Anyone know of good home smoking builds?

[paul1979]

Hello again,

For fear of driving myself mad venturing around the web and knowing that perhaps someone has done this... I venture here.

As regards to my last post, I am drying meats but would love to build a good home smoking kit for drying out meats and giving them that great flavour. Has anyone made something like this, or indeed just know a good website that isn't going to muddle my mind.

Regards,
Paul

[Chants Cottage]

Well, we haven't done it yet but are planning to build a simple smoker with an oak barrel (just bought one from local garden/DIY type place - sold as a water butt!), and attach it to some kind of wood burning stove with a length of air conditioning type duct. I think we'll have to put hooks in the lid and dangle things off it, which will be fine for larger pieces of meat etc but slightly tricky for cheese!! I do have a little mesh hanging basket thing which may do for such a purpose. It's all going to be a bit trial and error really...

[boboff]

I wouldn't worry too much, just try with what you have, I used an old Gas Woodburner and an internal flexible hose from a ventillation system, put this into a "room" and hung the stuff at the top, it was very nice indeed.

[grahamhobbs]

Paul, I've been wondering the same thing and have looked at many Utube videos, it all seemed very complicated, the americans especially seem to over complicate things. However I visited a National Trust farm in Cumbria a short while ago. Meat was smoked here by hanging it, not in the chimney, but in a space high up (1st floor level) in front of the chimney. Smoke from the fire obviously spilled out from the fireplace on occasions and rose up to where the meat was hanging. The meat was accessed through a cupboard door in the adjacent bedroom above.
Not suggesting anyone replicates this but it is clear that it needn't be an operation conducted with precise equipment.
The sophistication I'd suggest is that the bit where you hang the food has ventilation that you can open or close, so with a thermometer you can control the temperature inside.

[paul1979]

Thanks for the replies guys! I understand about the over complication which did put me off, but then I thought that it need not be that way considering the principle is a very basic one (just a touch of trial and error really) and have a few plans now in my cranium to commence something once I have moved house - and it will be a Chants Cottage style make. Danke again!

[daz101]

We used to smoke eels by the river whilst fishing. Take a family circle (big square) biscuit tin cut a 3" hole in the bottom and place the meat or whatever on a trivet inside. Raise the tin up on rocks or sticks and light a small wood chip fire under the hole. Temp can be controlled either by venting the lid or using a larger fire and is really good for finding your feet on this subject.

[oldfella]

http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm28 ... Smoker.jpg

This my smoker, which consists a brick fire grate, a flue that runs up to an old tin storage cupboard and enters the at the bottom , an old veg strainer over the open end of pipe, to filter out the bits , Add a couple of steel food racks inside your cupboard, stick a chimney on top, with a slide damper, and your set to go.

A friend built one using an old wooden cupboard , and swears his produce is better tasting.
Anyway good luck and happy smoking
Oldfella

[daz101]

Is that primarily a cold smoker? What kind of temperatures do you get up to the the cupboard?

[oldfella]

Depends on outside temperature, but do most of our smoking during the winter, and it's normally around the 30c mark. The main problem some folk have is the brining, and not allowing it to dry out enough, before smoking, It it depends if you are smoking to preserve, or to eat within a day or so. If you are smoking to preserve then I would cold smoke over a longer period, but as there is only the two of us we smoke for next days meal.

[Helsbells]

I've got this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frontier-3-1-BB ... 535&sr=8-1

It was a present, I love it, can do hot and cold smoking.

[featherstick]

A pal on our allotments has made a smoker from an old domestic fridge. Hole cut top and bottom, bit of 6 inch ducting leading to the smoke pot about 5 feet away. A biscuit-tin arrangement for smouldering the sawdust. The model was taken from the Strawbridge book on self-sufficiency.