Great Video! I have 6 bourbon barrels 4 I use as tables and 2 leftovers. I now know what I'm going to do with those two. :D Thank you for your detailed instructions. From sunny Sothern California.
Hi John. Thanks for your comments mate. Hopefully you got the barrels while they were full of bourbon and had fun emptying them!! Good luck with the project and hope you get to enjoy some delicious smoked food. Cheers, George
I just bought a bourbon barrel and am very excited to turn it in to a smoker!! Thank you for the great video!! 1 question, I seemed to have lost 1 ring. Is there anything I can use to replace that ring? Maybe some banding of some sort?
Hi Matt. Thanks for watching the video mate. Bourbon barrel.. . Be great for finishing whiskey! The hoops (rings) would be custom made for the barrel coopers. I guess you could try fabricating a replacement yourself or have a metal fabrication business or blacksmith make one. Alternatively if you live in a wine region there'd be a few at the wineries from old barrels. You'll be pleased to know that my smoker is still going strong and is in great condition. It spends its life outside and cops plenty of weather! Have a ripper day. Cheers George
Hi Abel. I don't think the residual tanins add to the flavour. It's all about the smoke and adding layers of materials that will flavour the stuff being cooked. I've experimented with lots of different materials including various timbers, prunings from apple, pear, cherry, grape vines etc; wood chips, tea, foraged native dried berries, pine needles, gum leaves, spices and dark sugars. All good fun and vary the flavours. My smoker is still going strong and its many years since I built it.
What's your thoughts on building a frame and putting the propane burner under the barrel with a hole in the bottom of the drum with a slid bottom vent to adjust the air when using charcoal , doing it this way you could use charcoal in the barrel or propane underneath or both.
Hi Adrian. I use a smallish, cast single ring burner. Not sure of btu rating sorry mate. If you live where it’s mostly cold then you’d need to consider the heat loss as ideally I’ve found maintaining a cooking temp around 110 to 120 Celsius works well. My smoke set up usually produces smoke for 45 to 60 mins which is enough for me as I personally don’t like strongly smoked meat. Hope this helps. Cheers George
Hey George, great vdeo thanks for sharing your tips, just wanted to ask i hear that wine barrels fall apart if you dont leave them filled with water so you have to pop river or screw the collars into the wood?
I made mine several years ago and its good as new. It sits outside uncovered. As per the video I've screwed the metal hoops to the staves. Good luck with building yours. I still use mine regularly. Cheers, George
hrackley thanks for your comments and watching the video. I use a wide shallow tray (approx 40cm X 30cm x5cm) which I fill with water during the smoking/cooking. This keeps the atmosphere in the smoker moist and stops my food drying out. I find fat drops into this tray. Otherwise you could sit your meet on a shallow tray on a rack. It's never been a problem for me so hopefully you can find a solution. Regarding wood chips I use many different combinations depending on the flavour profile I'm wanting. Tomorrow I'll be smoking quail and will use Apple, pear, old grape vines and a handful of teas/spice/dark sugar mix. Any fruit woods are good to use. I've also tried old oak staves from wines barrels and even pine needles from pine trees in my garden when wanting a subtle smoke for a delicate flavoured fish I smoked. Good luck and have fun! Cheers George
Hi Jim. It was pretty easy actually. You can measure up from the bottom of the barrel to get the holes level. Then, using your eye, drill the holes. Remember, its all very forgiving as you can make the support rod holes slightly enlarged if needed so the support rods line up. Once you've put them in they would rarely need to be removed. Mine have been in place for several years now :)
Thanks for the response. I was actually more concerned about the L-R alignment than vertical, but I guess if the holes are large enough, it won’t matter
Thanks. I don't want to ruin a barrel. I'm going to try using heating ductwork with an external smoke source for cold smoking. Thanks again for the great video!
Mike Hill Hi Mike, Thanks for your question. I purchased the mesh from our local engineering workshop. Any steel fabrication workshop should be able to get it for you. It came in a 2m x 1m sheet size from memory at a cost of $180. Another alternative is to use the round chrome-plated grills similar to those used in Weber kettle type bbq's. They're available at BBQ Galore for around $35. The stainless grill isn't the cheapest way to go but its will last forever and not rust. Cheers George
Kyle Cox thanks for your message. I haven't experimented to see how hot I can get my smoker. I'd estimate 150c max. I cook/smoke my food at around 105c to 115c. Low and slow has always worked well for me. Hope this helps. Cheers George
What a great teacher. Must be a really cool dad.
Thanks for your kind comment. The barrel smoker is still going strong all these years later! Cheers George
I love this. greetings from Louisiana USA
Hi. I'm pleased you like the barrel smoker. They do work well. I enjoy using mine often. Cheers George
Thanks for sharing. Now to find the barrel.
Thanks again.
One of the best video explained! Great job! Greatings from Romania, Europe.
Thanks for your comments. I hope you enjoy making your smoker and using it. I still use mine regularly. Cheers from Australia. George.
Great Video! I have 6 bourbon barrels 4 I use as tables and 2 leftovers. I now know what I'm going to do with those two. :D Thank you for your detailed instructions. From sunny Sothern California.
Hi John. Thanks for your comments mate. Hopefully you got the barrels while they were full of bourbon and had fun emptying them!! Good luck with the project and hope you get to enjoy some delicious smoked food. Cheers, George
I just bought a bourbon barrel and am very excited to turn it in to a smoker!! Thank you for the great video!!
1 question, I seemed to have lost 1 ring. Is there anything I can use to replace that ring? Maybe some banding of some sort?
Hi Matt. Thanks for watching the video mate. Bourbon barrel.. . Be great for finishing whiskey! The hoops (rings) would be custom made for the barrel coopers. I guess you could try fabricating a replacement yourself or have a metal fabrication business or blacksmith make one. Alternatively if you live in a wine region there'd be a few at the wineries from old barrels. You'll be pleased to know that my smoker is still going strong and is in great condition. It spends its life outside and cops plenty of weather! Have a ripper day. Cheers George
Hey George, cheers for the great video mate! Does the tannins from the wine keep giving flavor to the meat cheers, if so for how long?
Hi Abel. I don't think the residual tanins add to the flavour. It's all about the smoke and adding layers of materials that will flavour the stuff being cooked. I've experimented with lots of different materials including various timbers, prunings from apple, pear, cherry, grape vines etc; wood chips, tea, foraged native dried berries, pine needles, gum leaves, spices and dark sugars. All good fun and vary the flavours. My smoker is still going strong and its many years since I built it.
What's your thoughts on building a frame and putting the propane burner under the barrel with a hole in the bottom of the drum with a slid bottom vent to adjust the air when using charcoal , doing it this way you could use charcoal in the barrel or propane underneath or both.
Really neat job, thanks!
Bruce McNally thanks for the comment mate
Great video - thanks mate
Any idea as to the burner btu capacity that is ideal.
Hi Adrian. I use a smallish, cast single ring burner. Not sure of btu rating sorry mate. If you live where it’s mostly cold then you’d need to consider the heat loss as ideally I’ve found maintaining a cooking temp around 110 to 120 Celsius works well. My smoke set up usually produces smoke for 45 to 60 mins which is enough for me as I personally don’t like strongly smoked meat. Hope this helps. Cheers George
What’s the angle cut?
Hey George, great vdeo thanks for sharing your tips, just wanted to ask i hear that wine barrels fall apart if you dont leave them filled with water so you have to pop river or screw the collars into the wood?
I made mine several years ago and its good as new. It sits outside uncovered. As per the video I've screwed the metal hoops to the staves. Good luck with building yours. I still use mine regularly. Cheers, George
@@georgeharris7856 Thanks, they definitely look the part ;)
What do you use for the grease falling on the burner, also if i want to use wood chips what do you use?
hrackley thanks for your comments and watching the video. I use a wide shallow tray (approx 40cm X 30cm x5cm) which I fill with water during the smoking/cooking. This keeps the atmosphere in the smoker moist and stops my food drying out. I find fat drops into this tray. Otherwise you could sit your meet on a shallow tray on a rack. It's never been a problem for me so hopefully you can find a solution. Regarding wood chips I use many different combinations depending on the flavour profile I'm wanting. Tomorrow I'll be smoking quail and will use Apple, pear, old grape vines and a handful of teas/spice/dark sugar mix. Any fruit woods are good to use. I've also tried old oak staves from wines barrels and even pine needles from pine trees in my garden when wanting a subtle smoke for a delicate flavoured fish I smoked. Good luck and have fun! Cheers George
I was thinking the same thing awesome reply thankyou
Thanks, great ideas, but it seems like it would be hard to get the holes for the grate support rods right ....
Hi Jim. It was pretty easy actually. You can measure up from the bottom of the barrel to get the holes level. Then, using your eye, drill the holes. Remember, its all very forgiving as you can make the support rod holes slightly enlarged if needed so the support rods line up. Once you've put them in they would rarely need to be removed. Mine have been in place for several years now :)
Thanks for the response. I was actually more concerned about the L-R alignment than vertical, but I guess if the holes are large enough, it won’t matter
@@jimpetersMontreal yes I figured that you meant L- R alignment - it won't be an issue mate.
Thanks. I don't want to ruin a barrel. I'm going to try using heating ductwork with an external smoke source for cold smoking. Thanks again for the great video!
@@jimpetersMontreal yes you could pretty much use anything for cold smoking! Good luck.
Great video! What length are the screws? And where did you get them? Thanks!!!
William Talton 15mm galvanized pan Phillips head screws from Bunnings from memory. You could use 20mm too as barrel staves are usually fairly thick
Check out the wine barrel smoker I built. Will be firing it up this week.
Where do you get the stainless steel mesh from?
Mike Hill
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your question.
I purchased the mesh from our local engineering workshop. Any steel fabrication workshop should be able to get it for you. It came in a 2m x 1m sheet size from memory at a cost of $180. Another alternative is to use the round chrome-plated grills similar to those used in Weber kettle type bbq's. They're available at BBQ Galore for around $35. The stainless grill isn't the cheapest way to go but its will last forever and not rust. Cheers George
How hot can your smoker go?
Kyle Cox thanks for your message. I haven't experimented to see how hot I can get my smoker. I'd estimate 150c max. I cook/smoke my food at around 105c to 115c. Low and slow has always worked well for me. Hope this helps. Cheers George
I know Woodglut has the best woodworking plans.
What angle did you use for the saw cut?
Yes, good question.