Cold smoking smokehouse, self-made smokehouse for meat and fish

The smoking process involves the treatment of foodstuffs with smoke, which is produced by the smouldering of fine wood particles – sawdust, shavings. In cold smoking, the smoke smokes the meat or fish at a temperature of 25-30 C. The process can last from 3 days to more than a week. The reason smoking takes so long is that bacteria multiply quickly at 30 C and if you don't carry out the smoking procedure to the end, the result will be poor quality. When done correctly, the end of the smoking process results in a valuable food dish. 

Preparations for setting up the smokehouse: fireplace, chamber, fuel and other necessary equipment

To make a makeshift cold smoker, you will need to set up a fireplace, a smoking chamber for the food itself and a container to collect the fat. It is important to take into account that the chamber must be sealed.

The location of the future smokehouse must also be chosen very carefully. It must be safe from accidental ignition and convenient for the owner, e.g. for stacking products, freedom of movement, etc.

The choice of a smoking area must also be considered. Juniper chips (with disinfectant properties), alder or spruce sawdust, barked birch twigs (birch bark contains tar, which can taint the smoked food) are the best materials for smoking. Oak and maple chips can be used, as well as pear, cherry, cherry and sea buckthorn chips (the smell of their smoke adds a subtle aroma to the cooked food). Aspen and conifer chips and sawdust are not recommended for smoking.

Construction of a cold smoker

The fireplace and firebox may be located in a pit 2-7 m from the smoking chamber but below the level of the chamber itself. The fireplace and chamber are connected by a "duct" &ndash flue, through which the smoke is cooled to the required temperature before it enters the chamber where the food is stored.

An old, non-working fridge, a decommissioned gas stove or a metal barrel can be adapted for a self-contained cold smoking chamber. For smaller chambers, metal bidons or large kitchen pots with lids are used. Alternatively, if you have the means and the skills, you can simply build a smoking chamber out of clay bricks

The diagram below shows a simple cold smoking smoker:

The distance from the firebox to the smoking chamber shall be between 2 and 7 metres, but not more than 7 metres. Otherwise, there may be difficulties with smoke draw and smoking times may be unintentionally extended. A flue of 6-7 metres is more advantageous in that it allows the smoke moving up to the chamber to be cleared of excess combustion gases. The fire pit must be dug below the level of the chamber in order to connect them with a sloping flue. The inclination is necessary because it facilitates the natural attraction of the smoke in the right direction into the smoking chamber. This creates a favourable difference in altitude and temperature. 

The flue may be a sloping trench (30 cm deep and 50 cm wide). It is best to line the bottom and walls with clay bricks and cover the top with metal sheets. But a simpler option is possible instead of a ditch – a metal pipe 20-30 cm in diameter laid in the ditch. The metal pipe allows for a smoother maintenance of the required smoking temperature. 

Where possible, a metal firebox shall be used for the fireplace, which must be fitted with an air damper. This is needed for air circulation, to regulate the intensity of the burn and to allow the excess smoke to escape.

If an old refrigerator or an old stove is used for the improvised smoking chamber, a hole shall be cut in the bottom of the refrigerator or stove to insert the flue pipe. Another hole shall be cut in the top lid of the smoking chamber for the smoke to escape (like a chimney). Another pipe (from 8 cm in diameter) can be used for this chimney. 

The flue must have a sealed connection to the bottom of the smoking chamber. Clay or other harmless materials may be used to seal the joint. 

A container for the collection of grease is placed at the bottom of the smoking chamber (a rectangular container with curbs, a plastic or metal box is suitable).

Clean smoking tips

Smoking times may vary for different foods, so it is recommended to smoke only one type of food at a time (meat – only with meat, and fish – another time). And it is also not advisable to add new foods to the chamber during the smoking process. The size of all pieces of meat (hung in the smoking chamber at the same time) must be the same. The same applies to fish.  

Outdoor weather conditions are also important for the smoking process. Smoking is best practised in dry, windless weather, starting in the morning rather than in the evening.