A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.[1] Even when smoke is not used, such a building—typically a subsidiary building—is sometimes referred to as a "smokehouse". When smoke is not used, the term meathouse or meat house is common.
Reitman's Smokehouse, Camp Springs, KentuckyMeat hanging inside a smokehouse in Switzerland
Traditional smokehouses served both as meat smokers and to store the meats, often for groups and communities of people. Food preservation occurred by salt curing and extended cold smoking for two weeks or longer.[1] Smokehouses were always secured to prevent animals and thieves from accessing the food.[1] The meat is hung to keep it from the reach of vermin.[2]
Prior to the widespread availability of mains electricity and freezers, meat was preserved by heavy salting. Hogs were slaughtered after the onset of cold weather, and hams and other pork products were salted and hung up or placed on a shelf to last into the following summer. Whether the meat should be smoked as well as salted is personal preference, frequently backed up with strong local or family custom.[citation needed]
Design and useedit
Traditionally, a smokehouse is a small enclosed outbuilding often with a vent, a single entrance, no windows, and frequently has a gabled or pyramid-style roof. Communal and commercial smokehouses are larger than those that served a single residence or estate. The use of slightly warmed, dry air from a very slow hardwood fire will ensure the proper drying of meats.[3]
As a preserved ham represents a big financial investment, smokehouses in the Carolinas and Virginia can frequently be identified by their framing, so closely spaced as to prevent forcible entry and theft. The lower interior walls of both meat houses and smoke houses are characterized by the extreme furring of the wood, caused by the salt.[citation needed]
The upper areas of smokehouses are blackened with smoke. A meat house has a solid wood floor, a smokehouse will have a brick pit in the center of the dirt floor, or sometimes a broken/cast-off cast iron pot, for the fire. Jefferson's smokehouse at Monticello is an integral part of the brick outbuildings. It has a conventional brick fireplace built into an exterior wall – its flue discharges into the smokehouse.[citation needed]
Smokehouses
An industrial smokehouse in Poland.
A smoke house at Boone Hall Plantation.
Fjordling Smokehouse. This smokehouse can be found at Dunstable Farm, Salisbury. The outbuilding shown is typical of this Wiltshire valley.
^Sicking, Louis; Abreu-Ferreira, Darlene (2009). Beyond the Catch: Fisheries of the North Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic, 900-1850. BRILL. ISBN978-90-04-16973-9.
External linksedit
Media related to Smokehouses at Wikimedia Commons
February 15, 2024
smokehouse, smokehouse, north, american, smokery, british, building, where, meat, fish, cured, with, smoke, finished, product, might, stored, building, sometimes, year, more, even, when, smoke, used, such, building, typically, subsidiary, building, sometimes, . A smokehouse North American or smokery British is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke The finished product might be stored in the building sometimes for a year or more 1 Even when smoke is not used such a building typically a subsidiary building is sometimes referred to as a smokehouse When smoke is not used the term meathouse or meat house is common Reitman s Smokehouse Camp Springs KentuckyMeat hanging inside a smokehouse in Switzerland Contents 1 History 2 Design and use 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editTraditional smokehouses served both as meat smokers and to store the meats often for groups and communities of people Food preservation occurred by salt curing and extended cold smoking for two weeks or longer 1 Smokehouses were always secured to prevent animals and thieves from accessing the food 1 The meat is hung to keep it from the reach of vermin 2 Prior to the widespread availability of mains electricity and freezers meat was preserved by heavy salting Hogs were slaughtered after the onset of cold weather and hams and other pork products were salted and hung up or placed on a shelf to last into the following summer Whether the meat should be smoked as well as salted is personal preference frequently backed up with strong local or family custom citation needed Design and use editTraditionally a smokehouse is a small enclosed outbuilding often with a vent a single entrance no windows and frequently has a gabled or pyramid style roof Communal and commercial smokehouses are larger than those that served a single residence or estate The use of slightly warmed dry air from a very slow hardwood fire will ensure the proper drying of meats 3 As a preserved ham represents a big financial investment smokehouses in the Carolinas and Virginia can frequently be identified by their framing so closely spaced as to prevent forcible entry and theft The lower interior walls of both meat houses and smoke houses are characterized by the extreme furring of the wood caused by the salt citation needed The upper areas of smokehouses are blackened with smoke A meat house has a solid wood floor a smokehouse will have a brick pit in the center of the dirt floor or sometimes a broken cast off cast iron pot for the fire Jefferson s smokehouse at Monticello is an integral part of the brick outbuildings It has a conventional brick fireplace built into an exterior wall its flue discharges into the smokehouse citation needed Smokehouses nbsp An industrial smokehouse in Poland nbsp A smoke house at Boone Hall Plantation nbsp Fjordling Smokehouse This smokehouse can be found at Dunstable Farm Salisbury The outbuilding shown is typical of this Wiltshire valley nbsp Smokehouse North Carolina Piedmont Region nbsp Reconstruction of medieval smokehouse at the fishing village of Walraversijde ca 1465 4 See also edit nbsp Food portalList of smoked foodsReferences edit a b c Old Smokehouses Wedlinydomowe com Accessed May 2010 traditionshome 2020 02 06 How to make a Smokehouse Leaving Oz Oztripper wordpress com Retrieved 2020 03 29 Building a Smokehouse Accessed May 2010 Sicking Louis Abreu Ferreira Darlene 2009 Beyond the Catch Fisheries of the North Atlantic the North Sea and the Baltic 900 1850 BRILL ISBN 978 90 04 16973 9 External links edit nbsp Media related to Smokehouses at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Smokehouse amp oldid 1198110850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
