Years ago my dad and I built a smoker out of wood. I looked ‘very much’ like an outhouse. We drilled about six one inch holes just below the roof line on all sides and plugged them with corks. Next (it was on a side hill) we dug a trench about twelve feet long which came up inside of it. Then we built the fire pit at the end of the trench. Then we ran a long section of stove pipe in the trench and covered it up. We smoked many things, meats and fish, but did it with a few days of cold smoke. We controlled the temperature by the size of the fire, and the number of corks we removed and which side, depending on the winds.
Smoke contains formalin (formaldehyde) (used by the old morticians) and it does cure foods. Cold smoke is far superior to roasting with smoke added. 
Build one, you’ll see!
Oh, yes, we did cut a small crescent moon in the door. Disguised it from snoopy folks.
The propane smokers do work great. It easy to to maintain a constant temperature for a long period of time. At some point my gas smoker rusted out and I never replaced it. Now, I just smoke everything on my Weber kettle grill. This requires adding charcoal and wood chunks every hour. I do miss the gas smoker at times.
My favorite choice of wood these days is pecan. This is a nice mild smokey flavor. The traditional smoking woods down here in Texas - mesquite, hickory, oak - can get too strong a flavor if your not careful. I don’t worry about that with pecan.
My brinkman is running as we speak. I use mesquite. I’m going to throw some ABT’s on for the last hour or so and see how they turn out. I haven’t tried those before.
My ABT’s are jalape?os stuffed with cream cheese and a little smokie with bacon wrapped around it. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
I may go to propane one of these days. Seems a lot easier, but I’m concerned there won’t be as much smoke flavor as the charcoal.
You still get plenty of smoke flavor
I also have the Weber Smokey Mountain. One of the best investments I’ve made.
The smoker is very user friendly and once you stabilize the temp it’ll smoke overnight. I usually keep the temp around 210-250. Overnight smokes are simple and pretty foolproof once you get the hang of it. Easy to do with what bbq’ers call the Minion Method.
Try smoking meatloaf in one- you have to kick up the temp to 350 but it’s the best tasting meatloaf you can sink your teeth into. With the same temp you can make outstanding chicken. Brine the chicken overnight and slap it on the WSM. Put a favorite rub under the skin and ohhh la weee!
Castwell, keep one in mind. They’re expensive, but like Curtis Mathes, darn well worth it.
Another one that’s pretty nice is the Bradley. Another expensive one but I have a couple friends that have one and they also love it. Very easy and worry free.
Wow - I never would have thought we had so many closet smoke junkies around this site. Not that I’m complaining!
OB - I’ve noticed no appeciable difference in the quality of the smoke or flavor after switching from charcoal to propane. While a stick burner or a charcoal smoker are certainly the more “traditional” methods, propane and electric smokers all produce the same end results as long as you are providing an appropriate souce material to make smoke. It’s kind of like debating bamboo vs fiberglass vs graphite as a fly rod material. They all work and in the hands of someone that know’s what they’re doing, they all make magic happen!
Hope the ABT’s turn out! They are fast becoming one of my favorites. Since we’re at or near the peak in pepper season the farmers markets are loaded with bunches of them! Good luck, hope the smoke turned out. By the way what are you cooking with that mesquite besides the ABT’s?
How do you smoke meat on a Weber kettle grill?
Thanks,
Tom
I cooked a couple of chickens on the lower rack, then filled the top with ABT’s. They were good. Some of the family thought they were a bit too hot, so next time I might try some using banana peppers instead.
So, when is someone gonna stuff one of these things with Spam? 
On one side of the grill the coals go on the other side an aluminum pan half filled with water.
Adjust vents to control the temp. add 10 to 12 unlit coals about every hour. Meat goes on the grate over the pan of water.
At least that’s the way I do it
As we speak I have a 8 pound boneless pork shoulder going on my propane smoker it should be done in 5 to 7 hours and is smelling great already.
I will post pics later when it is done.
OMG!!! You guys are driving me crazy!!!
We gave away our grill this spring, and I miss it! All this talk of smoked meats makes me want to go buy another one!
Need to go fishing to take my mind off it!
Betty good luck with the fishing and don’t forget to stop and pick up a smoker on the way home.
OB - Try Anahiems. They’re pretty mild and preferred by the whimpier members of my clan. One trick with the Japapeno’s is to use a grapefruit spoon (you know the kind with the serated edges on the front half) and scrape out all the ribs and seeds. Gets them a bit milder for the folks with a low tolerance for hot food.
Happy smoking!
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[COLOR=black]for JC and the rest of you Cold Smoke fans, is 150 - 160 deg about what you’re looking for? There’s a Georgia country boy by the name of Alton Brown on FoodNetWork channel you might consider watching. He smokes salmon at ~150? - 160? [FONT=Verdana]in a cardboard box ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMk-y6330aE ), pork in a terra-cotta flower pot ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ka2kpzTAL8 ). If nothing else, [/FONT]I think you’ll enjoy his ingenuity . . .
? smc ?
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The Pulled Pork from yesterday was my best effort yet. I have pictures to post which I was going to post this morning but with all the left over salads and sides from yesterday the Wife called everyone back for round 2
As we speak I have a slab of spare ribs and a beef brisket going on the smoker and in a few hours I will add some polish sausage.
Recipe for my rub and my Carolina red sauce will be posted tomorrow as well as some pictures of the finished product.
Lets see if this works