Building a smokehouse, step by step

1. Fire far away, smoke close by

A good smokehouse has the fire in a separate firebox, and the smoke reaches the chamber cool.

1. Separate firebox — The firebox is 3–5 m (10–16 ft) from the chamber and lower than it. The wood smoulders in it with little air.
2. The channel rises — Warm smoke is lighter than air: if the chamber is higher than the firebox, the smoke travels through the channel on its own. Tar and sparks stay in the channel.
3. Chamber — For 1–2 pigs the chamber is roughly 1.2 × 1.2 m (4 × 4 ft) inside. The smoke passes the meat.
4. Outlet with a damper — An outlet under the roof draws out smoke and moisture, and a damper controls the draught. Without an outlet the smoke stands and the meat turns sour.

Why: When the fire flares up in the chamber, the meat warms and spoils from the inside, and the smoke is thick and sooty. Through a channel of 3–5 m the smoke cools and leaves its tar behind, so the smokehouse smokes cold even at 8–10 °C (46–50 °F) outside.

• For a bigger smokehouse make the chamber longer, not taller: in a tall chamber the top row is too far from the smoke and the bottom row too warm.
• The smokehouse also serves for drying after smoking, and hams hang for months: plan it bigger than you think.

2. Site and distances

A smokehouse is a building with a fire: choose the site for safety first, convenience second.

1. Away from what burns — House, barn, hay, straw, woodshed, woodland and dry grass: roughly at least 5–10 m (16–33 ft), more if the rules or the fire service require it.
2. Wind — Smoke mustn't blow onto your house or your neighbour's, their windows or garden. Check where the wind usually comes from in winter (in Britain and Ireland mostly the south-west).
3. Dry ground — No high water table and no puddles. The firebox is lower than the chamber, so it needs a dry spot and rainwater drainage.
4. Close and locked — In winter you go to the smokehouse every day: a path, a light and wood to hand. The door locks.

Why: Plenty of farms have lost their smokehouse and the winter's meat because a fire was left unwatched. Smoke bothers neighbours more than you think, and smoked meat attracts thieves, dogs, cats, foxes, and in North America raccoons and bears.

• Check with your council or county building department whether you need permission (in the UK also whether you're in a smoke control area), and ask the fire service or fire marshal about distances.
• Talk to your neighbours before you build, and smoke when the wind carries the smoke away from houses.

3. Firebox and channel · Locked

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4. Chamber · Locked

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5. Cabinet and drum · Locked

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6. First firing · Locked

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