Homemade smoking is becoming more and more popular among ordinary people. This is not surprising. With due experience, finished products cannot be compared with store-bought or stale market smoked meats. Plus, there are tangible savings. You invest only in the meat itself and chips, if there is nowhere to cut them yourself. In return, you get a huge variety of cooking options, from ordinary lard, fish, poultry and meat to sausages.

The big advantage of smoking at home is the simplicity of the container in which this process takes place. Here and further we will consider only hot smoking, because cold smoking is a separate big topic. For these, they often use a barrel, evaporation, gas cylinders, even buckets and pots. We will attribute them to improvised means, the manufacture of which does not require special nuances. We will consider a modern commercial smokehouse design with a drawing. It allows you to smoke outside, take it with you to the countryside and even cook in your kitchen in a multi-storey building. Its distinctive feature is the use of a water seal preventing the penetration of smoke from the inner chamber into the surrounding space.

Hot smoked smokehouse device

Whoever comes across for the first time does not fully understand how the arrangement of a hot-smoked smokehouse is. Let's first analyze this issue so that in the future it will be easier to do it yourself.

The principle of the smokehouse

Let's touch on this topic superficially, because it is not the main one in this article, but it gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe technology.

A certain amount of wood chips are evenly poured into the bottom of the smokehouse. Place a tray for fat on top. To make it easier to wash it in the future, each time they put food foil on top or pour sand on top. Meat products are laid out on the tiers. Close everything with a lid. Water is poured into the groove of the water seal so that it does not reach the edge of the side. Condensation dripping from the lid will accumulate in it and cause overflow. In outdoor conditions, there is no need to use a water seal, only inside residential premises. If necessary, put the hose on the fitting in the lid. Next, the smokehouse is placed over a temperature source. This can be a fire, gas or electric stove. After the first sign of smoke appears, the time corresponding to the smoking regime is recorded. The absence of constant bitterness is influenced by the maximum temperature, as well as how quickly degrees are gained. You should try to keep the smoke intensity to a minimum, this is very important. At the end, freshly cooked smoked meats are allowed to rise overnight or 24 hours in the refrigerator for a more uniform taste.

Smokehouse metal thickness

The choice should primarily depend on the place of use of the smokehouse. Its walls have a certain heat capacity, which, during heating, begins to work like a cauldron. This makes it possible to better distribute the temperature inside the chamber between the lower and upper tiers. In the open air, unlike at home, there is a wind that takes away some of the heat; the air itself can be cold. As a result, we get a well-heated bottom and not enough edge with a lid.

From the point of view of the convenience of manufacturing smokehouses, thick metal is more convenient when welding. The seam is more uniform, with less risk of scalding. This is especially important when welding with a simple electrode without much experience. The inconvenience can be attributed to the application of more force for bending.

We recommend sticking with 2mm cold rolled steel. It is less desirable to use 1.5 mm steel, but 1mm will only go for a mini-smoke with a semiautomatic device. Heat resistant coating or pickling is encouraged.

Smokehouse shape

As mentioned above, there are three types of them. In our opinion, the least practical is the square, then the cylindrical. Let's try to explain our point of view. The format directly affects the smoked meats that we want to get. In principle, there are no problems with volume, until we encounter length restrictions when trying to accommodate any large fish. Smokehouses with a water seal are designed for horizontal loading only. Width is important in this case. On the other hand, at home, the dimensions should be limited by the size of your stove and take up two burners. Also, storage space can impose its own limitations. So more square shapes are more suitable for convenience with frequent transportation to nature, for example.

Increasingly, high cylindrical ones with a fairly high price tag and stainless steel are on sale. To fasten everything, you need to tie it with loops, for which you then hang it on hooks. Do not forget that in the middle there is a suspension rod that takes away useful space. Also the temperature distribution is highly inefficient. High headroom creates a large drop between bottom and top. Simply put, this is not the old familiar barrel in the yard.

Flat lid or smokehouse

The lid with a house is more difficult to manufacture, since it has additional planes, more welding seams. An indisputable plus is the ability to constantly roll down the condensate into the groove of the water seal. Those with a flat lid are forced to close the product with food foil. This moisture collects soot, smoke concentration. In those places where it drops, a black and bitter spot will appear, which will never fade away. At the moment, most manufacturers have practically abandoned simple covers, leaving them only on stainless steel.

Smokehouse dimensions and drawings

On this we will finish the theoretical part and go directly to the practical one. As an overview, let's take a ready-made medium-sized smokehouse. This instance is often used in domestic conditions on a gas stove with two burners. The next one is too oversized and intended more for the street.

The purpose of this section is to give the reader the basic dimensions of a hot smoked smokehouse. At his request, he can repeat them one to one, or change the proportions to the desired results based on the needs and materials.

In online stores, it is customary to indicate mainly external dimensions, which also include side and top handles. This is insignificant information, albeit impressive for the buyer. When making a smokehouse with your own hands, it is advisable to start designing from the internal working chamber, taking into account the type of cover. The house will add an additional 2-5 centimeters.

Dimensions of the presented smokehouse

* Height only at the base without taking into account the relief of the cover

* Only the number of internal jumpers is given

During the operation of a smokehouse with such grates, it turned out that it should have additional bridges about 3-4 pieces in length. Without them, it is more difficult to stack foods that could fail. This applies to fish, thin bacon, etc.

Base drawing (box)

In your case, the tabular data may have errors depending on the selected metal thickness and bending radius losses. There are several methods by which you can weld a smokehouse box.

1. Each plane is a separate pattern

2. On a solid sheet, all vertical planes are bent and the bottom is welded

3.Bottom with wide sides is bent from a solid sheet, and the ends are welded

The presented smokehouse was assembled according to the third option on a bending machine without preliminary sawing of the grooves.

On the end walls from the inside, two metal strips are welded to act as a support for the upper tier. It is attached at a distance of 60mm from the top edge.

Often the odor trap is made from a ready-made small-sized corner, or it is adjusted with an available grinder. This is much more convenient than bending it from sheet metal without having a special tool.

In this case, the lid is offered in the form of a house made of a solid sheet with welded side ends. For convenience, they can be assembled from separate strips. If there is no desire at all, then you can replace it with a flat one, taking into account in the future its shortcomings when smoking.

Steel thickness is also chosen 2mm.

Cover end wall drawing

A drawing of the plate from which the lid of the smokehouse is made is shown in the figure.

Installing a thermometer

For those who independently master the basics of hot smoking, installing a thermometer will not be superfluous. They are electronic and mechanical. Both will not show accurate measurements for many reasons. We have dedicated a separate video to this, where you can learn about many of the nuances of mechanical thermometers.

Conclusion

While preparing an article on how to make a smokehouse with our own hands, we found two quite interesting videos on YouTube with a clear demonstration of the whole process. The most important thing in them, welding is carried out with an ordinary electrode.

The first video shows how easy it is to assemble a hot smoked smokehouse from an old rusty sheet of metal in normal garage conditions. From the remarks, these are handles close to the center with jumpers on the fat pan. They make it difficult to conveniently put foil on the bottom. Otherwise, it is a storehouse of someone else's experience.

The second video is more technological. Each element consists of separately cut parts. Attention is paid to the assembly of the triangular-shaped cover. But here, in our opinion, it is not the best solution for the manufacture of the interior with gratings and a pallet. Also the diameter of the nozzle is too large, enough with an inner hole of 10 mm.

If you found useful information in our article, we will be glad if you share it on your social networks or forums as a thank you. We are also waiting for your questions and additions in the reviews. We will add any new usefulness to the required section.

The most delicious food for most gourmets is smoked meats. Unfortunately, the cost of these delicacies is too high and few can afford to buy quality cooked meat and fish. And cheaper products are prepared using liquid smoke, which is known to be harmful to the body. In order to delight yourself and your family with homemade balyk and dried sausage, you just need to build a smokehouse with your own hands and learn the basics of cooking.

Types of smokers

If you decide to cook smoked products at home or in your summer cottage, you should choose which type of smokehouse will be the most convenient and prepare materials that you will not mind using in the yard oven.

Hot and cold smoked smokehouse - can be made of brick, concrete or metal. The difference in the modes differs in the smoking temperature: for a hot one in the range of 50-120 degrees, for a cold one - 35. It is very simple to prepare a fish smoker, since fish products very quickly reach their condition. Much depends on the volume of smoking production. Sometimes you can get by with a small barbecue with a chimney, and for a large number whole rooms are equipped.

Brazier with a smokehouse is done professionally. It combines two functions that complement each other perfectly. For such a structure, a space of at least 5 m is required. According to its description, this structure is similar to a traditional Russian stove. But still a brazier smokehouse can be successfully made from improvised means with minimal cost. It is enough just to study photos of smokers from amateurs and realize your own idea.

The gas smokehouse is made on the basis of a gas oven, which is found in almost every home. The advantage of such a structure is convenience, since you do not have to worry about adding firewood, sawdust and other things. The gas smokehouse is mainly installed in annexes and summer kitchens in the private sector. However, under good ventilation conditions, such an installation can be done in an apartment.

A smokehouse with a water seal is used to prepare hot smoked products. As a rule, it is made of metal structures and, if desired, can also be used in the kitchen in the apartment. The principle of operation of the hydraulic seal is due to the cover filled with water. This allows the food to absorb more smoke and prevents it from escaping and spreading odors.

A stainless steel smokehouse is most often used for hot cooking. It is durable, easy to move and resistant to rust and corrosion. On the Internet, as well as in hardware stores, you can find a lot of offers of ready-made stainless steel structures, but if you wish, you can make it yourself using drawings. A convenient combination allows you not only to cook smoked delicacies, but also to grill barbecue.

A smokehouse from a cylinder is very easy to cut out even without design skills. To make it, you just need an old unnecessary gas cylinder, which is cut according to the scheme. The instructions for creating it are very simple, but you need a welding machine and skilled hands to complete it. Brazier smokehouse from a cylinder takes up little space on the estate and, if desired, it can be transported in a car.

A smokehouse from a barrel is very simple and you can build both a stationary version and a portable one. A stable smoking device requires a barrel, slate and sheet of iron. In order to create a favorable smoking environment, it is necessary to dig a trench between the firebox and the product tank.

A portable device requires a barrel and a stove, which can be any grill. Raw meat and fish are attached and hung on a hook inside the barrel. Barrels come in different diameters and if it is made of light metal, then you can take it with you on vacation or fishing and enjoy smoked meats among nature. If you pay attention to the photo of a smoked house with your own hands, you will notice that most amateur structures are made in this way.

The smokehouse from the refrigerator is most often made from the Dnieper model. Since in more modern refrigerators, plastic began to be used, which cannot work with high temperatures. A lot of meat or fish can be cooked in such a device. First of all, you should clean the refrigerator of any elements that may melt as a result of heating.

The smokehouse itself should be installed on a hill in order to lay a pipe at an angle that will serve as a chimney. It is very convenient to place food on old shelves and do not need to be hung. In this way, you can prepare hot and cold smoked delicacies.

Do-it-yourself brick smoker has a very solid appearance. In addition, the main building material helps to maintain a stable cooking temperature.

A smokehouse smoke generator is required for hot smoking. It can be done independently, despite the complexity of the design and laboriousness of the process, but as practice shows, it is easier to buy it.

Smokehouse drawings

You can download drawings smoked in one archive from Yandex Disk

Hot smoked smokehouses

Hot smoked smokehouses are the most common in the household, since it does not require a lot of skills and abilities to make it. This is a great way to prepare food in just a few hours.

How to make a smokehouse if there is not much cooking time left? A quick smokehouse at home is usually based on an old barrel or metal bucket. Sawdust or shavings should be placed on the bottom of the container. A mesh is laid above them, over which holes should be made for the rods to fix the hooks. Small chimneys should be formed in the cover.

If a home smoker is still made from a barrel, then there are more opportunities for better smoking. Firstly, there is a place to create a firebox, which can be laid out from bricks and stones. Secondly, a thermometer can be attached to the barrel wall to monitor the temperature of the cooking process.

Do-it-yourself hot-smoked smokehouse can be made from any metal box with a lid. To do this, it is enough to know the simplest laws of physics, and to create all the necessary conditions for the products to come into direct contact with smoke, and not with fire. A hot-smoked home smokehouse must be made correctly, since if the temperature is violated, there is a risk of contracting infectious diseases, the sources of which are poorly fried fish and meat.

Before starting the process, you should study the drawings of the hot smoked smokehouse. The principle of operation is quite simple, but if the owner wants to design the smoking oven more aesthetically, then a lot of effort should be made. A high-quality hot-smoked smokehouse with your own hands, as a rule, is built of bricks, at the base of which a foundation is built. To do this, you need to be able to mix concrete and choose a place on the estate away from home buildings to avoid the risk of fire.

This is the most expensive hot-smoked smokehouse at home; in it you can cook large quantities of food not only for yourself and your family, but also for sale. In addition, the preparation of fish, meat and sausages does not have to be constantly monitored as in the smokehouses made by the express method.

Cold smoked smokehouses

A cold smoked smokehouse in the household is most often made from a barrel, brick or sheet iron. The most important rule during construction is that the hearth should be located away from the combustion chamber. To do this, you need to dig a hole in which the chimney will be located. If desired, its walls can be overlaid.

If a do-it-yourself smoker is made in the simplest way (from a barrel), then hooks and fittings should be prepared on which the meat will be hung. The metal top is cut off and should be replaced with deciduous wood. Alternatively, you can use a jute bag that should be moistened periodically with water.

A very convenient and simple option is a cold smokehouse made of sheet iron with your own hands. It is enough to cut the sheet, bend it in the shape of a cube and weld it at the seams. If desired, the chamber can be made from an old refrigerator, oven or pressure cooker.

Based on the drawing of a cold-smoked smokehouse, you need to build a brick lined chamber. It is best to use a clay and sand mortar for laying materials.

You can find a lot of information on how to make a cold smoked smokehouse, but nevertheless, beginners should learn the basics of smoking from cooking meat hot. Since cold cooking takes several days, there is a certain risk of burning out the hearth and spoiling the food.

How to cook food in a smokehouse

There are several rules for how to smoke in a smokehouse. First of all, meat or fish should be thoroughly rinsed, salt and add your favorite spices. In order for the smoked meats not to lose their shape, it is recommended to tie them up with threads. Correctly selected sawdust is also important for taste. Ideally made from fruit trees or alder. Grape or cherry leaves give a special aroma.

There are many rules and tips on how to smoke in a hot smoked smokehouse. For kindling a fire, you can use fir cones, which burn quickly and keep the heat well. After installing the tray, you can put a thin layer of salt on it, which serves as an additional source to maintain the temperature.

Before you smoke fish or meat in a cold-smoked smokehouse, salt the food and keep it in the brine for three to five days. Before placing food in the smokehouse, soak it in water for four hours.

For smoking fish, you should choose the same carcass size and always fresh. If you had to cook frozen, then the salting period should be increased by two days.
When smoking lard in a hot smoker, add as much salt as possible. This will improve the taste and there is no need to be afraid, this product is simply impossible to oversalt. You can also add black pepper and more garlic to the marinade.

Hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse is prepared pre-soaked in brine for 20 hours. In the smokehouse, the bird is baked for 1.5 hours.
Hot smoking of meat in a smokehouse is carried out in a similar way to chicken. It should be smoked at a high temperature so that it does not lose its taste and no more than two hours.

Recipes

Fans of cooking their own meat already know the proven home-smoked recipes. Typically, they differ in soaking brine recipes and seasonings.
Cold smoked recipes should be carefully read and not neglected in soaking in brine.

Homemade hot smoked recipes are very diverse. Having mastered this science, you can arrange a festive table with unforgettable homemade meat dishes. Hot smoked mackerel in a smokehouse has a unique taste, but at the same time it can crumble if not fixed with threads. Having studied home-smoked bacon recipes from the best housewives, you can forever abandon store-bought products stuffed with "liquid smoke".

If the holiday is coming and the budget is limited, then the hot smoked chicken recipe is very inexpensive and simple. Having made a smokehouse with your own hands, you can come up with your own book of culinary masterpieces.

Have you built your own home smokehouse?

The smoking time, taste and appearance of the final result depend on which cooking method is chosen. So, mini-smokehouses for home offer two options:

• Hot smoking. Delicious meat and fish dishes will be cooked in about 40 minutes. For proper cooking, the bottom of the smokehouse should have a temperature of no more and no less than 300-350 degrees - this will allow the wood to smolder slowly, without leaving soot on the products.

• Cold smoking. Cooking meat and fish in such an installation will take much more time, since the smoke, before getting to the products, will have to pass in a special trench underground and cool down. Thus, two chambers will need to be added to the drawing of a cold-smoked mini-smokehouse with your own hands. In one of them, the wood will be at the optimal temperature and generate a lot of smoke, which will give the products a refined taste.

Tip: A DIY mini-smokehouse for a home can be of any size, the main thing is to provide a distance of several centimeters from the products to the walls of the structure.

How to make a mini smokehouse with your own hands

Basic information will help when creating a mini-smokehouse with your own hands: drawings, the principle of operation - all this is available for study even for beginners in such a business. Read the article about on our website.

The scheme and means for forming a mini-smokehouse can be selected independently. The main thing is to take into account that it should provide uniform heating from all sides.

The hot smoked smokehouse consists of two compartments: one of them contains products, the other - sawdust. Based on this, you can make a mini-smokehouse yourself using unnecessary things that are suitable for the material.

Iron bucket smokehouse

The use as a base of a bucket is one of the simplest options, providing high-quality smoking of small volumes of products. In order to start creating dishes, you need:

• Take an iron bucket and make holes in it for the rods on which the food will be suspended.
• Select a suitable lid and make holes in it for the smoke to escape.

• Place the grate on the bottom, add sawdust.
• Place your homemade smoker on a small fire that will smolder the sawdust. Once this happens, you can hang fish and meat.

Find out how to make and find answers to your questions.

Tip: If the weather is rainy outside, you can increase the intensity of the fire in the mini smoker from the bucket.

For those who do not have extra time and special experience in performing complex locksmith and welding works, but loves homemade fish and meat smoked meats, we offer an excellent option - a do-it-yourself smokehouse from a pan. You do not need to work for a long time on its manufacture - you just need to buy or search on the farm for some components, which will make an excellent mini-smokehouse for preparing delicious aromatic products for the whole family and even for guests.

Compared to the previous one, such an installation provides a large volume of finished products.

One of the most popular options for building a small smokehouse yourself involves:

• Cleansing the barrel from paint - if it is metal, and washing and drying in the sun - if it is wooden.
• Creation of fasteners for rods on the walls at the top of the tank.
• Creation of a "glass" from sheets of metal or a finished pipe with a diameter of about half a meter and a height of about 0.4-0.5 m, depending on convenience. A hole of the same diameter is made at the bottom of the barrel, the “glass” is inserted into it from below.

Important: The wall thickness of the "glass" should be no more than 3 mm. Moreover, if a wooden barrel is chosen, the glass must be covered with an asbestos cloth, which will not allow overheating.

• A cover with a weight is formed from a sheet of plywood, which will ensure a snug fit.
• The food is cooked during the combustion period of the sawdust. It is about an hour.

The meat or fish is considered ready when the smoker is completely cool. In this case, a small amount of unburned sawdust can settle on them, which must be removed before use.

Smokehouse from the body of an old small refrigerator

Another suitable item for making a smokehouse (but not quite a mini one) with your own hands is a refrigerator that has worked out its life. A minimum of effort is required to form the device:

• All plastic parts and the freezer are removed from the inside. The grills, which were previously used as shelves, are left for placing food.
• An electric stove is installed on the lower part. It is necessary to leave it in working condition for three minutes, then turn it off and add a three-centimeter layer of chips.

• Food is added to the shelves, the door closes.

Tip: When using the mini smoker from the refrigerator, you should increase the cooking time. So, it will take about 6 hours for fish, and a little more for meat.

Camping made of polyethylene film

Typically, the cold cooking structure is a stationary brick installation. However, there is a way to create an easily assembled and disassembled smokehouse in field conditions from improvised means:

• About 2 meters of dense plastic film is prepared for use in greenhouses.
• A square platform with a width and length of about a meter is being formed.
• In each corner of the site, 2-meter stakes are installed, from above they are fixed with crossbars.

• Between the stakes, rods are placed in a couple of rows on which food will be hung.
• The fish or meat is hung so that there is space between them.
• The film is stretched approximately to the middle of the structure. The area below is covered with burning coals and green grass, which will give the smoke a proper and safe look.
• The film is stretched to the lower end of the homemade smokehouse.

The minimum cooking time in such an installation is 3 hours. If necessary, you can repeat the procedure in a day.

Tip: If the smoke comes out too black, increase the volume of the fresh herb.

Fuel preparation for smoking

In addition to how to make a mini-smokehouse yourself, you need to know how to choose the right sawdust for it. The type of wood will directly affect the taste and appearance.

Most preferred are sawdust from fruit trees such as apple and apricot, pear and cherry. The next in the hierarchy are oak and alder, aspen and ash, as well as juniper and beech.

Mahogany and oak will help to influence the shade of the dish: the first will give a golden color, the second - dark yellow or brown.

There are also some basic rules:

• It is not recommended to use coniferous and birch sawdust - they add bitterness to food;
• To reduce the amount of soot settling on food, you can slightly wet the fuel;
• The amount of sawdust is selected individually depending on the product and recipe.

Video: an example of using a mini-smokehouse

As you can see, the schemes for creating both types of smokehouses - with cold and hot smoking - are a series of simple steps, after which you can enjoy food that is pleasant in all respects.

A properly made hot-smoked smokehouse will allow you to have delicious dishes on your table at any time.

Many manufacturers offer ready-made options for hot smoked smokehouses. You can buy them both online and in specialized stores.

Prices vary from 1800 to 37000 rubles... But it is much more interesting and cheaper to make such a smokehouse yourself.

We will tell you in detail how to make a hot smoked smokehouse with your own hands in our article.

Types of smoking

Depending on the temperature and time of smoking, cold smoking and hot smoke smoking are distinguished:

1. Cold smoking. The cold smoking process takes place at low temperatures within 20-22 degrees... Smoking with smoke at this temperature takes from 5 hours to a day, depending on the weight of the product. Food smoked in this way can be stored for a long time, since almost all moisture evaporates from meat or fish during the smoking process. Smoked foods are dry enough and well saturated with smoke. (You can read how to do it in this article).
2. Hot smoking. The method of cooking food with hot smoke is quite common, as you can get a quick result. It takes several hours to get a completely finished product.

What you need to know about hot smoking

Smoking temperature is selected depending on the weight of meat or fish of their type and further preparation.

So, for example, meat that will be further heat treated is recommended to be smoked at a temperature 45 to 65 degrees.

For products that are cooked while smoking, the optimum temperature would be 70-100 degrees.

Smoker device

It is not difficult to make a hot smoked smokehouse yourself, at home. It is enough to have sealed container, preferably made of durable metal

As a container, you can use, for example, a barrel. This container is equipped with a hinged lid. Also for the equipment of the smokehouse you will need grill and container for collecting fat.

The principle of the smokehouse

At the top of the smokehouse, about 10 centimeters from the lid, set the grill, on it, during the smoking process, place the products.

It is important that the food on the wire rack does not touch each other, for even smoking from all sides. Any capacitycorresponding to the size of the smokehouse.

It can be a bowl or a round tray that is suitable in diameter. Grease will drip into this bowl. At the bottom of the smokehouse a layer of sawdust or chipsthat smolder when exposed to high temperatures.

Choosing firewood for the smokehouse

Almost any are suitable for the smoking process, the main thing is that they do not contain unwanted resins for products.

Based on this, conifers unsuitable for smoking, because there is resin under their bark. In order for the products to acquire a pleasant aroma, you can add juniper or alder chips.

Branches fruit treesapples, pears and cherries, for example, are also good for smoking.

Before smoking from wood better to remove the barkas it contains a lot of resin. After the bark has been removed, the wood is crushed into cubes up to about 3 centimeters in size.

Chopped firewood is poured to the bottom of the smokehouse and humidified to produce smoke.

Materials for making

Anything from an old bucket to purpose-built structures is suitable for a smokehouse. But the best option would be a smokehouse made of metal sheets.

To make it, you must have the following tools and materials:

• metal sheets 2-3 mm thick;
• several rods of reinforcement;
• metallic profile;
• bulgarian;
• welding machine;
• tape measure and corner.

Making a smokehouse from metal corners

Following simple recommendations and following step-by-step instructions, you can easily and quickly make a hot-smoked smokehouse yourself:

1. One sheet of metal, approximately 60 centimeters by 1.5 meters, cut with a grinder into four identical parts
2. Connect the sheets between each other by spot welding and with the help of a carpenter's corner, sheets are exposed at right angles
3. Weld the seams between pieces of metal
4. The second sheet of metal is made smokehouse bottom
5. The next step will be cover making... It is made according to the principle of a smokehouse body, only its size should be slightly larger in order to tightly cover the smokehouse
6. Rebar pieces welded inside the body of the smokehouse in several rows. Products will be placed on them during smoking. Can weld multiple hooks to the lid for smoking fish or lard
7. For ease of transportation to the body of the smokehouse you can weld handles.

In order for the result to amaze even gourmets, the products must be properly prepared for smoking. Meat or fish must be salt, add spices as desired and let the product salt.

Chicken, in order for the meat to be tender, it is desirable before smoking pickle for a few days... Before smoking, large fish are cleaned and all entrails are taken out, small fish can be cooked without processing.

The smokehouse is completely ready. You can install it both in the courtyard of your own house and on a suburban area.

Almost anything can be smoked in hot-smoked smokehouses, and with proper preparation and smoking process, the products will turn out to be incredibly tasty and aromatic.

Advice! Since the products are not cooked for long during smoking, they remain juicy inside and practically no moisture comes out of them, therefore it is not recommended to store them for a long time.

You can watch detailed information on the manufacture of a hot smoked smokehouse in this video:

The technology of hot smoking of products is quite simple, its process is less laborious and will require little time. It is these reasons that contributed to the widespread use of hot-smoked smokehouses of various designs, and smoking itself has become a favorite way of preparing food for a picnic in the country.

What are the features of cooking products by hot smoking

It takes only a couple of hours to reach the readiness of the smoked product with the hot processing method. In this case, the processing temperature should reach from +75 to +150 C, the processing time will be determined depending on the size of the semi-finished products and the degree of their pre-processing.

If the smoking regime is observed, the smoked fish, meat or lard will remain juicy, acquire a pleasant aroma and golden hue, pathogenic microbes that may be in the raw semi-finished product die under the influence of temperature. At the same time, the texture of the processed product becomes softer, a tendency to delamination appears in it, this is especially evident when hot smoking fish.

Hot smoked smokehouse and its varieties

Today you can find a large number of a wide variety of hot smoking devices, both industrially made and homemade. For the manufacture of homemade, you can use a wide variety of metal containers:

• buckets,
• pots,
• kegs,
• containers for sterilization of medical instruments.

Such a container should provide for the possibility of its tight closure. If you have a choice, then it is better to give preference to a vessel with thicker walls - the heat will be stored in it longer.

Inside the container, you will need to fix the grates and a drip pan. One grate is located in the upper part of the structure, since semi-finished products will be laid out on it, it is advisable to use stainless steel for manufacturing.

A hot-smoked smokehouse is easy to do with your own hands, it is enough to study the drawing of the smokehouse and prepare suitable materials. The principles of arranging a smokehouse for fish and meat are practically the same.

Do-it-yourself hot smoked smokehouse - we construct from metal sheets

Before starting work, we will prepare the following materials and tools:

• sheets of 2 mm metal of the appropriate size,
• thin fittings,
• grinder,
• welding machine,
• corner, tape measure.

The order of work will be as follows:

1. Using a grinder, metal sheets will need to be cut into 4 equal parts.
2. Measuring the accuracy of the angles using a square, weld the cut metal pieces at an angle of 90 degrees. Cut the bottom from the remaining sheet, weld it to the resulting structure. Then you will need to weld each internal seam - this will ensure the tightness of the structure.
3. After creating the box, you can proceed to the lid; to make it, you will need to cut 4 strips of metal that are larger in length than the size of the box. Using welding, assemble a deep cover that would fit freely on the body.
4. Next, you need to cut off pieces of reinforcement of the appropriate length and weld them in two levels inside the smokehouse - at the top for storing products, at the bottom for placing a tray for dripping fat. For convenience, it is advisable to weld the handles on both sides outside the box.

In principle, the smokehouse can be considered finished. An electric stove or a gas stove can serve as a heat generator for it, they are more convenient, because make it possible to regulate the temperature inside the smoking compartment. If a higher temperature is required, you will have to make a fire.

Smoking chambers can have a variety of sizes and shapes - the main condition for their successful operation is to ensure the tightness of the smokehouse. To determine the required amount of materials, a detailed diagram of its design should be drawn before making a smokehouse.

Hot smoked smokehouse at home - the principle of operation

Now you can start smoking meat or fish. Their preliminary processing will be required - salting in accordance with the selected recipe. Before placing, the semi-finished products are taken out of the brine, their surface is dried with a paper towel.

A small amount of sawdust is poured into the bottom of the smokehouse. Then, semi-finished products are placed on the upper grate, it is desirable that small gaps remain between the pieces. Now you can light the fire or turn on the stove.

The countdown of the processing time of products is carried out from the time the required temperature is reached and the appearance of smoke. During the smoking process, you will need to control the temperature, it is not difficult to do this on the stove, you just need to turn the regulator or reduce the gas supply. If we get heat from a fire, then we will have to scoop out the coals from it or remove the smoking chamber for a while. Please note that heating the smoker to very high temperatures can cause food to burn. But at the same time, the temperature in the chamber must be high and allow the efficient processing of semi-finished products, it is impossible to allow the cooling of the smoking chamber.

How and how much you can store hot smoked products

While cold-smoked products can be stored for months, hot-smoked products should be consumed within 10-12 hours, ideally consumed immediately after preparation. Another option, involving storage for a long period, is freezing in a vacuum package at a temperature below -5 C. Naturally, during storage, the taste and aroma of the product will slightly change.

Preparation of semi-finished products for smoking

You can smoke a wide variety of meat and fish semi-finished products. Preparation of meat and fish for smoking consists in their preliminary salting or marinating with all kinds of spices. To determine the readiness of a semi-finished product, it is enough to pierce it with a knife, if the secreted juice has acquired a light shade without admixture of blood, then the product is fully ripe and can be transferred to the smokehouse.

Experienced smokers recommend that when preparing a chicken carcass, first clean it of the blocks, burn it on fire, rinse it, cut it lengthwise into two halves. Then you will need to place pieces of the carcass between two cutting boards and, with the help of gentle blows with the butt of an ax, flatten the joints and bones. Then the carcass is rubbed with salt mixed with spices, hung in the cold, if possible, arrange a draft. After this preparation and smoking, the meat will be very soft.

You can take salted or fresh fish for smoking. If the fish is large, it is cleaned, gutted, cut along the spine or into layers. Small fish can be smoked whole, if the fish is very small, then it may not even be gutted. Pre-salted and dried fish has a higher taste.

The preparation of fish carcasses is as follows:

• rub them with coarse salt,
• very fatty fish are wrapped in parchment paper,
• put the fish in a container and press down with a load, which can be used as a brick,
• stand for 3-5 hours, then hang up and let the brine drain completely,
• wash the fish from the remnants of salt with cold water, wipe dry,
• immediately before smoking, the carcass is rubbed with spices.

What sawdust and chips can be used for smoking

The main condition for high-quality smoking is the presence of a sufficient amount of smoke, therefore, the choice of sawdust should be treated responsibly. It will take the ability to achieve smoldering of combustible material, the appearance of fire will ruin the whole process. In a hot-smoked smokehouse, the use of moistened wood is practiced, it is not prone to fire, and the moisture evaporated from it will give the products more juiciness. Thin twigs can also be used as fuel; they are prone to prolonged smoldering.

It should be remembered that the taste of a smoked product is influenced not only by salt or pepper, but also by the quality of the smoke. Delicious smoke can be obtained from sawdust or branches of fruit trees, especially cherries, apples, pears, and other hardwood wastes can be used. Juniper and alder chips give a very fragrant smoke. You can also use scraps of oak, beech, hazel, ash, maple or a mixture of different wood species.

Before you start splitting wood, you should remove the bark from it, especially if birch firewood is used. You can use either sawdust or wood chips for smoking, the pieces should have a length of about 3 cm. For the manufacture of chips, you should use dried wood, but it is recommended to slightly moisten it before placing it in the smokehouse. The fuel is spread on the bottom of the smoking chamber in an even layer.

Hot smoked smokehouse at home - different options for home and outdoor smokehouses

hiking option

It was mentioned above that the designs of hot smoked smokehouses can be quite diverse. For example, in field conditions, a bucket can be used very successfully as a smoking compartment.

At the bottom, you will need to pour about 20 cm of sawdust or shavings, a metal grate is installed at a height of about 15 cm from the top edge of the container, products are placed on it. The bucket is tightly closed with a lid, a small fire is kindled under it. It is not recommended to open the lid during the smoking process.

The moment you start smoking is determined by the appearance of smoke seeping from the bucket. In this case, the temperature of the smoking compartment should be about +90 C, it should be maintained at this level for about 1/4 of the time required to bring the product to full readiness. The rest of the time in the smoking chamber, it is desirable to maintain the temperature at +120 C.

To determine whether the temperature corresponds to the desired indicators, a very simple method is used: water is dripped onto the lid. It should not sizzle and boil, the temperature at which the water simply evaporates is considered normal, at this temperature the products are smoked and not boiled.

You can adjust the temperature by putting firewood in the fire or by removing coals from it. Usually for smoking, 30-50 minutes processing of products is enough. At the first smoking experience, to determine the degree of readiness, you will have to remove the smokehouse from the fire, open the lid and try semi-finished products. When re-preparing similar products, you can focus on the results obtained earlier.

After the end of the smoking process, the bucket is removed from the side of the fire, cooled. The removed products are dried.

how to smoke in a hot-smoked smokehouse - we equip a smokehouse in an apartment

The best option for a smokehouse for an apartment would be a small box made of stainless steel sheet, naturally with a lid. You will need to make a hole in the lid, weld a tube into it, use a hose that is put on a tube to drain the smoke into the window. To exclude the possibility of smoke getting into the apartment, the sides of the box are made L-shaped. The cover will be inserted into them. After installing the cover, the sides are filled with water.

The bottom of the smokehouse is lined with a layer of sawdust. On the welded bottom layer of the mesh (at a height of 8-12 cm), a tray for collecting fat is installed, on the higher one (at a height of 25-30 cm), semi-finished products are stacked. The smoking process begins after placing the smokehouse on a gas stove or electric stove. Hot smoking at home in a smokehouse is easily regulated, it will be enough to increase the gas supply or reduce it, you can also control the smoking temperature with the help of water drops.

smokehouse in the country from an old refrigerator

The work of creating a smokehouse from the refrigerator begins by removing all its internal parts - only the metal body and the door should remain. The hole formed on the rear wall should be sealed with a metal plate; it can be cut from the dismantled parts of the internal parts. To close and fix the door, you will need to attach the most ordinary hook to it.

Then the corners are welded on the walls of the case:

• at a distance of about 20 cm from the top of the wall - for installing the grill with food,
• at a distance of 30-40 cm from the top of the wall - for a brazier, into which drops of fat will flow.

Sawdust intended for smoke generation is poured directly onto the surface of the stove, after putting firewood in the stove, the refrigerator doors are tightly closed.