I remember as a child growing up on a Michigan dirt farm how my grandfather used to make the most mouth watering, just plain incredible-tasting smoked delicacies. Hams, farm-reared chickens and turkeys, and whatever else happened to be handy. Even eggs were smoked! (As was homemade cheddar cheese and nuts.) We even pickled our own hogs' feet and bologna.

The nice thing about the hobby of smoking meat and snack sticks is that it can be as simple or as elaborate as you want to make it. For a simple smoke house you will need a cardboard box, a stove pipe, some rocks, charcoal, hardwood for smoking (we will discuss this in a minute), 8-20 feet of dowel rod, and some scrap wood. This type of smoker can even be used at your favorite fishing lake if you choose to.

The first thing to do is dig a fire pit approximately 2' x 4' x 36" deep and line it with rocks. (See diagram 1.) Some of you may wonder about the rocks-they help keep an even heat, like fire bricks in a wood stove. Then after lining your pit, dig a trench that is two feet wide, eight feet long and 18" deep. Place your stove pipe into this trench and cover it with scrap wood. Make sure you leave a space of six inches at the end of your pipe and the end of the trench.

Now make holes in your cardboard box and cut the dowel rods so they go through the box and stick out two to four inches on each side. Make sure you have a double row and space rows about six inches vertically.

To make racks for your smoker use stiff wire window screen and a staple gun. Bend the screen over and staple it so your dowel rods can be slid through. Place your meat on the racks. If you don't want to use racks add a couple of rows of dowel rods and use paper clips to hang your fish, meat, jerky or whatever else that you want to smoke.

Smoker Construction Diagram

Soak your wood chips in water for at least an hour. You want the wood to smolder but not burn. This smoldering is what produces the flavor.

The next thing is to build a fire of charcoal in the fire pit and when it is white around the edges, place your box (with the meat in it) over the opposite end.

Let's take a minute to talk about the wood that you want to use. Never use wood that is deciduous-wood like pine that have pitch in it. This will give you a very bad-tasting product. Also do not use scrap wood like plywood as it is just pieces of wood glued together. The glue will release poison into your meats.

So by now you are wondering just what the heck kind of wood do I use? The answer is any hard wood. Cherry, apple, hickory, oak, maple, or even some soft woods like popple (willow in the West-just make sure it is dry). I have even heard of people using corn cobs and peanut hulls, though I have never tried it personally.

To control the amount of smoke going to your meat, simply adjust the flaps on your box. For more smoke leave it closed, for less smoke open a corner.

Another smoker can be built like this using scrap wood taken from pallets that can be salvaged from factories. I personally use pallets as much as possible-even to build a new deer blind this summer!

If anyone has questions about smoking meats, taxidermy, share homesteading experiences, or just drop us a letter, contact us at: Kreative Kritters Taxidermy, PO Box 114, Beaverton, MI 48612