How to Build a Barbeque Pit Smoker
- 1). Dig a hole that's approximately 3 feet wide and deep. Position the hole well away from flammable objects, buildings and overhanging branches. The flames in the pit won't be high, but it's always better to be safe.
- 2). Line the inside of the hole with bricks. Start at the bottom and press two bricks firmly into the soil. Surround those bricks with four more bricks and so on, moving out and up until the entire hole is lined. Use some of the soil you dug out of the hole to fill in the spaces between the bricks. This lining helps hold in heat, especially in cool spring or autumn soil.
- 3). Build a small pile of hardwood chips in the bottom of your pit. Light them on fire, quickly adding a few more chips. As those chips burn, add a handful or two more. Continue this way until you have a bed of smoldering chips approximately 6 inches deep.
- 4). Soak some 1-inch-thick branches in cold water for about two hours while your wood chips catch and smolder. Gently shake the excess water from the branches and lay them grid-style in the bottom of your fire pit, right on top of the smoking chips.
- 5). Wrap your meat in dry brown butcher paper. Soak a second piece of butcher paper and wrap it around the dry wrapping. Repeat this step two more times. This ensures that your meat has plenty of wet insulation and moisture.
- 6). Place the meat on top of the branch grid. Cover the hole with a large wooden board, the soil you dug from the hole and one or two old blankets or tarps. Allow your meat to roast for up to 12 hours.
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