How to make a smokehouse cabinet with your own hands: 11 models with step-by-step instructions and photos

Relatively simple smoke treatment imparts a special flavor to foods and preserves them at the same time.Fans of home smoking may have several devices, for example, separately for fish, meat and vegetables. You can make smokehouse cabinets with your own hands from anything, the main thing is to comply with sanitary requirements and withstand the smoking technology.

Universal smoking cabinet

For the beginner category, it is best to try to make one smokehouse cabinet for all occasions. This makes it easier to master smoking technology and find the optimal mode for different products.

Design Requirements

In order for the smokehouse to be used in two modes, cold and hot, for a wide variety of, often incompatible products, the design must meet the following requirements:

• disassemble into individual components and parts for washing and removing residual grease (odor);
• use an external source of heat and smoke; a regular grill is best for the latter;
• It is advisable to keep the volume of products stored small; for each item you will have to prepare your own grate and smoke humidifier.

If you are planning experiments with a smokehouse, then for the first time it is better to make a small smoking cabinet and preferably collapsible, that is, such that it fits into the trunk of a car.For the first tests, a stationary barbecue in the country is best suited. It will be used as a smoke generator.

Universal smokehouse device

The simplest version of the cabinet is shown in the drawing below.

The design consists of four parts:

1. Box-shaped body with bent side edges.
2. Tray with dropper for collecting fat.
3. Grid for storing food. Two cross handles allow you to remove food from the smokehouse without the risk of getting burned.
4. The lid also has handles.

The total weight of the cabinet does not exceed 3 kg; with food, the smokehouse can pull 5-6 kg. But still, the weight of the cabinet, even when the smoking compartment is fully loaded, is small, which makes it possible to install it directly on the grill, both on the coals and on the side walls.

How a smokehouse cabinet works: shavings of fruit trees are poured into the bottom of the box, a tray and a bowl are inserted to collect fat. Next, a grid with products is placed on top, and the lid is closed. The smokehouse is put on fire. The operating mode of a universal smoking cabinet must be selected experimentally.

Wooden cold smoked smokehouse cabinet

The box does not have to be made of food grade stainless steel, black steel or aluminum. In some modes, the smoke inside the smokehouse is heated to a relatively low temperature. Therefore, the cabinet can be made from wood or wooden slats.

The simplest option is to make a cabinet from plywood 6-8 mm thick. Initially, a frame is assembled from bleached pine slats 20x30 mm, then the walls are sewn on. The result is a structure similar in shape to a mailbox, but larger in size.

Inside there are two pairs of slats for installing the grille. Since the temperature inside the smokehouse does not exceed 60OC, then the heated metal will not affect the durability of the wood in any way.

Now the main thing is heating the chips and producing cold smoke. You can bring the pipe inside the cabinet through one of the walls (usually the side) or install a spiral heating element from an electric stove inside. A stainless steel container with shavings is placed on the spiral.

Sometimes the container is covered with a mesh so that the smoke is further cooled and the cabinet operates in cold smoking mode. If you connect the heater via LATR, you can smoothly regulate the temperature inside the smokehouse.

Smoking cabinet with smoke generator

Many hobbyists make smokehouses with an external smoke source. It is believed that most of the heavy resins that give products a bitter taste remain outside the cabinet: they either burn out or settle on the walls of the smoke generator.

For the cabinet itself, you can use any metal container of the required volume, the main thing is that the doors or lid close tightly. Otherwise, the products in the smokehouse will be processed unevenly, and some of the smoke will escape through the cracks.

The design of the smoke generator can be in a straight line. That is, sawdust or shavings burn in a separate container and, under natural draft (a chimney pipe is placed on the smokehouse), fall inside the cabinet, where the substances contained in the smoke are absorbed.

If the smokehouse is small, then a small metal can is used for the smoke generator, and air is supplied using a compressor or fan mounted in a plastic bottle.

The air temperature inside the smokehouse can reach 100°C, so the cabinet is made of heat-resistant material. The most popular option is that the box is made of wood (it retains heat well).The internal surfaces are pasted over or lined with aluminum foil for baking vegetables in the oven.

The quality of smoking is average, since the products are processed with too hot a stream, sometimes fish or meat are simply cooked in smoke and lose a huge amount of fat and moisture. Therefore, cold smoking is more popular.

In this case, smoke is supplied inside the smokehouse cabinet with additional ejection of cold air.

That is, the temperature decreases, and in addition, most of the wood condensate, which sublimes from the tree during the smoldering process without air access, is removed.

Heated cold smoking cabinet

A full-size smokehouse for processing products with chilled smoke must be designed separately. The problem is that the smoke stream quickly cools down on the food.

If in a classic hot-smoking cabinet the products on the top shelves were heated the most, then with cold processing the bottom row is smoked better. The remnants of cooled smoke rise upward due to draft, and often the food is not completely saturated with substances and flue gases.

Therefore, the cold smoking cabinet is always made with double walls. Thermal insulation is laid between the walls. You can use penoplex or even polyurethane foam. It is advisable to line the walls inside the smokehouse with heat-resistant plastic with a smooth surface.

Many hobbyists refuse to use insulation for environmental reasons and deliberately build cabinets from wood with the lower part lined with tiled foam glass insulation.

To ensure that there is enough heat during cold smoking, the smoke is supplied through the bottom of the cabinet, and the smoke flow itself is slightly overheated.

In the bottom part of the smokehouse, washed stone is additionally placed: lump silicon or pebbles. Next, they light the firewood and heat the cabinet like a stove before placing the food in the smokehouse. In this case, firewood from fruit or deciduous trees is used (except willow, they give off the smell of a swamp).

After thorough heating, the pebbles and stones are heated to a high temperature. A metal container with dry sawdust is placed on them, only fruit firewood is loaded into the smoke generator stove, while the door or damper is closed so that the smoke flowing through the channel has time to cool. Next, the products are hung in the smokehouse cabinet, and a container is installed at the bottom to collect the accumulated liquid.

In this mode and with good thermal insulation, the smokehouse can work for almost a day. You just need to properly regulate the operation of the smoke generator, avoiding severe overheating.

Electric cold smoking cabinet

It is not always possible to build a full-fledged smokehouse cabinet with an external smoke generator-stove with heating of the bottom of the cabinet. Therefore, smoked meat lovers came up with another option for arranging a smokehouse.

Heating with light bulbs

In this case, instead of heating elements or flue gases, ordinary 100 W incandescent lamps are used. The glass bulb of the lamp heats up to 120OC, plus glass does not react in any way with flue gases. Several light sources installed at the bottom or side of the smokehouse warm up the flow quite well.

True, in such a heating system you need to make sure that fat or juice does not get on the glass, otherwise the flask will burst.

Classic version

If the smokehouse is used on an ongoing basis, then instead of the legs, install a regular heating element from the stove and connect it to the power regulator.To avoid drying out the smoke in the smokehouse, place a stainless steel or nickel-plated tray on top of the heaters.

Water is added to it, sometimes with spices. It's easier than rubbing meat or fish with aromatic seasonings by hand.

Stainless steel cold smoking cabinet

Among those who are just starting to master a smokehouse at home, there is an opinion that it is best to make a cabinet from stainless steel. Approximately half of the factory-made smokehouses on the market are made of stainless steel.

In fact, a stainless steel cabinet is not the best solution. The smokehouse does not rust or oxidize, but under hot smoking conditions the products acquire a characteristic metallic taste. Therefore, if you make a cabinet from stainless steel, then from special food (medical) steel, and only for cold smoking.

Food grade stainless steel has a matte grayish-yellow color. This indicates a high nickel content. Steels with a shiny white surface are stainless steels with a high chromium content. They can only be used for the outer body of the smokehouse.

The cabinet is made in the form of two boxes 50x70x100 cm - external, and 40x60x90 cm - internal. Thermal insulation is made from polyurethane foam, it is applied to the inner box and immediately put on the outer one. After a couple of hours, both parts will be securely glued together, and it will be possible to hang the door and make an input for the smoke generator.

In this design, smoke is introduced not at the bottom of the smokehouse, but from the side between two shelves. A warm cloud of smoke entering the smokehouse is sandwiched between two shelves with food, so it cools slowly, and most of the heat and volatile compounds fall on the smoked meat, and not on the walls of the cabinet.

It is better to buy a device for producing cold smoke or, if you do it yourself, then make several options. The operating mode for cold smoking will have to be selected individually.

The sheet thickness is arbitrary, but not less than 2 mm. If possible, it is better to make shelves from nickel-plated brass mesh rather than stainless steel.

Sausage smoking cabinet

Meat products can be cooked with hot or cold smoke.

But there are some peculiarities, for example, lard, lard, and bacon are pre-salted in marinades or brines. In a smokehouse, such a product is treated with smoke at a temperature of no more than 60°C. That is, fats are not rendered, and the product retains its natural moisture.

“Quick” raw smoked sausage is often prepared in the same way. According to the instructions, the cooking time is reduced from 4 weeks to 8 hours. But the temperature in the closet is reduced to 45-50OS. That is, theoretically, it can be smoked together with marinated brisket or ham. But it’s better not to do this, since a universal cabinet always smells like old lard. Therefore, it is better to make a separate smokehouse for raw smoked sausages.

Any cabinet with a heater is suitable for preparing regular smoked sausage. For example, if you need to process a large amount of meat, then an ordinary barrel will do. In the bottom part you need to make 15-20 holes with a diameter of 3-4 mm. A clean, wood-burnt and evaporated barrel is placed on bricks, and cherry and apricot sawdust is loaded inside. Hang out the sausages and light a fire under the bottom.

If you are making a special cabinet for smoking sausages, then the best option would be a wood-heated smokehouse model. The body can be welded from thin-sheet low-carbon steel.External surfaces are painted with powder paint. The internal surfaces are simply cleaned and the smell of grease is evaporated.

This type of smokehouse design is convenient because it is possible to regulate the heating temperature using a damper on the pipe. You can also change the tray with the smoldering sawdust mass, for example, if the recipe for cooking meat requires sequential processing of two or three types of sawdust.

Fish smoking cabinet

The smokehouse for fish products must be made separately from the chamber for cooking meat or sausages. It is almost impossible to remove burnt fish oil from the smokehouse. Periodically the cabinet is evaporated with boiling water, but the smell still remains.

River fish is prepared mainly “hot”. She has a lot of fat, and in addition, there is definitely a smell of mud. In addition, this is a good way to rid the product of possible parasites. If you plan to smoke small fish (up to 25 cm in length), then the cabinet is made of three tiers with mandatory heating or an additional smoke generator.

For cooking fish longer than 30 cm, a classic smokehouse with electric heating and a tray for draining fat is best suited.

The housing can be borrowed from an old electrical control cabinet, as in the drawing.

The metal walls are quite thick, and they are assembled to a much higher quality than the smokehouses that are sold in stores. You just need to empty the cabinet of its contents, remove unnecessary blocks and fasteners. The paint must be burned or removed with a sandblaster.

A heating element and a mesh for smoldering raw lumps are installed in the lower part of the body. After loading and turning on the heating element, steam will come out first, it warms up the fish well.Then, as it heats up, the smoke becomes more saturated, you can reduce the power and let the smokehouse operate for another 3-4 hours.

To smoke fish in the kitchen, you can use the original design of a metal cabinet with double walls. There is no thermal insulation, the space is not filled with anything, in addition, several hundred through holes are made on the internal walls.

The lower part is made according to the same design as most hot smoking chambers. Heating is carried out by an electric stove, the sawdust tray does not have a dissipating sheet. After heating, the smoke rises and enters the smoking chamber through the holes. You can regulate the inflow using a hole closed with a plug.

This scheme ensures deep, and most importantly, uniform penetration of smoke into the fish, without overheating or scalding. With the help of such a cabinet it is very convenient to smoke small fish, roach, trout, horse mackerel.

Smoking cabinet from the refrigerator

To make a smokehouse you will need an old refrigerator. They do not have a freezer, so they will be easier to disassemble and prepare for use than a regular refrigerator. First of all, you will need to remove the internal plastic lining, including from the doors. Then the thermal insulation is removed from the housing; it can be made of fiberglass or polystyrene foam. In addition, you will have to remove the paint and clean the surface to white metal.

You will also need to remove the seal and replace it with heat-resistant rubber or felt.

The metal of the walls is quite thick, so the stability of the cabinet will not change in any way. The bottom will need to be replaced: insert a metal sheet with a heating element and make an additional mount for a plate with sawdust. The distance from the bottom of the plate to the heating element tubes should be no more than 5 mm.

An additional lining made of sheet aluminum can be installed inside the chamber; this will simplify cleaning the smokehouse and help retain heat. But often the smoking cabinet works without additional lining.

A chimney with a plug or damper must be installed in the ceiling part of the housing; this will help regulate the process of filling the smokehouse chamber with smoke.

Results

Making a smoking cabinet with your own hands is not difficult if you know the features of the process of smoking products. The most important thing in any chamber is the smooth regulation of the smoke generation process. This is the only way to configure the device to the desired operating mode.

Tell us about your experience building smokehouses. Which of them turned out to be the most successful? Leave your comments below, share the article on social networks and add it to bookmarks.