Smokehouse Project (pictures)

[cowgirlone]

I posted this in the outdoor forum too.


I don't know if any of you remember me asking about portable smokehouses earlier this year......http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=159017


I decided to combine the block pit that I cook whole hogs on.....(ended up getting more blocks instead)




With a home made contraption to set on top........



and have come up with this so far..............




It is 4ft wide, 3ft deep and 6'7" tall at the peak.


This is a dry run, I am thinking of making it permanent....depending on how the location works out.
Right now DH has offered to weld a smoke box for me. I had planned on using fire brick.

If all works out well, I will cement the blocks in and make a shelf on the front.

The inside has dowels and a place for racks, these are all removable.



I've been building it in the shop this summer in my spare time. We moved it out to the block base this weekend.....it wasn't very light!! lol


Hopefully I will have it finished by the time I need it.

[dave85]

Keep us posted on how it works.

Dave

[tinknal]

CG, How are you producing the smoke? Do you burn right in the pit? If so how do you intend to keep it from burning down?

[cowgirlone]

Thanks Dave, I'll keep you posted.

Tinknal, the firebox and pipe are not attached yet. The pipe running to the firebox will come out of that black hole in the side. I have the pipe, just waiting on the firebox.

[cowgirlone]

Thank you WIHH, Hopefully I will be able to do more hams and bacon at one time.

[CJ]

That looks wonderful, I can't wait to see it finished and hear how it works, I would LOVE to build something like that!

[Jim S.]

It won't burn down, tinknal, because the smoke temp ought to be 250 degrees or less. Ideally, 180-220. It's a "cold smoking" process. I like it. My MIL has an old log cabin smokehouse on her place. Man, you'll be able to smoke a lot of meat with that in one filling!

My question is, how will you control smoke output and temp into the chamber? A flue on the firebox, I am guessing. Yes, use firebrick inside the firebox. It's cheap, protects it, and it keeps the heat fluctuations down.

Here's my smoker project this year. I just smoked the first 30 or so pounds of pork in it yesterday. Mmmm. The firebox is lined with firebrick.





A 10-pound shoulder (our biggest chunk of meat) took 8 hours to get to 175, at a smoker temp of 225-250. I'll be pulling the meat tonight when I get home.

[cowgirlone]

Thank you CJ! My family made the suggestion that I start making "lighter" projects........use maybe styrofoam. My last project was a large outdoor bar/counter that we use on the patio. I put casters on the bottom, but it was still a bugger to get moved from DH's shop to where I wanted it. lol

Jim, I love your cooker!! That's a great way to use barrels. Wish I were closer for some of that pork!

The fire box will have a baffle and air intake and the smokestack on top has a baffle. I will be able to control smoke flow and temperature with these.

I bought a smokestack and modified it a bit.........I added a rain cap and attached a screen to the top to keep any bugs out.
This is a shot of it when I was putting tin on the roof.

[notenoughtime]

That is so neat. It looks like you have put a lot of time and thought into it.

[Hillbillybob]

Nice, Nice smoke house.
I also like the berrow smoker. More of the kind of things I make.
You should enjoy lots of fine eating out of either.

Hillbillybob

cowgirl, you better invest in a good sausage stuffer. When I seen the picture with the dowel rods I seen visions of Summer sausage, Hot links, and Polish sausage hanging in there. It was making my mouth water something terrible!

[MountAiry]

Oh I'm jealous Cowgirlone! That looks wonderful!

[js2743]

you better have a water hose ready or put the fire department on standby because i see a fire waiting to happen. its wood and wood burns....when you get the fire going that is gonna dry the wood even more and you got yourself a tinder box, wouldnt take but 1 spark and its one hot smokehouse. that would be like building yourself a stove out of wood, dont think it is gonna work to good. the older smoke houses was much bigger and i dont think they really got up to 225 or 250 they kept the fire going for days and the smoke did the job over a longer period of time.

I'm curious also. Just how much heat will you be using in your new smoke house? My grandparents had a wooden smoke house but they didn't build a hot fire in it. They covered their meat in a curing salt and then hung it up on the racks. Then every morning grandpa would take some hot coals out of the woodstove and place in a milking bucket/pail. Then he would throw on top of the coals some water soaked wood chips or small limbs. Then he would place the bucket inside the smokehouse on the dirt floor and let it smolder. This was called cold smoking as the bucket of coals didn't warm the smokehouse up enough to cook the meat. The meat was salt/smoked cured for future use.

[MELOC]

i have an old stone smokehouse. folks used to raise hogs on this stead' many years ago. they would smoke an cure hams in the smokehouse. my uncle told me he remembers tending the fire. on thing i was always curious of was how did they control the ashes? i guess it was no concern to have ashes flying around.

the smokehouse is behind the pink almond bush, lol.

[cowgirlone]

Thank you notenoughtime and Hillbillybob, I lay awake at night and think of things to keep me busy.

Hi r.h.! I already have a sausage stuffer. The firebox will be several feet away from the smokehouse. It gives the smoke time to cool down to temperature.
I still have a hot smoker, this is just for cold smoking cured meats.

Thank you Mountainairy, you should try building one, even a small one is worth the time. This larger one is replacing what I used to use to do 1 hog at a time. I should be able to get the bacon and hams from two into this one.

js2743, here is a link that explains cold smoking and frame smokehouses.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/book_ms/ms_sd.htm
It's for cold smoking only. Anything I want to smoke at a temperature of 200 to 250 will go in my hot smoker.
A cold smoker can be made out of almost anything, even a cardboard box.

Cool Meloc! That looks like a nice one.

[cowgirlone]

Here's a cool looking outhouse shaped cold smoker....http://www.smoking-meat.com/smokehouse-plans.html

[elkhound]

be still my heart....i love both of the smokers.

[cowgirlone]

LOL! elkhound, thanks for the laugh!


I forgot to add a close up of the smoke pipe hole....


DH made this for me.....it's a tube frame with a plate welded on the front.
This is where the smoke pipe will enter from the firebox.

[wilderness1989]

Here's what I use and it's sure a lot less hassle than building one.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...l&N=4887&Nty=1