That’s right, a refrigerator.
And not just any refrigerator.
Coldspot, Hotpoint
“You can’t use plastic refrigerators,” said Jividen, on Thursday as he sat on a bench in front of the barn across from the Hertlzer House in George Rogers Clark Park, where he and his wife, Cyndy, live.
The walls of the fridges have to be all metal.
And, like the two turkeys and chicken cooking inside that day, the refrigerator’s innards had to be removed before the smoking begins.
Having someone knowledgeable handle the Freon is the first step. After that it’s a matter of ripping out the wiring, shelves, insulation and glass. (Refrigerators don’t have gizzards.)
Jividen said his first converted fridge/smoker was “a big old Coldspot, big as your car.”
“I had three racks in the big one,” he said, enough to smoke a 50-pound box of Bowman & Landes turkey legs.
Picked up from his friend, Richard Berner, that smoker was a cart-away from a customer who bought a new refrigerator.
After 19 years, the Coldspot rusted out. On the lookout, Jividen spotted a Hotpoint behind Crawdaddy’s Bait Shop at U.S. 40 and Ohio 235.
To the question, “What are you going to do with that old refrigerator out there?” he was told, “I’ll give it to you, if you take it away.”
He did that seven or eight years ago. An economy-size, it holds two racks and required that Jividen dig a small fire pit underneath.
Rabbit hunting
The retired Clark County Park District ranger got the notion for his refrigerator/smokers years ago while visiting the Terre Haute farm of Roger Schlough, whom he worked with at the O.S. Kelly Co.
“When we came back from rabbit hunting, I thought it was on fire,” Jividen said of the refrigerator.
But being handed a smoked turkey leg from inside the fridge and having a gnaw, Jividen took to it like a fish to bait.
“I think I bought 10 more turkey legs before I got out of there.”
The rub he uses is also Schlough’s recipe, which he keeps somewhat secret. After sharing the ingredients, Jividen said, “I’m not going to give you the recipe.”
Fitted with a meat thermometer that pierces the refrigerator’s front door, the current smoker is kept at 160 to 180 degrees by way of specialized temperature controls: If it gets too hot, Jividen opens the refrigerator door.
For draft control, he adjusts a couple of two-by-fours that butt up to the bottom of the refrigerator on either side of the pit.
“It’s a slow smoking process,” he said, and his preferred wood is maple. The fridge/smoker is always fully occupied when operating.
“There’s no sense smoking anything if you’ve got an empty rack in there,” the 67-year-old said.
On Thursday two 13-pound turkeys filled the bottom rack, while turkey legs and a whole chicken cooked on the top rack.
Ducking disaster
Playing the role of community watchdogs, both a Springfield News-Sun reporter and photographer felt compelled to verify Jividen’s claims about the quality of his work. Both journalists sucked down a couple pieces of smoked chicken like hungry dogs.
“Sometimes the skin is a little stout,” Jividen advised, but the diner won’t miss the smoked flavor by discarding the skin: it penetrates the meat.
Although Jividen said his wife likes smoked duck, he developed a distaste for it after a flameout that nearly cooked his goose.
Today, though, he planned to be up by about 5 a.m. to fire up the Hotpoint, have two 12-pound turkeys in a half-hour later and finish them up by 2 or 2:30 p.m.
The meat will be reheated Thanksgiving Day.
And when his part’s done, the man who smokes turkeys in a refrigerator will do what you’d expect him to do.
Chill.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0368 or Tom.Stafford@coxinc.com.
About the Author