Smoking Meat Fish or Fowl on a campfire

[eDJ_]

Anyone else here into smoking meat ? 

There is a wide variety of gear available and some of it is  best for those in the sticks & bricks, but there are some clever
work around's for the mobile set too.   When you are mobile space is at a premium as we who have traveled know.

The system I've developed for my own use requires simple equipment, takes little space, and offers a solution for multiple campfire cooking task. But one of the most enjoyable ways of cooking with it is to smoke various meats.

What you see is a 1/2 inch rod that can be driven into the ground next to the fire with a mallet.

The grill has a hole in it slightly larger than 1/2 inch so that the grill can be adjusted to the desired height
on the rod and then tilt downward slightly to lock at that height.  I also made a lock from a 1 inch piece of 
pipe that I reamed out to have a bore slightly larger than 1/2 inch.  Thru the side of it a hole was drilled and threaded for
a  wing bolt to serve as a safety lock.  (which goes on the rod just below the grill to prevent any accidental slip)

For a lid to trap the smoke I picked up a Turkey Roasting aluminum foil pan at a Dollar General Store.  In the bottom I made a few holes for smoke to exit thru and I can place this as a cover over the meat on the grill.   I installed a small wooden cabinet knob in it so it looks like a big lid.  It is easy to place ships of wood or wadded up aluminum foil over the holes to damper the flow of smoke.   Low Bucks Hmm ?   I actually made my own grill from scrap yard materials and had a friend weld it up.  My grill looks something along the lines of a big fly swatter.  (but you can buy them like in the photo above)   Mine cost less than $5 bucks,  with the foil pan one dollar of that.

A coffee pot or skillet can be set on this grill and work well too.

At one time I carried a Tripod that small pieces of tubing fit together to make the legs of.  3 24" pieces of tubing made
a leg of the Tripod.  There was a lever that fit on one leg and had a pulley that fit at the top of the Tripod and the wire
went down the center to connect to the round grill.  By adjusting the placement of the legs the grill could be centered over the fire and the leg lever would adjust the height of the grill above the fire.

The smoking of meat is a low temp  long cooking cycle event.  

I soak the smoking wood in water and then wrap it in aluminum foil.  Small holes are poked into the foil to allow smoke to escape upward  to the meat.   In the fire below the meat I place an old pan with some water in it so that there will be moisture for the smoking of the meat.  

You can easily smoke Chicken,  Pork loin, salmon and even sausages like Kielbalsa if you like.  

I have a grilling & smoking site/portal I did years ago that anyone is welcome to view as it goes into much greater depth and detail than what I can present in this post

Grill Master eDJ


This isn't difficult to do at all and the flavor it can add to the meat you prepare is beyond words.

 

[eDJ_]

A  4" deep baking foil tray like this one

can have a couple of holes cut in the bottom on either side of a wooden knob you install to make a lid.  Those holes can be partly covered to serve as a damper to regulate heat and trap smoke.

If you are inclined to do it,  heavy foil can be cut and formed as a skirt on the edges of the grill.  These 4 pieces could hang 8 to 10 inches below the grill helping the smoke move upward much like a chimney,

Heavy Foil baking sheets may serve well for making a skirt with.

Once built two or three small magnets may hold this to the grill so it can easily be detached.

In the fire you can use small bread pan to put water in to aid the smoking.   Dollar stores may
sell two or three foil pans or one hard metal pan for the same dollar.  If you buy the hard metal pan it will work in
the campfire under the smoker to contain water and still be usable for baking bread later on after you've cleaned it.


You just have to fabricate all of this before you build your fire.  But it's easier than it sounds.  Paper clips 
holds it all together.

Just remember,  you use very little heat for smoking foods.  225 Degrees F would be a good temp for 3 to 5 hours.

I strongly suggest you get a small meat thermometer (cheap) and use this chart for internal temperature to make sure 
the food is done.

And if you smoke chicken,  make sure to clean your grill very well.  Then before cooking with it again hold it in a fire to get it good and hot to help sterilize it.

 

[ByeBye]

I am actually eating less and less meat all the time but still some and this great info! Thanks!

 

[eDJ_]

I stopped by the Dollar Tree Tuesday and got a total of 4 large baking sheets.  1 pack of big paper clips.  
Made a knob of a piece of Dow Rod to install on that big baking pan in the first post so it can serve as a lid for the
smoker. 

Here is the kit laid out on the rod and grill.  No fire yet.

Here are the pieces laid out on the ground around the grill.

The back length piece and width piece are set on the grill and the top paper clip installed.  Then the 
next length piece set on and paper clipped at the top, and finally the last width piece and again 
clipped at the top.  Then the bottom clips are installed on all four corners.

Like so:

I doubt this would stand up to strong wind so I would suggest using it in calm air.

But it could be nice to enjoy meat that is rich in smokey flavor when at camp and then when time 
to travel the kit be knocked down flat, stored in very little space until wanted again.

So here are the sides set up.  It isn't perfect but it will be a proof of concept I'm sure.  Imagine a small fire below with a
container of water sitting in it and wood chips soaked in water and wrapped in metal foil with a few holes poked in them
so the smoke can get out.   Then with the meat rubbed with a herb and spice rub and set on the grill the lid can be placed over it to capture the smoke and the 200 F to 250 F temp heat for the cooking.  This is low and slow cooking
that will work magic.   Expect to cook like this for several hours.

With the lid mounted here is what it would look like.

The lid cost a buck.  The 4 sides cost two bucks.  The grill cost $9 at Marshall's Dept Store.
The rod came from a junk yard and I got it for .50 cent.   The paper clips were a buck for 10
of them.   $13.50 sound right ?

So next chance I get to cook with it I'll try to post some pix.

I'll make some drawings of how to form material to do this. My grill is 15 x 11 and the foil trays lent themselves
to this project. The idea hit me when I was looking at the foil trays at the Dollar tree.....so I ran over in hardware
and pulled one of their measuring tapes off the wall and went back to the foil pans and started measuring. It only took about
15 minutes to put this together.

 

[eDJ_]

This is a basic layout for this smoker concept.  It could be made out of sheet metal other than galvanized.  I would suggest
using non painted aluminum such as from rolled coil stock   If it is 16" wide roll that would be fine but 12" would work too.

You would only need to cut it the lengths and widths with 2" added to that to bend for the paper clip tabs.  The top 1" would be folded over at a 90 degree bend to rest on the grill.  Then the ends bend out at 45 degrees.  You will need metal snips to the top bend to allow for the ends to be bent out at 45 degrees.

By mounting the paper clips close to the top it will lock this chimney to the grill.  The paper clips at the bottom will
further stiffen it.   This won't be perfect but it will do the job.  There will likely be some small leaks here an there.  No problem. 

The lid will need to have a couple of 1" holes cut in it to damper the flow of smoke and heat.  A couple of can lids cut out can be placed to partly block these holes. (wood chips or any scrap for that matter)  But the idea is to keep smoke and heat around the meat as it cooks and absorbs the flavor of the smoke.

For those who are handy with metal working skills I could see a cottage industry in building a few of these to sell at rally's.