It's that time of year again. I made this smoker a few years back, key was getting some 1/2" mesh stainless screen from the stainless distributor in town for the racks. The smoker was made from a single sheet of 1/2" ply, and measures 2' on a side and 3' tall. The burner is an old bbq, and a 4" holesaw allowed the flexible metal hose to be routed between the two.

I prefer to dry brine sockeye, about 1/4 c each pickling salt and brown sugar per fillet, and the smoker will fit about 7 or 8 fish. I let them sit in the brine for a few hours, rinse with water then cut into strips. The small fan shown is used to dry them for a day to form a pellicle, then I smolder some alder logs in the smoke box. The smoke lasts a few hours, and keeps at 100F, so long as the logs smolder and don't burn. Soaking them in water first keeps them smoldering, and I start some birch kindling for coals. After the smoking, the fan is returned for a few more days to dry the fish.

I need to thaw the remaining fish from last year and make some salmon strips, mmmm.

Anybody else have a homebrew smoker, or recipes to share? I’m thinking about adding a hot plate to the smoker and doing some hot smoking this year.

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Paul,

That's a nice set up. Makes me real jealous of the fish you get...

Thanks!

Yeah, that's a good looking setup, Paul...