show me you smokehouses

[cange]

Hey everyone,
     Gonna build me a smokehouse and wondering if anybody wants to brag on thier own with some photos.
I have an idea of what I want but there could always be a better idea out there.  I wanna do a combo hot and cold smoke with a cinder block pit as the base where i could do a whole pig. Wanna do a permenant structure. Show me what ya got guys and gals..... I can't wait to see.

thanks.....cange

[hillbill]

ive done a little research on smokeing meat the old way.either way takes a lot of attention and work.for cold smokeing, the way id prefer the temp has to be cold for a long period of time. we dont have that here in MO.hot smoking takes a lot of brineing and chemicals and salt.the last is prob the best way for our climate here.but the amount of salt and other stuff it takes just turns me off.. but then im no expert and would love to hear what yu guys got to say.

[blind ear]

ive done a little research on smokeing meat the old way.either way takes a lot of attention and work.for cold smokeing, the way id prefer the temp has to be cold for a long period of time. we dont have that here in MO.hot smoking takes a lot of brineing and chemicals and salt.the last is prob the best way for our climate here.but the amount of salt and other stuff it takes just turns me off.. but then im no expert and would love to hear what yu guys got to say.

That is why hog killin time and chitlin time is always into the colder months in the south.

[hillbill]

a little off topic, not really a smokehouse but, i was watching tv the other day and a show came on called killin and grillin.they built a shed with a metal frame and covered it with tin. then they hung 2 halves of a hog in it and started a fire in the floor in front of the meat, put plenty of wood on it and closed the door.i didnt hear how long they left it but the pork looked awesum!

[blind ear]

No pictures but I am familiar with 2 smoke houses.
 
One was about 7 feet wide and 10 feet long. It had a double pitched tin roof and the ceiling joists were bare with no ceiling. there were a couple of rails running from front to back on both sides of the room to hang meat from.
 
The top and sides were tight enough (batten and board) to hold smoke and a outlet vent was below the level that the meat would hang. There were also a couple of shelves on each side wall to stack canned goods on until winter came and the jars had to be moved inside, when room was made.
There was a siglle bulb drop cord light in the middle that served also as temporary heat source to protect jars early in the winter.
 
The smokeing fire was built in an old wash tub or cut off barrel sitting on the floor. The floor was dirt and had a small table about 2' x 2' to set meat, tools and spices on. The meat was hung with burned coat hangers and sometimes bailing wire.
 
If I remember more I will modify this. ear
 
 

[reliquary]

Check out Foxfire #3, article begins on page 354.  You could modify the framework to suit your needs.
 
The one my family used is still standing.  I guess all the smoke, salt residue, and the other chemicals may have termite-proofed it.  It was tin roofed, made of peeled pine logs chinked with clay.  Firepit was a hole in the dirt floor.  It was about 10-12' by 20' or so.  The meat was hung from the rafters for smoking, and then stored on plank platforms on top of the rafters after it was finished. 
 
This is folklore for me, we got electricity about the time I came along.

[eye shot]

     cange
The first thing everyone should do before the smoke house is read up on curing meat. You have to use sodium nitite to keep botulism aka food poisining from occurring in the smoke house! It can be deadly! The best source IMO is Great Sausage and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas from the sausage maker on line. This book explains curing, smoking, and how to build a smoke house with pictures plus alot of recipies. I built mine out of an old upright freezer shown in the book.
                                          good luck

[cange]

thanks guys.....cant wait to get smokin
 

[SHOOTALL]

No pictures but I am familiar with 2 smoke houses.
 
One was about 7 feet wide and 10 feet long. It had a double pitched tin roof and the ceiling joists were bare with no ceiling. there were a couple of rails running from front to back on both sides of the room to hang meat from.
 
The top and sides were tight enough (batten and board) to hold smoke and a outlet vent was below the level that the meat would hang. There were also a couple of shelves on each side wall to stack canned goods on until winter came and the jars had to be moved inside, when room was made.
There was a siglle bulb drop cord light in the middle that served also as temporary heat source to protect jars early in the winter.
 
The smokeing fire was built in an old wash tub or cut off barrel sitting on the floor. The floor was dirt and had a small table about 2' x 2' to set meat, tools and spices on. The meat was hung with burned coat hangers and sometimes bailing wire.
 
If I remember more I will modify this. ear

That's what I remember . The three I saw used - one was cinder block 10' X 10' corner of a garage, one was 10 ' X 20' with a shead on the side for cook wood. The floor of this one was about 2 foot off the ground made of wood. The third was wood and stone with a dirt floor . All built the fire in a tub ( set on bricks in the wood floor ). All used seasoned wood ( seasoned wood won't make ya sick) . All let the meat hang after smoking until used . Sausage was packed into cloth bags made from flour bags . After packing the bags were rolled in flour befor smoking. Bacon and hams wetre coated with borax after smoking to keep bugs out/off.
When Grand paw moved we cleaned out the salt boxes and stuff from the smoke house. behind one of the salt boxes was a pint of booze that had not been made since before proabition . Grand paw said he stashed it incase he needed it . Cork was still tight .

[blind ear]

SHOOTALL, that is the kind of history that I love to hear. ear