Summer is good because you can take a break from boring pots and pans and switch to light dishes of vegetables and herbs. And, of course, all summer residents buy tons of meat and fish and fry kebabs. How else can you diversify your country table? Smoke!
Smoking
- This is the heat treatment of products, the process of impregnating them with smoke, which is formed during incomplete combustion of wood.
Smoking as a method of preparing various products (mainly fish and meat) has been known since time immemorial. In our area it gained wide popularity back in the 10th century. In Ancient Rus', food was traditionally smoked with thick smoke on Spirit Day to ward off various evil spirits. But not only superstitions and traditions determined the popularity of this method - all “surpluses” were smoked so that they could be stored for a long time.
There are 3 smoking methods : cold, semi-hot and hot. This article will focus on the latter.
Smoking is considered hot from 43 degrees and above. Today this is a worldwide popular cooking method, loved by many for its soft, delicate final consistency, pleasant aroma and the possibility of long-term storage of the prepared dish.
Previously, smokehouses were built according to certain rules and technologies. They were made in the form of a high column, the top of which was hermetically sealed. All cracks were coated with clay. The column had two windows - one for hanging food inside on built-in hooks, the second for fuel. Now everything is much simpler.
A visit to the Novomoskovsky market showed that smokehouses are sold for almost every taste and budget: small and large, round and square, from 2000 to 5000 rubles (they say that everything is much cheaper in Monetka, but we’re talking about something else now)
And everything seems to be fine, but the material from which they are made leaves much to be desired - it is too thin and will quickly burn out. And in general, we are not looking for easy ways, so we decided to sign up for homemade products.
We build a smokehouse with our own hands
To make the smokehouse we needed:
- Large saucepan – 1 pc. (400 rubles)
- A barbecue, once bought at the same market and successfully rusted (200 rubles)
- 2 bricks (20 rubles)
- Old grate (150 rubles)
- Metal dumplings (150 rubles).
Total 920 rubles (at least 50% savings).
And what to do now with all this strange set? It's simple. We put up a grill. We put bricks in it.
We place the pan on the bricks.
Place a broken wire rack in the pan (as a support).
Dumplings on her.
And voila - the smokehouse is ready, you can start.
H
What else do we need?
First, you will need some wood chips
.
I would recommend apple one. Alder is
not for everybody – it gives a sour taste. One bag will last for a long time - literally a handful is needed for one smoking session (the wood chips should just barely cover the bottom of the smokehouse).
Important: To reduce the amount of harmful substances, the wood chips are pre-soaked. Smoke from the bottom layer, seeping through the wet top, leaves harmful components on it.
If you add more, firstly, too much smoke will affect the taste of the dish (an unpleasant bitterness will appear). And secondly, failure to comply with the proportions is harmful to health (problems with the stomach and pancreas are possible).
I categorically do not recommend buying wood chips at the above-mentioned market - they cost 5 or even 7 times more than in the store.
If you prefer not to buy this product, but to extract it yourself, it is worth remembering a few things - namely, which wood chips are famous for what. Aspen
gives smoked meats a rather delicate flavor.
Oak
is a pleasant, persistent aroma.
Birch
is not for everyone - the aroma is pleasant, but the taste is somewhat tarry (
important!
It must be without bark - otherwise the smokedness will be ruined irrevocably).
plum, pear, apple -
is ideal for smoking .
But resinous wood is absolutely not suitable! Pine, fir, spruce
give the product a bitter taste.
Some people add juniper, mint, cherry and currant leaves
.
In addition to wood chips, we will need any fuel
- coal, firewood. And it’s better to have both – to maintain constant heat and a small fire under our structure.
So, a miracle of technological thought has been built. Now it’s time for the most important thing – cooking! In this matter, your imagination will have plenty of room to run wild - there are countless options.
Fish and seafood
If you ask what product is associated with the word “smoked”, most will answer without hesitation: sausage and fish. The first option is not for us, but the second is just it. Fish is considered the most popular smoking product.
Do I need to prepare it in advance
?
Necessary! a whole fish
, rub it with spices, and put lemon slices in the cuts. For rubbing, I would recommend the following mixture of herbs: dry parsley, dill, oregano, white pepper, allspice. Spicy lovers can add garlic and chili pepper. It is customary to rub fish against the scales.
If you prefer to smoke steaks
, it is better to marinate them rather than grate them.
The base is a brine: water, salt, ground black pepper, bay leaf. To this “base” you can add any herbs and spices to your taste, lemon juice, etc. Or you can generally choose any other marinade - yogurt, honey, white wine - whatever you usually use. Just take into account that before smoking, it is advisable to wipe the fish
(for example, with paper towels, napkins)
or hang it to dry
in the fresh air.
Suitable for smoking
: trout, salmon, carp, perch, cod, greenling, pollock, flounder, capelin. It is not recommended for professionals (of whom I do not consider myself) to smoke varieties that are too fatty - the taste is not the same. Depending on the size of the fish, it takes from 40 minutes to an hour and a half to smoke it.
Seafoods
that are optimal for smoking are shrimp, mussels, crabs, and lobsters. They do not require preliminary preparation, but if desired, you can sprinkle them with lemon juice or soy sauce. But when they are ready to be smoked, it is ideal to pour olive (or melted butter) oil mixed with garlic and herbs. You can also drizzle with warmed white wine and finely chopped cilantro, in the French style. To smoke seafood, 20-30 minutes is enough.
White sauce, garlic and mustard sauces are suitable for fish and seafood.
Design and drawings of a smokehouse from a saucepan
A smokehouse made from a stainless steel pan or other material used for hot smoking has the following advantages:
- products are prepared quickly, they do not need to be pre-prepared;
- Ready-made dishes have a bright taste and aroma.
Despite the fact that smoked meats cannot be stored for a long time, they certainly will not spoil. Because everyone will like the pleasant taste.
A smokehouse made from an old pan does not require any special construction skills. It consists of a lid, body, stand and grill. The basis is a metal container of the desired size, into which the products to be smoked should be placed. The stand is made of bricks or a metal corner.
Thanks to the baking tray in the smokehouse, fat dripping from the meat will not interfere with the normal smoldering of the wood
The pan can be placed on the grill. Skewers serve as supports.
Based on a simple version, other smokers are made not only for hot, but also for cold smoking
Important! The mini-smokehouse must be stable to avoid unpleasant and dangerous incidents during cooking.
The distance from the fire to the smoldering sawdust should be optimal
Examples of ready-made smokehouses from a pot with your own hands are shown in the photo:
A practical device for smoking fish is made from an old pan. You can smoke not only in a kitchen container, but also in a metal bucket with a lid. Smoking food can be done using two old pans
Cold smoked smokehouse
A basic smokehouse made from a saucepan is designed for hot smoking. To make a device for cold smoking, you will have to work hard. The principle of operation of such a smokehouse is that the source of smoke is located outside. It makes no sense to dig a pit, as is done when constructing massive smokehouses, so in this case it is useful to use a smoke generator.
Despite the fact that we devote our article to homemade devices, it is advisable to purchase a factory-made smoke generator. These positive qualities are expressed in the fact that it is possible to adjust the temperature of the smoke, fully automate the process of supplying it, and also significantly save on material. When constructing a smoke generator yourself, you will need a container for wood chips, an electric heater, a pipe system and a compressor.
What will come out of the pan?
As we know, there are two types of smoking - cold and hot; only the second option can be made from a pan. It has its advantages:
- food preparation speed;
- no preliminary preparation of products is required;
- bright taste and aroma.
They keep much shorter, but given their taste, there is no need to store them for a long time; everything will be eaten in a few hours.
The main advantage of hot smoking with your own hands is that you can make the smokehouse itself very quickly, and depending on what materials you have, instantly.
At the stage of selecting a container for a smokehouse, we recommend not using galvanized pans, since zinc salts as a result of thermal effects negatively affect the human body. For these purposes, the optimal solution would be stainless, enameled and metal containers without a protective coating.
Two types of natural smoking
Let’s make a reservation right away that the division of smoking into two types is purely conditional, and it is quite difficult to draw a clear line between them. That is why many people talk about the existence of a third type - semi-hot smoking. The determining factor here is the temperature at which the dish is cooked. But the cooking time, consistency and taste of the product, its calorie content and vitamin content depend on it. Neither method has a clear advantage. Each of them has its own pros and cons.
Smoking itself was originally used as a way to preserve the product. Over time, its technology has changed, and now smoked meats are associated with a special tart taste and smell of woody smoke.
- Hot smoking is characterized by a high smoke temperature. It can vary from 70°C degrees to 120°C, depending on the recipe. At such a high temperature, the product becomes soft as all the fibers are broken down. However, there is no need to talk about preserving vitamins here. The cooking time is several tens of minutes. You can smoke meat, lard, fish, and poultry using the hot method.
- The natural consistency is preserved during cold smoking. This is a method of treating a product with smoke if its temperature is between 27 and 29°C degrees. In this mode, the dish will cook for several hours or even days. But cold smoked products can be stored longer and are more saturated with vitamins.
In order to create the necessary temperature conditions, the design of a homemade smokehouse must be properly adapted. The hot smoking pot smoker is designed so that the source of smoke is inside the smoking box. With cold smoking, the smoke must come from outside, while having time to cool to the desired temperature.
Making a homemade smokehouse from a saucepan
The smokehouse, regardless of its type and size, must consist of the following elements:
- Frame. In our case it will be a saucepan. The entire smoking process will take place in it.
- Grates (they can have different shapes) on which pre-prepared products will be placed during smoking.
- A lid that will help keep all the smoke inside the housing you are using. It should fit as tightly as possible to the pan so that the smoking process is uniform.
- Stand. A smokehouse will be installed on it. Firewood is placed under the stand to heat the fuel that will be inside the pan.
Scheme and drawings
There are various diagrams on the Internet, as well as drawings according to which you can easily make such a simple small-sized smokehouse yourself. There is nothing complicated in the design, so even an inexperienced person who has never used such equipment can handle the assembly process.
Tools and materials you may need
In order to make one of the simplest smokehouse options, you may need the following materials.
- One large saucepan.
- Old barbecue.
- Two strong bricks.
- One or two old grates.
- Metal dumpling or varenechnitsa.
This design, if you buy everything, will save at least half of the cost of a factory smokehouse.
Build process
A mini-smokehouse can be built from a saucepan using several durable containers that will have the same diameter. The upper container must be inserted as tightly as possible into the lower one so that there is no gap between them, through which smoke can leak during the smoking process.
Holes are made in the top pan, in the bottom, so that smoke can escape upward from the bottom of the structure, where the fuel is placed. The more holes there are, the better.
The grate on which the food will be placed should be placed a few centimeters from the lid. It is important that there is at least a little space between the lid and the stacked products. Otherwise, they will not be properly coated on all sides. The grille is very easy to attach. You need to make four holes in the walls of the upper pan, into which fairly thin rods are inserted. Then a lattice is laid on them.
Assembly
A metal tray on small legs is installed between the grate and the bottom of the upper vessel. It is worth making sure that it does not touch the walls of the container being used. It is necessary to install it, because the pan will be able to protect the products in the event that the fuel catches fire. In addition, it is into it that fat from smoked meats will drain, which should not fall on the smoldering wood chips.
Useful video
Watch the video that clearly demonstrates how to quickly and easily make a smokehouse from a saucepan.
For the master class, prepare a pan in advance. Let it be stainless steel kitchen utensils. It is also possible to use aluminum, but not enameled one, because its coating is not designed for prolonged contact with an open flame.
We will also need a metal grate used as a hot stand. You can buy it specifically in the store. However, in the absence of one, it is permissible to make a similar structure from steel wire
It is important that it is the right size to fit into the prepared pan.
Let's start with the grid
It is important for us to raise its grid a little higher than it is located in the original version. To do this, we bite off the bridges between the circles and bend them down
Now these are new legs.
Place a wire rack in the pan. Now everything is ready to smoke in it.
Too easy, you say? Not always. Sometimes it is not possible to find a lattice in which it is possible to bend the extra mesh bars, turning them into legs. Then our advice is to take the grille that is ours and work with it.
Our task is to ensure that this grate stands at a certain height from the bottom of the pan. If your grate has no legs and it is impossible to bend its structure, make the legs on the pan itself. Yes, this process is not as simple as the one described above, but it is also possible to implement.
We offer such a solution. Prepare three screws and a drill. Drill the sides of the pan in three places so that these points are the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Now screw the screws into the holes. The supports are ready. Install a grill on them.
Always prepare wood chips in advance for smoking. To do this, just soak a handful of wood chips in water for at least 15 minutes. Then remove it from the water and squeeze it out. Now the bottom of the pan is covered with wood chips. A grate is placed on the bottom, and the products to be smoked are placed on the grate.
Please note that raw foods such as meat, poultry, fish require pre-salting in water or marinating in salt and spices
Our pan can be used on the coals of a fire, on a camp burner with any type of fuel. Do not overexpose the products on the grill, keep an eye on them, because the entire smoking process can take from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the products. Don't forget to cover the pan with a lid.
It takes exactly half an hour to construct such a smokehouse.
Let’s say right away that this idea can be developed by barbecue lovers. If you take a larger pan, you can actually use it to make a roasting pan in which you can smoke more food. In this case, a grate is also installed in the pan, but in the second way, which we described above. The design of the lid will also have to be complicated by drilling a couple of holes in it for exhaust hood.
What materials can pots be used from?
When choosing a container for a smokehouse, it is important to ensure that it does not emit harmful substances when cooking food over a fire. Therefore, experts recommend taking a stainless, enameled or metal container without a protective coating.
To make a smokehouse from a pan with your own hands, you can take:
- Food grade stainless steel pan. It is easy to wash, nothing sticks in it, and there is no rust. The downside of the idea is that such pans are expensive.
- Enamel pan. When heated, enamel does not emit harmful substances and does not oxidize during use.
- Aluminum cookware, which is light in weight and easy to clean. But when the temperature rises to 400 °C, it can crumble due to fragility. An aluminum smoker should not be left unattended if the heat is too high.
Important! It is prohibited to use a galvanized pan to make a smokehouse. Since zinc, when heated, begins to release harmful compounds that adversely affect human health.
Is it possible to make a smokehouse from an enamel pan?
When choosing a pan for a smoker, it is important to pay special attention to the thickness of the walls. An enameled container is lighter than a stainless steel one, does not emit harmful substances when heated, and has the desired thickness.
During cooking, it is necessary to monitor the smoking process so as not to spoil the products and the structure itself.
Is smoking from an aluminum pan harmful or not?
Features of aluminum cookware:
- since it quickly loses its shape, it is recommended to use it carefully;
- if the container is deformed, it is better to throw it away to avoid the release of toxic substances during cooking;
- food does not burn in aluminum containers, so it can be safely used not only for smoking, but also for preparing porridges;
- It is recommended to clean such dishes only with delicate detergents and immediately after removing food;
- It is recommended to choose an aluminum pan with a protective or non-stick coating.
A classic aluminum container can be safely used to create a smokehouse, subject to all safety rules.
Advice! Experts recommend using aluminum containers for cold smoking. If you decide to use the hot method, you need to cook at a low temperature.
Bricklaying
When laying bricks, it is important to maintain the following order. Place the mortar on the foundation concrete and stretch it out a little more than the area of the brick. Apply mortar to the brick poker and place it on top of the mortar on the foundation.
Align the brick with the wall line and tap it with a rubber mallet until it sits evenly on the mortar. Remove excess mortar that has come out from under the brick. Place the next brick in the same way, but with a dry poke to the smeared brick and tap with a hammer.
The thickness of the seams should be within 12 mm. Start laying from the corner with a bandage. As you lay, use a plumb line to ensure that the wall is level. After finishing the masonry, grout the joints; this procedure will significantly improve the appearance of the building.
Now you can test your home smokehouse. This may reveal some shortcomings, for example, loosely sealed seams may allow smoke to pass through. After eliminating the defects, the smokehouse is ready for operating mode.
Custom assembly ideas
In addition to classic smokehouses, craftsmen also use extraordinary ideas.
From scrap materials in nature
In nature, it is easy to assemble a smokehouse with a minimum amount of materials. In this case, the firebox and chimney are dug into the ground and then covered with metal sheets made from waste. A box or pipe is installed at the top into which the products are placed.
Popular refrigerator system
An old refrigerator can work as both a smoking chamber and the entire device as a whole, if it is two-chamber: in one of its chambers there is a firebox, in the other there is a smokehouse itself.
Smokehouse from the refrigerator
Design
The design of a brick smokehouse contains all the elements from the schematic diagram, which in brick terms have only a slightly different name:
- fireplace;
- grate;
- firebox;
- grate or holders (on which the product is smoked);
- lid;
- bricks.
Before starting construction, you must have drawings of the smokehouse, which will save you from errors and inaccuracies.
A little about the grille
Of course, it’s easier to take a ready-made option. But what to do if there is nothing suitable at hand? There are two ways. First: 4-5 holes are drilled in the pan at the required level, through which bolts are inserted and tightened with nuts. Such spikes become supports. The second method is to hang hooks, 5-6 of them at a distance, so that the fish hangs from the top to the grate. By the way, this is even better, because the lid does not close tightly, and the smoke comes out.
Pros and cons of DIY smokehouses
Homemade smoking devices will help you cook meat, chicken or fish in an hour or an hour and a half, including the time spent creating the smokehouse. The simplicity of the design and the abundance of possible materials for manufacturing make it possible to assemble a smokehouse without much experience .
When creating homemade smokehouses, it is important to take into account safety requirements, preventing spontaneous combustion of chips and monitoring the entire process of preparing smoked meats.
Preparatory activities
Before proceeding directly to construction, it is necessary to think through the sequence of work and assemble the necessary tools. Bring building materials: clay, sand, cement.
You only need to buy fireproof bricks. The smokehouse will need doors, metal mesh or rods for smoking products.
Two options for making a smokehouse
It all depends on the grid. If its legs are small, they can be bent, tearing them away from the circle, see photo.
And just put it on the bottom of the pan. And that’s it – your smokehouse is ready.
Option number two. If this is not possible, then you need to check the pan in three places according to the shape of the triangle, and screw in the screws on which the grill will rest.
Of course, with bending the option is simpler, but everything is individual.
Pouring the foundation
The foundation and masonry are carried out in accordance with the drawing. Here we will focus on the general requirements for performing this work. For the foundation, dig a small hole, place sand and crushed stone at the bottom, and then compact them. Place a metal mesh on top and fill with concrete.
After the concrete has hardened, laying can begin. Instead of a poured foundation, you can put a reinforced concrete slab in the hole. This will simplify and speed up the work.
The principle of operation of a homemade smokehouse from a pan
It will be useful to know the operating principle of the smokehouse in order to further improve its design and speed up the cooking process. The main point is the heating of the wood chips and twigs located inside the main body.
Under the influence of the high temperature emanating from the fire, wood chips moistened with water begin to smolder. They emit smoke, which, under the influence of high temperature, processes the food and ensures its smoking. Therefore, it is important to follow several important rules:
- Distribute the wood chips evenly across the bottom of the pan.
- Place products on the grid, leave a distance between them.
- Soak the wood chips and branches well so that they do not burn, but smolder at the bottom, producing smoke.
Stationary smokehouse for a summer cottage
This is no longer just a functional item for smoking something and treating friends. Such a smokehouse is essentially an architectural structure and an element of decoration for your dacha. A qualified stove-maker will be required, full-scale construction work will be required, with the development of drawings, preparation of the foundation, and so on. What can happen in the end, you can see in the photographs.
It is clear that the functionality of such a smokehouse is limited only by your imagination. The structure can be combined with a stove, which will be used for everyday cooking. A stationary grill may be provided. A fruit drying chamber can be equipped. And so on.
Here is a wonderful video of how a master makes a smokehouse for a gas stove:
From a medical sterilizer
A medical sterilizer or bixa can also be a good smokehouse. The walls of this product already have holes for steam to enter the materials being sterilized.
These containers come in different sizes, but 390x190 mm is sufficient for a smokehouse. also need two grates on stainless steel stands. One of them should be lower than the second. The difference between the gratings must be at least 80 mm. As an alternative to the lower grill, you can use a metal tray to collect fat and juices.
After thoroughly cleaning the product, the grilles are checked. They should fit tightly into the container. This is important regardless of whether the gratings are selected or made with your own hands.
Wood chips are poured into the bottom of the smokehouse. It is better to use an apple tree or other fruit trees.
Interesting: alder will add acidity to smoked products.
Such a smokehouse does not provide large portions of meat and consumes little fuel compared to larger units.
Smokehouse for gas stove
This homemade metal smoking apparatus can be used even in a city apartment, in the kitchen. However, it is intended only for hot smoking. Its design is even more complex than previous versions. You will need metalworking skills, a welding machine and plumbing tools.
To make such a smokehouse with your own hands, it is advisable to use stainless steel - after all, you will use it at home, and not in country or camping conditions. From a steel sheet we make a simple box the size of your gas stove. We weld the corners and provide carrying handles on the sides.
We make an internal grid from steel wire or welding electrodes. The design can be very different. In this photo, the grill holder and grease tray are a single structure. Putting it inside the drawer and taking it out is, of course, convenient, but it may not be convenient when you have to clean it all from grease.
Next you need to make a water seal. It is designed to seal the interior of the smokehouse so that air does not penetrate there and smoke does not escape. It is visible in the photographs. This is a simple groove along the entire top edge of the box, it is welded from a U-shaped profile so that a continuous groove is formed around the entire perimeter. Water is poured into it during smoking.
Finally, we make the lid. As can be seen in the figure, its edges should fit into the water seal. At the top of the lid we make handles and a pipe - a fitting to which you will attach a tube to remove excess smoke. Lead the end of this tube into the kitchen ventilation or just into the window.
How to use:
- at the bottom of the smokehouse we pour a layer of sawdust or chips from deciduous trees, willow or alder,
- put a grate with a tray on the wood chips,
- place pre-prepared products on the grates,
- close the lid, pour water into the water seal, attach the smoke tube to the fitting on the lid,
- We put it all on the gas stove.
How to make a hot smoked smokehouse from an enamel pan with your own hands
A smokehouse from a saucepan is made with your own hands at the dacha as follows:
- The bottom of the container is covered with wood chips.
- A mesh is installed in the middle of the container on which the meat will be smoked. The grid can be replaced with a dumpling maker.
- The pan is placed either on an old grill or on stable metal rods.
A smokehouse pan with steel grates produces delicious smoked meat.
To make the smokehouse stable, it is recommended to make a stand out of bricks.
A homemade hot smoker made from a saucepan can be improved. A baking tray is added to the device into which the fat will drain. The advantage of such a smokehouse is that you can cook fattier varieties of meat or fish in it. During smoking, the fat falls onto the coals and prevents them from smoldering. A baking tray will eliminate this problem, and the smoking procedure will be at the highest level.
The video clearly shows how to independently build a device for smoking food from a pan:
Fire for smoldering wood chips
In order to smoke food well, it is important to build a kind of combustion chamber that will produce the required amount of smoke.
Firebox options for a smokehouse from a pan:
- install two bricks on an edge, build a fire between them, and a smokehouse on top;
- a hole is dug in the ground in which a fire is lit;
- A fire is made in the barbecue and a pan is placed on top of the skewers, or two bricks are placed inside the barbecue, on which the smoking device is installed.
If food is smoked in an apartment, the source of fire is the stove. To avoid the spread of smoke throughout the apartment, close the lid of the pan tightly, and remove the smoke through the hole using a hose connected to a window or hood.
Preparing firewood and sawdust
The quality of products prepared by hot smoking is significantly influenced by the quality of the firewood and sawdust (shavings) used.
We recommend studying the material about a smokehouse for lard with your own hands on our website.
The best wood for smoking is considered to be firewood and sawdust prepared from hard deciduous wood - alder, oak, and fruit trees. It is undesirable to use birch firewood, which contains tar, as well as coniferous firewood due to the presence of resin in it, which gives smoked meat a bitter taste. Neither overmoistened nor completely dry firewood is suitable for these purposes. The former burn poorly due to excess moisture, the latter burn quickly, producing almost no smoke.
Hot smoked fish cooked in half an hour
To give smoked meats a pleasant taste and smell, you can add a few cherry and juniper branches to the firewood and shavings. It is better if you use burning coals left after burning wood for the fire - this will help maintain a constant heating temperature of the sawdust and the formation of translucent smoke for uniform smoking of products.
Any smokehouse made from a pan has a simple and lightweight design that you can assemble with your own hands. Professional smoking equipment costs a lot of money, while a pot smoker will be practically free. The size of the device will depend on personal preference and the source material available on hand.
Adviсe
When the time for the cold smoking recipe has expired, I remove the pan from the heat and let the fish air out.
When using the hot method, to avoid bitterness, I periodically remove the lid. In the cold method, on the contrary, this is prohibited, since the best conditions for the growth of bacteria are created inside.
I wish everyone excellent recipes and soulful evenings!
Smoking, whatever one may say, is a creative thing
And indeed it is! There are many nuances in this process, and a path full of discoveries awaits you as an experimenter. First of all, the products are salted in brine before smoking. If you do not want them to fall apart after smoking, after salting they should be dried a little, and this is especially true for fish, it has very tender meat.
PHOTO: YouTube.com The prepared product is laid out on a wire rack, and sawdust is poured into the bottom of the pan: alder or from fruit trees. Products are not smoked on birch or pine: this wood produces a lot of soot and bitterness
PHOTO: YouTube.com Smoking time also depends on the characteristics of the product: lard and meat require more time, fish - less. The size of the pieces also matters; the larger, the longer the processing
When everything is ready, do not rush to put the smoked meats on the table. After hot smoking, the product needs to “breathe”, otherwise it will taste bitter. Place it in a ventilated place for at least an hour and only then try it.
And all this thanks to an old leaky pan. Agree, an interesting and very practical idea! And most importantly - economical, you were already planning to throw away this container. And if it burns out after some time, then it’s not a pity, because there are other options for available materials. What are smokehouses made from? For example, from a washing machine, as in this short video:
Be sure to write in the comments how you liked the author’s idea. Is this device effective enough or maybe you can suggest some improvements? If you have made a home smokehouse yourself and documented the process in photos, send us your description, we will certainly publish it. And if anyone says that a woman cannot make such a smokehouse, you are deeply mistaken, you just need to be able to operate a drill, but otherwise a child can handle such a design. And what do you think?
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Recommendations for smoking lard
For smoking, choose wood chips from non-resinous trees.
If you use birch, then peel off its bark. Chips from fruit trees, such as apple or cherry, are ideal for making lard. To prevent wood shavings from igniting, they are slightly moistened with water. The wood chips should smolder.
Before smoking, the product is salted. There are many ways of pickling. The simplest is to sprinkle fresh lard with coarse, non-iodized salt and leave for 2-3 hours.
It is customary to smoke lard over low heat for a long time. If you use high heat, the product will taste bitter.
How to use?
Everything is very simple: moisten the wood chips or sawdust with water and squeeze it out. Place it on the bottom of the pan. Place a grill on top, and fish soaked in spices on the grill (salt and pepper will be enough). Close the lid and place it all on an alcohol, gas burner or on the coals of a fire.
Smoking usually takes 10-30 minutes. And the fragrant, smoked fish is ready.
When camping or fishing, this is simply a delicacy. Because food in the fresh air acquires a truly magical taste. Therefore, spending 10-15 minutes on building a camp smokehouse is worth it.
Fire source for smoldering wood chips
A common quality of fire sources for mini smokehouses is the ability to adjust the heat. The following heat sources are used to heat wood chips:
- bonfire;
- Primus or blowtorch;
- portable gas burner;
- electric stove with regulator;
- in a summer kitchen or other well-ventilated room, a stationary gas stove can be used.
Important! If overheated, the food will not be smoked, but will become fried or dry out.
Improved model
This smokehouse can be modernized. If you drill a hole in the lid and solder or weld a piece of tube, then you can put a smoke exhaust hose on it.
The sides are soldered or welded to the walls and lid of the stainless container. Water is poured into the groove on the wall and you get a smokehouse with a water seal. Such a device can be used even in the kitchen of a city apartment.
Improved smokehouse model
Unusual homemade smokehouse
The author of the channel, Leonid Timo, made a video lesson for DIYers, for those who make all sorts of things with their own hands. The author lives in Buenos Aires, where smokehouses are not sold, this is not the former Soviet Union, so anyone who wants to do it does it themselves, but there are few such masters.
We'll show you how we'll make a smokehouse to smoke lard, fish, everything at home, in an apartment, so that the neighbors don't quarrel too much.
Smokehouses in this Chinese store.
First. The owner inherited an old frying pan, deep and good. We will use it - this is one item of the smokehouse. We got an iron, bought a new one, and left the heating element for the smokehouse. I cut a little bit so that the cord would come out. We'll redo the last one. You need a frying pan or something to prevent the iron contacts from coming out and touching the main body of the device. I bent them a little, we will also prepare this place so that it can work with high temperatures, you have already seen half of the device.
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Lard smokehouse diagram
A smokehouse for lard is made from containers of various shapes and sizes. It’s good to have at hand a metal sheet 2 mm thick made of stainless steel, thin fittings, an angle grinder, a welding machine, and a convenient place for making a smokehouse. Otherwise, the device can be built from a brick, iron barrel, bucket, pan, cauldron or metal box.
At home, the easiest way to make a design is from an enamel or aluminum bucket. This mobile product is convenient to take to the country or fishing.
As a rule, the design has the following dimensions: height - 26 cm, upper diameter - 29 cm, lower diameter - 21 cm. The thickness of the walls and bottom of the smokehouse is 1.5 mm.
The container is light but durable and does not corrode. The case is equipped with a portable “bow” handle, the case cover is equipped with a “loop” handle. The food grid is located at a height of 14 cm from the bottom. The maximum diameter of the tray for collecting fat is 15 cm. The height of the legs is 5 cm.
How to use a homemade smokehouse
All work begins with the preparation of products for smoking, but since this preparation is considered when describing recipes, we are only interested in the technical part of the issue. A fire is lit in the barbecue. Any firewood can be used, since the smoke from it does not reach the product and does not affect the taste of the latter.
It is important in this process that the firewood has time to ignite. Otherwise, the temperature inside the smoking box will rise and you will not be able to control it. Please note that too high a temperature will result in the food being baked rather than smoked.
At the same time, we are preparing the smokehouse. Wood chips are poured into the bottom of the pan. Usually 100 g is enough. A fat tray is placed on top of the chips, and the pre-prepared semi-finished product is laid out on sieves. The top of the pan is closed with a lid and placed on the grill. It will take some time before the wood chips begin to smolder. This time is not taken into account in the recipe description. As soon as smoke begins to come out from under the lid, the smoking process can be considered to have begun.
Over time, the vapor density inside the smokehouse increases. Excessively moist smoke can impart a bitter taste to the product. To prevent this from happening, you will need to open the lid for a while. Note that if there is a gap under the lid from the hooks for the sieves, then this will not be necessary, and if the smokehouse is made of a pressure cooker, then you will need to open the lid 15-20 minutes after the start of smoking.
When the allotted time for this product has expired, the pan should be removed from the grill and allowed to cool. Only after the prepared dish has been well ventilated can it be served. This advice is also relevant for the reason that hot meat or fish may fall apart when you try to remove them from the grill.
There is nothing fundamentally new in cold smoking, but the process cannot be interrupted for the first few hours. It is at this time that a favorable microclimate is created in the fibers of the product for the growth of bacteria. If smoking is stopped, then with a high degree of probability the product will deteriorate. After continuous smoking for 7 or 8 hours, you can take short breaks.
Smoking over a fire
This is the simplest method of smoking when all you have at hand is an ax or a camping knife. Ideal for fishing. And the question of how to build a smokehouse is hardly applicable here - you won’t have to build anything.
In this photo, the fish is not smoked, but fried!
