How to make a hot smoked smoker yourself. A simple and effective do-it-yourself cold-smoked smokehouse. We study the features of the smoking process

Smoked products belong to the category of food delicacies, the cost of such products is quite high. However, you can cook a fragrant snack on your own. This requires a certain amount of sawdust and a home smokehouse.

The stores offer various ways home smoking - from ready-made mini smokehouses for gas stove to simple treatment in chemicals of the "liquid smoke" series. For true connoisseurs, we offer several options for how to make a smokehouse at home.

Important! A prerequisite for the operation of a normal smokehouse is the presence of free space around. Therefore, such installations can only be used in the yard. own house or at the cottage.

How to make a smokehouse with your own hands?

General principle work - intensive enveloping of the semi-finished product with fragrant smoke. There are two ways to cook "smoky" food:

Cold smoking

It is not the workpiece that is processed, but the product suitable for consumption. Requires pre-heat treatment or salting. Product long time is in the smoke chamber, acquiring the appropriate color or aroma.

To do this, the combustion chamber (smoke generator) is located at a distance from the chamber with the product. The connection is made using a long chimney, with an upward slope. It cools the smoke and forms a good draft.

During smoke treatment, the product withers. The smoke cannot be completely cold, while the temperature is not enough for a complete heat treatment of the product. Therefore, processed meat or fish should be fatty and juicy. That's when you get the most delicious texture.

The disadvantage is that the smoking process is too long, up to several days.. The product is not juicy enough. The design of the smokehouse itself is bulky and requires a lot of space.

Hot smoking

The smoke generator (furnace) is located in close proximity to the product. Most often located directly below it. Due to this, in the smoking chamber is formed heat, at which there is not only saturation of the product with the aroma of smoke, but also direct cooking.

Therefore, for hot smoking, not finished products are used, but semi-finished products. It can be lightly salted meat or lard, raw fish (sprinkled with salt, as for normal cooking), or products that are not fully cooked.

Typical design- a brazier, under which the combustion source is located. Sawdust or wood chips are stacked on the brazier, which are a source of smoke. The body of the smoking chamber is a kind of oven, in the interior of which the heat treatment of the semi-finished product takes place.

Advantage - the product can be used as a main dish. Juiciness and structure are preserved. In fact, this is baking in the oven, only with a wonderful aroma of smoke. Smoking takes a little time, from 1 to 3 hours.

The disadvantage is that constant monitoring of the furnace is necessary, sawdust cannot be ignited. There is a possibility of insufficient heat treatment of the raw product. To check the smoking mode, a thermometer is often installed in the chamber.

A home smoker can be made from various materials. Stone, metal, and even wood - in the case of making a cold smoking chamber. Consider several working options on how to make a smokehouse in the country with your own hands.

Any design must provide good traction and fire safety. A strong suspension is organized for products. If this rule is neglected, during the cooking process, the workpiece will fall into the furnace and be spoiled.

Who doesn't love smoked meat, fish or poultry? Such food, though not healthy, is loved by many. To cook it, use a smokehouse. Similar designs are divided into those intended for cold smoking and those used in hot smoking. This article will focus on the latter option.

Features of hot smoking

Today, cooking by hot smoking is incredibly popular. Smoked meat has long been a ritual dish of country rest.

The difference between the hot smoking method and the cold one is the shorter duration of the process. In addition, such preparation of products takes less strength. Food is cooked at a temperature of 70 -150°C. Cooking time varies from 60 to 120 minutes.

The photo of a hot-smoked smokehouse shows that the principle of its operation is based on the slow smoldering of sawdust and wood chips.

The use of wet wood is also allowed - in this case, the cooking result will turn out to be more juicy and tender. You can also heat with small dry branches - their burning time is quite long.

Advantages of this cooking method

Hot smoking has a lot of advantages:

High cooking speed. The fish will be ready in half an hour. For poultry, lard and meat, it will take 40 minutes.
The compact dimensions of the smokehouse.
Variety of options for heating the smokehouse. It can be either an open fire or an electric stove.
The ability to use a smoking device right in the house or on the loggia in the apartment.
Variety of design solutions. There are not only stationary, but also mobile copies of smokehouses.
Unforgettable taste of ready meals.

We make a smokehouse with our own hands

Of course, today you can buy already finished device for smoking, but it is much more exciting and interesting to make such a device yourself, since there are many ways. Drawings of smokehouses can be found on the Internet. The manufacture of this design is possible from the most different materials and improvised means. Consider the most popular options.

From a bucket

This is the simplest version of a home smokehouse. The device is a metal bucket into which a pair of gratings of of stainless steel. One of them is located at a height of ten centimeters from the bottom, and the other is slightly higher.

The advantages of such a device:

speed of creation;
low cost;
mobility.

small capacity. At a time, on such a smokehouse, you can cook 1 - 3 servings. If the family is large, then such a device is not suitable;
not aesthetically pleasing.

From the fridge

If finalized old refrigerator, then you can get a rather original smokehouse with your own hands. Its benefits will be:

strength and reliability;
unusualness.

In the lower part there is a container with chips, a little higher - a pan for collecting fat.

Flaws:

high requirements for the refrigerator itself;
the need for additional devices.

stainless steel

Such a smokehouse is a steel suitcase. Its size depends on your desire. Inside the walls of a similar design, metal corners are welded - they are needed to install gratings. Such a smokehouse is considered the most famous type of hot smoking device. It can even be used while hiking.

Advantages:

mobility;
ease of use;
no need for special knowledge and skills for its manufacture;
ease of maintenance.

Minus - this design does not allow you to track the smoking temperature, which makes the cooking process difficult.

from brick

Brick smokehouses are considered professional devices. They are stationary. They are built on a foundation. Brick is used refractory. If everything is done correctly, then such a structure will last for quite a few years.

The main disadvantage is the complexity of construction. To equip such a smokehouse, you need to carefully select appropriate place. Yes, and the construction of a brick building can be compared with the construction of a small house.

Whichever smokehouse model you choose, do not forget about safety rules both in the manufacture of the structure and during its subsequent operation.

Photo of a hot smoked smokehouse

What could be better than a pleasant holiday own dacha when a hearth is set up in an open area, and you enjoy unity with nature in the sincere company of relatives and friends. For complete happiness, it remains only to taste a dish from smoked fish or meat, cooked with my own hands. To diversify your table with dishes with an unforgettable taste and exquisite aroma, you only need to make a smokehouse for giving.

Many people know that there are two ways to cook smoked meats: cold and hot.

Cold-smoked products retain their texture and density. The technology is quite lengthy, but you should not rush things, because not fully cooked fish or meat can cause poisoning.

During hot smoking, products are cooked due to the heat emanating from the coals, soaking in a pleasant aroma of smoke and acquiring a richer taste.

The cold method involves smoking products for several days at a temperature of 30 °. Products are simply suspended from the smoke of a smoldering fire and kept for 5-7 days.

The hot method involves smoking fish or meat for several hours at a temperature of 90° to 150°. The lower the temperature in the installation, the longer the product is smoked

The main principle of smoking is that with optimal heating, wood chips, without igniting, gradually smolder, releasing a large number of smoke.

The main thing when arranging a smokehouse is to maintain the temperature, creating conditions under which tree branches and sawdust do not light up and char, and the dish turns out to be tasty and healthy.

The optimal method of smoking in the absence of special thermometers at home can only be determined empirically.

The lid must fit snugly against the body of the smoking chamber, otherwise burning can occur instead of smoking. Since at reusable the metal tends to warp to ensure a tight fit; the lid can be pressed down with an ordinary brick.

The design of the smokehouse is determined by the method of smoking.

During the construction of a device for cold smoking, the pit for the hearth is placed to the side, connecting it to the smoking chamber with a special pipe

During the construction of a device for hot smoking, a hearth with coals is placed directly under the smoking chamber

Smokehouse Option #1 - Hot Smoked Design

There are many options for smokehouse designs that you can make with your own hands. It all depends on the availability of free time, necessary for the manufacture of materials and the skills of the master.

The simplest version of the smokehouse is a structure made of a two hundred liter metal barrel.

Wood shavings are poured into the bottom of the container. Slightly above the middle, a reinforcing grid is placed, the thickness of the rods in which is 8-10 mm

The top of the barrel is covered with a piece of burlap, which prevents smoke from escaping. The structure is closed wooden shield. The barrel is set on posts made of bricks, and a fire is made under it.

The same principle of arrangement can be applied by making a smokehouse from a metal bucket. To arrange the lattice, we used willow rods, from which we formed a ring and braided it with wire so that a coarse mesh was obtained.

The moment is also important right choice sawdust. In no case do not take coniferous sawdust, otherwise you will get a guaranteed failure. It does not taste good when cooked on aspen sawdust.

For smoking, it is best to use shavings and ground branches left over from autumn pruning fruit trees: cherry, sea buckthorn, apple tree, apricot

A delicious dish can be obtained by using branches of birch, bird cherry and dry alder. But they must first be cleaned of the bark, because it gives bitterness.

Smoker Option #2 - Cold Smoked Design

To provide yourself with a variety of delicacies, you can make a smokehouse yourself.

Selecting an installation site

On the one hand, the place should be convenient so that there is where to lay out the products and sit down, waiting for the process to complete. On the other hand, it is better to place a flammable structure away from green spaces and buildings, since a raging flame can cause irreparable damage.

When choosing a place to install a smokehouse, it is important to consider not only the convenience for those involved in cooking, but also the safety of the structure.

It is also necessary to provide enough space for arranging an underground chimney 3 meters long, with an average height of 25-27 cm and a width of 30-50 cm.

Procurement of materials

For the smokehouse chamber, a metal barrel or iron box. For work, it is better to use a container whose area does not exceed one meter, and the height is one and a half meters. You can make it by cutting and bending a sheet of metal, and then welding a box from it without a bottom and a roof.

When arranging a smokehouse, it is better to use natural materials which, when heated, do not emit substances harmful to human health

Chimney arrangement

The upper wall of the channel can be decorated with the same brick or covered with a sheet of thick metal. On top of the chimney we place a damper that will block the exit of heat and smoke. It is better to cut it from a piece of sheet metal having a thickness of 4 mm.

We lay the chimney channel above the level of the smokehouse. We lay out the walls of the chimney with bricks, setting their edge and fastening them with clay mortar

We connect the chimney with the smokehouse so that the entry is 20 cm, ensuring uniform distribution and timely removal of smog to the outside. We seal the joints of the walls of the smoking chamber and the chimney with clay mortar.

Installation of a smoking chamber

To equip the firebox, we dig a hole in the ground with a depth of 40 cm and a diameter of 70 cm, providing for space for air intake.

We lay out the smoking chamber from bricks using a sand-clay mortar, or we use a metal box for this purpose

As the fire to keep warm sawdust we will kindle directly on the ground, the bottom of the box is completely removed. We build the smoking compartment itself from a lattice made of iron twigs. An excellent addition to the design will be metal hooks, on which it is convenient to hang fish carcasses and pieces of meat.

In the process of smoking, meat and fish begin to release fat. In order to have a place for it to drain, we place a shallow tray under the grate, leaving gaps between the walls of the box and the edges of the tray for the passage of flue gases.

Wet sacking stretched over the firebox will allow smoke to pass through without hindrance, but at the same time protect products from contamination by ash and foreign matter.

To be able to control the process, we fix a mechanical thermometer on the wall of the structure.

First test of the device

Inside the smoking compartment, lay out the fish or pieces of meat so that they do not touch.

In the sawdust section, we fill in the chopped wood of any fruit tree and heat the stove. We close the damper, waiting until the smoking chamber warms up and fills with smoke. Preparatory stage takes a quarter of the total cooking time and lasts from 10 to 15 minutes.

It is not at all necessary to be limited to smoking only one fish. Chicken, pork neck stuffed with garlic and lard can be used

When the temperature rises to the required level, the outlet is opened. You can determine the temperature in the smokehouse using a mechanical thermometer or using the water method. To do this, you need to drop water on the lid and observe: if it does not hiss during evaporation, the smoking process is proceeding correctly. If you need to lower the temperature, just move the coals a little.

It remains only to wait until the product is completely smoked, becoming hot to the touch and acquiring a golden hue.

For the first time, you can check the readiness of the product right during the cooking process, removing the lid for a split second and returning it back with the same speed, thereby somewhat violating the production technology. As you gain experience, this will no longer be necessary, and you will be much better versed in creating culinary masterpieces in the fresh air.

In addition to hot smoking, the method of cold or universal preparation of products is used. Each has its pros and cons.

Cold smoke processing - delicate taste and aroma, less accumulation of carcinogens from smoke in food, the shelf life of the finished product increases. Cooking time is 3-7 days or longer.

Hot is the most fast way obtaining the finished product (40-120 min.). Food is served not cooled down - "hot, hot". But the shelf life does not exceed five to seven days at a temperature not lower than 5-7ºC.

The universal occupies an intermediate position between the other two.

Types of simple smokehouses

The simplest device known since ancient times is an amateur smokehouse from an open smoking fire. It is a hearth dug in the ground or made from a fence with an earthen parapet, stone or damp logs. A lattice of small rods of fresh wood is arranged on top.

Previously, before laying out the crate, a fire is lit in the hearth to create coals (like a barbecue). Further, after the burning of firewood and the accumulation of a sufficient number of smoldering charred poles, chips of deciduous trees (alder, birch, aspen) are laid. It is allowed to use small dry brushwood (without foliage). The crate is being set up. Fish is laid out (meat, lard, chicken, game). Buried in branches with green foliage.

IN winter time, in the absence of foliage, it is possible to use spruce or pine (cedar) spruce branches. But it is necessary to lay a layer of branches. Otherwise, when heated and in contact with food, the released resin will add bitterness to the product.

Along with the simplicity of design, what is important in field conditions, the cooking process will be a very troublesome task:

it is necessary to monitor the absence of an open flame;
it is important that smoldering coals do not suffocate due to a small influx of fresh air;
do not make a mistake with the amount of coal or wood chips;
properly organize the hearth.

The depth (from the top cut) should be at least 25-30 cm. The transverse dimension is 40-60 cm.

A more relaxed process of preparing delicious food is provided by a home-made hot smoked smokehouse. Conditionally divided into two large groups: fixed installation or mobile. The first type is mounted on the site near your home. The second is a compact design. Due to its small size and light weight, it allows you to transport or move from place to place, take it with you on a hike or a picnic.

mobile design

A hand-made portable smokehouse for hot smoking is a product in the form of a metal rectangular box or cylindrical shape. The smoking scheme is shown in Fig. 1

The figure shows that the heat source (fire, gas or electric stove) is outside the structure. The task is to heat the sawdust inside to a state of charring. In this case, hot smoke will be emitted, enveloping food products. The latter are located on gratings or hooks. The released fat flows into a container (baking tray). The penetration of air into the structure is prevented by a water seal.

In practice, the simplest devices are made without water seals. As a container are used:

bucket 10-16 liters;
food tank 20-25 liters;
medical decommissioned autoclaves of cylindrical and rectangular shape.

One or two lattices are arranged inside. Material - wooden rods (Fig. 2), part of the building mesh (for reinforcement or bricklaying). the container is located on supports (brick, stones, logs). A fire is made under it (Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6). As a cover, if there is none, burlap, a piece of tarpaulin, branches with green leaves are used.

Fig.2 Fig.3 Fig.4 Fig.5 Fig.6

Advantages of this type:

there is no need to make a container - the first product that comes across is used, suitable for making a smokehouse;
no special place is required - creating a fire pit, as for a regular fire;
allows you to cook fish, meat, game and other products.

A more serious product is a do-it-yourself smokehouse for hot smoking, made of metal using a tool. Most often, a rectangular shape is taken as the basis. This type is distinguished by a simple cutting of a sheet of metal. It is easier to cut, bend (Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9).

Fig.7 Fig.8 Fig.9

But from a smoked lover you will need:

elementary skills in the use of locksmith tools;
handle soldering or welding machine;
ability to make drawings (sketches).

When choosing a material, preference should be given to stainless steel:

resists many chemical components found in smoke;
does not oxidize at high temperatures;
has less adhesion to fatty acids, soot, soot - easier to clean after a fire;
does not rust;
has a longer service life.

But stainless steel is harder to work with. The material is more brittle, has less plasticity. Hence, it is harder to bend. Microcracks often form at the bend. The way out is the use of high-temperature solders or welding with a stainless electrode.

Another material is cold rolled steel. Applied to automobiles or manufacturing household appliances. Plastic, bends well, but rusts, oxidizes. One of the protection options is the use of high-temperature paint or varnish. The basis is organosilicon compounds. Racks up to heating 600-650°C. With such a coating, a do-it-yourself smoked smoker will be reliably protected.

A mobile structure for hot smoking is possible, following the rules fire safety, apply indoors. Heat source - gas or electric stove. The output of sublimation products (smoke) is provided through a tube in kitchen hood or window (Fig. 16).

For the processing of serious volumes, stationary installations are used.

Stationary installation

Conditionally can be divided:

made from improvised materials;
designed and made from new materials.

For such structures, before starting the design and production part of the process, it is necessary to estimate the costs. Determined by the volume of processing products. home smokehouse hot smoked, hand-picked, will justify itself in operation at least once or twice a week with a load of two or more kilograms of semi-finished products.

After carrying out such an analysis, you can solve the problem: how to make a smokehouse for hot smoking yourself. The first step is to use simple available parts or design a device from scratch.

improvised materials

The food preparation scheme remains the same (Fig. 10). The dimensions of the structure change, respectively, the mass increases. The place of a bucket or tank is occupied by a 200-liter iron barrel, the body of an old refrigerator or a metal wardrobe with manufacturing enterprise(fig.11, fig.12, fig.13). The advantages of this design:

low initial costs for the material of the main components of the fume hood;
a small amount of improvements;
simplicity of design;

Fig.10 Fig.11 Fig.12 Fig.13

A do-it-yourself hot-smoked smokehouse made from new materials is an opportunity not only to provide your home, family and relatives with a delicious product. This is the creation of a small business for the production of smoked delicacy.

The design of the smokehouse device must be started from the reverse. That is, knowing the approximate needs for the finished product, having determined the priorities of demand from consumers, we proceed to the calculations. The internal volume of the chamber is determined maximum dimensions individual products:

Example. The average size of a chicken carcass is 30x18x18cm. For the passage of smoke, it is necessary to leave a distance between adjacent products of 5-7 cm. The design is two-level. One-time loading - 24 carcasses. 12 chickens (3 x 4) are placed in one row. The maximum transverse dimension of the chamber will be: (5+18+5+18+5+18+5+18+5) cm = 97 cm.

Minimum vertical dimension: (10+20+30+10+30+10) cm = 110 cm (lower distance from sawdust to pallet, pallet-carcass, carcass, distance between carcasses, gap, carcass, distance to the lid).

With an increase internal dimensions, improve the convenience of loading and unloading. But the consumption of sawdust and firewood is increasing. From here, you should choose the golden mean - to ensure economical consumption fuel, sawdust and food preparation conditions.

A home smokehouse used for small businesses is made of sheet metal and a profile (corner, pipe, strip). The main form is in the form of a cabinet (Fig. 14). This ensures the convenience of loading and unloading. Another variant - brick building(fig.15).

Fig.14 Fig.15

An important factor is the choice of location for the location of the structure. We must not forget the original name - chimney. Therefore, the wind rose should be taken into account. Otherwise, all the smoke may be directed towards the house or buildings where pets are kept.

The installation of forced pumping with smoke allows you to increase the productivity and quality of smoking. To do this, a supercharger (fan, compressor) is built into the circuit. The advantage is an increase in the flow of hot smoke into a container with a large volume (Fig. 17). Products warm up faster, cook and soak in the aroma of smoke.

for cooking products, it is better to use chips of deciduous trees and shrubs: alder, cherry, oak, juniper, pear, apple tree;
the size of the wood should not be larger than 5-10 cm; large fractions are more difficult to heat up to the sublimation temperature (charring);
the optimum temperature inside is 60-90°C; check: the water that has fallen on the lid should not boil.

There are many design options. A smoker, designed by oneself, can cook not only fish and meat. A real delicacy is smoked vegetables or fruits (Fig. 18). For example, potatoes, eggplants, noble mushrooms, apples, plums, apricots.

We hope that the above examples and tips will help answer the question: how to make a hot smoked smokehouse. The editors of the site and our readers will be grateful to the craftsmen who shared their experience on hot-smoked designs made by their own hands. You can leave your opinion in the "comments" block.

If there is a choice between buying a smokehouse and making a do-it-yourself unit, the second option often outweighs the scales. This makes it cheaper. After all, it is very easy to make a smokehouse with your own hands from improvised means and a banal set of tools that every good owner has.

A do-it-yourself smokehouse can be made from almost any steel container that is suitable in size: a pipe, a cylinder, a medical sterilizer, a pot, a bucket, a metal barrel, a flask, oven and so on.

Samples of do-it-yourself smoking designs can be viewed in the video.

Kinds

There are many types of smokehouses by type of fuel:

coal;
gas;
electrical;
household;
professional.

The smokehouse can also be:

disposable;
portable;
mobile;
stationary.

It can be either a separate product or part of a furnace or metal complex.

The general concept of a smokehouse is a closed container or compartment where smoke from the hearth enters.

The key division between the units is the method of smoking - hot or cold.

cold way

The technology of cold smoking at 30-50 degrees allows the products to retain their structure and density. Cold smoking takes longer than hot smoking, but rushing in this case can only do harm. An under-smoked product is a raw product. Meat after cold smoking is stored longer than after hot smoking. For example, a large cold-smoked pork leg can be stored in a dry cellar for about a year. It will retain its taste and aroma, but may dry out a little. In the refrigerator, such a product can be stored for a maximum of a month.

Interesting: when storing hand-made smoked meats in a basement or cellar, it is worth knowing that carnivorous rodents really love such meat and smell it from afar.

Smoking requires careful preparation of the product. How to do it right, you can learn from the video.

The duration of cold smoking depends on the quantity and size of the product. For small fish, cold smoking can take up to 6 hours, but for pork thigh, the cooking period can take up to three days.

A cold smokehouse is simpler in design, but it requires more space, since the hearth must be at a distance from the products so that the smoke has time to cool.

hot way

Hot smoking is carried out at a temperature of 70-120 degrees. Cooking is fast - from 15 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the amount and size of meat. Hot smoking is a less time-consuming process, but the products after the smoking procedure will have a richer taste than with the alternative method. Preliminary preparation almost no product is required.

Read also: Making a universal smokehouse

The shelf life of such products is no more than 36 hours in the open air. In the refrigerator, they freeze and immediately lose most palatability. In an enclosed space, they rot very quickly.

semi-hot way

There is also a semi-hot smoking method. He carried out at a temperature of 60-70 degrees in units for cold smoking. Such a product is not much different from cold-smoked meat, but in terms of storage, it also does not last long, as with hot-smoked meat.

Only fresh semi-finished products can be smoked without preparation using the semi-hot method. Great option if you need to quickly cook a lot of delicacies for a large company.

Simple cold smoked smokehouse

There are countless design options for cold smoking on the network, which you can do with your own hands from improvised items.

The simplest smokehouse for this processing method is a plastic film construction.

You will need 2 meters of the strongest film that is usually used for greenhouses. The sleeve of the film is sutured on one side, forming a bag.
On a small flat area, with an area of 1m 2, stakes 2 meters high each are driven in at the corners. At the top, they are connected by transverse crossbars. The structure must be firmly fixed and not stagger from gusts of wind.
Stakes opposite to each other are connected diagonally with rods in 2-3 rows.
Fish for smoking are hung on these rods so that the carcasses do not touch each other.
A polyethylene bag, prepared in advance, is put on top of the structure to the middle.
Half a bucket of burning coal is poured onto the site and fresh green grass is placed on top of it.
After laying out the fuel, the film descends to the very ground and is well fixed. In order to get a sealed room.
You can add fresh herbs if needed. After three hours, the bag is removed and the fish is ventilated. Large fish, if necessary, are smoked again the next day.

Ready at minimum cost. In the video you can see how to assemble such a design and its work.

Fuel for cold smoking

alder, previously peeled from the bark;
juniper;
bird cherry and birch, peeled;
maple;
sawdust fruit trees: cherry, apple, sea buckthorn.

Important: cannot be used for smoking coniferous trees- they produce resin, and the products will acquire a bitter taste.

Option for a stationary cold smokehouse

With your own hands, you can construct not only flimsy and unsightly structures. It is not so difficult to make a stationary cold homemade smokehouse, which will last more than one year.