Nelly?? Smoker question!

[Morgan]

Is your smoker wood or propane? If you don't mind, can you post some pics? I'm going to build one and just looking for some ideas.

[Nelly]

Hey Morgan,
First off, our good friend Ray Gombisky wrote a great Guest Blog on this very subject!
Here it is: http://blog.theoutdoorline.com/post/2011/05/05/Building-a-Custom-Smokehouse.aspx

Now, my smoker? Well, she ain't pretty like Ray's but she kicks out some serious product.

It's a bakery cabinet that a friend gave me years back. It's built to fit those large, aluminum commercial serving trays and has tray holding ridges on the inside every two inches from the bottom to the top.

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The racks? They are stainless rock shaker screens cut to fit the cabinet. Heat comes from a pair of electric double-element hot plates with cast-iron skillets on top which smolder alder chunks and disks very nicely. The drip pan over the hot plates is one of the aforementioned aluminum serving pans with a vent cut to allow smoke to reach the fish

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My complete fish smoking process with pics can be found here: http://blog.theoutdoorline.com/post/2009/06/22/Smoking-Salmon-Simplified!!!.aspx

Hope that helps and happy smoking!!!

[Morgan]

Thanks Nelly thats one sweet set up.

[Robbo]

No kidding Nelly...that's the perfect smoker man

[Nelly]

Here's a question that hit our email inbox. I'm posting it here for the benefit of all you fish smoker builders out there!!!

"Hi and thanks for your hints on the smoker you built.
I made one out of an old pop cooler that is 50 inches wide X 22 inches deep and 60 inches high. I need to make some racks and was wondering if that was just ordinary expanded metal you used or if I need special stuff? Also how do you keep the food from sticking to the metal?
Thanks and would really appreciate any help you can offer, thanks a million.
Have a Great Day!!!!
Darryl"

Hey Darryl,
Expanded metal racks will work provided you season them first! I was lucky enough to find 1" stainless rock mesh in Canada but I do not know of a source for that material domestically.

I would stick to aluminum rather than steel...and your fish will stick to the aluminum as well unless you follow this simple seasoning process:

Cut your rack material to size and if custom cutting is available from your local sheet metal shop by all means, have them cut it!
Keep in mind that expanded metal is often curved so make your racks as big as you can to ensure they will not flex under the weight of your fish and fall off of their supports!

Wash the racks in very hot, soapy water. Use dish soap and glove up so you can really use scalding water. Remember that you're turning a piece of industrial metal into a food-grade rack!

If you have a pressure washer, use it to "power-rinse" your racks, if not, rinse in hot water and let them dry.

Stack all of your racks on top of one another and hit them with a can of PAM non-stick cooking spray. The next point is crucial: USE THE ENTIRE CAN AND SPRAY THE RACKS TOP AND BOTTOM! Flip and rotate the racks to ensure complete coverage! Finally, install the racks which should be dripping with PAM, fire up the smoker and smoke them for at least 3-4 hours.

When you look at the racks after the PAM & smoke drill, they should have changed color and are now ready for use!

I hope that helps and happy smoking!!!!

[Nelly]

Darryl has a few more questions:
"I am from Alberta Canada and I was wondering where you found the 1" stainless rock mesh for your racks?

Another thing I just realized this morning was the frame around the glass doors of my cooler was made of hard plastic so I tore it all off but was wondering if I could use spruce 2X2's and cut grooves in them to insert the glass, if this would be OK, or will it burn on me? When I make summer sausage, I increase the heat to about 250 degrees for the last hour to get the internal temp of meat to 160 degrees.

If I use aluminum for the racks and I fire up the smoker to cure them should I have the heat on, if so what temp?"

Hey Darryl, I got my racks from my cousin who used to work for a rock quarry company on Vancouver Island so, at least you're in the right country!
Try Googling 1" stainless rock mesh and I'll bet you come up with something!

I would try to cut your rack using very tough, non flexible material that would not require the use of a wood frame. Metal is a lot easier to keep clean than a wood/metal assembly. Just remember to cut the racks large enough to span your rack supports!

While curing your racks, temperature is not the issue but smoking the PAM into the racks is!!!!

As far as replacing the plastic door frame with wood, I think you're on the right track. Once you get a good coating of smoke and resin on your wood door frame, I don't think that intermittent stints at the 250-degree mark should be an issue.

Good luck and I hope that answers your questions!