Shops, supermarkets and markets offer a huge selection of smoked fish, meat and poultry. But the attractive appearance of the products does not guarantee a feast of taste. Therefore, many lovers of real smoked delicacies, especially those who own a country house or live in a private house, sooner or later come to the conclusion about their own small smokehouse.
After all, if you take good aromatic firewood, the right piece of meat or your favorite fish, and achieve the right temperature, you can create a truly culinary masterpiece that will delight the owner, his family and guests.
Many people are put off by the price of buying a mini smokehouse, but if you love to cook and want to create something unusual, then you can make a smokehouse yourself with minimal material costs. To do this, you need a little free time, some available materials and relevant drawings.
Types of smokehouses
People have been using food processing by smoking or heat treatment for a long time. Our ancestors did not think about methods when processing food for long-term storage. Currently, there are two smoking methods:
- cold;
- hot.
The difference between them is the cooking temperature. Accordingly, there are types, and photos of hot smoked smokehouses can be seen in advertising brochures or on the Internet. So, the types:
Horizontal model
Before making a horizontal smokehouse, you need to select a site, preferably an inclined one. Afterwards, carry out a series of preparatory work: prepare a chamber for the fireplace, build a tunnel from it to a special chamber.
The distance from the hearth to the chamber will determine the smoking method (hot or cold).
Small or portable
Structurally, it is made in the form of a sealed box made of stainless or ferrous metal with a thickness of 2-3 mm. A baking tray is placed inside to drain the fat. It is somewhat smaller in size than the box to allow the passage of smoke. Then the grate for food is installed.
A fire is built at the bottom of the box. After closing the box, combustion products begin to smolder, smoke comes out through a small hole in the lid or in the wall of the box. The temperature inside is 90 0C and above.
How does it work
The main thing in a smokehouse is not the open fire, but the hot smoke from smoldering sawdust. The smokehouse consists of several floors: pine sawdust is placed on the bottom, a container is installed above it for draining moisture, and above, on a grate or hooks, food is placed. The smokehouse must be closed so that the temperature of the chamber does not decrease, but there must be a hole on top for the smoke exhaust.
When placing food in the smoking chamber, it is necessary to take into account that the temperature is highest at the bottom, which means that the largest pieces should be placed there. The temperature inside the smokehouse is from fifty to one hundred degrees Celsius. Cooking time is from an hour to two.
Each type of wood produces different smoke, so this can impart different flavors to foods. For example, oak chips are suitable for the spicy taste of chicken, red meat and pork ribs, and willow or hickory are suitable for elk, venison and bear meat.
For use in an apartment or house
The design of the home smokehouse is no different from the previous model. The device is the same - a seal, a device for collecting fat, juice from meat or vegetables. But there are a number of mandatory requirements:
- Smoke removal. For this purpose, a fitting or tube must be provided through which excess smoke is removed through the hose. The use of ventilation is not advisable. The neighbors obviously won't like it. The exception is a private house.
- Lapped (sealed) smokehouse lid. But its main purpose is the same - not letting smoke into the room and removing excess outside.
Principle of operation
The operating principle of a home smokehouse is simple. Products are placed on a grid or hung on hooks. Next, they are uniformly fumigated with smoke, the source of which is smoldering wood chips.
With the hot method, heat treatment is also carried out, since the smoke is heated to at least 100 degrees.
Electric smokehouse
The name speaks for itself. The use of such devices in everyday life is convenient and easy to use. It is enough to fill in the material used for smoke, place the food, and plug it into the outlet. This type of smoking has a number of advantages:
- compactness and simplicity of design;
- operation does not require special skills;
- fast cooking and control (temperature sensors, smoke sensor);
- equipped with everything necessary, including a chimney.
Automatic
Divided into:
- household;
- industrial.
Household ones have a small heating area and are used in food production and the restaurant business. The volume of smoked products is up to 40 kg.
Industrial ones are multifunctional devices; they prepare both hot and cold smoked products on a large scale. There is no point in talking about their design, since using them in everyday life is too expensive. But nevertheless, the principle of operation is identical to other types, the only difference is to set the program.
Avoid fires!
Before you start the cooking process, light cardboard or newspapers in the firebox and add dry wood chips. The chimney must dry out and warm up - otherwise there will be no draft. After this, add sawdust or wood chips to the hot coals and fan them.
Under no circumstances should you smoke on resinous wood chips or those that emit tar (maple, birch).
When cold smoking, you need to ensure that the wood chips smolder evenly and that fires should not be allowed. The cooking time depends on the size of the products.
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Small fish will be ready in 10 hours. Large pieces of lard or meat may take a day.
With water seal
Structurally, they are made like everyone else, but only along the upper perimeter of the body a gutter is made from the same material. When smoking, it is filled with water, but not completely, and is located under the lid itself.
When water boils, due to the formation of steam, odors and smoke are cut off; as the liquid evaporates, it must be added. Based on the principle of operation, you can determine the appearance and drawings of smokehouses.What you need to know
Smoking is the thermal treatment of food products with smoke, during which the specified thermal regime must be properly maintained, controlling the volume of flue gases.
This method of cooking has been relevant since ancient times due to the following advantages:
- when smoking supplies at low temperatures, the greatest number of useful vitamins and microelements is preserved;
- Parasites and bacteria harmful to the human body contained in products under the influence of smoke are effectively destroyed;
- Since smoke treatment has a preservative effect, cooked food can be stored for a long period of time.
Depending on the food you plan to smoke, it is recommended to choose the appropriate type of sawdust. Each tree, when burned, imparts a special flavor to the food. For example:
- oak is perfect for pork and beef;
- Willow is suitable for rare types of meat, such as deer, elk and even bear. It is also ideal to smoke fish caught in lakes;
- for any vegetable and meat food, alder will be used;
- It is better to cook vegetables, berries, and nuts in cherry sawdust.
DIY smokehouse
Having a smokehouse in an apartment or house is not a necessary option. Regular visits to nature, recreation in “wild” places, in addition to a tent and other necessary accessories, recommend having a device for smoking.
Making a smokehouse with your own hands does not require a lot of effort. You just need to use your imagination and examine the things that are at hand: buckets, pots, tanks.
Varieties
The hot smoking process can be carried out using the following types of smokehouses:
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- electric;
- structures that are placed above an open fire.
In the first case, sawdust is poured into a special compartment and the selected smoking mode is set.
In the second case, a fire is lit, on which a container with food is placed on top.
Pros of an electric smokehouse:
- the smoking process can be easily carried out in the apartment;
- no need to waste time starting a fire;
- the design is small in size, so it will find a place on the kitchen shelves;
- the cooking process lasts about 30-40 minutes;
- there is temperature adjustment;
- low cost.
This option is very convenient for city residents.
Option - bucket
- Make a basic lattice from wire or take it from barbecue skewers so that the structure rests in the middle of the bucket.
- Place smoke material at the bottom.
- Cover the top with a lid. If there is no lid, throw on a thick cloth.
Yes, of course, it will not be possible to smoke large portions of meat products in such conditions, but pieces of fish or vegetables are no problem.
This is an impromptu option. But it’s quite possible to make a smokehouse out of a bucket according to all the classical rules yourself.
The type of tree is important!
The aroma of smoked products is mainly influenced by the type of wood chips. Nowadays, stores offer a large assortment of such sets from different tree species. For example, alder is considered universal.
Willow is used for products with a special taste, for example, meat, bear. Wood chips from apple, ash, beech, pear and many other trees and shrubs are quite suitable. Make sure that its humidity does not exceed 15 percent.
Options for homemade smokehouses may be different, but the result is the same! The smokehouse that you made yourself will last a long time and will more than once delight your family, relatives and friends with delicious delicacies and a pleasant smoke in your garden.
Stationary smokehouse option
Made from the body of an old refrigerator. To make it you will need an electric stove with a closed heating element.
- Make a tray according to the size of the heating area in which the smoky products will be placed.
- Also make a baking tray to size to collect liquid and fat.
- Prepare shelves for products or hooks for vertical placement.
- Remove the connection cord.
- Make a hole for the smoke to escape, preferably an adjustable one, of any design.
The work is ridiculously simple, but the taste of the prepared food makes up for all these “shortcomings.” The dimensions of the smokehouses are also not taken into account.
Grease trap
A special tray with legs, which is installed at the bottom of the chamber, above the wood chips.
Eliminates the contact of fat on smoldering wood chips, which provides better taste, and also protects against the dangerous effects of burnt fat on humans.
Advantages and disadvantages of smokehouse designs
When making a smokehouse, you should choose stainless steel as the material. Made from ferrous metal have more disadvantages than advantages:
- unaesthetic appearance;
- difficulty in removing burnt food;
- corrosion.
That is why preference is given to stainless steel. The advantages of stainless steel structures stem from the disadvantages of ferrous metal structures.
Information about smoked products
There is probably no point in talking about the advantages or disadvantages of smokehouses. All of them are designed to perform one function - smoking. But there is something you need to know about the product. Smoking, due to the substances carried by smoke, saturates the product:
- pleasant smell;
- unique taste;
- aesthetic appearance.
The body needs meat products to heal cells and replenish amino acids. All this is introduced with food, including smoked meats.
It also performs smoking:
- bactericidal effect;
- protects against microbiological spoilage;
- protects against the effects of putrefactive microbes.
Smoked products are stored longer and do not lose their taste.
Whether or not to have a smoker in your everyday life depends on the health, taste, desire and capabilities of each consumer. Nature lovers need it. You just need to decide on the design, study the recipes for preparing the products and go to the forest or to the river. And as a result, you will receive products of excellent quality and taste.
Dimensions
To decide on the size of the smokehouse, you need to clearly understand for what volume of products you need it. For example, to smoke a whole chicken, a smokehouse with a chamber size of 40*30*30 cm is sufficient.
Based on the size of the products you plan to smoke. Please note that there should be a free distance of about 6 cm between the fixed product and the wall.
It is worth making sure that there is enough free space to accommodate the structure.
The wall thickness should be 2 mm. If you plan to smoke food very rarely, then you can take a cheaper option with a thickness of 1 mm.
Photos of hot smoked smokehouses
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