Building Stonehenge

[petesque]

I contacted the author Adam Marianski of the book Meat Smoking and Smoke House design and sent him photos of what I did with the design I found in his book. He wanted More and posted them on his web site.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/smokeho...ouse-round.htm

Now he has written a second book of the same tittle and included my photos in his book. I have been waiting for Barns and Noble to call for my book signing tour but I guess I won't hold my breath. Same goes for the babe's that were going be calling me. He makes a nice presentation of my friends and I building my smoker.

[Richtee]

Hmmm STILL no calls eh? ;{) Ah well... just think of all the Q that you have been rewarded with... that's no small consolation!

[Gunslinger]

Very nice work on that project. I'm impressed. But then anything concrete impresses me.
I am curious to know however, have you actually cooked a hog like that? If you have, how did you do it without it falling apart. I've always had to wrap hole feeder pigs in wire.

[MichChef]

I see the pic with the fire up against the smoke channel in the fire pit, but what make the heat and smoke draw through it and up through the smoker? Why doesn't all the heat and smoke just rise straight up?

I see the beautiful hawg that you took out of it, but for the life of me, I can't see how it works.

Now all you need is a 21" diameter drum with no top or bottom, full of racks that you can fill full of briskys, butts and ribs and set down inside on your safety screen.

[davidmcg]

Very nice work on that project. I'm impressed. But then anything concrete impresses me.
I am curious to know however, have you actually cooked a hog like that? If you have, how did you do it without it falling apart. I've always had to wrap hole feeder pigs in wire.

Me too Gunny. I guess we smoke ours too long, clear to the tender point or something.

[petesque]

Well pig was real tender. You could actually grab a chunk of meat with you hands. The pig had a nick name as "bondage pig". What I did was use 4 equal lengths of stainless steal chain and bolted one end of them together. I then took 2 chains up the back bone (one inside thru the mouth and one out side) and used stainless steal safety wire and a large needle and sew them to the back bone. I then took the other 2 chains up the side of the pig with another bolt bringing the chains together again. I then again using stainless steel safety wire and wire pliers tied the chains together in several spots up and down the pig. I also stuffed the pig with cornish hens, vegtables, and Italian sausage. I tied up the legs with butchers twine.

I preheated the stack and after the pig was in maintained 180 degrees exhaust temp from the stack and slowly increased that temp reaching 225 degrees at the 3 hour mark. In total it took about 10 hours to cook.

Pete

[Richtee]

Pete..I THINK there is a cover for the fire pit? Yes?

[Kingudaroad]

Very inspirational build for sure!

[petesque]

I see the pic with the fire up against the smoke channel in the fire pit, but what make the heat and smoke draw through it and up through the smoker? Why doesn't all the heat and smoke just rise straight up?

I see the beautiful hawg that you took out of it, but for the life of me, I can't see how it works.

Now all you need is a 21" diameter drum with no top or bottom, full of racks that you can fill full of briskys, butts and ribs and set down inside on your safety screen.

It works just like a wood stove or chimney the stack creates a draw.

In fact the friends that helped built this didn't think it would work either. When we had the pit and stack done I took 2 grocery bags and wadded them up and placed them in front of the flu. After I lit them they burned for a while with nothing happening. But wait some smoke is moving down the flu. Then the flame starts to bend. Soon the flame is completely horizontal and all the heat is moving through the flu and up the stack.


Once the heat starts up the stack it will bring more with it and soon it all goes that way. When you standing next to the stack you can here the flames flickering and flames are shooting into the flu.

[Richtee]

Once the heat starts up the stack it will bring more with it and soon it all goes that way.

OK..I can relate to that...heat rising "sucks" -but do you have to "preheat" to get it to happen?

[petesque]

Yes the cover is a stop sign with 2 piano hinges. One down the middle and then again in 1/2. I use a wedge from a cut brick to prop it open for what I need.


pete

[petesque]

OK..I can relate to that...heat rising "sucks" -but do you have to "preheat" to get it to happen?

No. I start with a chimney of charcoal and lay than down and then start with the wood close to the flu. It doesn't take long to start when you see whiffs of smoke coming out the stack. in a couple minutes it going full blast. I do this with no cover on the stack and then once its going I set up the cover and start warming the stack.

[Gunslinger]

It is a thing of beauty, that's for sure.

[curious aardvark]

very clever.
I can see the benefit for cooking large items like a pig.

But how useful is it for smaller stuff. Looks like it would be pretty awkward to have shelves in there ?

What made you build one of these over a square smoker with a door and shelves ?

[petesque]

Well to answer your questions with a round smoker you don't have any blind or dead spots for heat or trapped smoke. The offset of the fire gives allot of the qualities of a reverse flow or smokehouse.

I hang my meat on meat hooks. The concrete culvert that is in the stack has a 3.5" lip about 8" in side the stack. I use rebar and meat hooks to hang my ribs or pork loins. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...ue/Goinin2.jpg.

As for things like butts and poultry I have a expanded metal basket with a lip that sits on the culvert inside the stack. It is about 18" deep and then a insert for that about 10" that I can put my beans in and then a flat piece of expanded metal on top of that. So I will put the item that will cook the longest in the bottom of the basket and then the next would be like Baked beans. On top I can do appitizers while everything else is cooking. It works really well.

The capacity is more than you think, in that today I am doing 9 racks of ribs for a party but I have been up to 12. I have done 4 whole bone in pork loins (86 lbs) and wasn't full. It is some what labor intensive as compared to other smokers but the function and the results are fantastic.