Hi all. Growing up in a large family (9 of us children) there was never much money but we had the gardens and animals to live off. Dad was the sole provider but pay wasn't huge for 9 children. What he had going for him was his mind. He did with what he had around the small family farm. Our smokehouse was nothing more than an old fridge with a hole cut out the top (not too big - enough for some of the smoke to escape) and another hole through the back with a 4" stove pipe attached to a 5 gallon bucket. Us kids would go to the woods to get small (maybe 4 to 6 inches long no more than 1 inch thick) apple branches. Once the fire starter burned off, we would add some of the apple branches to the smoldering pile of coals and get a good smoke going. We'd then attach the bucket to the back of the old fridge and let it smoke away (I think I have some pictures of it somewhere. If I find them I'll post). If I close my eyes I can still smell the smoke from that old fridge/smokehouse. After a few weeks of smoking the hams, bacon, fish, whatever we put in it, it was time to chow down. My favorite was the bacon in the morning with the eggs and toast (Homemade bread). Nothing beats a breakfast like that after the animals were tended to for the day. Roger
I used a old fridge as a smoker for years. Tore out the inside and lined it with wood. Turned it upside down so the smoke went in through the freezer end. Worked great till it self destructed due to rust. You could get a lot of meat in there for sure.
I'm planning to build one this winter at the cabin. ;) Ours will be all wood, though.
I remember the old smoke house, board and batten with smoke coming through the cracks. Wooden barrels in there for molasses, kraut, pickled corn and pickled beans. Maybe some of those were in the cellar?
You know that would be a great idea would love to see some of y'all smoke houses and designs.
The wife and I were just talking about smoke house the other day, I cut out one for a customer, and his plans are the same as the old days, preparing for whatever comes, and I remembered Grandma's old smoke house, she would smoke all kinds of meats. The pigs were the main stay, she used the hole animal for the most part, hams, bacon, sausage, you name it, and just to add, my mother was the oldest of 12, Grandpa died before I was born, so between momma and grandma they did their fair share of raising a family, good memories as a child, and not to mention good cooking as well. Thanks for sharing, david
How tall was that smokehouse?
There are some smoke house plans on this site.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension-aben/buildingplans/miscellaneous
HOLY COW! :o :o This internet thing has some great stuff on it once in awhile. :D
I'm saving that one to my favorites. :)
Brian, thank you so much for this link! just awesome! much appreciated!
david
Lots of good plans on that site!!
My grandfather always had a smokehouse of some sort during his lifetime. I remember he also built one out of an old refrigerator when we lived in Alaska. He used it to smoke salmon and moose on a regular basis and it was some delicious food. He had the golden touch when it came to smoked salmon and to this day the greatest compliment I can get from my family when I make smoked salmon is that it reminds them of grandpa's. I remember one day he must have been distracted and let the smoker get a bit too hot. He opened the door and all the insides of the fridge had "softened" and drooped substantially. The moose sausage in there was dry as a bone and hard as a rock. You could have used it to drive nails without any trouble. After a good laugh he just took it out and gave it to us kids to gnaw on like a bunch of animals. Gave the jaws quite a workout, but that kept us from arguing I guess.
That is a awesome link Thanks for sharing Brian ;D
You're welcome!! Here's another link with more plans.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mwps_dis/mwps_web/frame_p.htm
The Mullet (fish) is a prized smoked dish down here. Locals use refrigerator shells with an electric hot plate at the botom for heat and a cast iron skillet on the hotplate to smolder hickory or oak chips for smoke flavor. A pan of water suspended a few inches above the skillet keeps the fish from drying out during the slow cooking. A local version of the Brinkman electric smoker but larger and cheaper.