SURVIVAL MEAT PRESERVING - PART 3, BUILDING A SMOKEHOUSE 
 

For those of you who want to make dried or smoke cured meats using an easier 
method than described in Part 3 of Survival Meat Preserving, you must prepare a 
smokehouse. You can build a smokehouse of cinder block or use an old 
refrigerator, then construct a separate, underground (or lower) fire pit. The 
finished smoke house is quite versatile and will enable you to smoke hams and 
bacon as well as drying meats. They require far less wood than outdoor drying 
racks, and thus take less of your time and energy to use. While a small 
refrigerator would seem too small to dry much meat at one time, it can be 
operated 24 hours a day (No carrying in the racks at night!) and thus can dry 
meat in about 1/3 rd the time required for outdoor drying.

While the use of a smokehouse inhibits sun drying, only slightly warmed, dry air 
from a very slow hardwood (fruit wood is best) fire will effectively dry the 
meat properly. And a smokehouse can be used in the winter when outdoor drying 
racks are not feasible. It is easy to build up too much heat and ruin jerky. But 
it is possible to generate enough heat to cook hams and bear meat, should that 
be desired during the traditional fall and winter season for that activity.

To prepare an old refrigerator for drying, all of the rubber gaskets, plastic 
molding inside, and the motor and compressor must be removed. Do not advertise 
your removal of the compressor, or a pony tailed, sandal wearing EPA inspector 
will be your constant companion for years. Older models had steel walls, but the 
modern types have a lot of plastic to remove. Older 10 to 12 cubic foot models 
are about the right size, and should be available in abundance after the 
revolution. If the inside walls must be removed (and the inside of the door), 
then sheet metal must replace it. The bottom and side near the top of the refer 
must be cut to accept the intake and exhaust pipes, respectively. Three or four 
inch copper or masonry pipe can be used for the exhaust, but the entrance should 
be a brick or masonry pipe of 4 to 6 inch diameter. As the door will not seal 
properly with the rubber gasket removed, the restricted exhaust will build up a 
positive interior pressure, and force smoke and heat out the door edges.

Once the refer is ready, it should be anchored in place with the door facing 
south, if at all possible. The racks should be spaced on the inside by using 
bricks for support, and the bricks can be easily moved to regulate the spacing 
of the racks. The bricks then retain heat at night, and you could let the fire 
die out and get some needed sleep. A meat thermometer should be inserted through 
a hole drilled in the door and anchored in place with furnace cement, to give 
you a clue as to the internal operating temperature. Furnace cement can also be 
used to seal the intake and exhaust pipes.

The firebox should be constructed of firebrick or concrete, with a small (2") 
intake vent and the masonry pipe to the refer carefully sealed in place. The 
firebox should be constructed in a trench several feet underground, if possible, 
and at least three feet away from the smokehouse/refer, with the connecting pipe 
angled upward slightly for natural convection. The exhaust pipe from the firebox 
to the smokehouse can be installed near the top of the back side of the fire 
box, so it can be cleaned with a brush from time to time via access through the 
door to the firebox. And the firebox can be small, only a foot and a half 
square, as you only need a small fire.

If a small hill is not available for this configuration, the firebox can be 
constructed at ground level and the refer elevated several feet. It is best to 
build the firebox to the side or back of the smokehouse or refer in order to 
allow unfettered access to the smokehouse door. When completed, the smokehouse 
and connecting pipe should be packed carefully with sand and dirt mixed with 
cement, leaving only a small entrance exposed for the door for adding more wood. 
The earth will then act as a heat sink, cooling the smoke and making your life 
much easier in controlling the coolness of the smoke. By using cement in the 
dirt mixture covering the firebox and exhaust pipe, and having the pipes exiting 
the side of the firebox and smokehouse, moisture infiltration from rain is kept 
to a minimum.

The intake vent for the firebox should have some method of draft control, 
however primitive. One easy solution is to use a section of two inch galvanized 
pipe threaded on the end, with a standard screw on cap to fit the threads. The 
pipe should have four quarter inch slots cut the depth of the threads with a 
hacksaw (cut in quarter sections), and the threads then cleaned up. Raising or 
lowering (twisting in or out) the cap regulates the amount of air passing 
through the slots, and thus controls the quantity of air reaching the firebox 
and the heat produced. This pipe intake vent need not be connected to the door: 
in fact, it is easier to cement it into the firebox separately. Then a door can 
be made of fairly heavy gauge steel and can be fitted to close tightly. 

To use a smokehouse for making jerky, the door is opened during the day to allow 
the sun to reach the meat (hence the southern exposure), and closed at night to 
retain heat and exclude moisture. A small fire is a must! A throttled down 
larger fire puts out too much creosote, so use a small fire (occasionally) a 
little hotter to control that problem, and the heat sink effect will provide 
residual heat when the fire dies out. If used for smoking meats (and thus 
cooking them), the door to the refer/smokehouse is closed, the temperature held 
to around 130 F, and of course the hams or sections of meat should be deboned 
and packed with salt (or sugar) prior to smoke curing. Excess salt (or sugar) is 
removed prior to final storage, and the end result is properly salt or sugar 
cured hams, bacon, whatever, that can be stored for later use without the need 
for electricity. 

