Just got my smoker....

[westcoastgal]

Hi everyone! My dad gave me my new Bradley 3 weeks ago, and I love it! I was using his old Little Chief (what a royal pain) and the new smoker is far and away easier to use and gives off a very consistent smoke. I'm totally addicted! Have so far done several sockeye (a favourite) in wet brine -- am going to try the salt rub next time, though -- plus some ground buffalo (yummy) and several loads of beef jerky in various marinades. All with great success -- at least it disappears pretty quickly!

Anyways, I have a question...We have a sort of side room to our house that I think would make for an excellent permanent smokehouse. I'm thinking that I could put a vent/screen in the exterior door to the room, plus wire in an outlet and a light...the smoker would then be sheltered and secure (right now we just bring it into the kitchen when we're not using it). I'm wondering if there's anything else we should do to the "smoke closet" -- would we need to put in a fan to draw the smoke away from the house? Anything else?

Thanks in advance, and I have really enjoyed reading all your posts and the great tips. (I think I'm going to do a pork loin next....plus I just heard about smoked tomatoes...!)

Happy Smoking,
Theresa

[jaeger]

Hi Theresa,
There are some previous posts on this type of indoor smoking. I don't think it is highly reccomended even with PROPER venting as there are issues with the smoke and steams ability to exit a long vent properly. I think to vent properly you would almost need a hood ventilation system.
 Sounds like you have had good luck with you products. My wife and dauthter really enjoy the ground jerky that we have been making. I haven't tried buffalo yet but it sounds good. I would like to try some elk ground jerky. Kind of hard to find in South Dakota, (especially East River).
Good luck with the pork loin. Used apple for my last pork loin. Turned out great!!![:)]
Doug

[westcoastgal]

Hi Doug,
The buffalo that I did wasn't a jerky, although thanks for the awesome idea! I just put it into a pyrex dish on the 2nd or 3rd rack for about 2 hours. I was smoking some salmon at the same time, I think, and had room for it so thought I'd give it a try. Threw it into some spaghetti sauce and it gave it a really nice flavour...kind of a hint of smoke, if you will. Didn't taste like traditional spag at all!

Where do I find the posts regarding the smoke closet? Thanks for your input...I really think that I'm going to have to take up hunting! Would love to try some venison and moose, and yes, elk I think would be rather tasty...

Happy Smoking,
Theresa

[MallardWacker]

wcg,

I would think if you had enough ventilation it would be fine.  To me, IMHO, the heat build up wouldn't be a problem either.  I am imagining this room to be somewhat connected to the house but not really used as a interior room and not really sharing the living area.  If this is the case and it sealed off from the rest of the house, I wish I had one.  Welcome to the forum.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[westcoastgal]

Hi MW,

Yeah, the original owners of the house had added on a sort of mudroom, then the house was raised back in the 70s, with a scary set of stairs off the front -- definitely not "to code" these days! We use the room as a kind of catch-all...dog food, recycling stuff, empties, tools in current use, etc...and it's kind of a thorn in the side right now. I've thought about turning it into a small but awkward greenhouse (3'x 9'), not exactly roomy!, so I think that a smoke house would be better. [;)] There's an exterior door that opens onto the back deck, so I'll just throw in a partion wall so that the rest of the room can still be used for ongoing crap...no problem to vent it. Low ceiling, and I want to set the smoker on a table anyways, so hopefully it won't be too long of reach. I also thought of putting a bar fridge in underneath the smoker (leaving room for heat ventilation) for the marinading smokeables.

I found the other posts on indoor smoking...We've got a range hood fan that we're not using, so I think that should be ample to draw the smoke to the great outdoors so our neighbours can enjoy the aroma! [^] Just wondering though, if I'm going to have trouble with temp control as the main wall is south-facing and it gets pretty warm in there. Maybe throw in some extra insulation along the exterior?

Happy Smoking,
Theresa

[MallardWacker]

wcg,

I have not seen to many complaints about maintaining temp on the warm side of the house, my thoughts would be that you would have no problem even without adding insulation.  The only time I may hear about temps is when it gets cold, like really cold, not SoCal cold.  Have fun and keep us informed.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[westcoastgal]

Will do....this project is definitely moving to the top of the list!

Happy Smoking,
Theresa