OK all of you onetwopi.com fans - this is one of the greatest AK adventures yet. As it turns out, I was afforded a day home from work today due to a rotation in an exercise. I had been looking at smoker grills for a while, and in my research, I saw a couple of folks that build smokers from various materials. Char and I had seen a show on food network a while back where a guy built one from some terra cotta pots.

Well, in my Home Depot wanderings, I found terra cotta a bit too expensive ... what is a reasonable substitute? How about an aluminum trash can?!?

Step 1: Gather supplies: aluminum trash can ($15 at Home Depot), hot plate (thanks Mom & Dad Davis), old 13x9 pan (thanks Char), grill grate (swiped off of my broken gas grill)

Step 2: Cut the grill grate down to size to fit into the trash can (I made mine swing for easy access to the coals)

Step 3: Drill holes in the can to fit the grate in there (easier said than done ... a little geometry goes a long way)

Step 4: Cut a hole in the aluminum can near the bottom for the hot-plate plug

Step 5: Set it up and get grilling

The theory is that you put the 13x9 (could be an 8x8 I guess) on top of the hot plate with some hard wood bits that have been soaked in water. Plug in the hot plate, and it slowly cooks the wood and creates insane amounts of smoke. Your food is only heated at a temperature of about 225-235 degrees F so it takes a little while. But boy is it worth it!

I ran a small test run of some smoked salmon. Huge success! Very delicious - even Char liked it (she doesn't like smoked foods). And it made some really good salmon dip!

Anyway, I know I owe some pictures of the latest visitors (DEREK AND ADAM!!), but I had to get this out there. See you soon!