How to make a smokehouse with your own hands

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Take some time to assemble and surprise family and friends with homemade delicacies.

What is smoking

Smoking is a method of cooking meat, fish and other products in special closed containers under the influence of smoke. Such processing is something between baking and drying.

During smoking, food is fumigated, saturated with its characteristic aroma and taste. Due to impregnation with smoke and partial drying due to the release of moisture, a preservation effect is obtained, which additionally increases the shelf life of products.

What is the difference between hot smoking and cold smoking?

Depending on the processing temperature, smoking is divided into hot and cold. But the difference is not only in the degree of heating.

Hot smoking takes place at a temperature of 45 to 120 ° C. The process lasts from 20 minutes to several hours, after which the products are ready for use. At the same time, their shelf life is short and amounts to 3-4 days.

Cold smoked food is salted, marinated or otherwise processed, and then fumigated with smoke cooled to a temperature of 19-25 ° C. The cooking time from this increases and can reach several days. In the process, the products dry out more strongly, losing mass, but they are stored for 3-4 months.

How the smokehouse works and works

At the heart of all smokers is some kind of closed container like a barrel or metal cabinet, which plays the role of a smoking chamber.

Small chips of fruit or deciduous trees are poured into the bottom. A tray is installed on top so that fat and juice flowing from food does not burn on smoldering sawdust. After that, food is placed on hooks or grates, and a fire is made from below under the container or a stove is turned on.

After a while, the temperature inside the smokehouse rises, the wood chips begin to smolder. The emitted smoke envelops the food, completely filling the chamber and exiting through the hole in the lid. This is how hot smoking occurs.

Cold smoked smokehouses are arranged in the same way and, in fact, have only one difference. The firebox in them is located at a distance of 2-3 meters from the chamber, due to which the smoke has time to cool down during movement. A chimney is used as a chimney, sometimes it is dug into the ground. The process proceeds in the same way, only it lasts much longer.

There are also smokehouses with smoke generators - small separate devices in the form of a vertical pipe, into which chips are poured and air is pumped using a compressor. At the same time, the smoke does not heat up much, so the chamber works according to the principle of cold smoking. But if you wish, you can install additional heating inside, and then you get hot smoking.

By their design, smokehouses are simple and even, one might say, primitive. A metal cabinet, barrel or saucepan, wooden box or grandmother's chest is suitable as a camera. Even a cardboard box will do. If the container is non-combustible, you can kindle the chips directly in it, if on the contrary, you will have to build a simple smoke generator.

How to make a cold smoked smokehouse out of the box

The simplest smokehouse that can be assembled without any tools, by purchasing a few parts from the nearest hardware store.

What do you need

• Cardboard box;
• stainless steel can;
• ½ inch tee;
• nipple ½ inch;
• ½ inch extension;
• ½ inch fitting for the hose;
• 1/2 inch nut;
• tube with a diameter of 6 mm;
• reinforcement with a diameter of 8 mm, wire or skewer;
• a piece of hose with a diameter of 8 mm;
• insulating tape;
• compressor for an aquarium;
• knife;
• drill;
• drill.

How to do

1. Screw a nipple into the lower part of the tee, make a hole in the cover, and then insert the thread into it and fix it on the back with a nut.
2. Drive a tube into the fitting and screw it on one side of the tee, and fasten the extension on the other.
3. Assemble the compressor and connect its tubing to the fitting on the tee using a piece of hose. If necessary, seal the connection with electrical tape.
4. Using a drill or a knife, make a hole in the side wall of the can to ignite wood chips at a height of 1 cm from the bottom.
5. Take a thick cardboard box of a suitable size. Pass a rod made of reinforcement, wire or just a skewer through the upper part. Products will be hung here.
6. Slide the smoke generator towards the box and connect them by digging a hole for the extension cord on the tee. Punch another small hole for the smoke out on top.
7. Secure the food, cover the box with cardboard or cling film. Turn on the compressor and light the wood chips with a lighter through the hole in the wall of the can.

How to make a cold smoked wooden smokehouse with your own hands

A budget version of an uncomplicated smokehouse in the form of a wooden box and a smoke generator assembled from improvised means. The dimensions of the chamber allow you to process not only fish and sausages, but also medium cuts of meat.

What do you need

• 2 furniture boards 800 × 400 mm;
• 3 furniture boards 800 × 300 mm;
• brush with a stainless steel stand;
• 2 pairs of door handles for legs;
• 2 squeegees ½ inch;
• ⅜”quick-release fitting;
• ½ inch coupling;
• 4 ½”nuts;
• ½”by ⅜” fitting;
• 2 door hinges;
• door hook;
• hooks and rings for suspension;
• door handle for carrying;
• 1 m U-shaped profile 20 × 20 × 20 × 1.5 mm;
• aluminum or copper tube with a diameter of 6 mm;
• screws;
• compressor for an aquarium;
• screwdriver;
• drill;
• jigsaw or hacksaw;
• scissors for metal.

How to do

1. Cut one of the 800 × 300 mm shields into two parts - these will be the bottom and the roof. Set one half aside, and in the second, fasten the rings for hanging the meat on the hooks.
2. Furniture boards 800 × 400 mm will play the role of side walls. Mark and attach the hooks on which the food grids will be placed later.
3. Use screws to connect the side panels, the cover and the bottom, and also attach the back panel from the 800 × 400 mm furniture board. Make a door from the same shield and screw it on the hinges. Fasten the top and bottom profile from the inside to reinforce the sash.
4. Screw on the hook to lock the door. Place the carrying handle on top. From the bottom, screw on the wooden door handles, which will act as legs-stands.
5. Remove the cover from the brush stand and cut the body by removing the perforated top. Cut off the released handle and adapt it as a handle.
6. Drill three holes in the resulting glass: one at the bottom and two more at the top (opposite each other). Extend the top holes to 11–12 mm so that fittings can be inserted.
7. Connect the two squeegees with a coupling, screw a nut onto the edge of the thread, and then insert it into the hole and tighten it with the other nut from the inside. The squeegee should protrude 15–20 mm in the body.
8. Insert a ½”by ⅜” fitting into the second hole and thread a quick-disconnect fitting with a 6 mm tubing inserted into it. Its length should be such that the tube 20–25 mm enters the squeegee from the opposite side.
9. Connect the hose from the compressor to the nipple. Drill a hole in the wall of the smokehouse for the smoke generator tube and connect them.
10. It remains to put a tray on the bottom to collect fat, set fire to wood chips, turn on the compressor and start smoking.

How to make a hot smoked smokehouse from a barrel

The classic version of the barrel smokehouse. Below is a firebox with a chimney, on top - a smoking chamber. It can be assembled with a minimum amount of tools.

What do you need

• Barrel;
• pipe;
• loops;
• fittings;
• screws;
• net;
• bricks;
• angle grinder (angle grinder) with cutting disc;
• screwdriver;
• pliers;
• hammer.

How to do

1. Fill the barrel to the top with water to play it safe against possible ignition of gases from old contents.
2. Using a grinder, cut off the top third and turn it over with the lid down. Make cuts 10-15 mm deep along the contour and bend it slightly.
3. Place the second part on top and hammer in the resulting petals with a hammer, thus connecting both parts. A structure with a double bottom will come out: from below - a firebox, from above - a smoking chamber.
4. Fire the barrel thoroughly over a fire to remove the paint.
5. Mark the hole for the chimney in the wall of the firebox and make several cuts in diameter through the center. Bend the resulting teeth carefully. Insert the pipe inside and fix it by screwing the petals with screws. Attach the upper part of the chimney to the body with a metal strip.
6. Cut out the door in the wall of the firebox. Before cutting through the metal to the end, fasten the hinges so that the sash does not sag. Attach a hook or similar for closure. Drill several holes below the door for air inlet.
7. Lay bricks on the top bottom, pour wood chips between them, and on top place a tray to collect fat and juice.
8. Drill holes in the walls and insert fittings into them for hanging hooks or installing a lattice.
9. Put a couple of bricks in the firebox, and on them - a metal plate or ready-made grates for better combustion.
10. Use a suitable piece of metal or burlap for the lid. The latter option is even better: so the condensate will be absorbed, and not drain onto the meat, imparting unnecessary bitterness.

How to make a do-it-yourself hot-smoked mobile smokehouse

Compact and mobile smokehouse with two deep baking trays and a wire rack of a suitable size. Can be used on a picnic or on a fishing trip to prepare the catch immediately.

What do you need

• Two deep baking sheets or kettles;
• lattice;
• nails or office clips.

How to do

1. Select two baking trays or pots of the same size to put them together to get the volume you need.
2. Find a grate that fits inside. If you can't get a ready-made one, make it out of wire or metal mesh. Attach legs or bend the edges of the grate so that there is a couple of centimeters between it and the bottom.
3. Sprinkle soaked wood chips or thin alder twigs into the bottom of the baking sheet. Place the wire rack on top and place the meat or fish on it.
4. Cover all this with a second baking sheet, secure it with nails inserted into the holes of the handles, stationery clips or in another way.
5. It remains to put an impromptu smokehouse on a small fire and start the cooking process.

How to make a cold smoked smokehouse with a pit

The classic design of a simple cold smoker with a chimney and a firebox in the ground. The fire is located at a distance of 2-3 meters, and the smoke enters the chamber already cooled.

What do you need

• Barrel or other container;
• bricks;
• pipe or several sheets of metal;
• fittings;
• lid;
• shovel.

How to do

1. Try to find a place with a natural slope. Dig a pit 50 cm deep and 40 × 50 cm in the lower part. Reinforce the bottom and walls of the resulting firebox with bricks or metal sheets.
2. At a distance of 2-3 meters, dig another pit, the size of the barrel and with a depth of 20-25 cm. Dig a trench to connect both holes. Form a slight slope towards the firebox.
3. Bend or cut the wall in the barrel from the side of the chimney. You can simply lift it up on bricks to connect the trench to the smoking chamber.
4. Place a metal pipe in the ditch or simply cover it with metal sheets to create a kind of tunnel. Sprinkle with a layer of earth for airtightness.
5. At the top of the barrel, install rods from the reinforcement for hanging products. Use a piece of burlap or metal with multiple holes as a lid.
6. After lighting the fire in the firebox, cover it with a sheet of tin lid to extinguish the fire and create smoldering. The resulting smoke will go through the tunnel, and the food in the barrel will begin to smoke.