I started this blog post in end August– let’s pretend I posted it in September…
I haven’t done an Alton blog post for a while and this fact, combined with a week off and a MASSIVE desire to smoke my own food brings me to the Good Eats episode “Right on Q” – Alton’s foray into the, often confusing world of Barbeque science and recipes. In this episode (check YouTube if you are not in the U
S), Alton demonstrates the best way to use a gas or charcoal grill as a smoker but best of al
l shows us how to build a proper smoke box using, in his case, a wood reinforced cardboard box, some oven racks and an electric hob.


Oft have I watched this episode with the imagined senses of authentic smoky ribs and infused turkey playfully dancing in my head – you seriously have no idea what goes on inside there….
This week saw Lidl selling a double electric hob for €30. I picked this up when I saw it and set about to getting the rest of the equipment together. The racks were “recycled” from an oven being dumped at our local recycling centre. A night in a bag with a bottle of oven cleaner and they w
ere as good as new. A cast iron pan was called for to hold and burn the wood chips so I went to a local kitchen / restaurant supply shop. Cast iron pans, as it turns out are not cheap but lady luck smiles occasionally and I picked up a cast iron fajita dish which was (very) slightly damaged and without its base for €5. The wood cost €15 from the local builder’s merchant. Total cost under €60. So with drill in hand and a sparkle in the eye (should have worn goggles) I set about the fulfilment of a long held dream to make my own smoker…


Once the box was completed I drilled a hole in the bottom of the front door and three holes in the top back. These can be blocked off with corks to increase or restrict airflow as required.
I installed a thermometer through the front door to monitor the air temperature (220of) and the meat can be monitored via a remote meat thermometer put through one of the holes in the top of the box. There is a small removable section at the rear of the box to allow access to the second hob control
