Weber Mini Tamale Pot Smoker

[Dan2722]

After being told about this thread on the Weber Virtual Bulletin Board by a MUD member Steve (619Toy) I new I had to make one for camping.

S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker - Topic

I used my Weber 14" Smokey Joe silver and a 32 quart tamale pot I picked up on sale at Target for $15. I plan on ordering the vents for an 18.5" WSM to add on the bottom for better temp control and an additional rack.

The nice thing is that it is the perfect size for camping.

 

[Dan2722]

Here is the finished smoker. Instead of adding a dial bi-metal temp on the outside I added a hole for my temp probes to go through using lamp hardware.

 

[spressomon]

Great thinking!

 

[Combat Chuck]

great idea!
I bought my WSMC as my camp cooker, and I was building a homebrew smoker for home-base, but things changed and the WSMC does it all.
I may look into this one for camp.

 

[bhmmapping]

I love mine. I made it last summer for a beach trip and used it almost every weekend until I got my full size ugly drum smoker built for thanksgiving. It is great for smaller cooks since it doesn't require very much charcoal and gets up to cooking temp quickly.

the temp probe hole is a great idea, I just used one of the cheapo gauges from lowes. I also bent down one of the tabs on the air vent at the bottom, drilled it and added a 6"x1/4" bolt to make it easier to adjust while cooking. I cut the bottom out completely and use a ceramic pot base wrapped in aluminum foil as a heat diffuser.

I ordered a tamale pot from Target and it was the wrong size - I sent it back and found one that fit at a local hispanic market:

the basket helps it cook longer, it seems to get clogged up without it:

 

[spressomon]

I hate it when you guys show off those photos of delicio looking smoked meats in the morning and I don't have any in the fridge to go consume.

 

[Dan2722]

Love the basket for the coals and handle to control the bottom vent. This is now on my list of mods.

BTW great looking meat coming off of this little smoker. I'm drooling for some ribs now.

 

[surfpig]

GODDAMMIT IH8 THIS FORUM!

 

[ojaij40]

GODDAMMIT IH8 THIS FORUM!

You don't like pot smokers?

 

[Dan2722]

Little update. I did my first cook in the little smoker a few weeks ago with some brats and bacon to get a feel for how it handles the temperature. I had some problems with airflow with only a bottom vent and needed to stoke the fire a few times by taking the whole pot off.

I realized I needed some additional vents to control temps so I ordered a set of the Weber WSM 18 1/2" dampers from Weber for $6.50. I installed the 3 vents and cooked a small pork butt last weekend. What a difference this made I was able to maintain temps easily at 225 - 230 for 6 hours before needing to add more fuel and the pork came out great.

Next weekend it will get it's first camping tryout when I cook two boston butts for a family event. Here is a pic of the brats and bacon cooking. I will try to get some pics next weekend with the new vents.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Okay, you are my hero! This is a great idea.

 

[bhmmapping]

Little update. I did my first cook in the little smoker a few weeks ago with some brats and bacon to get a feel for how it handles the temperature. I had some problems with airflow with only a bottom vent and needed to stoke the fire a few times by taking the whole pot off.

You can also cut the bottom of a large can of beans off, poke holes around the side high enough to keep them out of the ashes and put it over the bottom vent to keep the ash from choking the air intake. I have never had to stoke or add more fuel to mine and it has gone 12 hours plus no problem. I use the top of the can to keep a space for the lit charcoal. You can see part of the bottom of the can through the top of the can in this pic: