Cinder blocks are great because they are cheap and versatile. This means that if you want to learn how to smoke food at home, this is the perfect project for you! The great thing about smokers is that they can be used for so many things beyond being a smoker, such as a wood chip holder and more! If you have been wanting to try smoking meat, this is the perfect way to get started without breaking the bank.
Building a smoker out of cinder blocks is a popular way to smoke meat. This simple design requires very few tools and materials to build, making it ideal for those with limited experience in constructing or working with wood or metal. The end result is a smoker that can produce food with subtle flavors and tenderizing effects.
One of the best things you can do when you have a lot of cinder blocks laying around is build a barbecue smoker. It’s really easy to do and will save you lots of money on buying a smoker from a store.
The first thing you need to do is pick a spot for your smoker.
The first thing you need to do is pick a spot for your smoker. This will depend on how big of a smoker you want and how much space you have. You want to choose the location carefully, because if it’s not level or close enough to the house, it won’t work as well. You also want to think about where the smoke will go and make sure there aren’t any trees or bushes nearby that could catch fire.
If you’re going to be using propane, then keep in mind that propane tanks can explode if they get too hot or are exposed too long. If this happens during cooking time, it could ruin all of your hard work! So be careful about where this tank is placed; beside the smoker would be best so no one trips over anything but still out of reach from children who may try their hand at lighting matches just for fun (and possibly burn down their entire home).
The second thing you need to do is get cinder blocks, and lots of them.
The second thing you need to do is get cinder blocks, and lots of them.
You can buy cinder blocks at a hardware store, but there are many other sources for these brick-like structures that may prove more economical than going out and buying them new. For example:
- Construction sites often have leftover cinder blocks lying around that they’re happy to give away or sell cheaply. They are often free if you ask nicely! Just remember: no one wants their old cinder blocks back after they fix up their house. So look around at construction sites near you and ask the workers if they have any extra cinder blocks lying around before heading home with your new purchase in tow (and don’t forget—they make great gifts).
- Demolition sites usually don’t mind handing over spare material either; however, they will charge a fee due to the labor involved in breaking down existing structures so that everything fits into trucks which then take them away from location where materials were found (and this process costs money).
Now you have the cinder blocks, the next thing you have to do is build the base. Lay two blocks on their side, with the holes in the same direction.
Now you have the cinder blocks, the next thing you have to do is build the base. Lay two blocks on their side, with the holes in the same direction. You’ll want to connect them with a fourth block that will be laid on top of them. Connecting three blocks together will make your smoker higher off the ground and more stable, but less portable than laying it flat on its side would be (four is probably best). Connecting four blocks will give you a sturdy base for cooking food or smoking meat or both.
Place two more blocks with the holes facing the other direction on top of these two and separate them by three feet.
Now you will place two more blocks with the holes facing the other direction on top of these two and separate them by three feet. The hole in the middle of this row is for smoke to escape, while the holes at each end are for air intake.
It may be helpful to think of your smoker as being stacked vertically rather than horizontally, so that when you look down from above it looks like a box or cube with all sides closed except for an opening at one end—a perfect square shape.
Connect another row of cinder blocks at this point as well, but only use one block on each side and then one in between. You want to leave an opening in this row so that you can put coals inside.
At this point, you should connect another row of cinder blocks at this point as well, but only use one block on each side and then one in between. You want to leave an opening in this row so that you can put coals inside. This will make it easier for you to control the temperature once the smoker is finished.
You may need to make a small hole for the chimney smoke to escape through when using coal instead of wood chips or chunks behind your food; otherwise it won’t be able to get out.
After this point, you will want to connect two more rows of cinder blocks on top of these that are all closed off so that the smoker has a closed roof.
The next step is connecting the cinder blocks to each other. You will want to start with attaching two rows of cinder blocks together, each row separated by one block space from the next row. This will be the base of your smoker and where you place your meat platform.
After this point, you will want to connect two more rows of cinder blocks on top of these that are all closed off so that the smoker has a closed roof.
Once you have built up enough cinder blocks for your roof, begin laying down bricks in a linear pattern along the roof to create a platform for your meat. Building up your roof does not take very long as long as you are using high-quality mortar for all of your connections.
Once you have built up enough cinder blocks for your roof, begin laying down bricks in a linear pattern along the roof to create a platform for your meat. Building up your roof does not take very long as long as you are using high-quality mortar for all of your connections.
Use mortar to secure bricks together at each connection point. The more pressure that is put on these connections, the better they will hold up over time and make it harder for pests such as rats or mice to get inside of your smoker without being noticed by yourself before it’s too late.
Final words
Once you have the bricks laid out, you can put them in place with mortar. Be sure to mix the mortar before putting it on your smoker because this will make it much stronger than just mixing it after.
If you ever want to move your smoker from one location to another, all you have to do is take off the bricks and break apart any connections that might be holding your structure together. You can then lay down some newspaper or cardboard boxes underneath so that when you transport it there won’t be any messes left behind on the ground.
Once everything has been transported safely into its new home-away-from-home, just put all of those pieces back together again using more high-quality mortar.
