How to Build a Smoke House Out of an Old Refrigerator

y setting aside a couple of hours, you can create your very own backyard smoke house

Old-style refrigerators are an increasingly common site at garbage dumps. These refrigerators, while not much good anymore for chilling, can be converted to achieve a far older method of preserving meats and fish: smoking. By setting aside a couple of hours, you can create your very own backyard smoke house out of refrigerator that would otherwise have been lost in a garbage heap.

Things You'll Need

• Old metal refrigerator
• Drill
• 1-inch drill bit
• Skillet
• Woodchip
• Water

Instructions

1. Remove any electronics from the refrigerator and give the inside a thorough clean down. Ensure that there is a tight seal on the doors when closed.

2. Drill several 1-inch holes in the front of the refrigerator, near the bottom. Air circulation is essential for a smoke house, and these holes are to allow air in.

3. Drill three holes on either side of the refrigerator, near the top. Hot air rises, and these holes are to let the smoke out of your smoke house.

4. Buy an electric skillet from a hardware or camping store.

5. Soak wood chips in water for around an hour, shake off any excess water and put the chips in the electric skillet. Make sure to use a hard wood, such as oak or mesquite. Put the pan at the bottom of the refrigerator and turn it on.

6. Close the refrigerator doors and allow smoke to build up inside. This should take about 10 minutes. Hang meat or fish inside the smoke house, close the doors and leave to smoke for several hours.

References

• Qondio: How to build a refrigerator smokehouse
• Jerky USA: How to build a smokehouse
• The Free Library: Build a simple smokehouse

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish