Cut the bottom out. And drill 4 screw holes to hold the clay base. I used the indentation thats in the steamer as the location. This will give you a lot of room to stack charcoal when you need to do a long smoke, and you can still rest your cooking great on the clay pot for two or three tiers of cooking.

2. Mount the thermometer in the lid NOT the body. If you have your lid temp around 275 then your cooking temps are around 225-250. (I got my thermometer from Lowes (just use the cheap charbroil ones they work fine)

3. If you are going to use a prob drill a small hole in the side. It won't hurt anything.

4. Paint that mother black...
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(so it can look like a mini wsm)
 
if you paint it black, use high temp engine enamel..it is shinier than high temp grill paint.

do you have an academy sports around you? they have the thermometers for $6 but have small deep fryer thermos for $3..thats what i use.

where or if you want mount your thermometer in the lid or on the body is entirely a personal choice. i tried sticking it through the vent holds but when i had a rack full of meat, i was sticking the meat and not getting an accurate reading.

i like knowing my grate level temps..sinces thats where my food sits but that is just my personal preference.

if you dont have a lowes, home depot has the replacement thermos for grills for $8.
 
I forgot to mention the other reason I like using the thermo on the lid, is that when I turn it back into a grill I can see the temps when I grill.

I agree its personal preference... If you like knowing your grate temps put it at the grate level, I think most are doing it that way.
 
Troy, it's not as "mini " as you might think.
I built mine as a tailgating smoker, thinking of cooking ABT's, wings etc .
Boy was I wrong, I've cooked a turkey! A 8 lb butt, 6 racks of BB ribs , 2 chickens @ 1 time.
I've measured & can cook two butts @ once or 4 small yardbirds!
I think the old style SJ probably is the best choice ( your price was right!)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John Ford:
Troy, it's not as "mini " as you might think.
... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly! I did 2 8 pound rib roasts in mine for Christmas in mine. They turned out great. I posted pictures here.

http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...1078595/m/1811064006

I love my "mini"-WSM.
 
Looking good Troy! I love the fact you got the old Smokey Joe with the three daisy wheels.
 
Those 3 wheels need some serious adjustment right now.

I'm doing my first cook as I type this.

I bought two mini butts (4lbs).

They've been on for a half hour. My smoker doesn't seem to be sealed all that well. Smoke is coming out from around the lid. I put a bungee chord across the top hoping to make it tighter.

At first I couldn't get the temp above 200. Now that the meat is on, I can't seem to get it below 300. All the lower vents are closed, but the wheels are loose, and its windy - so air is getting in.

I'm using royal oak steakhouse lump, which burns crazy hot anyways.

This is my first time with a 'real' smoker. So my only instinct is to mimic the things i've read here
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Couple of thoughts...

1. I wouldn't worry about the temp being 300 degrees the butts are going to be fine.

2. As far as the lid try turning it on the top. Sometimes the lid will leak less smoke if its turned a certain way.

where are the pics?
 
I snapped some pics with my phone a bit ago, i'll post them after i get lunch cooking (on the stove)

I tried turning, it made it a bit tighter, but still leaky.

Temps are at 350 now, vents still completely closed. I opened it up and took about 10 of the red hot coals out, hopefully that will help.
 
well, after about 8 hours, i had to pull the butts and stick them in the oven.

It's gotten SOOO windy here that red hot embers were constantly blowing from the bottom vents.
I couldn't get the temp back up over 200.... even after adding a chimney of blazing hot coals.

The temps on the butts were 165. I foiled them and stuck them in the oven at 250. Not sure how long they'll take now.

On the bright side, they look, and smell amazing.
 
Looking good Troy. Glad you got to fire her up. Wind will make temp control very difficult on most any smoker, also try and check the temperature in another spot, if your just using the dial in the front. The outside edges of the smoker might run hotter than the middle of your cooking grate (like a wsm). Also I'm sure your Boston Butt will be fine, they can take 300 degrees and still turn out great! don't forget you can try different size clay saucers for heat diffusers to run your smoker hotter or colder.
 
The butts turned out good. Although I'm not sure if i liked the rub. I used some leftover rib rub from my last kettle smoke.

After the initial pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, we used the leftovers for tacos the next day. They were AWESOME.

Also, I made some new cuts into the bottom of the steamer, i think i have a really good design now. Will post pics when its warmer in my garage.
 
It's all painted up now!


with an improved bottom cut-out.
mini-smoker-bottom-300x198.jpg


Since several of my local friends asked about it, I wrote up some instructions in my blog. I even got all nerdy and made a printable sheet with illustrations. *sigh
 
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