Economical vertical smoker

[Charlie Bob]

I worked with a guy that won several local BBQ competitions using a homemade drum smoker.

My first smoker was a Masterbuilt Electric, it was easy to use once you figured out how to hold the plug-in so it didn't shock the shit out of you.

I’ve built several. I had it down , using real lump charcoal with apple or cherry wood chunks mixed 50/50 , I could maintain 220 degrees for over twelve hours . Set it and leave it .
I had four racks . I used an old Weber Mini grill base for the firebox and a full-size Weber grill lid .
I got all the stuff by telling the scrap guy that comes by every trash day what I needed and he had it all the very next week.
Except for the actual drum , it was a food based drum used for honey . I just burned wood in it for a day or so and tilted it 45 degrees so the heat burned off the inside coating.
$20 for the drum .
I still say the butts I smoked in it were my best ever .
I’ve got a BGE now and wish I had a UD .
So for the OP asking about a frugal smoker , really check out UD’s .

 

[6mm Remington]

I had a Masterbuilt vertical electric smoker and liked it pretty well. Couple things that were not so good was that periodically you have to add wood chips when they burn down slowly. Not a huge deal. I had the heating element go out and replaced it twice. I did use it a lot but it went out pretty quickly. Kind of a pain in the neck. You do have to rotate shelves in the smoker if you are doing multiple shelves at once. Overall it was pretty good.

I then purchased the Pit Boss Sportsman 7 Series vertical wood pellet smoker and I like it quite a bit more than the Masterbuilt. You have a large pellet container on the smoker and if you have it say half full or even less you would have to do a lot of smoking to use up all the pellets. I have done wild game jerky, beef roasts, salmon, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes, beef brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, and beef steaks on it. On the beef steaks I smoke them for about 1/2 an hour and then put them on the gas grill at medium high heat to sear the steaks. Oh my good! I think you would really like the Pit Boss.
David

Sportsman 7-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker

The Sportsman vertical wood pellet cabinet smoker sets the standard for backyard BBQ. Smoke as low as 130°F on the 6 included racks and control with Wi-Fi.

www.pitboss-grills.com

 

[Burn Pile]

I have a masterbuilt. I had to replace the heating element and after I left it outside for a week in the summer the brain/ controller died. Now the heater is hotwired to the power cord bypassing the old controller and its driven by an auber instruments pid controller. I plug the controller into a crockpot to do sous vide. I also got the cold smoker attachment that I can load up with wood chips to really make smoke happen.

 

[Boarmaster]

I wasn't happy with the small wood tray in my Masterbuilt so I took the lid off of it and set a 10 inch cast iron pan on top of the OEM tray. That gives me enough space for the chunks ( not chips) and it carries me through the smoking process.
I bought some heat proof weather striping for the door to seal it up better but after using it for a while it did good enough I didn't ever use it. I also use a disposable tin for a water pan. It catches alot of the grease and
I just toss it. You can modify these things with stuff you already have around to make up for a lot of their deficiencies.

 

[noharleyyet]

Ken Jr sets his pellet grill to the lowest setting and heats cased sausage to 153* then puts em in a cooler of iced water til they reach 70* (sets the casing for meat release efficacy). The finished product is tasty.

*It's a regular pellet, not vertical.

 

[Wildabeest]

Ken Jr sets his pellet grill to the lowest setting and heats cased sausage to 153* then puts em in a cooler of iced water til they reach 70* (sets the casing for meat release efficacy). The finished product is tasty.

*It's a regular pellet, not vertical.

Does he just lay them on the main grate, or has he developed some hacks to have multiple layers? I think the advantage of a vertical for smoking sausage is maximizing the volume of the cooker to smoke more at a time.

 

[noharleyyet]

Does he just lay them on the main grate, or has he developed some hacks to have multiple layers? I think the advantage of a vertical for smoking sausage is maximizing the volume of the cooker to smoke more at a time.

Double racked w/a little over one lb per stick...he can do 25-26 lbs/batch...that's alot of sausage & he's patient.

https://flic.kr/p/2smjj82

 

[HSi-ESi]

I've been looking at these: smokai

I have an old commercial freezer that a friend turned into a smoker that just used a hot-plate. It's on my project list to get a smokai unit and fix up that freezer.

No experience with it - but they look to be pretty flexible.

 

[Wildabeest]

Double racked w/a little over one lb per stick...he can do 25-26 lbs/batch...that's alot of sausage & he's patient.

https://flic.kr/p/2smjj82

So you just roll coal down the highway to smoke those?