 | The book Real Barbeque was the start of a quest for real "Q". It lead us down the road from Cape Elizabeth Maine to Diamond Head Mississppi retracing the steps of the authors in learning what the good stuff was really like. Having answered that challenge, more or less, there remained the problem of how to enjoy the best without having to commit to a gypsy's life constantly on the road to satisfy our appetite. The only obvious solution was to build a smoke cooker and slow cook your own. Part of the answer was in the book in the form of a two barrel cooker named Big Baby. Studying the design led to a number of points that we were not happy with. The Big Baby was not air tight, lacking an additional two flu collars. It was not the type of smoke chamber we like because there was too great a heat and smoke loss every time the chamber was opened. Finally, the smoke vents came out of the bottom ends of the chamber What we did like was the smoking chamber being over the the fire chamber as opposed to the most common off set design. |
| The Fact that there were two dampened heat ducts running directly up into the smoke chamber. The size of the smoker was ample to the most demanding volume requirements the home owner will encounter. With a baffle along the smoke chamber floor and a lining of fire brick on the floor of the fire chamber, the unit is even in heat distribution and temperature is easily controled.To construct one for yourself you first locate a two barrel air tight wood stove kit plus two stack collars. You will need three 55 gallon drums that contained some food grade product. The very best is a molasses barrel found at a feed grain mixing store. I found three barrels at a bakery. They had contained baking separator oil. You will need the third barrel for the door of the smoke chamber. Next go to a body shop supplier for bimetal blades for your power saber saw. They make a world of difference for the better.Start the construction the same as you would to convert the bottom barrel into a wood stove. The only exception is cutting two stove pipe holes on the top of the barrel instead of one. Bolt the pieces together using a collar on each of the two stove pipe holes on the top of the barrel. Cut two short pieces of stove pipe to connect the bottom and top barrels. Drill holes in the short pipes and mount flu dampers in each connecting pipe. The length of the short connecting pipes is determined by the seperator legs that come with the stove kit that support the top barrel on the bottom barrel. Don't forget to allow for the collars attached to the bottom holes of the top barrel.The top barrel has two stove pipe holes in it's bottom to mate with the two pipe holes on the top of the bottom barrel. Mark off ¼ of the barrel for the door opening. Measure 1½" inside the ¼ barrel marking for the actual opening to allow the door (cut the full ¼ barrel size) to overlap the opening hole. Cut the opening along this inside line. The piece you cut out will be the inside baffle of the smoke chamber. Cut out the hole on each end for the smoke vents. These are made from gas water heater pipe. The holes are at the top of the barrel side panels. Cut the door full ¼ barrel size from the third barrel. Bolt the two extra stove pipe collars to the two bottom holes. Mount the top barrel over the bottom barrel, bolting it to the kit separator legs. Mount the door using strips of piano hinge, as shown in the drawing. Mount the two smoke vents following the drawing. Make sure you mount a damper in each vent. Lay the door opening panel, cut earlier, over the two heat pipes in the bottom of the barrel. This will act as the heat and smoke baffle. I cut mine in half so there is heat and smoke coming into the chamber in the middle as well as the ends.The smoking racks are two cake cooling racks purchased at a restaurant supply store. The racks have bent wire legs that a threaded rod will fit through. Holes are drilled in the barrel ends at the mid point and the threaded rods are run end to end and through the bent wire feet of the racks to suspend the racks inside the barrel. The thermometer is a candy thermometer inserted in a drilled hole and retained by it's clip pressed up it's stem and against the inside of the door. The handles are two sections of wooden dowel mounted with hook eyes in the dowel end and a bolted on clip on the door. After lining the bottom barrel with fire brick you are ready to cook!The Little Round Top is a real smoke cooker and burns hard wood. I open mine up full and burn her full blast for an hour to build up a good bed of coals. Then close her up and set your dampers for a slow burn that will keep it steady at 200 to 210 degrees for hours at a time while you sit back and admire the cooker and drool over what's soon to come out of it. All you'll need to add is a stick or two every hour or two to keep it on the money! Plenty of time to go out for another cold one with this honey! Like we say here in Maine, " finest kind"!!!!!!!!!! |
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