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Fans of home-made smoked meats know well that the best tasting product is provided not by huge smoking cabinets, but by relatively small-volume devices. Therefore, a do-it-yourself bucket smokehouse, with the right approach, can be considered one of the most optimal options for preparing smoked mackerel or ham at home.
The best option for a smokehouse is an enamel bucket with a lid
Pros and cons of a bucket smoker
The advantages of using a small container in the form of a metal tank or bucket are clear and obvious even to a person who is far from the technology of smoking products. Without going into too much detail, we can point out only two main advantages:
- Low weight and dimensions of the device. Therefore, the bucket is suitable for smoking on a gas stove in an apartment or summer kitchen. If desired, such a device can be easily washed and hidden in a closet or on the mezzanine;
- The small volume ensures uniform smoke treatment; there are no cooled or overheated areas, as happens in large devices. As a result, a hot-smoked smokehouse made from a bucket is practically not inferior in its capabilities to industrial factory models.
In addition, many amateurs note the simple construction of a bucket-based smokehouse. It’s easy to modify it at home, and if something doesn’t work out, you can always eliminate the flaws with minimal losses. Another significant advantage is that the processing process is faster, less fuel is consumed, and there is no need to heat up or, as they say, accelerate a huge massive metal structure in order to smoke a few fish for dinner or lunch for the family.
Camping smokehouse option
This scheme also has a lot of negative qualities. For example, if the bucket is made with a zinc coating, then it can only be used for smoking over charcoal. In addition, a small amount is partially eaten due to the grate and plate for collecting fat. It is well known that the smoking process involves the release of a large amount of active organic substances, due to which the metal of the bucket, even if galvanized or enameled, quickly corrodes at the slightest damage to the coating.
If you heat a smoking bucket on a gas burner, then after a couple of years of using the smokehouse, the metal will burn through to holes, and the device will have to be sent to a landfill. It will not be possible to use the bucket as before, since water poured into the container will give off an unpleasant odor of rancid fat and burning.Therefore, building a smokehouse from an enamel bucket with your own hands is like a one-way trip; it is best to buy a new container and in advance abandon the idea of using it later for other purposes.
The second negative factor that gourmets most often complain about is related to the small dimensions of the smokehouse chamber. It is believed that the optimal size for fish is a carcass 20-25 cm long. On the other hand, this is not enough. If the need arises to smoke a whole broiler or domestic chicken, you will have to come up with additional options for the apparatus, assembly, or making your own smokehouse from a bucket and pan instead of a lid. This will help increase the volume of the chamber.
Selection and preparation of containers
If you don’t want to buy a new bucket, then you can use what you already have in your household. But you shouldn’t grab the first container that comes to hand; at a minimum, a metal bucket, regardless of its size, must meet three main criteria:
- The case has no damage or signs of corrosion;
- The seams in the bottom of the container are not rusty and can withstand water poured into the container;
- The bucket has a working handle for carrying the smoker.
The last point is the most important, since the device will have to be installed either on a gas stove, or on an open fire, or subjected to heating in some other way. The body temperature will be quite high, so grips and mittens will not be suitable. And besides, when removing a bucket without a handle from the fire, there is a certain risk of turning over the contents of the smokehouse inside and ruining the precious product.
It’s good if you can find a stainless steel container for your home smokehouse, but such metal is incredibly difficult to wash off grease and soot.
The bucket will need to be washed with hot water and soda, no detergents or cleaning powders, otherwise the smokehouse will smell of perfume, which manufacturers like to add to SMS. If the bucket was previously used for spilling technical liquids, paints and solvents, gasoline, then it is better not to use such a container. In addition, to make a full-fledged smokehouse from an enamel bucket with your own hands, you definitely need to choose a lid. This is not difficult, since approximately half of the range of enamel dishes, including buckets, are sold with lids.
Is it possible to smoke in a galvanized bucket?
Zinc is considered a toxic metal, but only if it is heated to temperatures above 200OC. In this case, microparticles of metal begin to separate on the galvanized surface, with stronger heating, more than 400OC, highly toxic vapors appear in the air.
Therefore, the traditional method of making a smokehouse from a galvanized bucket will work quite well, since the temperature in the chamber will not rise above 120OC. A galvanized smokehouse will work no worse than an enameled one, but if there are concerns, you can modify the smokehouse. For example, use an external smoke generator, as in the photo.
External smoke generator works with cold smoke
You can buy it or make it for your smokehouse with your own hands. True, in this case the bucket will turn into a cold smoking apparatus. Another method is to install an electric stove with a plate for wood chips on the bottom of the container. For this method, an ordinary galvanized bucket of 10 liters will not be enough; for a smokehouse you will need at least a capacity of 12-15 liters.
How to make a smokehouse from a bucket with your own hands
In general, the process of making a hot smoking apparatus from a new bucket consists of three stages:
- We make grates for storing products inside the smokehouse;
- We select a container for filling with wood chips and shavings. Usually this is a metal plate placed at the bottom of the bucket;
- We select a method of installation on fire.
The mesh will need to be made from annealed steel wire or taken ready-made, for example, in a microwave oven. Some models use two grids to increase the loading volume, but at first you can get by with just one.
DIY diagrams and photos of a bucket smokehouse
A standard version of a capsule apparatus made from an enamel tank, pan or any other container is shown in the diagram below.
In fact, such a structure can be assembled even in the field. The lid is usually not fixed; it is simply pressed down with any suitable weight of pressure.
Higher quality can be obtained on a hot smoked smokehouse with a water seal; in this option, the lid is not just put on the bucket, it is either wrapped with a wet cloth, or an additional water hose is installed.
The process goes quickly, but a lot of smoke comes out from under the smokehouse lid, so the bucket is usually wrapped in a wet cloth
Tools and materials
To make a smoking apparatus, you will need aluminum or steel wire 2-3 mm thick, fabric and a plate for accumulating fat.If you plan to install the bucket on burnt coals, then you will additionally need to make a tagan or stand for the container. Almost all work can be done with metalworking pliers and a hacksaw.
Manufacturing of gratings
The easiest way is to bend the grate to fit the food using regular spiral winding. Carefully wrap a sufficiently long piece of wire, at least 8 m, onto a blank with a diameter of 4-5 cm. The result is a spiral with a diameter of 18-20 cm.
The stand for the smokehouse over the fire is usually bent from two pieces of reinforcement. Such a tagan will not burn out or deform under the weight of the smoking apparatus.
Assembly of the structure
First of all, you need to properly install the stand under the smokehouse. To do this, two bent U-shaped brackets are driven into the ground so that the horizontal part of the tagan is above the surface of the site at a height of at least 5-7 cm.
To check how stable the structure is, water is poured into a bucket and placed on a cold tagan. If the smokehouse does not sway and is stable, then you can place a plate under the fat, add sawdust and lay the grate.
One of the options for making a smokehouse from a bucket with your own hands is shown in the video:
How to smoke in a smoking bucket
Before placing a container with sawdust and fish or meat placed inside, it is necessary to let the fire burn thoroughly, so that there are coals left without an open flame. It is in this embodiment that a stable and very powerful heat flow is obtained. Next, we lay in dried alder chips, place a plate and a grate. Before smoking, products are usually treated in a spicy brine and dried so that there is no moisture on the surface.
On top of the grill there will be a plate, then another grill, on which the nipples and legs are placed
The device is placed on a stand, closed with a lid and wrapped with a wet piece of cloth. The operating time of the smokehouse is selected individually, depending on the mass of the products, the thickness of the pieces and the heating intensity.
Conclusion
A do-it-yourself smokehouse made from a bucket is a good way to diversify the menu at the dacha or on vacation outside the city. The design itself does not require special knowledge and can be easily assembled from any available tanks or pans. True, in order to obtain a product of decent quality, patience and experience in performing such work are required.
