Delicacies at any time: DIY mini smokehouse for your apartment
Home mini smokehouses are designed for those who like to pamper themselves and their loved ones not only tasty, but also healthy smoked meats.
After all, you can’t be sure of the quality of store-bought products due to the use of “liquid smoke”.
Unlike industrial equipment Home structures have more modest dimensions. Therefore, you can cook a smaller amount of delicacies in them. But such a device will fit in almost any kitchen.
Content
Construction of a home mini-smokehouse for cold smoking
This type of smoking uses smoke at a temperature about 25–35°C. Due to the need for cooling, the device is divided into parts:
- Smoking chamber with lid, in which the products are placed.
- Smoke generator, that is, a combustion chamber that is connected to the main chamber by a tube.
Photo 1. A small cold smoking smokehouse for the kitchen with a lid and a smoke generator that is connected with a tube.
To improve the draft, a smoke generator is connected compressor. At home, a compressor from an aquarium is suitable. It is also made from a computer cooler placed in a bottle. A mini-smokehouse is suitable for family use. with dimensions of 300 mm x 300 mm x 600 mm. Inside there is a grill for meat, fish, etc. At the bottom there is a pallet, in which fat accumulates.
A pipe up to 100 mm long is used as a housing for the combustion chamber. 500 mm and a diameter of about 80-100 mm. If you have a similar-sized non-combustible object, such as a can or thermos, it will also work. Smoke generators are also made by welding metal sheets into a rectangular structure of approximately the same volume.
Exists two options for the location of the connecting tube relative to the smoke generator: top and bottom. When outputting from below, it is easier to add sawdust if necessary. But this method also has its disadvantages:
- the pipe is clogged with wood chips, which interferes with the air flow;
- the shavings often go out;
- no natural draft, so smoke does not enter the chamber when the compressor is turned off.
The process of making it yourself at home
There are compact smokehouse models on the market. But such a device it's not hard to do it yourself. It will cost significantly less.
Construction includes the following stages:
- manufacturing of the body;
- creating a lid;
- lattice construction;
- pallet manufacturing;
- smoke generator device;
- connection of the structure.
Reference! To prevent smoke from escaping through the cracks between the lid and the walls, it is useful to do water seal. This is a trough located along the upper edge of the device. Before smoking, but with the lid already closed, water is poured into it. This ensures tightness.
Selecting a project
Knowing the general principle of design allows you to create different models of structures.
If there is unnecessary and non-flammable item, then it will be suitable for the role of the body. Mini-smokehouses are made from scrap materials:
- large buckets;
- milk cans;
- fire extinguisher housings;
- gas cylinder (with previously removed gas).
In these designs it is done door, sufficient for storing food products, and if necessary, lid. The grill, cover and tray are made in accordance with the dimensions of the main device. A simple design can also be assembled from a metal sheet.
Materials and tools
To create a compact smokehouse you will need:
- metal sheets (preferably stainless steel) 1.5–2 mm thick;
- thick wire;
- metal tube;
- U-shaped profile;
- 4 nuts slightly larger in diameter than the wire;
- Bulgarian;
- welding machine;
- metal shears;
- drill;
- coarse sandpaper.
Carefully! When working, use gloves, and when welding - mask!
Manufacturing of the case
To assemble the case, you need to do the following steps:
- Cut out the metal sheet, the length of which is equal to two lengths of the short side and two of the long side, and the width is the height of the smokehouse. You will get 1800 mm long and 300 mm wide.
- Apply marks at a distance 600 mm from the edge, then 300 mm, again 600 and again 300.
- Fold along these lines.
- Weld the edges to create a box without a bottom or lid.
- Cut another sheet to all dimensions. 20 mm larger than the required dimensions.
- Cut the corners so that each one is a square with a side of 10 mm.
- Lift the edges and weld them together to form the bottom.
- Place a box inside it and weld it on the outside.
- Weld a metal profile along the entire perimeter along the top edge. Its top edge should be slightly lower than the edge of the smokehouse. This trough will serve as a water seal.
- Drill a hole in the bottom of one of the walls for the smoke generator tube.
- To check the tightness of the connections, pour water insideIf it does not leak, the seams are welded tightly enough.
Attention! Sand the seams with sandpaperso that they do not scratch surfaces.
Lid
The size of the cover is calculated so that it fits between the walls of the housing and the gutter of the water seal. To do this:
- Take a larger sheet (700x400 mm).
- Cut out squares with sides of 10 cm from the corners. 50 mm (the same as the bottom, but larger in size).
- Bend the edges and weld the corners of the future lid. It is better to do this from the inside for a more aesthetic look.
- In the center, drill a hole about 10–15 mm in diameter.
- Weld a tube of the same size to it. Excess smoke will come out of it.
- Bend the wire into a “U” shape, and then bend the side sections outward again.
- Repeat the same operation with the second piece of wire. You now have the handles of the lid.
- For fastening weld the nuts to the cover of such a diameter that the wire can pass through them.
- Bend the ends slightly to prevent the handles from falling off the lid.
Important! The lid must be a little bigger than the body.
Pallet
The base is made similarly to the bottom and the lid. A metal sheet measuring 600x300 mm. But the edges need to be bent more than the lid, by millimeters 20-30 on each sideThen the pallet will fit inside freely.
On the lower part are made legsTo do this, bend small pieces of wire into a “corner” and weld them.
To make it convenient to remove the tray, they are installed on top pens. They are also made from wire bent into the shape of the letter "P". But the fastening must be fixed, so just weld them.
Peculiarities! A grate is placed on the tray, because of this It would be better to make the handles higherSometimes they are additionally reinforced with a vertical crossbar in the middle.
Lattice
It is made from pieces of wire slightly shorter than the body, that is, about 570-580 mm. Shorter sections (less than the width of the mini-smokehouse) are welded on the edges and in the middle, approximately 270–280 mm). If you attach handles on top (up to the middle of the height), you can place another grate.
Photo 2. A grill for roasting food on coals is perfect for a mini smokehouse created with your own hands.
After a little modification, a grill for roasting on coals will do. If necessary, it adjustable to size cutting off excess length or width. Small gratings are welded.
Assembling a small smokehouse for an apartment or house
It is not difficult to assemble such a structure. Place a tray inside. Place a grate on it, and another one on top. Close the device with a lid. Insert a smoke generator tube into the side hole. You can put another tube of a larger diameter on the top tube so that remove smoke from the apartment.
Since the smoke in cold smoking has a low temperature, not only metal tubes are used to remove it.
Possible complications
When assembling the body and cover, it is quite it is difficult to bend a metal sheet evenly.
To make the job easier, slightly go over it with a grinder along the required lines.
Then the sheet will bend in the right direction much easier. At the same time, for an even bend, put something heavy along it.
Useful video
The video provides instructions on how to create a small cold smoking smokehouse on a balcony in an apartment.
Safety precautions in the kitchen
A mini smokehouse is a portable device that allows you to cook in an ordinary apartment high quality delicacies. But when using it, it is necessary to follow all safety rules. Place the structure on flat and stable surfaces that are not subject to temperature effects. The smoke needs to be removed from the apartment., and keep small children and animals away.
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