[learc83]

You can build a really cheap smoker out of a ceramic flower pot. I built one after I saw Alton Brown talking about it.

Mine is almost exactly like this one, except that I replaced the top pot with a ceramic lid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAydLWYGoJA

I've been thinking about building a PID controller for it (I already have the equipment from a project I did for an embedded systems lab in college), but I'm worried I'll end up eating way too much barbecue.

[jqm]

I've built a couple of smokers out of cardboard boxes and they were fantastic.

I got a large box (like refrigerator might come in), cut the bottom out and cut a door leaving one side for the hinge. I then used a pencil to poke some hole and ran dowels through the box horizontally to put the racks on. An electric hotplate and a cast iron skillet full of apple wood chips provides the smoke. I put it on the concrete and put the box over the top of it. I put a meat thermometer in the top of the box. Warning: the first time I did this, the concrete under the box was also smoked and I had a large black square on my patio. Cover the concrete with tinfoil to avoid this.

This method produces a lot of smoke and not much heat. I've done salmon and a couple of turkeys like this. I let them smoke for 4 or 5 hours, then finish them off in the oven. Rave reviews on the turkey at thanksgiving. The whole thing cost like $10 to make (I already had the hotplate).