Everyone can choose a smokehouse to their taste: main types
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Subsections: For home.
The taste of smoked meat or fish depends greatly on the smokehouse and the method of preparing the products.
Ourselves devices differ depending on the smoking method (cold or hot), the volume of products produced and the location of the equipment.
To decide which smoker is right for you, you need to take everything into account.
Content
Types of smokehouses
By method of preparation Smokehouse products are divided into two groups:
- for cold smoking;
- for hot smoking.
Hot Smoking involves treating meat or fish with smoke at a temperature 80-120 degrees in a short time (from 20 minutes to several hours).
In such devices, products are placed directly above the smoke source (smoldering shavings).
At cold In smoking, the product is treated with smoke cooled to a temperature 22-28 degrees for a long time - from 7-8 hours to two daysThe main difference between such devices is the presence of an extended chimney for cooling the smoke.
Reference. There are devices mixed type, the design of which allows for both hot and cold smoking at the same time. This is achieved by different smoke temperatures at the beginning and end of the chimney.
Stationary or mobile
By place and method of placement Smoking devices can be:
- stationary;
- mobile;
- temporary.
Stationary Smoking units are connected to the ground and are installed in private households or industrial workshops. Such installations are convenient for preparing large volumes of products.
Mobile Smokehouses are used in private households for optimal use of space; if necessary, they can be removed to a garage or moved to a neighboring area.
Temporary Smokehouses are assembled at the place where the product is prepared, partly from improvised means. They are installed when going on a picnic, as well as at summer cottages for one-time use.
Depending on their purpose, smokehouses can be of different sizes, from portable devices 30 cm in diameter and up to half a meter in height, to factory cabinets designed for the mass production of smoked products.
Different shapes for different products. Cylindrical or round?
According to the produced products Smokehouses come in:
- meat;
- fish;
- mixed.
Meat smokehouses have lower height working chamber than fish ones, and are designed to cook the product at smoke temperature from 90-150 degrees. Thus, a round smokehouse is suitable for meat.
Smoking devices fish both cold and hot methods, are intended for more uniform processing product smoke.
This is due to the peculiarity of evaporation of moisture from fish and its preservation. Therefore, a rectangular or cylindrical shape is more appropriate here.
Mixed smokehouses allow you to cook meat and fish dishes at the same time and come in a variety of shapes.
What to heat with? Sawdust, firewood, gas or electricity
Smoking is achieved by smoldering crushed wood shavings alder, apple or other fruit trees. According to the used fuel Smokehouses are divided into:
- for wood burning;
- for gas;
- to electric ones.
Wood boilers suitable for installation on a farm or in a summer house, gas heating is suitable for smoking in an apartment, and electric heaters used in portable units or factory production.
What is the smokehouse made of? Is there a brick one, like the stove?
The material used to create the main frame is:
- metal;
- brick.
When cooking at a picnic, a ditch dug in the ground and lined in the right places is used as a chimney. stones.
Photo 1. A large, roomy brick smokehouse with a metal lid on top looks like a whole oven.
General principles of the device
The design of each type of smokehouse has mandatory elements, the presence of which allows you to prepare the product, and auxiliary devices designed to improve the quality of food and make the smoking process more comfortable.
Basic elements
The main components of cold smokehouses are:
- smoke generator;
- chimney pipe;
- cooking chamber.
IN smoke generator crushed wood parts (alder, willow or apple) are placed in the tube, which emit smoke when heated. It cools as it passes through the chimney length 0.8-1.5 meters, and enters the food chamber.
Important! All elements are connected consistently and hermetically, there is an opening only at the exit from the cooking chamber.
Hot smoking devices consist of:
- from the working chamber;
- from the food grate;
- from the grease collector.
Working chamber includes a smoke generator and a chimney and is a cylinder, on the bottom of which wood is poured for smoke, and in the upper part, at a distance 10-40 cm from the smoldering wood, there is a grate with holes 0.3-1 cm, on which fish or meat is placed.
Grilles can be installed in several tiers, with the largest pieces placed on the bottom one.
Grease collector is located between the smoldering wood and the grate and serves to protect against fire, and also helps to avoid the unpleasant taste of smoked foods from the vapors of burnt fat.
When cooking in camping conditions without a grease trap, it is important to monitor the process and, if necessary, extinguish or replace the shavings.
Additional elements. What is a water seal for?
To the devices, making work easier smoker cook and control of the device include:
- thermometer;
- thermostat;
- hydraulic lock;
- collection for chips.
Thermometer It is installed in the working chambers of smokehouses of all types and serves to control the temperature of the smoke in contact with the product.
Heating of the chips should occur at a temperature not lower than 300 and not higher than 420 degrees, otherwise either the shavings will not smolder or will quickly char, releasing acrid smoke that is unsuitable for preserving meat and fish.
Using a thermostat in conjunction with an electric heater will help regulate the heating of the wood in the smoke generator.
Reference. The chip collector is an additional tray at the bottom of the device, which can be used to clear quickly working chamber from waste wood.
Hydraulic lock or water seal - is a trough with water, located along the perimeter of the upper part of the home smokehouse. The lid should have edges rounded down to lower them into the water of the water seal. Water seal creates a seal working chamber when using the device in a city apartment. The lid, if there is a hydraulic lock, must have a smoke exhaust hose with its free end going out the window.
Important characteristics
When choosing a smokehouse, it is necessary to consider where and how often the device will be used, what type of fuel is preferable. The mechanism intended for installation on a gas burner in an apartment, must have the following characteristics:
- availability hydraulic lock;
- tightness soldering of elements;
- volume not less than 25 liters.
?
Without a water seal or if there is a defect in the soldering of the device, the kitchen can quickly fill with acrid smoke.
Before first use, it is recommended to lower the bottom of the working chamber into water to reveal the holes and seal them.
At volume less than 25 liters Overheating of the product may occur, as frequent opening of the top lid of the cooking chamber at home can provoke inflammation chips due to the influx of oxygen. In the high cylinders of the working chambers (from 0.5 meters) such risk is minimal.
When choosing a smoking unit outdoors with wood burning The following characteristics are important:
- Steel thickness - from 2 mm.
- Individual elements connected by welding.
- Cooling pipe smoke has a diameter 10-16 cm.
Soldering the upper parts of a cold smoking smokehouse can lead to its destruction when stored in unheated rooms in winter, since at temperatures below zero the tin used as solder turns into a gray powder.
Attention! With the thickness of the walls of the working chamber less than 2 mm It may become deformed under the influence of temperature, and excessively thick walls are unsuitable for a mobile unit, as they will make it too heavy.
A chimney pipe of an excessively large diameter will cool the smoke too much, while a pipe with a small volume will have weak draft.
Photos of interesting smokehouses: smoker, steam locomotive and house
Photo 2. This type of smokehouse is called a smoker. Firewood or coal is placed in the right compartment, and meat for smoking is placed in the left compartment.
Photo 3. Another example of a smokehouse of this type, unusually designed in the form of a steam locomotive.
Photo 4. The smokehouse looks like a real wooden house: with a roof, walls and doors.
Smokehouse operation
When using all types of smokehouses, you should pay attention to smoke temperature, in contact with the product, and heating the chips. It is better to control the readiness of the dish using thermometers and timers, since frequent opening of the top lid disrupts the process. Cannot be used crushed parts for smoldering birch, pine or aspen, since the resins secreted by these species give food an unpleasant taste.
Wrapping fish and meat gauze it will help with hot smoking avoid soot deposits on the finished product, and the use of linen threads for tying preserves the shape of the smoked products.
Useful video
Video review of a stainless steel smokehouse: what to look for when choosing, how to properly prepare for work.
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