How to Build a U.S. Army Wooden Food Smoker
- 1). Dig a hole in the soil 3 feet deep and 6 inches wide. This will be the fire pit; the depth of the pit ensures that the food or the wood you set it on doesn't catch on fire from the heat and flames.
- 2). Build a fire with dried wood in the bottom of the pit. Use whatever you need to use to get the fire going, including leaves, fallen sticks or branches and a lighter or matches. Feed the fire with dried wood until it its burning strong.
- 3). Add green wood chips or pieces of green branches to the fire. Green wood, which has not died or begun to decay yet, contains a lot of moisture. The wood will not catch fire, but it will create a significant amount of smoke for your meat. Continue to feed the fire with both dried and green wood to keep the flames burning and smoke rolling.
- 4). Strap three to four pieces of green wood together using twine, rope or any other material you can find. Leave about ¼ to ½ inch of space between the wooden pieces. When you are finished, you have created a grate that should fit within the hole you dug.
- 5). Insert the grate about halfway down the fire pit. If necessary, dig away the wall of the pit slightly so that the grate has a small ledge to rest on. Sitting about 1 ½ feet above the fire will prevent the meat from catching fire.
- 6). Lay the meat you need to smoke on top of the grate; the smoke coming from the fire will cook the meat. Cover the fire pit with branches and leaves so that the smoke cannot escape and must stay within the fire pit, cooking your meat.
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