Smokehouse: types and step-by-step manufacturing instructions

There are a lot of smoked products lovers among us. In order not to spend a lot of money on buying it in stores, many are already using home smoking. You can opt for a factory model or make a similar design yourself.

Almost any smokehouse is a box (usually metal), which contains a metal grate or hooks for food. Smoking takes place by fumigating them with cold or hot smoke, which gives them a special taste and aroma.

poultry houses differ from each other in the principle of operation and placement. Factory smokehouses are often expensive, but still the demand for them has not diminished for many years. Also, with the help of smoking, you can extend the shelf life of products several times.

Stores offer a huge selection of smoked products, but it clearly cannot be compared with home smoked products. The fact is that when making products for mass sale, the manufacturer does not pay due attention to the rules of safe smoking and often uses "liquid smoke" and other questionable additives. And real connoisseurs know that the taste and color of the product depend on the method of pickling or salting before smoking, the type of sawdust and other important factors that are simply not taken into account in mass production.

There are cold and hot smoked smokehouses. Smoked meats obtained by the first method are drier and denser in structure. When smoked hot, food retains its fat content. When you just came up with the idea of ​​making or purchasing a home smokehouse, you should immediately determine which products are loved most in the family. Based on this, it is already possible to choose the design of the device.

Smokehouses differ from each other in the principle of operation and the placement of the firebox. So, in a hot-smoked smokehouse, the chamber with the products is heated using an open fire or an electrical appliance located under the device. In this way, hot smoke is formed, which envelops the food and brings it to readiness.

The figure shows diagrams of the simplest smokehouses with options for placing some parts and products:

Cold smoking takes place in a very similar way. The main difference is that the smoke has time to cool down before it reaches the product. The temperature in such smokehouses is 35-40 degrees, and the cold smoking process itself can take several days. Its independent equipment will also be more difficult when compared to a hot smokehouse. But this does not stop lovers of homemade smoked meats without any impurities and additives.

The simple diagram in the figure shows the principle of operation of such a smokehouse:

Hot smoking is carried out at a smoke temperature of 60 to 120 degrees, therefore it takes much less time than cold smoking. Here the relationship is inversely proportional: when the heat decreases, the cooking time increases. All hot smoked smokehouses have a typical design: a container, inside which there is a grate (hooks) for food, a metal tray and sawdust at the bottom. This container is placed over an open fire or a preheated oven so that the sawdust begins to smolder, forming the hot smoke necessary for smoking.

Another important point: such a smokehouse must be hermetically closed with a lid.so that you can control the temperature throughout the entire process and remove excess smoke from the chamber. Purchased models of smokers can be equipped with a compressor for a smoke generator, fans, a temperature controller, a control unit and special thermometers. But home smoking can be done without these additional details.

The main design difference for cold smoking is an elongated chimney through which smoke goes from smoldering sawdust to the product. Fish and meat prepared in this way can be stored for up to 60 days. The design consists of three main elements: a smoking chamber, a firebox and a chimney that connects them. The smoke circulation can be regulated with a special damper. Often, the lid or door in the ignition chamber plays its role.

This is a device that allows smoke to continuously flow into the smoking chamber. It is used both for cold smoking and hot smoking.

Advantages:

• constant flow of smoke inside during the entire process;
• less fuel is used to get the right amount of smoke;
• the smoke is at a constant temperature;
• the process does not require constant monitoring.

The smoke generator is arranged quite simply. It looks like a pipe with hoses that connect two chambers: food and smoldering sawdust. The smoke is blown in by a household compressor. All that is needed for the operation of the smoke generator is electricity and smoldering fuel.

We figured out the types of smokers by the way of smoking. Now it's worth considering the various designs. There are 4 main varieties for hot smoking. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Mini smokers have gained great popularity due to their compactness, light weight and ease of use. They are also called portable or outdoor. Often they are used by hunters, fishermen and tourists, because the mobility of the structure is very important for them. Such structures are made of stainless steel 2-3 cm thick, because the smokehouse will often heat up. This material is resistant to corrosion and high temperatures. For comparison - a smokehouse made of ordinary metal will last 1-2 years, and from a stainless steel - all 10 years.

To do this, you can use a saucepan, brazier, or metal bucket. The heat in the chamber comes from an open fire or an electric stove, the temperature during smoking is from 90 degrees. Thanks to this, food is prepared very quickly: from 30 to 60 minutes. A mini smoker can be compared to an oven or smoker, in which the product is saturated with hot smoke.

Using this device in the field, you need to immediately consume cooked food in order to prevent spoilage. Outwardly, such smokehouses are very similar to a microwave oven. The only drawback is the low-capacity camera, which does not hold many products at a time.

For those who do not have a summer residence or the possibility of leaving the city, they created smokehouses for cooking within the apartment.The principle of operation of such a structure will be similar to other types, only an electric stove or gas will serve as a heating source.

The complete set of home smokers has parts that eliminate the inconvenience during cooking.

• Chimney. When smoking at home, it is very important to bring the smoke outside. For this purpose, a hole is made in the lid with a hose that extends through the window. It is this method of getting rid of smoke that is mandatory, because a conventional hood can cope with this task, but further through the ventilation, the smoke will go to the neighbors' apartments.
• Water seal. It is necessary to prevent the penetration of smoke and burning out. This is a kind of gutter with water, which is located between the wall of the smoking chamber and the edges of the lid. The water, in turn, prevents smoke from seeping through.
• Lid. For indoor smokehouses, only a sealed cover is needed. You can also use a water seal - these are interchangeable parts, but it will be better if both are present.

Factory devices for use in an apartment are also made of stainless steel with a thickness of 2-3 mm, they can last up to 12 years. You can do something similar yourself from an old saucepan, for example. It will not be very easy to make a water seal, so it is better to ensure the tightness of the lid using rubber gaskets.

Such a device is also well suited for smoking at home - you just need to put sawdust inside, close the lid and connect it to the network.

There are several of its main advantages.

• Compactness. The dimensions of a home electric smokehouse allow you to store it in an ordinary kitchen cabinet.
• No special skills required. It is enough to assemble the device, read the operating instructions and set the desired temperature regime. The mechanism will do everything by itself.
• Fast cooking. Due to its complete tightness, the structure retains heat throughout the entire smoking process and you can get ready-made products in 30-60 minutes.
• Full set. The presence of all the necessary parts allows you not to worry about flue gas discharge or temperature control yourself.
• Guarantee. When buying a low-quality smokehouse, you can exchange it or get your money back. Often, a defect becomes obvious already during the first cooking.
• Affordable price. Now the market provides a fairly large selection of such structures at an affordable price.

This smokehouse is powered by electricity and is used to smoke sausages, lard, fish, cheese, meat, vegetables and many other products. Such structures are often used in restaurants. It's all about the large volume of the smoking chamber: one load can hold up to 200 kg of products. This is very convenient when the establishment is very busy.

In addition to professional automatic smokehouses, there are several household models:

• for cold smoking;
• universal models;
• charcoal smokehouses;
• with an open tubular electric heater - only chips or sawdust are suitable for kindling such a model.

Automatic smokehouses for domestic use are convenient in that they do not require special skills and constant monitoring of the process, as, for example, when smoking on wood. Among industrial smokehouses, it is possible to distinguish multifunctional (can be used as a roasting cabinet and carry out hot and cold smoking) and stationary smoking ovens (can be two-tier, include a hob and perform from 1 to 6 processes at once).

Every detail for such a structure is made for long-term functioning and durability. The smoke generator is often made from old barrels or metal cylinders. It can also be made of bricks. The chimney is often placed below the level of both chambers. The dimensions of the smoking chamber depend on the number of blanks that are planned to be made.The best option would be a metal tank for 20-230 liters.

As a smoking chamber, a body from an old refrigerator or washing machine is well suited. By getting rid of unnecessary elements, you can get the perfect steel container. The chimney must be tightly connected to the chambers and also be stationary. It is important to ensure that its operation is not affected by weather conditions. Before equipping the chimney from old pipes, you must make sure that the metal, when heated, does not harm the products.

Lightweight collapsible design that is easy to move. The smoke generator is often made of metal and welded. Manufacturing of a smoking chamber is allowed both from metal and from wood. The chimney is made from a pipe in a similar way to a stationary model.

Cold smoking in field conditions is greatly simplified. An ordinary pit with sawdust and a sheet of metal acts as a smoke generator. From below, this sheet is heated by coals or a fire. For the equipment of the chimney, a trench is simply pulled out in the ground and covered with some dense material at hand (a board, for example).

A smoking chamber can be made by simply covering a vertical frame made of wooden or metal pegs with polyethylene to create something like a dome. It is important to provide for the tightness of the upper part of the structure. To do this, you can simply pull the polyethylene from above into a bundle and tie it with a rope. When you need a hole for a draft, you just need to loosen the rope.

The smokehouse material must be able to withstand high temperatures, not react to moisture and be easy to clean. Stainless steel is ideal.

Material advantages:

• Does not corrode. This is especially important if you plan to use your smokehouse outdoors. For comparison, ferrous metals can collapse to holes in the walls.
• Stainless steel is easy enough to remove after cooking.
• Does not emit vapors harmful to health during heating.

The optimal thickness of the steel sheet is 2-3 cm. If it is thinner, it deforms rather quickly, if thicker, this will complicate the smoking process and increase the weight of the structure. Stainless steel is used for all types of factory smokehouses. But there are also alternative material options that you can use for self-production. Let's take a look at some of them.

This option is well suited for those who have a summer cottage and plan to make delicacies for sale. Such a smokehouse is quite large and can accommodate a lot of food at a time. It can be equipped as an extension to the house or as a separate element. Having determined the size, location on the site and a detailed design of the structure, you can proceed to the purchase of building materials.

For the construction you will need:

• red and silicate bricks;
• cement and sand;
• wooden beam;
• roofing material;
• a pipe with a diameter of about 100 - 150 mm for chimney equipment;
• door and hinges.

Wood is an environmentally friendly material that does not emit any harmful toxins and does not emit an unpleasant odor when heated. For the manufacture of a smokehouse, oak, alder, apple tree are well suited. The main requirement for wood is a dense structure and resistance to various weather conditions.

Materials needed to make a wooden smokehouse.

• a wooden beam from which the frame will be erected;
• Treated boards with a thickness of 0.8 - 1 cm - they will be attached to the frame in two layers to ensure the tightness of the structure;
• roofing material;
• Red brick;
• silicate brick;
• waterproofing material;
• pipes with diameters of 10 cm and 20-25 cm;
• sheet of metal.

The shape of the smoking chamber is determined by the reservoir that was taken as its basis. If the equipment is made independently from start to finish, then the form can be chosen independently. Circular, cylindrical or rectangular chambers are optimal. Some craftsmen make forged molds for the equipment of the smoking chamber.

When buying a device, you need to focus on your preferences and plans. In principle, with the assembly of a smokehouse, everything is exactly the same way, only you have to take into account more features. What you should decide before making a smokehouse:

• Material. Obviously, it will be metal, but it is important to decide which one. If a bucket, barrel or other household items are adapted for the smoking chamber, the choice is obvious. Brick is more often used for the base, however, in the absence of experience, a leaky structure may result.
• Mobility. This issue is easiest to solve, because few people need two types of smokehouses at once - stationary and portable. It is much more logical to make a universal smokehouse for both types of smoking.
• The size of the capacity of the smoking chamber. You should decide on the products that you would like to smoke. Based on the number of people in the family or from plans to sell a product, you can calculate the dimensions.

Here are the step-by-step instructions for assembling a cold smoked smokehouse made of wood.

• After choosing a suitable place, you need to dig two holes at a distance of about 20-25 cm from each other. The first one should be located on a hill, then it will be equipped with a smoking chamber. The second is for the firebox, a little lower. The optimum depth of the pit for the smoking chamber is 35-40 cm. This depth will ensure the retention and cooling of the smoke.
• Further, these pits are connected by a trench. The chimney will later fit into it. We make the width of the trench corresponding to the width of the pipe (with a small allowance).

• It is necessary to thoroughly tamp the bottom of the pit, which is intended for the firebox, and then fill it with sand and gravel (6-7 cm).
• Cement mortar is poured onto the crushed stone from above. To strengthen the screed on cement, after complete drying, you need to lay a reinforcing mesh, which is poured with a second layer of cement and sand approximately 40 mm thick.

• A pipe is placed at the bottom of the trench, which will serve as a chimney. It should be shorter than the trench, so that later you can attach a piece of pipe with a large diameter to it. A chimney equipped in this way will allow the smoke to cool down to the optimum temperature. It is important to take into account that a pipe with a large diameter should go into the tank of the smoking chamber by about 15 cm.
• When several rows of bricks have been laid in the combustion chamber, it's time to equip the door. The size of the window must be large enough to conveniently lay the fuel mixture.

• The foundation for the smoking chamber is laid out of bricks. The evenness of the walls is controlled by the building level.
• When the brick base is completed, you can fill the trench with a pipe with concrete. Particular attention should be paid to the area where two pipes with different diameters are joined and the section where the chimney enters the combustion chamber. It is not necessary to fill the trench completely with the mortar, because then a layer of soil 7-8 cm thick will follow.If gaps or cracks remain after drying, they should be filled with clay or compacted soil.

• To check that everything is going according to plan, you can set fire to sawdust or any other natural material in the firebox. If everything is equipped correctly, the smoke will escape into the basement hole without obstruction.
• Next comes the manufacture of a smoking chamber from wood. First you need to cut all the necessary parts (their number and size directly depends on the dimensions of the structure). You can fasten the elements with self-tapping screws or nails.

• When sheathing the frame, the boards must first be laid vertically relative to each other, and then horizontally. This will provide the required tightness. You should not use lining for cladding, because over time it can expand under the influence of high temperatures, which will lead to deformation of the walls. All walls are sheathed, except for the side, so that later you can freely fix the rods and hooks on which the products will be suspended.
• Next, the door is installed. It can be purchased or homemade, and the joints can be closed with corners made of wood or metal. Some people drill a special hole in the door into which a thermometer is inserted. This will allow you to control the temperature inside the smoking chamber without opening the door once again.

• The bottom should be left open as this will allow smoke to enter the chamber.
• To increase the resistance of the smoking chamber to moisture and weather conditions, it should be treated with a water-repellent impregnation. It can be found on the shelves of building materials stores.
• The last step is to install a wooden camera on a brick plinth. The fastening of the two elements can be carried out using metal brackets, which, on the one hand, are fixed on the surface of the boards, on the other, on the brick walls.

Now we will consider all the stages of making a hot smoked smokehouse, which is based on an ordinary household barrel. In this design, there is no need to place the smoking chamber and the firebox at a distance, they can be located directly above each other.

Smokehouse equipment from a barrel.

• The bottom of the barrel needs to be drilled in several places. These holes will act as a blower for the firebox and at the same time excess ash will pour out through them.
• A small opening is cut out for further installation of the door. A rectangle measuring 20 by 30 cm will be enough. A handle or a string is attached to the door itself, for which it can be opened without scalding.
• If you divide the whole barrel into parts, then 2 out of 3 will fall on the smoking chamber, and 1 part will be occupied by the firebox. These spaces must be separated by a metal sheet approximately 4 mm thick, welded to the sides of the barrel.
• The chimney is inserted into a hole in the lower part of the chamber and is also welded to the side of the barrel.

Then everything is according to the standard: installation of a tray for dripping fat, equipment of grates and hooks for hanging food, a sealed lid. A schematic of a hot smoked smokehouse from a barrel looks like this: It is advisable to install a thermometer with a sensor on the barrel. It will help to avoid many mistakes when testing the device. Having figured out the basic principles of the smokehouse and its device, you can improvise with materials and manufacturing methods. In any case, the ideal product is unlikely to be obtained the first time, and it will take time to make the necessary adjustments to the operation of the device.

• When building a cold smoked smokehouse, it is worth remembering that the shorter and wider the trench is, the faster the smoke will enter the product chamber. It is necessary to calculate the optimal length so that the smoke has time to cool, otherwise the chimney simply will not perform its main function.
• When making the pipe long, be sure to tilt it by 10-15 degrees. This is necessary so that the smoke does not stagnate for a long time at the upper wall of the pipe and does not cool down ahead of time.
• To avoid the problems described above, you should immediately decide on the products that will be smoked most often. Smoking protein products (meat, fish) requires more time than vegetable products.

• It is important to take seriously the process of preparing products for smoking. Meat or fish should be grated with coarse salt and left in the refrigerator for several days.Salt kills bacteria by taking moisture from food. To remove excess salt, soak the product for a couple of hours in clean water. Then it must be dried in a dry place, after which you can start smoking.
• Smoke can affect the taste of a product no less than salt or pepper. For proper smoke, you need sawdust from fruit trees. In principle, many sawdust is suitable for smoking, except for conifers: they give food a bitter taste.

• Hot smoked products are stored for about 10 hours. If there is a need to extend this period, you can use vacuum packaging or freezing. But it is obvious that after defrosting, the taste of the product will no longer be so pleasant.
• When equipping a smokehouse, you can add an additional pallet to the structure, on which you can store firewood for kindling. This is especially true for monumental stationary buildings.
• The size of the mini-smokehouse can be absolutely any. The main thing to consider is a gap of a few centimeters from the walls of the smokehouse to the food.

• If the humidity is high during outdoor cooking, you can increase the fire intensity so that the cooking does not drag on for hours.
• It is important not to overdo it with the thickness of the smokehouse walls. For example, a barrel with walls larger than 3 mm will not work, because in this case the heating process will take a very long time and the result may be disappointing.
• A damaged refrigerator will work well as a base for a smoker, even if it is cracked. We need to make some minor repairs: patch them up with iron plates.

• In the event that the smoke turns out to be too black, fresh grass can be added to the fuel.
• Some summer residents specifically moisten the fuel to reduce the amount of soot on their food. But professionals advise using only well-dried wood chips, and wrap the products with gauze and bandage them before starting smoking.
• When smoking fish, the rule of proportions of the product and the sawdust used must be observed. For 3 kg of fish (or about 40 liters of a smoking chamber), only one handful of sawdust is required. This will be quite enough, because the smoke does not fill the chamber immediately, but within 20-25 minutes. During this time, the fish manages to be saturated with a unique aroma, which is determined by the type of wood for sawdust.

• If you overdo it with the amount of sawdust, this may not be the best way to affect the taste of products and even harm human health.
• Homemade smokehouses quite often completely burn out in the bottom. To avoid this, you need to take care of high-quality metal for the bottom equipment at the very beginning.
• If there is not enough space in the summer cottage to equip a chimney of the required length, it can be made bent or a smoke cooler can be placed on the pipe. This role is perfectly handled by a brass pipe, which needs to be wrapped around the chimney. The cold water in this tube will cool the smoke properly.

• Some resort to such tricks as wet sacking stretched over the combustion chamber. It will be able to let through smoke, while retaining ash, fumes and other pollutants in itself.
• If there is no thermometer, you can check the smoking temperature with water by sprinkling the lid of the smoker with it. If evaporation occurs without hissing, the temperature is permissible. If water hisses when it gets on the case, the temperature must be reduced.

Quite popular model for cold smoking "Summer resident"... The device can be connected to an exhaust hood thanks to the flexible chimney. The processing of products with smoke is carried out at a temperature of 20 to 28 degrees, and the smokehouse itself operates from the mains. Manufacturing material - stainless steel.

Items included:

• tubular electric heater;
• smoking chamber;
• fat tray;
• Temperature regulator;
• timer;
• on and off indicators in the form of small bulbs;
• grill for products.

This model has an affordable price and, judging by the numerous reviews on the web, this is an excellent ratio of quality and value. From the factory models for hot smoking, a smokehouse can be distinguished "Selmash Saturn"... The volume of the smoking chamber allows you to hold about 5 kg of product at a time. Comes with metal pins, a sealed lid and a drip pan. This smoker can be used both on the stove and on an open fire. But such important elements as a thermometer and a chimney are missing. Nevertheless, this model is quite popular among home-smoked enthusiasts.

Another simple model of Russian production - Smokehouse FireWood... Here the thickness of the steel is alarming: only 1.5 mm. It is clear that there is no need to count on such a structure for a long service life, but for the first experience it is just right. The package includes two tiers for products, and also includes a bimetallic thermometer. If we are talking about a professional kitchen and large volumes of smoking, then you should think about a smokehouse. Ttm big smak. It holds up to 35 kg of product at a time, has a mechanical control, 5 grids in a set and meets all the requirements for proper smoking.

Smokehouses "Cedar" they immediately attract with their low price, but some models are not even equipped with a drip tray. So, making a choice in favor of cheapness, you need to be ready to independently complete the structure and bring it to a working condition.

Coming to a specialized store, you need to pay attention to many details when choosing.

• Smoke chamber depth. It should correspond to the size of those products that you plan to cook in it.
• Even with small dimensions of the structure, the distance between the food and the heat source must be sufficient. Otherwise, smoking will not be able to be carried out in accordance with the norms and recipes.
• Any design must provide ventilation openings. They should be present, even if the kit does not include flue gas hoses.

• The lid of the smokehouse must be airtight. Without this, the normal smoking process is simply impossible.
• The presence of a drip pan is required. Otherwise, fat will drip from the food directly onto the chips, which will catch fire and one of the basic rules of smoking will be violated - the slow smoldering of chips.
• The chimney for a cold smoking smokehouse must be made of a metal or ceramic pipe. Under the influence of high temperatures, plastic begins to release toxic substances that can get on food and harm health. This rule also applies to the equipment of all other pipes in the structure.

You can equip a smokehouse and wood, which will accommodate a special canopy for placing and drying firewood. Of course, such a canopy cannot protect it from rain, but logs can be placed under a canopy in sunny weather a couple of hours before cooking. During this time, they will have time to dry out.

And this is how a full-fledged stationary brick smokehouse looks like. It includes a powerful chimney, skewers, grates and a dishwashing area. This design can fulfill all the functions of a summer kitchen.

A very interesting hot-smoked smokehouse based on two barrels. It is clear that the construction can take weeks, but in terms of functionality, such a device will be close to the factory one, and maybe even better. The main difficulty is to choose barrels with a wall thickness of no more than 3 mm, but not less than 2, and cut and weld them as efficiently as possible. A simple smoking chamber made of wood should look something like this.The presence of many tiers will allow you to bookmark up to 10 kilograms of product, and a well-equipped pipe will not allow excess smoke to linger inside the container.

And this is what a collapsible smokehouse for cold smoking looks like. Of course, when folded, it will take up more space than a mobile structure for hot smoking. But here it is already worth starting from the desire to cook something special away from home and from the duration of the hike / trip. It is worthwhile to correctly calculate the reasonableness of transporting such a device, so as not to leave it in the middle of the forest later.

Another example of the skillful use of old gas cylinders. This design can serve as a smokehouse, barbecue, and oven. A small wooden table will make cutting products as convenient as possible and preparing them for placement in the unit. Of course, you will have to tinker with the welding of such a smokehouse, but such an apparatus is made for centuries: it cannot be affected by weather conditions, it is not afraid of corrosion and it does not deform under the influence of moisture. You can make every effort once, so that later children and even grandchildren can master smoking skills.

You won't be able to make such a smokehouse yourself, but this is how structures for use in large kitchens in restaurants and cafes look like. The cost of such units can reach unprecedented heights, but the availability of various functions is good news. These are sterility, energy saving, economical consumption of wood chips, built-in smoke generator, removal of excess smoke and much more. The picture shows a model of domestic production "Electra" for cold smoking.

A very good option for equipping a smokehouse from a wooden barrel. So that the cover does not have to be removed every time, a special chain is attached that connects the upper and lower parts of the structure. There is enough distance between the food grate and the heat source so as not to smoke or spoil the food. Handles are equipped on the sides for the ability to move the smokehouse around the site. This model is one of the best DIY options. It is not as complicated as structures made of cylinders and iron barrels, but it can also serve for a rather long time.

One of the simplest designs is a metal smoker placed over an open fire. With this cooking method, it is important to ensure that the chips inside the smoker do not catch fire, otherwise the product will deteriorate in a matter of minutes. Naturally, it will be very problematic to clean the outer layer of the box after cooking, but few people pay attention to this. Often, the smoker is only cleaned from the inside.

For information on how to make a smokehouse from a barrel, see the next video.