For those who like to indulge in delicious fish: how to make a special smokehouse

Smokehouse for fish is fundamental no different from those devices in which other products are prepared: meat, lard, mushrooms.

But there are still some recommendations, which allow you to repurpose the smoke cabinet directly for smoking fish.

What is special about a fish smoker?

Fish is smoked like hot, and cold way. First allows you to get a smoked product quickly: within 1-3 hoursMackerel, herring, sprat, stellate sturgeon, cod, and sterlet are often prepared this way.

Cold Smoking is a much longer process, taking from 3 to 7 days.

This has both advantages and disadvantages. Plus in that the finished product has a more subtle aroma and taste.

Minus is that if there is no control over the smoke temperature and its stability during a long smoking period, the products begin to spoil. This most often happens in the summer season.

The masters know some useful ones adviсe, which improve the quality and appearance of the product:

1. Not recommended Use grids and nets for hanging. In this case, there will be no stripes on the fish from the ties and crossbars.
2. In the smoke chamber, they stretch it in several tiers ropes or metal wire, to which with the help of hooks hang the fish by the tail. Or else they string her up by the head on twine, fishing line, strong thread.
3. Experienced fish smokers always install it in a smoke chamber control devices: thermometers, temperature sensors, thermostats.

Hot smoking scheme

The easiest way to create a hot smoking smokehouse is to use a circuit diagram of this device, which includes several elements:

• camera for smoking;
• rods for hanging fish;
• pallet for fat;
• supports for the fat tray;
• cover with a hole or pipe for smoke removal;
• damper on the smoke exhaust pipe;
• hearth.

In a hot fish smoker no bars, as they leave dents on the finished product. Grids are also undesirable because if the shavings and chips accidentally ignite spontaneously, the fish may burn. The hearth is located under the smoke chamber, and the shavings are poured onto the bottom inside this container.

Photo 1. Two versions of the image of hot smoking of fish: b - incorrect placement on the grill, c - correct, in a suspended state.

Optimal dimensions hot smokehouse 60x90x120 cm. A smoke chamber of this volume is capacious, it allows you to arrange 2-3 tiers crossbars for hanging products. It is not necessary to build a smoke cabinet from brick, concrete, foam blocks.

For occasional hot smoking sessions they are quite suitable deep and voluminous metal containers: barrels, buckets, pots, tanks, basins. The role of a tray in such structures can be successfully performed by a frying pan, a sheet of metal, a container made of foil, a piece of heat-resistant glass.

Cold smoking scheme

The construction of a cold smoking smokehouse will require more time and labor. The scheme of this equipment includes the same elements, as well as the scheme of a hot smoking smokehouse. But the operating principle devices other.

One more element is added to those listed in the hot smokehouse diagram: chimneyIts length should be not less than 3 meters, so you will need the appropriate materials: metal pipes with a cross-section of at least 100 mm.

Since the process of cold smoking fish is long, a smoothly functioning system is necessary. firebox. It is traditionally laid out of brick or welded from metal. The firebox is essentially a mini-oven, firmly connected to the chimney, the opposite end of which is similarly connected to the smoke chamber.

Using a smoke generator

A compact device - a smoke generator allows abandon the installation of a firebox and chimney. This device (smoke generator) can be bought in a store or made with your own hands from improvised means that every owner has in the house.

The device has a “speaking” name, from which its function becomes clear: smoke production.

The device is simple in designTo make the simplest model you will need tin cans, small diameter metal tubes, a tee, a coupling, and an aquarium compressor.

The smoke generator is connected to the smoking chamber through a transition link: a metal tube. Connection point is chosen arbitrarily, but is always located in the lower third of the smoke cabinet.

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How to do it yourself

You can make a smokehouse for hot or cold smoking yourself.

Materials and tools

Stationary smokehouses are built from brick, stone, foam concrete, concrete blocks (hollow and solid), wood, and sheet metal.

Pipes for the chimney needed metal, and for the smoke exhaust in cold smoking smokehouses you can use plastic and ceramic.

It is impossible to carry out work on the smokehouse without using hand and power tools. You will need:

• Bulgarian;
• screwdriver;
• metal scissors (if you don’t have a grinder);
• screwdrivers;
• pliers;
• measuring tool: tape measure, square, ruler;
• building bubble level;
• welding machine (for the production of metal smokehouses).

From additional materials You will need self-tapping screws, bolts, a metal disk, and drills. At the stage of preparation for the work on the construction of the smokehouse, check the availability of tools and purchase the required materials.

Fish smokehouse drawing

The smokehouse project includes all the elements listed in the hot and cold smoking diagrams. But before building the device, its dimensions, location, material of manufacture. It is advisable to place stationary smokehouses in windless areas of the site. Mobile devices are built in any convenient place.

They draw by hand site plan indicating the distances to buildings and other large structures. Choose the most suitable place to place the smokehouse, mark it. If desired, you can sketch sketch, if we are talking about a solid brick structure.

But for the most part, all stationary smoke chambers look the same: in the form of a birdhouse-type house. Choose according to your taste roof design option (single-pitched, double-pitched, flat) and finishing materials for walls and roofs.

Photo 2. Example of a drawing of a hot smoking smokehouse for fish, with dimensions and explanations. The firebox below can be arranged in various ways.

Making a portable hot smokehouse

What is required to build a smokehouse:

• two identical metal tanks capacity 50-60 liters;
• 4 bolts section 6-10 mm;
• metal rivets 8-10 pcs.;
• 4-5 metal plates (can be cut from stainless steel);
• 2-3 metal rods section 4-5 mm, 40-45 cm long;
• wire for making hooks and gratings;
• metal cup or frying pan;
• metal lid for the tank (can be replaced with a piece of burlap);
• 6 bricks.

Tools to perform work:

• Bulgarian with a metal cutting disc;
• riveter;
• screwdriver with a drill.

Sequence of works

1. They are making frame. The bottom of one of the tanks is cut off with a grinder. This tank is placed on top of the second one. Using a riveter, rivets and metal plates, the two products are pulled together into a single structure.
2. They are making firebox. A wall is erected in the chosen location 3 bricksOpposite her, at a distance of 30-40 cm, are lining up the second similar.
3. Manufacturing gratings. Cut thick wire into equal pieces and tie them together with thinner wire.
4. They are making pallet made of stainless steel. Cut out a rectangle of the required size and bend its sides to form sides.
5. They drill out holes for rods. They put them on display.
6. They screw it in bolts at the level of the pallet installation (5-7 cm from the bottom).
7. Assembling the smokehouse: a tray and grates are installed inside, the tanks are placed on brick walls. Covered with a lid or burlap.

Recommendations for use

To obtain high-quality smoke, wood is used. oak, alder, juniper, fruit trees. They make sure that the shavings smolder and do not burn. To do this, control the power of fire under the smokehouse.

Useful video

A video that clearly demonstrates the intricacies of cold smoking crucian carp: how to prepare the fish, hang it correctly, and how long to smoke it.