How to Build a BBQ Grill Smoker

Charcoal can add a distinctive flavor to smoked meat.

Cooking meat in a BBQ grill smoker is often seen at summer cookouts or while tailgating before a game or concert. Smoking the meat involves cooking it for a longer period of time at a lower temperature than if you grill it. This allows the meat to acquire a smoky flavor from the fuel source, which is usually charcoal or wood chips. You can build a BBQ smoker for your own use with a 55-gallon steel drum.

Things You'll Need

• Steel drum
• Tape measure
• Calculator
• Drill
• 3/4-inch drill bit
• Wood
• Garden hose
• 1/4-inch drill bit
• 3-inch bolts
• Nuts
• Hammer
• Pliers
• 6-inch bolts
• Washers
• 18-inch barbecue grates
• Chain-link fence fabric
• Metal mesh
• Soldering gun
• Solder rated above 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Charcoal
• Wood chips

Instructions

1. Measure the circumference of the steel drum.

2. Drill three 3/4-inch holes along the bottom of the drum to provide ventilation for the fire. The holes should be 3 inches from the bottom of the drum, and spaced evenly around the drum. Determine the spacing of the holes by dividing the drum's circumference by three.

3. Clean out the drum to remove any contaminants along the walls. Do not use a drum that was previously used to store toxic chemicals. Fill the drum with wood and set it on fire. Keep the fire going until the wood has been consumed. Spray the inside of the drum with a hose after it has cooled from the fire.

4. Drill four 1/4-inch holes into the drum. These will contain the bolts for the grill. Drill the holes 7 inches below the top of the drum, and space them evenly apart around the drum. Calculate the spacing by dividing the circumference of the drum by four.

5. Insert a 3-inch bolt into each of the four holes along the top of the drum from the outside, connecting them to the drum with nuts.

6. Remove sharp edges from the top of the drum by hammering them down or pressing them down with pliers.

7. Build the fire basket, which is the part that holds the fuel. Slide a washer over a 6-inch bolt, then push the bolt through an 18-inch barbecue grate along the edge. Slide another washer over the bolt, then attach a nut to the bolt, tightening it in place. This is one of the legs for the fire basket. Construct three more legs using this process, spacing them so that they form a square around the edge of the grate.

8. Form a piece of chain-link fence fabric or metal mesh that is 18 inches high into a loop. Connect the edges of the fabric or mesh with bolts and washers (similar to the leg construction) or by soldering them together. If you solder them, use solder that's rated higher than 400 degrees Fahrenheit so it won't melt in the fire.

9. Solder the fabric or mesh ring to the edges of the grate on the opposite side of the legs.

10. Slide the fire basket into the bottom of the steel drum.

11. Fill the fire basket with fuel and start the fire.

12. Place a grate for the meat on the four bolts along the top of the drum.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the smoker away from flammable materials while it's in use, or while it's still hot from being used.

• Keep people and pets away from the smoker while it's being used, and until it cools down after use. They can be severely burned by coming into contact with the hot metal.

References

• How to Build a Grill Out of a 55-Gallon Drum
• Grilling Companion: How to Build a BBQ Smoker, an Ugly Drum; October 20, 2009