Wine Barrel Smoker

[sitnfat]

well how is the barrel coming along?? I have one sitting at the tankroom and I have been wanting to do this very thing.

[JiveTurkey]

It's working great. I'm getting ready to fire it up in the next couple of hours to make our Christmas rib roast (fam got here yesterday). It's pretty cool smoking meat in a wood barrel, definitely not something you see everyday. It looks nice in the yard too.

But... there is always a but, it's not going to last forever. Even after my first cook I noticed the wood drying on the inside which will eventually lead to gaps in the staves. The fix for this is to fill with water but my barrel is way too big for that plus I don't think my vents will seal the water in anyways.

After todays cook I'm going to hammer down the metal bands to tighten it up, that should help and maybe get me a few more hot cooks out of it. Once it starts to leak I decided to make it a cold smoker to smoke jalapenos, fish, and bell peppers. All it needs is a hot plate with a cast iron skillet and some wood.

Well thanks for checking in and asking. I'll post a pic of the roast on the barrel after we chow down tonight!

[sitnfat]

cool cant wait to see the pics

[JiveTurkey]

Yesterday before I put the roast on I noticed there was already some light showing from between the staves so I knocked down the bands and it tightened up real nice. Temps held steady at 250 the whole time, amazing.

Roast going on at 1pm:



Temps steady at 250:


Done:

[Bogus Chezz Hawg]

Originally Posted by KnucklHed BBQ

Alright, well that got me thinkerin' and I decided to build one real quick. Didn't take long, you can see it's still kinda rough but it looks like it should work! =)




Waddaya think?? Purdy nifty huh?

That's Awesome!!

[KnucklHed BBQ]

Originally Posted by Bogus Chezz Hawg

That's Awesome!!

I'm uhh, taking preorders for them if you're interested. Yeah, umm, they're like super cool & stuff? All the kool kids are getting them cuz they're so rad or whatever.
Selling them for $50 a pop or 2 for $75... shipping's about $1500.00 each though so you should prolly buy 2 of em'

[country bear]

Originally Posted by Psyco Realm

I would have a fully charged fire extinguisher in reach. If that fails i'm sure Oakland fire dept. would snuff the fire out.

Yeah, I agree. Anything over 180-200 degrees and you risk combustion I believe. Make yourself a nice unique cold smoker and do some lox and cheese.

[country bear]

Originally Posted by JiveTurkey

Yesterday before I put the roast on I noticed there was already some light showing from between the staves so I knocked down the bands and it tightened up real nice. Temps held steady at 250 the whole time, amazing.

Roast going on at 1pm:



Temps steady at 250:


Done:

Nice job! Looks like a beaut!

[JiveTurkey]

Combustion for oak is well over 500 degrees so as long as I keep in smoking temp ranges I'll be okay. I've set it up so stray coals don't fall on the wood bottom and ignite plus I have a fire extinguisher within reaching distance.

I also wanted to post the link to my first cook just in case this thread pops up some years down the road. I'm trying to keep everything as organized as possible in case someone tries to make a barrel smoker someday.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=74645

Thanks everybody!

[Southern Home Boy]

<Reviving an old(ish) thread>

CLEAR!!

So, here it is seven months later. How is the barrel smoker holding up? There were a bunch of concerns about the staves drying out and shrinking and a bunch of folks who felt it was a fire-trap waiting to happen.

What's the story? Inquiring minds want to know!!

[KnucklHed BBQ]

Good call bringing this one back... But did you really have to give it full on mouth to mouth??!!

[JiveTurkey]

That wine barrel smoker was awesome! I say WAS with sadness though. I gave it one last final cook about a month ago and laid her to rest once and for all. It held up fairly well although it did get a little bit of gaps between the staves but it never seemed to affect temps. It was just too dang big to move around and reach inside to clean (it went up to my chest standing), and I knew eventually the staves would get wider gaps. Plus it was too big to fill with water every time I cooked (130+ gallons) so I enjoyed it while I could and had a blast making it. The 1" staves insulated amazingly well and once I got the fire control figured out (catching temps on the way up) it used very little fuel for all night cooks.

After this experiment I would suggest to anybody thinking of making one to

1. Do it with a regular sized barrel with the option to add a water bowl. Water will help keep the inside moist to prevent the wood from drying out.

2. Use threaded vents like on the standard UDS with caps. That way when filled with water between every few cooks the water will hold. I had slider type vents so even if I did fill with water it would leak out.

3. Do not screw the metal bands to the staves. That way as the wood dries you can knock down the bands to tighten up the staves. If they're screwed on you can't tighten.

Other than that it was a great cooker and if I can get my hands on a regular sized one I might give it another shot. Thanks for checking in fellas. If you ever have any other questions let me know.

[Southern Home Boy]

Originally Posted by KnucklHed BBQ

Good call bringing this one back... But did you really have to give it full on mouth to mouth??!!

It's not like I used tongue or anything... well...ok.. just a little tongue but there's nothing wrong with that...

[smokestacks bbq]

i smoke with my wine barrel all the time. it's held up really well so far. after a few cooks i'll fill it back up with water too keep the staves tight and from drying out.

[Southern Home Boy]

Originally Posted by smokestacks bbq

i smoke with my wine barrel all the time. it's held up really well so far. after a few cooks i'll fill it back up with water too keep the staves tight and from drying out.

How long have you had it?