Post by dirtyd on Jan 24, 2010 22:31:40 GMT -5
About a year ago I said I was going to build a small backyard smokehouse. Finally got around to it and thought I'd share. I found some plans online that looked just about right. www.canr.uconn.edu/ansci/ext/build_smokehouse.pdf I didn't follow them exactly but used them as a template.
As usual I try to cheapen things up, so instead of using tongue and grove pine at $8 a board I used $2 cedar fence pickets. I cut a lap joint on each side of the boards thinking the lap siding would seal the smoke in better, so far it looks like it's going to work great. Hopefully it will hold up over time and won't compromise the integrity of the smoker.
The other thing I changed from the plans was the shelf spacing. My main reason for building this is for smoking sausage, so maximizing vertical space was my biggest concern. I added a sheet of expanded metal to the roof so I could start hanging sausages from the top down.
I christened it today with about 5 lbs of elk jerky. First thing I learned, I should have went with 50 lbs! Oh well, it was good to give it a test run before getting too crazy. After today's test I will be adding additional shelves in the future to accommodate bigger batches of jerky or fish.
Next weekend I plan of getting together with my dad, brother, cousin and couple buddies to see if we can't stuff it with sausages. I'm hoping it will work great.
In the future I wouldn't mind giving it a permanent home where I can pipe smoke from a below grade firebox but for now it'll either run with an electric element (from another smoker) or using a propane burner from the turkey fryer.
As usual I try to cheapen things up, so instead of using tongue and grove pine at $8 a board I used $2 cedar fence pickets. I cut a lap joint on each side of the boards thinking the lap siding would seal the smoke in better, so far it looks like it's going to work great. Hopefully it will hold up over time and won't compromise the integrity of the smoker.
The other thing I changed from the plans was the shelf spacing. My main reason for building this is for smoking sausage, so maximizing vertical space was my biggest concern. I added a sheet of expanded metal to the roof so I could start hanging sausages from the top down.
I christened it today with about 5 lbs of elk jerky. First thing I learned, I should have went with 50 lbs! Oh well, it was good to give it a test run before getting too crazy. After today's test I will be adding additional shelves in the future to accommodate bigger batches of jerky or fish.
Next weekend I plan of getting together with my dad, brother, cousin and couple buddies to see if we can't stuff it with sausages. I'm hoping it will work great.
In the future I wouldn't mind giving it a permanent home where I can pipe smoke from a below grade firebox but for now it'll either run with an electric element (from another smoker) or using a propane burner from the turkey fryer.
drooling over here!!!!
Karma to ya
