First I want to talk about how I myself came to this thought. In childhood (I come from a village) we had a large stationary smokehouse. Later, I built the same in the country ... and it remained almost unclaimed! Indeed, in the village in it they smoked meat and sausages in large quantities - when they cut the boar, it was necessary to prepare about two hundred kilograms of meat and lard for long-term storage. So they pumped it in the form of sausages and other smoked meats ... The city dweller needs to smoke a small portion of meat or fish for a completely different purpose - just to enjoy the taste of fresh smoked meats ... In addition, the smoking process itself is not for the city dweller routine work (as in the village), but an element of relaxation, entertainment! ... (After all, for example, in barbecue we value not only the taste, but also the cooking process) ...
So I came to the conclusion that I needed a smokehouse, rather, a "mobile" one - a small one that can be used not only in the country house, but also taken with you "to nature." Having shoveled a mountain of information, I “composed” a device that I want to tell you about.
To make it, I needed:
1. Sheet ferrous metal, 1 mm thick.
2. A metal grid with a cell of 20 by 10, or 10 by 10 mm.
3. Four M6 bolts, 20 mm long.
4. Scrap metal pipe with an inner diameter of 15 mm.
5. A piece of reinforcement (1 meter), with a diameter of 16 mm. (for legs)
6. A rod with a diameter of 8 mm.
7. Trimming profile pipes with a thin wall.
So, let's begin. First of all, I made the case itself. It is a metal box with a lid.
I made the case myself from a metal sheet 1 mm thick. I had access to the bending machine, so I bent everything from one sheet and welded only the ends. If you do not have such an opportunity, then you can cut each wall and bottom separately and weld together. Bends above are needed to secure the cover. They can be made by welding a corner of thin metal, measuring 15 by 15 mm, to the edge. And this corner, in turn, can be made if cut along the profile pipe. For example, from cutting a pipe with a section of 30 by 30 mm, we get four corners we need.
The lid is a rectangle of the same metal, on one of the narrow sides of which a bend is made (or a corner is welded). In addition, for the convenience of carrying and opening the lid, I welded two handles from a metal rod - one in the center (for carrying):
And the second - at the end, on the bent part (for opening / closing the lid itself):
In order for the lid to close, like a "drawer", I formed a groove in the upper part, welded another corner inside our smokehouse, and made the end wall a little lower - the width of this groove:
We’ll talk separately about the size of our smokehouse. The height of the side walls I made 15 centimeters, and, as shown by the practice of using a smokehouse, this height was optimal. But I will not give the other sizes here. After all, this smokehouse is placed on the grill. Therefore, based on the size of your barbecue, make your smokehouse. I would advise the width to be made 20-30 mm wider than the width of the barbecue. And the length is arbitrary. (Of course, it should not be longer than the barbecue).
So that the smokehouse of something good did not fall from the grill, I welded a pipe cut in the corners at the bottom.
I selected the distance between them so that they fit tightly into the corners of my barbecue.
At the same time, I got the idea to add another “option” - the ability to use a smokehouse without barbecue, placing it over a smoldering fire. For this, I made four of these “legs” from sixteen armature:
I adjusted the other ends with the help of a “grinder” with a cleaning circle to the diameter of my pipes, and they are now inserted, forming legs 30 cm high.
It would be necessary to drill holes in the tubes and cut the thread. So that you can clamp the legs with screws. And then they drop out while you put it.))) But, as I said, this is just an “option” - I have never used it without a barbecue ... And if I ever use it once, it’s easier to hold the legs))) ) And you can do it if you want ...
So, the case is ready. Now - the inner filling. I made a baking tray for collecting fat from the same sheet. (Although, it was possible to take a thinner one ... But I had it, but a thinner one had to buy))). External dimensions - the size of the smokehouse, and then on each side the board bends 90 degrees, 10 mm high. As a result, we get minus 20 mm from the width and the same from the length. Since we have bends 15 mm wide at the edge of the smokehouse body, when inserting a baking sheet, you will need to slightly tilt it in width. And it will go in length, because we have a bend on only one side. That is, so we get the maximum area that will allow us to invest it.
In the corners I boiled the slots, and in the middle, for ease of insertion / extraction, I welded the handle:
This baking sheet should not go to the bottom, because we will pour oak chips on the bottom. So I made him legs, welded four M6 bolts, 20 mm long.
So this element is ready:
The next step I made a wire rack on which the products for smoking will be placed directly. I made it from a piece of reinforcing mesh with a cell of 10 by 20 mm.
You can make it from any suitable lattice, but it should by no means be galvanized !!!
In order to make it easier to put and remove the food rack, I welded two handles. I made them from scraps of stainless steel. They stayed with me from an unsuccessful brazier manufacture. (I talked about this in my past publications).
Along the perimeter, to strengthen the grille, I also welded strips of stainless steel:
Inside the case, you need to make stops on which the grate will rest. It should be located about five centimeters above the pan.Therefore, I welded to the side walls at an angle at a distance of 70 mm from the bottom (20 mm will take a baking sheet from us, and 50 mm above it we will leave the distance to the grate
All! All items are ready!
For smoking, I use the following purchased oak chips:
You can, of course, prepare it yourself, dry it ... but lazily !!! ))) It costs a penny, it sells a lot where, but it needs a little.
We spill wood chips with a thin layer at the bottom of our smokehouse (Of course, the package must be opened for this)))):
Next, install a baking tray for collecting fat:
And we put the grate with the products laid out on it (in this case, the note with the name of the site plays their role))):
Close the lid and put on the grill:
All. After some time, smoke will come out of all the cracks - this is normal. It is necessary to ensure that there is no open fire in the grill. From this chip inside can catch fire and products will deteriorate.
After smoking, I sometimes leave chips inside for the next time. (is it possible to leave - it can be seen by the state of the chips. If there are already coals, then you need to throw it away). At the same time, I just cover the cooled smokehouse with a newspaper, leaving wood chips under it. Then I collect everything in the same order, put it inside my legs, close it and carry it to the storage place, or to the car.
You can smoke anything you want - meat, lard, chickens, fish, sausage. Even ordinary sausages turn out to be “unusual” and very tasty from the heat, from the heat.
I’ll advise you in the end. If someone, as we do, plans to take it with him, leaving for a week or two with tents in the forest, he would advise welding another handle on the side for easier carrying. It can be made folding by fixing with two tubes welded to the body. Because sometimes, for example, when loading in car, it would be more convenient to intercept, like a suitcase ... I, too, am going to finish everything, yes ...)))