Custom Meat Smoker

Ah yes… the centuries-old tradition of smoking meats. The smell of a brisket 10 hours into a 16 hour smoke, well that’s more than enough to make anyone downwind jealous. This is based on nothing but my own life experience, but metalworkers tend to be just this side of carnivorous, so when I got the inclination to whip a meat smoker together for my folks for Christmas…well that was a damn fine idea.

Meat smoking is a fairly basic, albeit tricky, process. It can even be done in a cardboard box (I learned this from Alton Brown on an episode of Good Eats!) It’s wildly popular nation-wide, even up here in the Twin Cities.

I approached this build without any sort of real plan aside from the fact that the finished result would be a 20x20x40 box. I didn’t know if it was going to be solid fuel or propane, have a water pan or dry smoke, how I was going to do a chimney, etc. This smoker was going to reveal itself to me as I was fabricating it. I started by giving it a personality.

I feel like having a cartoon pig, eating a sausage, CNC cut into the door of a custom meat smoker might be just a bit TOO layered, but damn it, I like the story it tells. My dad’s family name is "Huf,” and they are predominantly German folk. “Herr Huf Meats” was the chosen branding and personality for this smoker. With the door cut and done, the rest of the build was straightforward and downhill.

Some of the most fun I had making this meat smoker was in selecting the components.

Bolt-on hinges have always provided headaches in abundance when mounting to metal. a skating drill-bit or slight jostle when drilling a pilot hole will make the total alignment an absolute nightmare.

While rummaging around a local Twin Cities metal supply store, I found these steel and brass weld-on hinges. I knew right away that the smoker would be completed with a matte black high heat paint, and a little brass accent was perfect.

As a backer behind the sign cutout, I placed some 1/8” polished aluminum sheet to really make Mr Pig stand out against the black face of the smoker.

And this is how she looked when complete…still in need of another coat of high-heat paint, but the smoker is going to my folks’ house; I figure I can give it a nice tight paintjob in the spring when it will actually dry properly! Painting outside in the twin cities is a bit of a pain in the arse, and this smoker will work JUST fine, even if it’s a little rough around the edges.

I made it to accept a propane burner, but will be easily modified for solid fuels in the future…this smoker will be my guinea pig for future ideas. This custom meat smoker was a rousing success, and it’ll soon be time to whip up another fully refined one and see if I can’t find it a new home!

If you have an idea for a custom smoker of your own, give us a shout!