Homemade dishes are always tastier! DIY sausage smokehouse

Smoking sausage is one of the oldest methods of food preparation, a simple and tasty way to make a quality product from raw meat.

There are two types of smoking: hot and cold. Cold smoking is carried out with smoke at a temperature 25–30°C in between 6-24 hours depending on the amount of meat.

Hot smoking is carried out at a temperature about 100°C, takes from half an hour up to 4 hours.

Sausages can be smoked either hot or cold. In the first case, the product will be stored about a week, in the second up to a month.

Choosing a project for smoking homemade sausages

A sausage smokehouse in its simplest form consists of: a metal container, a grate or hooks on which the meat is hung, a tray for collecting fat and wood fuel at the bottom. Smoke can either be supplied separately through a chimney or formed directly in the firebox of the smoking chamber.

The first step in creating the device is to select a sealed smoking chamber. There are several options here:

1. camping smokehouse (from an old bucket);
2. a structure made from improvised means (metal barrel, refrigerator);
3. homemade element (stainless steel box of any size).

First option only good enough for emergency conditions or for those who like experiments. Two stainless steel nets are inserted into a steel bucket, on which the meat is placed. Sawdust is poured onto the bottom, which serves as fuel, the bucket is closed with a lid and placed on the fire. Of course, the sausage will be lightly smoked, burnt in places or mixed with sawdust.

The second option is used more often.. The barrel or refrigerated box is made as airtight as possible, and hooks with sausages are hung on a welded steel grate. If the fire is made directly under the barrel, you will get a hot type smokehouse, if the smoke goes through the chimney from the fire source a few meters away, then this will be a cold smoking installation.

And finally, the third, most labor-intensive and high-quality option. Here everything depends on your desire, imagination and ability to work with your hands. When creating, metal or wood for cold smoking is used. You cannot make a smoking chamber from bricks and similar porous materials: they absorb smoke and moisture, quickly "going bad".

When choosing a smokehouse and planning a place for it You need to remember a few simple rules:

• Standard container height = its diameter*3A regular barrel fits the dimensions almost perfectly.
• For cold smoking, the length of the chimney pipe is from 2 to 5 meters. If the distance is shorter, the fire is too close; if it is longer, there is not enough smoke.
• It is advisable to protect the smoking area from strong winds and precipitation.

Building the device yourself

The main amount of work for a homemade sausage smokehouse is assembling a metal box in which the sausage will be cooked. You will need:

• metal sheets of the required size with a gap of 1-2 centimeters;
• angle grinder;
• welding machine;
• tape measure or measuring tape;
• carpenter's angle;
• thin reinforcement bars.

The following work is then carried out:

1. First sheet metal using a grinder is divided into four parts. It will become the side walls of the future smokehouse.
2. Weld the two sides together at an angle of 90 degrees using a carpenter's angle. Repeat with the remaining sides, and then join the structure by welding the two "angles" together.
3. From the second sheet, cut out the bottom and the lid of the smokehouse. Also weld the bottom to the already made box.
4. For the lid, cut from the second piece four stripes according to its dimensions, which will become the edging. Attach using a welding machine.
5. The result is a sealed box, tightly covered with a lid. Then it is welded two levels of rods: the lower one is for installing a tray that collects fat, the upper one is for placing sausages.
6. Using the remaining metal, finish the unit by welding on two handles for carrying the smokehouse and one for removing the lid.

This design is characterized by simplicity, ease of use and compactness. Disadvantages of the device: production requires metalworking skills, only hot smoking is used, small volume of output product. For larger volumes, stationary smokehouses are used.

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How to Make a Sausage Smokehouse from a Barrel

This solution will require a standard 200 liter barrel and the same set of tools, only without metal sheets. The procedure is as follows:

1. The top of the barrel is cut off.
2. About halfway through a stainless steel grate is welded or secured in any other reliable way. It will serve to place small pieces of meat.
3. At the top, close to the edge of the lid, they are welded two or three rods of reinforcement. Hooks with sausages or large pieces of meat will be hung on them. Calculate the rods so that the products do not touch each other during smoking.
4. Align the lid to the size of the barrel. It should fit as tightly as possible.
5. At the bottom of the chamber, cut a hole for the chimney pipe or the firebox door. In the case of a firebox, its volume should be at least a third of the entire smoking chamber.

Photo 1. The process of making sausage in a smokehouse made from a metal barrel. The products are hung on hooks.

This design is suitable for processing large quantities of meat and can be used for both cold and hot smoking. Flaws: difficult to transport, inconvenient to use in small volumes, high fuel consumption and long heating time.

Making the firebox, hooks and tray

Any well-designed smokehouse can be ruined by a high-mounted firebox or too inconvenient hooks and grates.

For cold smoking It is necessary to assemble a small stove-hearth: the place where the smoke will be driven into the smoking chamber through the chimney. The chimney pipe outlet is located directly above the fire so that as little smoke as possible is dispersed outside. Seal the transition between the chamber and the chimney as much as possible, this will help to increase the draft.

It is important that the bottom of the smokehouse chamber and the chimney outlet are level, this will increase the draft due to the law of communicating vessels.

That's why Smokehouses are often raised to a small elevation: For hot smoking, this simplifies control over the fire; for cold smoking, it aligns it with the firebox.

The material most often used is stone or firebrick. When building, do not overdo it with the depth and narrowness of the firebox: when cold smoking, the ash has to be periodically raked out, take care of this right away, when laying the stove.

Small parts are manufactured made of stainless steel or purchased at the nearest hardware store. Barbecue grates installed on corner supports welded to the barrel work well.

Useful video

Watch the video, which shows the process of smoking sausages in a smokehouse made from a metal barrel.

Use and care of the device

There are several features to consider when using a sausage smoker.

Firstly, Sawdust should be spread evenly during smoking. This will make smoking better.

Secondly, Alder is most often used for fuel. The choice of wood is important - each type gives its own flavor to food.

You can add fruits, berries, spices to the kindling to create aroma. Never use coniferous trees or wet firewood.

Thirdly, you must not overheat the smoking chamber. When hot smoking, the maximum temperature is from 90 degrees at the beginning up to 120 in the middle of the process. The cooking time depends on the volume and the selected type of smoking (hot/cold), overheating the chamber will not speed up, but spoil the meat.

After smoking is complete, the sausage should be left on the hooks for a while. The cooking time depends on depending on the recipe, temperature, amount of sausage.