The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-12-23
n The Fsri.er,s Snoke.House.

Each year shows an increased num-
Der of farmers who are anxious to cure
meats for their own consumption, and,
what is even more to their credit, are
anxious to have this properly done.
The day has gone bywhen the farmers
table i graced with picked pork as .
regular meat and an occasional ham
from the grocer's for relish. Break
fast bacon, sugar-cured hams, corned
beef and the like are provided from
their own meat rooms.
Meat to be properly smoked. must
be continually surrounded by smoke
produced from material that imparts
pleasant flavor. While the smoke
ought to be continuous, the smoking
process should not be fastened to such
degree as to raise the temperature SUI
6ciently to make the fat Ooze out of the
meat or to prevent the creosote in the
smoke from thoroughly permeating its
entire substance. To make q long mat
ter short, the fire from which the smoke
arises should neither be permitted to
die out nor blaze up. A correspondent
in the Mjchigan Farmer who has sue
,ceeded in smoking meats with but
little annoyance describes the simply
constructed smOke-hOuse in which it is
done. The house is only large
enough to hold the meats closely
packed on the Notwithstanding
from bottom to top-without floor,
and a. door only large enough to
afford entrance. In filing the
house care il observed that the
pieces do mot touch each other, and that
they are laid each one with the skin
side down. By the way, farmers who
prefer. the old mode of hanging up the
hams will Of icodfse do so, avoiding all
the same the pieces ceming In contact.
The slat shelves, which admit of an easy
passage of the smoke, have, It must be
said. q good many. advantages. The
house in order, brisk fire is built in
pit outside and removed some six or
eight feet. The Michigan correspon-
dent dug his fire-hole Or pit two and q
half feet across and about two feet deep
and placed q simple curling of two by
four feet around the top, level with the
surface. From the bottom of this pit
he laid line of four-inch tile, slanting
to the surface, just inside of the
thresholdof the meat-room, and wood
en- pipe, six inches square, from the
very top of the pit to the house, SO as
to have rise of about ono foot. The
fire once started the pit is closed with
tight-fitting shutter The house soon
fills with smoke, which Is controlled in
amount by means of partially closing
and opening the tile leading from the
bottom of the pit. When the house is
tightly built it is necessary to make an
opening to admit fresh air and induce
circulation.
A very much cheaper arrangement,
which has proven efficient where only q
limited number of hams were smoked.
involves the same principle of the fire.
pit outside the smoke-house. Anarrow
pit from twelve to eighteen inches deep
is dug. At the bottom of this pit q
trench is opened of sufficient length to
hold one or more joints of stovepipe at
such an angle IS will bring one end
away from the pit to the surface of the
ground. Over this end of the pipe q
sweet clean cask with both heads re-
moved is set and the earth banked up
around it so that no smoke can escape
from the bottom. The hams to be
smoked are hung on round sticks placed
across the top Of the cask and fitted in
notches to hold them in place. Over
these sticks is thrown q cover that will
leave space sufficient for draught to let
the smoke pass freely. A fire is built
in the pit, Of corncobs or. better still, of
good hickory wood, and the pit covered
over with tight fitting plank.
Old smoke-houses should be thor
oughly cleaned out previous to use.
Where the fire is built inside care must
be observed that it does not burn up
too brightly. The contrivances from
which the meats are suspended will
bear looking after, as it is not an un-
common occurrence tn have them break
down and bring the meats in contact
with the fire and ashes.-M Y. World.