Can anyone help me with a design for a homemade smokehouse? Hot and cold smoking out of bricks and mortar and approxomately 5'x5'x7' high.
How about an internet site with sketches?
Thanks

Since no one has replied I'll give you my two cents. I don't have a smokehouse I use a stainless steel lab oven that I bought at an auction. Here's what I'd be looking for if I made a smokehouse.

-It needs a hole in the roof or a chimney that can be regulated.

- It needs some air holes down low that also can br regulated.

- you need racks or smokesticks

-For cold smoking it's best if you have a seperate firebox, and are able to pipe in the smoke. Remember that smoke moves uphill so the chimney from the firebox should be at an upward angle and should ideally enter the smokehouse "low down" The best way for this is to build the smokehouse on a hillside with the firebox lower on the hill and the chimney buried in the dirt.

-Hot smoking is the best way to smoke sausages, rather than cold smoking and cooking them off in boiling water or steam. In hot smoking you can use an electric heating element and put the chips on it while it heats up. You can regulate the temp nicely with elec elements, that's what I do. The meat/sausage will only absorb smoke while it's raw and when it gets cooked it won't absorb anymore. It will get a very acrid taste if oversmoked so temperature regulation is important.

A large smoke house like you want will take an awful lot of energy to get hot enough for hot smoking, and should probably be lined with firebrick. You'll need to get the items to an inernal temp of 150-160 degrees.

My cousin used to use an old wood grainery for smoking, and it worked ok until it burned down with a bunch of trout in it.


Hope this helps

The chef

Thanks, Chef, these tips definitely help and I'll continue my research.

You might be able to get a copy of this book.

You could also ask for ideas at The Smoke Ring or Smoking Meat Forums.

Being cheap and lazy, I use my 8 x10 garden shed. I build a very small fire in the middle and work it as long as needed. I get great smoking and all my garden tools smell wonderful!

Makes me drool everytime I hoe the garden.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
Being cheap and lazy, I use my 8 x10 garden shed. I build a very small fire in the middle and work it as long as needed. I get great smoking and all my garden tools smell wonderful!

Makes me drool everytime I hoe the garden.

Whatever works!

Most hunters here in Hawaii have a smoker in their back yard. The most common method of construction is 2x4 framing on the outside, line the smoker with iron roofing and you can either build the fire inside for hot smoking or build the fire in an exterior fire box made out of a galvanized trash can and a length of 6" heating duct to pipe the smoke in for cool smoking.

I'll tell you what works great. An old pop machine. You have to cut a hole in it for a chimney, but it has an open bottom for your fire and plenty of space, once you remove the guts of it. Give it a try. Lots of times you get get one for free or very little money if it's an outdated model.

I use an old freezer with the metal sheeting inside not the new cruddy plastic ones but they will work for cold smoking.they already have metal racks inside and for heat use a little wood for smoke and use a stove top burner from an electric range good to go.