Looking for bar-b-que/smoker in santiago

You have to make your own.

Check with a herreria (? Metal working shop?) and have one made. There is prolly some shop that semi-specializes in them.

I found a guy here that as going to make one out of a 55g or 30g drum for $RD3000 complete...IF I supplied the drum. That as the problem: finding a decent drum that never contained petro products. There is a store on the autopista going into Santo Domingo that has a bazillion drums.

cobraboy said:

You have to make your own.

Check with a herreria (? Metal working shop?) and have one made. There is prolly some shop that semi-specializes in them.

I found a guy here that as going to make one out of a 55g or 30g drum for $RD3000 complete...IF I supplied the drum. That as the problem: finding a decent drum that never contained petro products. There is a store on the autopista going into Santo Domingo that has a bazillion drums.

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Are these style BBQ a better alternative(woodburning) or should one install a propane feed making it more like a traditional BBQ.
I ask because the lack of good wood around and the length of time wood needs to get to cooking temp as well the cleanup after use.

WTG check out this home made Caja Chino

http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image002.html
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image003.html
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image004.html

They cook like an oven from the top. You can do whole pigs, goats, chickens...they don't over cook the meats and the top an be used as a cook surface as well...big time popular with the Cuban community in Miami....just google caja chino plans...and you'll be shown different varities FELIZ NAVIDAD

pyratt said:

WTG check out this home made Caja Chino

http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image002.html
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image003.html
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/Image004.html

They cook like an oven from the top. You can do whole pigs, goats, chickens...they don't over cook the meats and the top an be used as a cook surface as well...big time popular with the Cuban community in Miami....just google caja chino plans...and you'll be shown different varities FELIZ NAVIDAD

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My Cuban friends in Miami use Chinese Ovens to roast the Christmas pig, all basted with garlic, basil, oegano and Lime juics.

Succulent.

waytogo said:

Doe's the lava rock still produce a good flavor for the meat and what is the life expectancy of lava rock. That's probably a dumb question being that it's named lava rock, but I had to ask.

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Lava rock is used to disburse heat evenly when cooking with gas burners because gas is fed via a line to a "burner"...the burner heats the lava rocks which transfers the heat to each other thus distributing the heat....river rocks may do the same thing...I'm not a geologist

....there are two ways to bar-b-que....NATURALLY, using fuels like woods, charcoal and other fuels "consumed" by fire OR using fuel (plg or electricity) to create heat.

The taste from using natural fuels is far superior that to that of cooking with gas unless you add water soaked woods such as mequite, hickory or dried wood from fruit trees....that is done by soaking the wood (or chips) in water and then adding them to the fire/heat.

You originally said you wanted a smoker...I've made them from old beer kegs, barrels, and metal boxes (nothing galvanized, it gets into the food)...use unpainted aluminum or stainless steel for the grill and any parts used to contain the heat.

If your people are going to cook from a stationary spot try this:

http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

If you scroll down the page, they show you how to build a grill from building blocks (concrete block), steel fence and aluminum foil...this is the cheapest way (short of digging a pit) I've found to create a good grill....for little money.

windeguy said:

It is absolutely correct that using natural wood will provide the best flavor. Finding that natural wood is another issue here in "hard to find stuff land", so I opted for the gas grill solution. Lava rock is used to disperse the heat more evenly from the gas flames. (They use a stainless steel baffle system in grills made today - I suppose you could have those made instead of using rock). The rock I actually used is a ceramic stone used for older gas grills as an improvement over lava rock and it should last for years. Lava rock will degrade faster and need to be replaced more frequently.

When we grill at our house in Jarabacoa, we use charcoal, but I always feel slightly guilty about that here on this island.

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Our very own Texas Bill says that there is wood readily available here that is almost like mesquite. If you search the threads you should find something.

I am thinking about buying a Bradley electric smoker. I know it is cheating but with me it is about the eating and not about the cooking.