Smoking (BBQ)

I have not yet built a wood oven or ever even used one, so I apologize in advance for the "newbieish" question (hey it ain't easy being green), but I was wondering if it would be possible to combine a wood oven with a low temp smoker (as in bbq smoker). By this I mean capturing the smoke that comes out of the oven and somehow routing it throw an offset smoker system as it vents out. A two in one/combo/twofer unit if you will.

First thing I would think is that the oven would have to be built lower to the ground or you would have a two story contraption with a smoker built above and or beside it.

Second, a pizza oven is very high heat where a bbq is low and slow (around 200ish F) so they might not be able to co-exist.

I imagine you can grill or smoke in a pizza oven but it's such high temp you wouldn't be able to do it for long and it wouldn't get the real smoke flavour like several hour bbq smoke would.

I'm just thinking it would make for interesting pizzas to have wood fired pizza topped with wood smoked meat (I'm such a caveman).

I'm more on the creative cooking side than I am on the technical side (average) so any of you gear heads/engineering/masonry types could really help me out here (as in tell me I'm out to lunch or maybe it's just crazy enough to work).

ugg

Mongo

[jengineer]

Not out to lunch at all. Co-generation is often used to reduce the cost of utilities. Typically the exhaust of a gas turbine is used to heat water in boilers. The gas turbine runs a generator that creates electricity while the water is used for steam heat. In the summer time the heat from the steam is not needed so a steam turbine (Basically a gas turbine that runs on steam) is brought in line and now you have power from a gas turbine (fossil fuel and power from a steam turbine). A typical electric power plant that does not capture the waste heat from the turbine will have an efficiency of 30 to 40 % , adding in cogeneration can get this up near 60 to 80%. a similar setup can be used in a non gas turbine scenario where you capture the flue gas from a conventional steam powered power plant and run less "hot" stgeam through a smaller generator.

So to answer your question, use that search function because there are a few designs that have been queried about doing something similar.

hey Marcel - you are generally good at pulling up old posts - a little help?

[Mongo]

Not out to lunch at all. Co-generation is often used to reduce the cost of utilities. Typically the exhaust of a gas turbine is used to heat water in boilers. The gas turbine runs a generator that creates electricity while the water is used for steam heat. In the summer time the heat from the steam is not needed so a steam turbine (Basically a gas turbine that runs on steam) is brought in line and now you have power from a gas turbine (fossil fuel and power from a steam turbine). A typical electric power plant that does not capture the waste heat from the turbine will have an efficiency of 30 to 40 % , adding in cogeneration can get this up near 60 to 80%. a similar setup can be used in a non gas turbine scenario where you capture the flue gas from a conventional steam powered power plant and run less "hot" stgeam through a smaller generator.

So to answer your question, use that search function because there are a few designs that have been queried about doing something similar.

hey Marcel - you are generally good at pulling up old posts - a little help?

Hey thanks for the quick reply and good information. I should have done a search first 'cause I found a couple posts just like you said.

Looks like some people have considered putting the smoker under the oven or beside it as a sep. unit. My idea was to capture the smoke as it exits and put it through a metal barrel type smoker. I think the idea of maybe putting it beside is better as you can use the oven to burn the wood down to coals and then transfer the coals to the smoker.

I'm wondering too if maybe putting the smoker under the oven might not help keep the heat of the oven up as well - not sure if that is good or bad as I don't know that much about oven operation temp yet and if too high a temp is a bad thing (seems like 800 to 850ish is what people shoot for though)

[Marcel]

Past BBQ & Smoking posts

" hey Marcel - you are generally good at pulling up old posts - a little help?"

(M) Here are a few URLs that may supplement what Mongo already found:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/pomp...moker#post2189

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/intr...moker#post2165

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/pomp...ghlight=smoker

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/pomp...smoker#post494

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/gett...ghlight=smoker

(M) The preceding has no Reply but you could write to the Poster and ask how it went.

Ciao,

Marcel

[Mongo]

I found some of but not all of those old posts so thanks for finding 'em Marcel.

I'm torn between living life by your Einstein quote which I've always liked and that one someone has on here about "if you are gonna do something, overdo it". Don't know what that says about me. Then again my name is Mongo so...

[Marcel]

"overdo it or don't do it at all!"

(M) That would be paulages with 285 posts and a very interesting oven. It is set on the slab at about 45 degrees and has a roof on which Paul grows herbs that he uses in his pizza. He's also a very experienced baker. I haven't read a post from him in (paul) AGES.

Ciao,

Marcel

(P) "overdo it or don't do it at all!"