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My smokehouse laid a green egg

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vaszeit
vaszeit Posts: 22
in EggHead Forum
I wish. I had to buy it.

But here it is, my modest urban smokehouse that uses a MiniMax as a fire pit. I had a heck of a time making it work how I wanted it to, went through 3 redesigns but now it works like a charm.


Why green egg? I wanted something portable and requiring little tending. I also love the smell of the thin blue smoke from my BGE so I wanted that exact same smoke quality in my smokehouse.

My grandpa used a big drum and had a hole in the ground for the fire pit. He made incredibly tasty kielbasa but that set up wasn't portable, looked ugly and required constant tending.

This setup is exactly the opposite. It's tidy and requires little tending. It's portable. It uses little fuel. I use wood chunks to generate clean, nice smelling smoke. All in all, I am very happy with how it turned out and I am using every excuse to fire it up and smoke something.




So far I've made Swojska kielbasa, Krakowska, Andouille and Lisiecka kielbasa. Beef sticks and smoked cured bacon are on the do do list this coming weekend. Recipes and my experience with some of these I posted on my blog, check them out. You may find something new and helpful there.

Any feedback will be appreciated. 

Smoked Krakow Sausage
Lisiecka Smoked Sausage
Smoked Andouille Sausage
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,761
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    Bitching
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,026
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    That's awesome!
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Matt86m
    Matt86m Posts: 471
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    Very cool!  Can we get some inside pics?
    XL aka Senior, Mini Max aka Junior, Weber Q's, Blackstone 22, Lion built in, RecTec Mini 300, Lodge Hibachi, Uuni, wife says I have too many grills,,,,how many shoes do you have?
     
    IG -->  matt_86m
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    So, so massively awesome. The sausage looks great as well. 
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • ColbyLang
    ColbyLang Posts: 3,423
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    That’s awesome. I’d love to see the inside as well
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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
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    That's really cool

    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • WildmanWilson
    WildmanWilson Posts: 482
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    Is this for only cold smoking? What’s the max temperature you can hit?
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,347
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    Impressive operation right there.  Congrats.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
    edited October 2019
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    WildmanWilson said:
    Is this for only cold smoking? What’s the max temperature you can hit?
    This is for traditional smoking (at about ~110F - 140F).

    With the bottom damper open about 1/3 of the way I get about 130F-140F inside the smokehouse. 1/2 way to 2/3 way gives me about 165F - 200F. This is all I need for smoking and finishing (baking) sausages, bacon, etc.

    I can push it to about 220F but the temp inside the egg gets too high for my liking (close to 1000F).

    The smokehouse is fully insulated so I get about the same temps on both hot and cold days. Can't wait to try it in winter.

    For cold smoking, below 80F, I use a 6-8 ft SS chimney flue. By the time the smoke gets from the egg to the smokehouse it cools down to pretty much ambient temperature. I also have an opening at the bottom to let some cold air in if the smoke gets above 80F.

    I also run the egg low and slow when cold smoking (about 225F-250F at the dome) so the egg puts out a lot less heat to begin with. 
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    Nice job.  You can always put a cheap 5000 btu window unit in it and do some sub-ambient smoking.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    @nolaegghead @lousubcap @SciAggie @20stone @ColbyLang @Matt86m @WeberWho @lkapigian

    Thanks for the kind words guys.
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,348
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    Nice, informative blog post also - https://tasteofartisan.com/smoked-kielbasa/
    Well done mate!

    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    HeavyG said:
    Nice, informative blog post also - https://tasteofartisan.com/smoked-kielbasa/
    Well done mate!

    Thank you. This one is indeed informative. I learned quite a bit along the way.
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  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
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    Very cool! Once you think you've seen all the innovation...

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,761
    edited October 2019
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    That's a great smokehouse ,makes mine pale in comparison
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • marysvilleksegghead
    marysvilleksegghead Posts: 862
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    Where are you located?
    Very interesting post, Thanks
    Lrg 2008
    Mini 2009
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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    marysvilleksegghead said:
    Where are you located?
    Very interesting post, Thanks
    I am in Toronto, Ontario
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  • unoriginalusername
    unoriginalusername Posts: 1,063
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    vaszeit said:
    marysvilleksegghead said:
    Where are you located?
    Very interesting post, Thanks
    I am in Toronto, Ontario
    Party at your house it seems lol (Burlington)
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    Great looking setup my friend 👍

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,365
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    unoriginalusername said:
    vaszeit said:
    marysvilleksegghead said:
    Where are you located?
    Very interesting post, Thanks
    I am in Toronto, Ontario
    Party at your house it seems lol (Burlington)
    I’m coming for the awesome sausage (Cambridge)
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    unoriginalusername said:
    vaszeit said:
    marysvilleksegghead said:
    Where are you located?
    Very interesting post, Thanks
    I am in Toronto, Ontario
    Party at your house it seems lol (Burlington)
    Always welcome ;-)
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  • KiterTodd
    KiterTodd Posts: 2,466
    edited October 2019
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    That's very cool looking. Thanks for sharing.
    I always pass smoke houses when driving in the country and wasn't sure if they are "cooking" or "smoking".  I guess most are smoking.
    So do you have to par-cook most items before you put them in there?
    LBGE/Maryland
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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    KiterTodd said:
    That's very cool looking. Thanks for sharing.
    I always pass smoke houses when driving in the country and wasn't sure if they are "cooking" or "smoking".  I guess most are smoking.
    So do you have to par-cook most items before you put them in there?
    Usually it's the other way around - smoke then cook, or bake as it's often referred to. Meat is cured, ground, stuffed in casings then smoked, followed by baking at 175F - 195F to bring the internal temperature to 154F-158F, which makes sausage ready to eat at that point. 

    Baking can be done inside a smokehouse but can take hours and may dry sausage out. Often we poach in warm water (165F or so) for 20-30 minutes. You can also steam or finish in a convection oven. 

    But you can also cook then smoke for aroma/color. I recently cooked chicken breasts sous vide then smoked for a couple of hours. They turned out quite good.
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  • MNEggerandStuff
    MNEggerandStuff Posts: 239
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    WOW, that is impressive.  I can often blown away by members capabilities in creating these cool setups. 

    Would you be willing to share the plans or generic layout to give others that are inspired a starting point to build something similar?  I can totally understand a No answer but I can always hope.

    Questions I have are along the lines of the types of wood you used inside and out and why you choose those types...How you settled on the number of and size of the holes in the floor.  Is a fan needed to get the smoke to move through the structure?  Size of the exhaust pipe?  

    impressive backyard engineering that is!

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  • vaszeit
    vaszeit Posts: 22
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    MNEggerandStuff said:
    WOW, that is impressive.  I can often blown away by members capabilities in creating these cool setups. 

    Would you be willing to share the plans or generic layout to give others that are inspired a starting point to build something similar?  I can totally understand a No answer but I can always hope.

    Questions I have are along the lines of the types of wood you used inside and out and why you choose those types...How you settled on the number of and size of the holes in the floor.  Is a fan needed to get the smoke to move through the structure?  Size of the exhaust pipe?  

    impressive backyard engineering that is!

    Thanks. I am not going to say no. Will be more than happy to share what I have. I took some pictures along the way. Will need a few days to organize and write up. Stay tuned.
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    vaszeit said:
    My grandpa used a big drum and had a hole in the ground for the fire pit. He made incredibly tasty kielbasa but that set up wasn't portable, looked ugly and required constant tending.
    Question my friend. Did his setup have 4-10 foot section of pipe buried in the ground to channel the cold smoke into the drum? I ask because that is the setup my grandfather used to make incredible smoked mullet. That is all he used it for but it excelled at that purpose. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • MNEggerandStuff
    MNEggerandStuff Posts: 239
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    vaszeit said:
    MNEggerandStuff said:
    WOW, that is impressive.  I can often blown away by members capabilities in creating these cool setups. 

    Would you be willing to share the plans or generic layout to give others that are inspired a starting point to build something similar?  I can totally understand a No answer but I can always hope.

    Questions I have are along the lines of the types of wood you used inside and out and why you choose those types...How you settled on the number of and size of the holes in the floor.  Is a fan needed to get the smoke to move through the structure?  Size of the exhaust pipe?  

    impressive backyard engineering that is!

    Thanks. I am not going to say no. Will be more than happy to share what I have. I took some pictures along the way. Will need a few days to organize and write up. Stay tuned.
    I totally understand.  It's really cool.though.  any issues from the neighbors lining up at the door for free samples when they smell it being used?
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
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    Very clever! Makes darned good sense if you want a long term smoke. I've an old Mini that I just might put to work. Thanks for the idea.
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  • Sammi
    Sammi Posts: 598
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    Awesome post @vaszeit. nice to see local talent and innovation.
    This will have to go on the watch and wish list.
    Sudbury, Ontario
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