Many people are trying their hands at making their own smoked meat, but the equipment can get a touch expensive. Over 100 years ago, however, people built their own smokehouses and many different plans were published in newspapers.
The following smokehouse plan was published in 1913. It differs from other plans at the time because it was made from concrete and not wooden barrels.
Concrete Smokehouse the Best
A good smokehouse is an important building on the farm. The difference in price between live stock as sold by the farmer and the price of hams, bacon, etc., is great enough to warrant the farmer butchering and curing his own meats and perhaps selling the cured meats rather than the live animals. This used to be done on all farms and this custom needs to be re-established.
A good smokehouse is a great convenience, and essential in smoking meat. Many makeshifts can be used, as inverting a barrel, hanging the hams, etc., through holes in the bottom, building a fireplace a few feet away and leading the smoke to the barrel through a stovepipe. This, however, takes a good deal of care and there is no protection against thieves. Wooden smokehouses are often built, but these sometimes burn down and are unsatisfactory.
A concrete smokehouse is the best. It is fireproof, can be made rat and thief proof, can also be used as a meat storehouse and is always ready.
The accompanying cut gives the details of a cement smokehouse. With cement at 50 cents a sack and lumber at $30 per thousand feet, this will cost $65, not including labor. Bill of material – forty-eight sacks of cement; four loads (1-1/4 yards) sand; eight loads stone; one door; two 2x8x12 door frames; three 2x4x14 for meat hooks; lumber for forms, eighteen 2x4x10; sixteen 2x4x8 of sheathing. (Set studs for the forms two inches on centers, wiring at middle, making a four-inch span.)
In the cut the reinforcement for the roof does not show. Very heavy close woven wire fencing will be suitable for this, while as an added precaution one can tie the side walls at the top with rods, which can serve in place of the 2x4s for hanging the meat on.
The fire box, for convenience, is put on the outside. Here the fire can be easily replenished and the smoke controlled. It also practically eliminates the danger of overheating the meat. There should be a good lock on the door. A burglar alarm can also be attached. Such a smokehouse will be well worth its cost.
Source: Judith Gap journal. (Judith Gap, Mont.), 15 Aug. 1913.
