Putting your smoker in a outdoor kitchen

Brian

New member
Hello everyone -  for those of you wanting to put your smoker in a outdoor kitchen...well here's how I did mine...I hope the pictures load and look good..

I just bought a #2 model smoker 2 weeks ago. Ihavent posted yet cause I'm putting my smoker in a outdoor kitchen and I need to see the smoker first so I could work my kitchen around it. Well today I finished the kitchen and hooked up the smoker. For
Those of you who are wondering how this smoker can work in a kitchen here are my tips and pictures so you can do the same

1) I had to find a way to get access to the top of the smoker so I left a opening  in front of the smoker so I can stick my hand in and see the temperature gauge. This also allows me to drop my temperature probe into the smoker without cutting a hole in the counter top. You won't be able to see the entire tempature gage but if you buy a silver marker you can put dashes on the knob so that only you know what they mean so as your looking at the tempature knob you will see your dash marks and it gives you a rough idea where about you are. 2 dash marks to me means 200 degrees and that's all I need to know cause I can prety much guess and adjust up or down from there.

2) don't put the wheels on.  The unit isn't that heavy and you can slide it around if you have to. By leaving wheels off you can have greater access to the top hole and see your temp gauge better.

3)  You'll see in the picture I have tin foil on top of the smoker. I temporarily put that on top to help direct the smoke to the outside of the kitchen. You can bend the foil so the smoke rolls to the front of unit and bend the sides so the smoke dosent vere off to the side and get under your kitchen. I didn't do this before I seassond it and the under part of the kitchen was filled with smoke for a little while. Not a big deal though.

4) I also installed a switch to the left of smoker which leads to a  wall outlet.  I plugged my smoker in the outlet and now when I want to use the smoker all I have to do is turn the switch on and my smoker is cooking. I also decided to leave my tempature gauge at 225 degrees so I don't have to keep sticking my hands back there. I have my tempature knob lableld were 200 degrees is and were 225 is so I don't have to touch it, at least for now. I'm interested in buying the tempature box the forum talks about. That may help me out.

Over all I love the set up.  I cooked my first set of ribs today. 3 slabs,3oz cherry wood, 6 oz of apple juice,and I rubbed ribs with the famous Dave's  rub this forum talked about under the rubs section. I had my dial pre set to 225deg and flipped my switch. 5.5 hours later they were done. I spread famous Dave BBQ sause over them and that's it. They were awesome. Well worth the money for the smoker. Very well built.  All I'm confuse about is how am i going to clean the inside. It got very messy.

If anyone has any questions I'll try to answer them for you.  Thanks smoking-it people for a nice smoker

** I noticed the pictures don't show up when i reviewed my post unless i logged back in. Let me know if the 5 picture arn't posting and Ill try it again….

Brian N
Indiana USA
 

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Hey Brian, welcome to the club.

Your outdoor kitchen looks great, nice job with building in the smoker, BBQ, etc.  Have you experienced any issues with airflow and is that a controller you have sitting on the smoker?
 
not at all. all 3 pieces of wood were burnt and for the first 4 hours i was seeing puffs of smoke then they died down the last 1hour or two. so maybe all the chips burnt by then. So since all that happened I'm assuming the air flow was good…

BrianN
 
if someone could let me know if the pictures came through that would be great. they don't show up on my mac when I log out...
 
Brian, the pics came through and look great. Good to hear about the air flow and your successful smoke.  Cleaning should not be an issue if you lined the bottom of the smoker and the top of the firebox with foil. 

As well, if you get an Auber, you can easily set the temp and view your internal temp without having to reach the back of the smoker.  I have the #3 which is deeper and it would be a bit more difficult to see or access the back dial, however I do like you approach of marking the dial.
 
That looks great! I am only seeing 4 not 5 pics but it is a nice looking kitchen. Did you do all the stone work yourself?
 
I believe, the only way to view attached pictures is to log in.  Kind of an incentive to become a member, i guess?

Your setup is very clean.  Well done!
 
Yes i did do the brick work myself and the concrete counter top. If i paid someone this would be a $6000 kitchen without the grill and smoker. I probably paid around $2300. Add $1500 for grill and the awsome smoker. I use to landscape for a living . Outdoor kitchens are alot of work but the end result is so worth it. It will last for 20 - 30 plus  years before it gets out dated...
 
Looks great, Brian!  I'd say you're definitely a candidate for the Auber PID; you won't be happy limiting yourself to 225 for long, once you get the hang of things!
 
I agree, I want to buy the Auber, I didn't know much about it till after I bought the smoker. That will be the next purchase, just have to save a little...
 
Brian said:
I agree, I want to buy the Auber, I didn't know much about it till after I bought the smoker. That will be the next purchase, just have to save a little...

With your setup, it would be ideal - especially with a "bypass."  You'll have the flexibility to push it to 350, should the need arise, and you won't have to ever touch the dial!
 
Me being in the HOT climate of Alabama I would start saving for some type of roof over for shade while cooking and outdoor dining.
Great job. I would have to hire it all done. Nice stone work.
 
jpittssr said:
Me being in the HOT climate of Alabama I would start saving for some type of roof over for shade while cooking and outdoor dining.
Great job. I would have to hire it all done. Nice stone work.
    it's a" labor of love" project jpittssr.  The smoker was a nice treat to add in..  :)
 
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