I need help! I'm building a smoker out of flower pots ala Alton Brown and I can't figure out where to find a hot plate. Any idea where one buys and old fashioned round hot plate these days?

BTW: Here's what the smoker looks like: http://homepage.mac.com/dubmann/PhotoAlbum1.html

(Jinjre, absconding with Iagoe's laptop and too lazy to log out/in)

I'd try Bed, Bath & Beyond, maybe they have one in their 'beyond' department. Or Williams Sonoma, or Kitchen Kaboodle. If that fails, VWR scientific might have something that would work for you, but since they're scientific stuff, it would be spendy.

Good ideas! Some people found them at Target, mine didn't have it though, some at Walmart or Walgreens. The search continues!

Look on the internet, silly!
Here's one on e-bay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Extra-Burner-1100-Watt-Hot-Plate_W0QQitemZ4449559781QQcategoryZ20674QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem) and another (http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Electric-Single-Burner-STOVE-HOT-PLATE-HEATER_W0QQitemZ4449637567QQcategoryZ20685QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem)

Here's one from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IUZY/qid=1143384486/sr=8-9/ref=pd_bbs_9/102-8431070-0546564?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=284507)

Looks like they come in round and square, single and double burner... instead of chasing your tail all over town, just order it! It will probably get to you faster too. :p

Nice project, by the way. I have two kamados and they're great, but I've "graduated" to a barrel-type roll top smoker with a side fire box now. I don't even know if you can find kamados these days, but the "Big Green Egg" looks like the same thing.

Nice project, by the way. I have two kamados and they're great, but I've "graduated" to a barrel-type roll top smoker with a side fire box now. I don't even know if you can find kamados these days, but the "Big Green Egg" looks like the same thing. Sounds like some serious smoking going on there!
Hey, AB built a cold smoker out of a used gym locker. That one was pretty funny.

I wanted to get my smoker built today so I could smoke something. I'm going to try an early morning pillgramage to Walmart and see what I can find.

The ones that other folks got were a little more powerful than that one at Amazon, 1150 watts I think.

Wow! I felt like I was looking for the Holy Grail today. I went to Walmart, found a hot plate, but no 16" flowerpot or 16" bowl. So went to another walmart... no luck. Went to Lowe's nada. Finally resorted to going to a pottery outlet and found one... only one left and paid double what I should have paid.

So now I have all the parts and I'm thinking of making some sausages and smoking them!

Update: We're smokin' baby!

Congrats! Glad you finally got all the supplies. I was wondering if you would, and I even thought you already had the flower pots! :D

You should get yourself a small brisket and try it. Briskets are the best for smoking, but they have to be done slowly... 4-5 hours at a consistent, low (130-150) heat! (well there is always baby back ribs, but somehow I don't think you can fit too many racks in a flowerpot!!)

Someone found a extra small grill and was able to double-decker his. Yeah, I bet I can only get 6-8 ribs on this thing. As I was driving all over hell and back looking for flower pots I was thinking one could probably build a smoker out of brick pretty easily... although the only part I have trouble conceptualizing is what sort of lid it would have. I suppose a man-hole cover would work. :D

I can see a few problems with this smoker... if you need to adjust the temperature on the hot plate, you really can't without unplugging it and letting it cool. Lifting out the grill is difficult. I need something that can hook it.

And I really hope I remember next time I get the urge to make homemade sausage what a pain in the ass and how huge of a mess it makes!

OH MY GOD! This is it! A smoker made out of a filing cabinent!

http://bbq.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=bbq&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibiblio.org%2Flineback%2Fbbq%2 Fpits.htm

Pan, why are you shopping at walmart?

Because its the only place I could find a hot plate!

Pot smoker, eh?

Ok, the report is: 2-thumbs way up! I had trouble with the hot plate, it doesn't work well, but well enough to smoke my sausages for a few hours. I'm going to find a way to boost it up a little, the bottom of the pot isn't quite big enough. The temperature never got above 130-150' and the AB pot is supposed to get to 200.

However the smokey flavor is immense!

I whipped up some sauce for the sausages: Sweet pickle juice, mustard and hot sauce. Very, very tasty!

130 to 150 should be perfect for meats and fish (but cooking time on fish is minutes, not hours). The slower you smoke, the more tender the meat will be when it's done. If it's too hot, you will overcook the outside and the inside will be tough.

Problem is it wasn't necesarily burning the wood chips at that heat though.

For the disposable crowd, here's another smoker. I love the name: The Good Eats Custom Corrugated Vapor Colloid Applicator (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/article/0,,FOOD_9956_2245800,00.html)

Cute. But I wouldn't trust it with anything that takes longer to smoke than a fish. :p

Yeah, the idea of having a hot plate inside a cardboard box makes me a little nervous.