Smoke House - Curing Meat

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I know that as Land Rover owners we a pretty diverse group who seem to have an equally wide range of interests outside of predilection towards things Land Rover.

Does anyone have their own smoke house or smaller smoker that they cure their own hams or small goods, like sausages?

I remember some of my farming relatives had their own on-farm smoke house when I was a kid. I just came across some plans from the University of Tennessee Accessed 22/06/2015 from http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/Plans/5695.pdf

The University of Tennessee has a extensive list of old plans too - well worth a look. http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/PlanList97.htm

I would like to find out some more about smoke houses and smoking meat.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[incisor]

i use a small smoker i got on special at anaconda once

i use cherrywood and charcoal to smoke beef and a different types of sausages etc.

don't get to do it as much as i would like ....

[daf11e]

I also use a small one given to me years ago , metal sliding top.....use it to smoke fish(tailor) just large enough for a family feed....

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

From memory the smoke house I saw when I was a kid was a conversion of a very tall wooden post water tank stand. It stood well away from the farm house and it provided pressure to the domestic water supply. The smoker had enclosed sides and it was high enough to hang a full adult pig or a cow well off the ground.

It also offered the chance for the meat to hang before it was butchered and kept it away from the farm dogs and other animals. I was just told it was also the "smoke house" and I never went inside it.

Then when I moved to my current place it had a high water tank just near the kitchen and it rekindled my childhood memory. The tank stand was unstable and too close to the house so I knocked it down. The timber posts were rotten.

ABC TV's LandLine, on Sunday ran a segment about bacon and pork production in Australia. There was a story about Peter Curry's Pialliago Farm Smokehouse. Accessed 22/06/2015 Makin' Bacon - Landline - ABC (http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2014/s4055497.htm).

I just bought a book from Amazon about smoke houses. Gee I am not easily influenced am I :D

I would be interested to learn what types of wood chip do people use to get their smoked flavours?

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

I use cherrywood and charcoal to smoke beef and a different types of sausages etc.

don't get to do it as much as i would like ....

Hello Dave and DAF11e,

Thank you for your replies. Also thank you Dave for naming identifying what type of materials you use for flavours.

In have heard of people using hickory chips/shavings too. There is a Kingaroy Peanut van in Childers and I think from memory their peanuts are hickory smoked. One of the local seafood suppliers also does smoked mackerel, plus smoked fish roe. Not sure what the flavour is apart from "yummy"

I my late teens I used to be a sales rep and I bought a bench top hand cranked mincer off one of my clients. It had a special sausage adaptor on it. I better scrounge through my shed and find it again.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[V8Ian]

LandyAndy will be along soon, he's a couple of hours behind most of us but he can sniff a food preparation thread from 4,316 km away. :D
You were right Andrew, my ziggy's hard to keep cool enough to smoke tucker. :(

[Bob Harding]

Yup got a old 44 with a lid

Attach my pig to it via a

4"x 10 ft flexihose to the the bottom of

The drum of Course light the pig

Burning pear wood at the mo

Got a stainless mesh thingy about

12 " from the top of the drum

On which goes the snags fish

Or whatever and cold smoke for

At least 12 hours and often use shaving

On the fire from me lathe

[Toxic_Avenger]

I read an instructable on making one from a filing cabinet.

I've dabbled with smoke for my jerky and other meals, but never on a large scale as in whole hams, smallgoods etc. I've mainly done hot smoking.

I'd love to build a trailer mounted smoker one day. That would be epic. I've seen them done out of old low pressure 230KG LP gas cylinders.

[Roverlord off road spares]

Hello All,

I know that as Land Rover owners we a pretty diverse group who seem to have an equally wide range of interests outside of predilection towards things Land Rover.

Does anyone have their own smoke house or smaller smoker that they cure their own hams or small goods, like sausages?

I remember some of my farming relatives had their own on-farm smoke house when I was a kid. I just came across some plans from the University of Tennessee Accessed 22/06/2015 from http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/Plans/5695.pdf

The University of Tennessee has a extensive list of old plans too - well worth a look. Agricultural Building and Equipment Plan List (http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/PlanList97.htm)

I would like to find out some more about smoke houses and smoking meat.

Kind Regards
Lionel
Hey those plans could be used for the other type of smoke house..... The out door country bog house :p

[LandyAndy]

LandyAndy will be along soon, he's a couple of hours behind most of us but he can sniff a food preparation thread from 4,316 km away. :D
You were right Andrew, my ziggy's hard to keep cool enough to smoke tucker. :(

Get that igrill temp monitor I told you about.You can safely turn the BBQ off and let it cool if you are monitoring the internal temp.
I had to when I did a "backyard bacon".It wasnt hot enough to smoke the chips,I put them in the smoker box with the lid off,found Lindsays portable blowtorch and lit them up:cool:
:cool::cool::cool::cool:,same result.

Will see if I can cut and paste the recipe,turned out awesome,only finished the bacon yesterday,never went smelly or slimy like bacon tends too,did the bacon 3 weeks ago.Going to do the same to chicken breasts next.
Andrew

[LandyAndy]

Backyard Bacon.
I just finished my first atempt,it was loverley.As I went to Albany I put the pork belly on for a second go in the sealed bag.I washed the belly,dried it then treated it again.
The result was great,not salty like normal bacon,only stored the finished product in a freezer bag in the fridge,didnt go smelly or slimy like ham or bacon does,going to try chicken next.
I reccomend using an IGrill mini(BBQ galore $50,you need a smartphone/tablet,it produces a bar graph of internal temp,cheating Im told) to get the correct internal temp.Used the same device to cook 2 pork roasts to perfection.You cook on internal temp not weight.1 roast was ready 1 hour earlier than the time/weight method due to me letting it get too hot at the start whilst trying to establish the bluetooth connection.Pork was perfect,if I let it run another hour as per the normal roast pork weight/time it would have been ruined.

Anyhow the recipe,the rub works great on steak and chops before BBQing ;);););)


Daks,I mentioned I had a recipe to try.Ive just made the rub,and treated the pork belly.It was easy.

Part 1 BBQ Rub.suits all meats you want to grille(BBQ).Seasons the meat,helps seal in moisture.Makes 2 cups,will last 12 months in a sealed container.

1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chilli powder
2 tablespoons mustard powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cayenne powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl,put in airtight container.Rub into any meat .

Backyard Bacon.
1 tablespoon of the above rub
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 pound fresh pork belly.

In a small bowl mix sugar/rub mix.

Evenly coat the pork belly including the sides pressing it in to ensure that it adheres.

Place pork belly in zip tie bag,squeeze out as much air as possible.Refrigerate for 1 week massaging daily to redistribute the cure liquid.

After a week the belly should be entirely firm in texture.if it has soft spots give it an extra day or 2.

When fully cured,remove from the bag,rinse thoroughly under cold water,pat dry with paper towels.

Prepare a smoker to 225degF,or a charrcoal or gas grill with smoke chips to med/low(150degF)

Lay pork belly in aluminium pan put in smoker/grille and close the lid.Smoke the bacon for 45mins or until it reaches an internal temp of 150 to 155degF.Remove from smoker cool on a rack.

Bacon is fully cooked and ready to eat as is.You can fry it at a low temp,it will not shrink as much as store bought bacon.

ENJOY
Andrew

[Lionelgee]

Will see if I can cut and paste the recipe,turned out awesome,only finished the bacon yesterday,never went smelly or slimy like bacon tends too,did the bacon 3 weeks ago.Going to do the same to chicken breasts next.
Andrew


G'day Andrew,

Feel free to post the recipe up here if you wish :) Gee that was fast - you beat me writing my message!

Kind Regards
Lionel

[LandyAndy]

G'day Andrew,

Feel free to post the recipe up here if you wish :) Gee that was fast - you beat me writing my message!

Kind Regards
Lionel

The quick and the dead;)
;);););)
Will add I used a raised grill(lifted it 75mm above bbq grille) to put the belly on wilst in my Zieglar and Brown.I alternated the burners left to right and off too up to 30 mins,tried to keep the bar graph as slight as possible on the igrill readout.Used the grill plates both sides,no solid plate.
I belive this method is refered to as hot smoking,next time I will run it out longer.

Im going to try a lamb roast in the next few weeks,put it in the Ziggy red hot to seal it then shut it down.Will try and drag the cooking time way out over a half a day or more.Im told its the only way to enjoy a roast;)
;);););)
Andrew

[loneranger]

Thanks for this thread. Gonna have to add it to my list of things to try and make. I'm not a big fan of cooking but this looks like it could be fun and besides who doesn't like bacon. :D:D

[Kev the Fridgy]

These work well, so far I havent had much use but the cooks done thus far have been good