How to Build an Electric Clay Smoker
A smoker can widen the repertoire of any barbeque fan. But a smoker can be expensive and sometimes temperamental, as the weather gets colder. Fortunately, you can build your own out of a common material – clay. The most common form of clay in retail form is terracotta pots. These pots can offer great insulation, which helps maintain a steady temperature.
The key to barbeque is slow and low when it comes to cooking. If you build your own smoker, you can do so at a much more affordable rate than a traditional store bought one. Follow a few simple steps to start enjoying your smoker.
Things You'll Need
- 1 terracotta pot – unglazed and about 17-inches in diameter
- 1 circular terracotta pot or bowl - unglazed that should fit over the larger pot
- 1 replacement grill grate – about 14-inches
- 3 bricks or terracotta feet
- Electric hot plate
- Heavy duty pie pan
- Meat thermometer
- Smoker wood chunks or chips
- Position the larger pot atop bricks or feet so that air can properly circulate. Put the hot plate inside the pot, and run the power cord through the pot’s hole. The hot plate is an extremely important part of the process so you should ensure that the hot plate is able to maintain a constant temperature for several hours.
- Place the heavy duty pie pan on the hot plate. Add the smoker chips to the hot plate ensuring that they have been properly soaked. The trick with smokers is that the chips should not catch fire – they should simply produce smoke. Try using a dark pie pan instead of a shiny aluminum one. This will prevent the heat from reflecting back down to the heating element.
- Position your grill grate in the pot after adequately greasing it. You don’t want the meat to stick. The grate should catch on the sides of the pot as it becomes narrower further toward the bottom. Ideally the grate should have handles or tongs so that it can be removed as the cooking process progresses.
- Take the smaller terracotta pot, turn it upside down and place it over the base of the smoker. The pot doesn’t have to be an exact match, the goal is just to ensure that the smoke doesn’t come pouring out of the top of the smoker while the smoking process is taking place.
- Position your meat thermometer in the hole at the top of the pot. This will allow you to monitor the temperature as you cook.
- Fill your grill with the meat to be cooked. After four to six hours, the meat should be cooked, and you can start enjoying your smoked barbeque.