How to Build a Small Smokehouse for Smoking Meat
(2) 55 gallon drums dirt and grease free.
(6) 2 foot long clay tiles, one is a 90 degree elbow.
(2) steel rods 3 feet long.
(1) piece of sheet metal 3′ x 3′.
(6) 1″ x 6″ boards 3 feet long (Cypress preferred).
This is how it was constructed. First he had it located about ten yards from his back porch. One drum was totally buried in the ground. This was his fire box. It was actually buried so that the top of the drum which had a lid was about 2 inches deep. When I took off the lid, I noted that there was a 6 inch clay drain tile about 6 inches below the top of the drum. This tile was 10 feet long and ran underground at a slight angle to the bottom of the smoke drum 10 feet away. This tile entered in through the center bottom of the smoke drum. The tile was buried underground. It has at least 2 inches of dirt over it. However it had more dirt over it at the fire box. So this means that some trenching is required.
The smokehouse had a hole in the center of the bottom part of the drum. This is where the tile entered. The two steel rods entered holes that were drilled about 3 inches from the top of the smokehouse. The rods were half an inch thick and ran parallel. The man told me that you could crisscross them if you wanted and wire them together in the center if you wanted to. By crisscrossing, you had four racks to hang your meat on. He also told me that a friend of his had put in three rods at about a foot below the top of the drum and placed a round grill from an old Weber grill on top of them.
The Cypress boards were nailed together by two other 1″ x 4″ boards. This one piece was then laid over the top of the smokehouse. The sheet metal was placed over the fire box.
He then reminded of a few important things to always do. 1. Keep wood and sawdust always smoldering not burning. 2. Always use non-resinous wood or sawdust. 3. Never use oil, kerosene, or gas to start a fire. He even advised against charcoal lighter fluid. 4. Never smoke meat until it has hung long enough to dry on the outside. Wet meat does not smoke properly.
Build your fire in the fire box and burn it down to there is a good bed of coals in the bottom. Then you can add your chips or dust. Sawdust is great for smoking but, it is harder to come by unless you produce it yourself. Many times sawdust will get mixed with other sawdust that might come from resinous wood. Be very particular on what you use.
Other ideas that he gave me was to use only one flavor of chip. Hickory, Mesquite, or a fruit tree wood like maple, cherry, peach, apple. Soak the dry chips in water over night. Once your fire is started, then add the soaked chips. This is what makes the smoke for your meat. Use a thermometer to keep track of the temperature in your smokehouse. The temperature should be between 140 and 160 degrees. Hang your meat on hooks. Be sure to secure both the wood and metal lids with something heavy like a concrete block.
If you just smoke to get the smoke taste in your meat, be sure to finish cooking your meat before you eat it. It is possible to cook your meat in a smoker. However, it is a long process. As I said at the beginning of this article, people today aren’t very patient when it comes to cooking.
You can experiment with different things to smoke. You can smoke chicken, beef, pork, fish, and even veggies and potatoes.
Cleanup is very important. No matter if you use meat or fish, you will have drippings in the bottom of your smoke house. You can place a small piece of screen over the tile entrance at the bottom of your drum. Any meat or fish that fall will be prevented from falling into the clay tile. He went on to say that drippings in the bottom of the smokehouse will collect bacteria after it sits awhile. That is why it is important to clean it after use. The fire box just needs to have the ashes removed from time to time.
sources; Dr. Fred Link, University of Florida
