Smoking is a process of cooking meat by drying. Products that go through the smoking process can be stored for much longer. To perform this procedure, you will need to acquire the appropriate equipment, which you can purchase or design, and then make it yourself.
Features of the arrangement of the smokehouse
Hot smoked fish smokehouse can be made independently. To do this, you can use a stationary or portable design. However, however, you will have to create a chimney. The design of the smokehouse involves the passage of smoke from a heat source to products by overcoming a certain obstacle. As a rule, the connection is carried out using a steel pipe. However, these conditions are not sufficient for the product to be smoked well. To do this, you need to set a certain direction, which suggests the presence of a chimney. If we are talking about a portable design of a camping type, then its device does not imply the presence of a chimney, but the draft will be provided due to the presence of a trench through which smoke will flow to the product from the fire.
Features of the use of the smokehouse
If you will be building a smokehouse, how to use such equipment, you definitely need to know. Before the process, meat or fish must be salted. For this, the product is abundantly treated with salt, and then left in this state for 4 days. Then the meat or fish should be soaked in boiled clean water, this will get rid of excess salt. If you have already built a smokehouse, you definitely need to know how to use the equipment. After the meat has been salted, it must be blotted dry with clean gauze, and then suspended for ventilation in a dry room.
Smoking will be carried out on a bonfire from coals that were obtained from a particular wood species. When choosing it, it is recommended to give preference to hardwoods, including alder, beech, apple tree or oak. As for conifers, it is not recommended to use them for smoking, since after completion the products become bitter in taste. After smoking is completed, the products must be quickly cooled, and then auditioned for several days at a temperature within 12 degrees.
Production of a smokehouse of stationary type
If you will make a smokehouse, the instructions for the work will help in this. In order to create a stationary smokehouse, it will be necessary to prepare a container for products, you will need a brick, a slate canvas and a grill. The construction of the smokehouse will need to be carried out in several stages.
Technology of work
Initially, you need to prepare a trench, the depth of which is 0.6 meters. The length of the trench should be 3 meters. From the inside, the walls must be strengthened with bricks, which will eliminate their shedding. After it is necessary to lay a metal sheet on top of the trench, and lay a soil layer on top, the thickness of which should be equal to 15 centimeters. 2 holes are made inside the trench, it is supposed to mount a container in one of them, which will be filled with products for smoking. Such a smokehouse is made of metal, on top of the tank you will need to install a grate, on which there must be special hooks for fixing products. If such equipment will be used quite often, it is recommended to equip it with a stationary brick chimney. This design is made using refractory products, while clay fixation should be used to fix individual elements. This requirement is due to the fact that the clay surface is able to heat less. Over a container with products, experts advise mounting a steel umbrella, which has the shape of a cone. When choosing the diameter of this structure, it is necessary to take into account that this indicator should be slightly larger compared to the capacity for smoking. The main task of the umbrella is the elimination of condensation. During the preparation of products, openings with a bonfire must be covered with tarpaulin material, which has a high density.
Making a smokehouse from the refrigerator
Smokehouse for summer cottage can be made from the body of an old refrigerator. It should be completely freed from shelves, motor and freezer. No other details should remain in it. All holes should be sealed with adhesive tape or adhesive tape. In the upper part of the building, you need to make a hole through which smoke from the fire will come out. If necessary, a fan can be installed next to the holes, which will pull the smoke up. In the upper part of the body it is necessary to install steel shelves on which it is supposed to lay meat or fish for smoking. You can use shelves from the same refrigerator. As a heat source in such a smokehouse, a stove or a stove can be used. This element must be connected to the housing. On the prepared tile, it is necessary to pour a 30-mm layer of sawdust, after the equipment is involved, in this state it must be left for several minutes until the sawdust begins to smolder. After that, the equipment is turned off and a constant temperature is supplied to the smokehouse, it is necessary to monitor during this time so that the smoke from the furnace goes constantly.
Production of portable smokehouse
Hot smoked fish smokehouse can be portable. To do this, you need to dig a trench on a slope or hill, the depth of which should be equal to 0.5 meters, and the length is equivalent to 3 meters. The slope level on the ground should not be more than 60 degrees. On top of the trench you need to lay sticks, boards and branches. Next, a layer of turf is laid, and the lower part of the trench is used to breed a flame. The smoking chamber will be located in the upper part . Hot smoked fish smokehouse will contain a container that can be made from a steel frame. In the upper part, it will be necessary to form a hole through which smoke will be drawn. Food can be placed inside the container, and then the equipment can be started.
Alternative manufacturing
Hot smoked fish smokehouse can be made of steel sheet, thin reinforcement and joiner's corner. To carry out these works, you will need a grinder, as well as a welding machine. But as for the steel sheet, its size should be equal to 61x156.5 centimeters. It is necessary to choose a metal whose thickness is two millimeters.
Manufacturing instruction
In order to be able to carry out the work correctly, you need to consider drawings of smokehouses in advance. If you have already started manufacturing, then to begin with, the metal sheet must be divided into four parts. This will allow you to get a smokehouse, which has a square section. The parts should be the same, and a grinder should be used to cut the sheet. At the next stage, it is necessary to weld two sheets, and a carpentry corner will allow you to pair two planes at right angles. Next, the master should connect the other parties. In order to achieve a tight structure, it is necessary to boil the internal seams. Now the second sheet is used, from which the bottom of the smokehouse is made. This element should be welded securely to the finished box. Drawings of the smokehouse suggest the presence of each element, including the cover. For its formation by a grinder, it is necessary to cut four strips of stainless steel sheet . The size should be larger in comparison with the outer and dimensions of the box. Now you can weld the lid. After all the manipulations are completed, you should get a deep cover that can be easily put on the body of the structure.
The final stage of work
In order to complete the work, you need to weld comfortable handles and 2 levels of rods. The top row of rods is necessary for the hooks on which the products will be hung. On this we can assume that the smokehouse is ready. It can be used. In this case, an electric stove will be used as a heat generator. In order to ensure a higher temperature, it is recommended to light a fire. If smoking in a smokehouse of such dimensions is inconvenient for you, then you can change the sizes in advance, as the main requirement is the tightness of the smoking chamber.
Making a smokehouse from brick
If you will make a smokehouse grill, then it can be done using bricks. To begin with, it will be necessary to prepare a place, you need to choose it taking into account ease of use. It is important to ensure fire safety, which is why the smokehouse should be located as far as possible from green spaces and wooden buildings. It is important to provide a sufficient amount of space for arranging the chimney, which will be located underground, its length is 3 meters. The height will be 27 cm and the width 50 cm.
Preparation of materials
Smokehouse grill will be made of brick and iron box. The latter can be replaced with a metal barrel. For work, it is recommended to use a tank whose area is not more than 1 meter, the height should be equal to the limit of 1.5 meters. This element can be made from a sheet of metal, which is bent, and then welded.
Chimney work
The brick smokehouse at the next stage involves the arrangement of the upper wall of the canal. Instead, you can use a sheet of metal. A choke should be placed on top of the chimney to prevent heat from escaping. This component should be prepared from sheet metal, the thickness of which is 4 millimeters. The chimney duct should be above the smokehouse level. When laying bricks, they should be placed on the edge, and bonding should be done with clay mortar.
Work on the smoke chamber
The brick smokehouse at the next stage provides for the arrangement of the chamber. To do this, you need to prepare a hole in the ground, the depth of which is 40 centimeters, while the diameter should be equivalent to 70 centimeters. It is necessary to provide space for air intake. For the reason that the fire will be kindled on the ground, the use of the bottom of the box must be abandoned. The smokehouse should be constructed using a grill, which is made of iron bars. Metal hooks for hanging meat and fish will act as a complement to the design.
Additional elements of the smokehouse
If you thought about how to smoke in the smokehouse, you should know that fat is released during the preparation of fish and meat. To drain it under the grate you need to place a not deep pan, it is important to leave gaps between the edges of the pallet and the walls of the box so that the flue gases can penetrate there.
Smokehouse test for the first time
Inside the smoking compartment, pieces of meat and fish must be decomposed so that they do not touch each other. In the department, which is intended for sawdust, it is necessary to fill the wood in crushed form. Next, the furnace should be flooded. The damper should be closed, waiting until the camera warms up and fills with smoke. The preparatory phase lasts a quarter of the time during which the meat is cooked, it takes about 15 minutes. As soon as the temperature rises to the desired level, it will be necessary to open the outlet. The temperature can be determined using a mechanical thermometer. Sometimes a method with water is used, which involves the need to check the evaporation of water from the lid. For the first time, the product can be checked for readiness during cooking by removing the lid for a while. As soon as you gain experience, the need for carrying out these manipulations will disappear, you will become confident in navigating how to properly carry out the process.
Production of a smoke generator
Smoke generator for the smokehouse can be made independently. It will consist of a container, the volume and configuration of which will determine the period of continuous operation of the equipment. For manufacturing, you can prepare the container by the type of container made of refractory material. It can be a milk can, a thermos or an old fire extinguisher. However, the best option is a metal pipe whose diameter is 100 millimeters. At the bottom of the container, a hole must be made with a diameter of 10 millimeters. It is necessary for firing up chips and supplying oxygen. The upper part must be tightly closed to prevent air leaks. Smoke generator for the smokehouse, which is one of the main elements of the equipment for cooking meat, can be assembled using plumbing tees, bends and pipes of various diameters. You can connect the elements with each other by carving. You can position the smoke generator in the lower or upper part of the container, each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages.