DIY Brick Smokers

Smoke your own produce in a backyard brick smoker.

Building your own brick smoker doesn’t mean you have to be a master mason or invest in a permanent structure in your backyard. A dry-stacked smoker will work well for curing meat, fish and cheeses and can be disassembled as needed. The basic design can be tailored to suit your size needs. However, if you want to make a smoker larger than around four-by-four bricks' length, either a double brick wall or a mortared wall is recommended.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Level
• 167 standard 4-by-4-by-8 bricks
• 9 metal sheets, 8-by-30 inches
• 4 barbecue racks
• Smoker box
• Woodchips
• Electric hotplate
• Metal sheet, 32-by-32 inches

Instructions

1. Dig out a 32-square-inch area of ground with a shovel to 4 inches deep and make the ground level.

2. Place four bricks end-to-end along two opposite sides of the leveled-out square. Place three bricks end-to-end on the remaining two sides so you have a square of bricks around the perimeter of the dug-out area.

3. Lay a second level of bricks on top, this time placing four bricks along the sides that had three in the first level and three bricks along the sides that had four in the first level. This staggers the brick joints and helps give the structure strength.

4. Remove one of the bricks from the middle of one of the three-brick sides on the second level. Place a sheet of 8-by-30-inch metal across the top of this side. This creates a small opening at the base of the smoker for accessing the smoker box and hotplate.

5. Add two more levels on bricks in this way so you have four levels of bricks, making the walls of the smoker 16 inches high at this point.

6. Place two sheets of 8-by-30-inch metal along two opposite sides of the walls, with around 2 inches of the metal protruding into the inside of the smoker, creating a ledge for fitting the barbecue racks on.

7. Add two more levels of bricks and place another two pieces of sheet metal to make another ledge. Continue up six more levels, adding in the metal sheets every second level. You will now have 12 levels of bricks, and the walls will be 48 inches high.

8. Place your barbecue racks onto the ledges, with the smoking meats spaced evenly on the racks. Position the meats that need the least amount of time on the top levels so they can be removed easily when done.

9. Fill your smoker box with wood chips. Place the hotplate onto the bottom of the smoker, through the opening you left at the base of the smoker. Place the smoker box on top and turn on the hotplate.

10. Set a 32-by-32-inch piece of sheet metal over the top of the smoker walls to keep the smoke inside.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a tested smoking recipe for the best results.

• Use barbecue coals instead of a hotplate to barbecue smoke ribs, chicken and other meats.

• A remote-read thermometer will help regulate the smoker temperature.