The Thread on how to do one Self-Sufficient Thing!

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I decided to start a thread on how I do one of the things that I've learned to do by being taught by an elder, read in a book or just plain larned it on mah own! Then any body who wants to can chime in with something of their own. If it keeps going we'll have a thread on how to do damn near anything.(I myself, will confine my instruction to hunting/fishing/gardening/woodcraft related subjects. I'm sure some of you guys know more than can be adequately discussed on a family forum!)

I'll start.

Cleaning a Catfish. Blues and Channels. Place the fish on a somewhat clean fillet board. Kill the fish (or make it seem so) by driving the point of a knife into it's head between it's eyes, blade facing the rear, and then levering down toward the tail. Hold the handle in on hand and strike the butt of the handle with the other to accomplish the drive then just push down.

Remove the knife and slice through the skin, and only the skin beginning at the base of the skull and toward the back right behind the gills to the belly. Now slice forward on the belly toward the chin. Do this on both sides. Now slice the skin along the backbone on either side to just behind the dorsal fin.

With needlenose pliers grab the skin at the point of the first cut and pull the skin off toward the rear. It may tear but just keep grabbing it till it's all the way off the tail. Do this on both sides. Now grab the skin at the point of the cut under the chin and pull to the rear. Cut out the skinned belly meat making sure to cut up inside the ribs. On a two pound catfish the belly meat is substantial and makes an excellent testing morsel for the cook. Quality control you know! Most of this operation can be accomplished with one hand holding the two lateral fins with your index finger and middle finger with the fish's head in your palm.

Now you make the decision on how you like your catfish, whole or filleted. If it's whole then cut off the head and remove the entrails (guts) to the vent. If it's filleted then start at the point of the first cut and follow the bones with knife blade leaving the ribs. Cut in right behind the last rib to the lower half of the tail. Skim the fillet off to the tail. Do this to both sides. Take your time. A two pound catfish is at least two maybe three years old and it took you all morning to catch him. Don't waste any of the meat by hurrying up now!

I like to wash the fillets good and soak them in water until I'm ready to cook. If they are for later I freeze them in water. You can also cut the ribs and dorsal/rectal fins off of the backbone and fry the backbones and associated meat on smaller fish. Fry them until crunchy and eat the whole thing. I taken to cutting all catfish fillets into pieces no larger than the size of my palm and in as equal sizes as I can. They cook better and more evenly.

In order to keep with the "Gardening" aspects of this board. While you've got the grease hot you might as well chop up some okra and run it through the corn meal soak and it in some deep fat for a couple of minutes. If you don't have any fresh okra, well, shame on you!

Alan

Next!?

[ncboman]

we doan eat okry here. :D

purdy much how I do it, cept my fillet board is usually a 2x8 and I kill em with a 16 p nail that anchors them to the board.

When I grew up we pickled herrings every spring. Now it's illegal to possess one.

After the Great Depression many folks around here lived on pickled herrings and sweet potatos year round ... required no electricity to store either one. :)

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Soooooo, How do you Pickle a Herring? We got Sweet Taters too. The best sweet potatoes in the world grow on a little strip of ground between Oak Grove and Delhi Louisiana. Don't know why but that soil was made for sweet potatoes. We have a source there and get two bushels a year to satisfy our needs. We just keep them in the box in a cool place and they keep till they're gone. The old timers in that part of the country store them in lime to keep them from rotting in the damp climate.

I will use a nail on bigger fish but unfortunately I don't get many bigger fish. I prefer to say that "I like them around two pounds", instead of "I don't (can't) catch many over two pounds".

Now, back to the pickled herring? I've heard of Pickling fish but never did it. Is it just that some fish (herrings, or salt water fish only) lend themselves to pickling or can you pickle others.

Alan

[Sabre]

You guys are cleaning your catfish the hard way. Start by slitting the skin from the back of the head to the tail. Cut around both sides of the back spine with the knife and pull it out with a pair of pliers. Now cut down through the backbone as if to remove the head but don't, just cut through the bone. Now grab the backbone with a pair of pliers in your right hand, as you hold the head down with your left and pull the meat right out of the skin. The edible meat is now in the jaws of your pliers and the head, skin and guts are in your left hand. Takes longer to tell about it than do it.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Ok, Red Peppers, specifically Cayenne. I like em fresh but I can't eat as many as one plant will provide. If I have 6 plants there is quite a surplus. I usually make a bottle or two for myself and several more for relatives of Hot Vinegar. It's pretty easy, just pick wash and stuff a bottle full of cayenne peppers in various stages of coloring (just cause it's pretty) and pour hot (boiling) vinegar over them. Let it cool and refrigerate. I like to put this on greens and peas (crowder, purple hulls, etc...) and anything else the hot vinegar would taste good on. As I use up the vinegar I just boil and add some more. After a year or two the peppers start breaking down and it really gets good!

I also dry them in the oven and make red pepper flakes to put on anything I want to get hotter. Some folks string them on thread but I don't like that method because I've had whole strings ruin from bugs or mold. A good way to dry them and maintain freshness is to put them in the freezer for a while in a Ziploc that is barely open. They will dry out in about six months and you can crush them right in the bag. You just have to spread them out while bringing them back to room temp so they don't get wet from condensation.

I believe in the Power of Peppers. They are really good for you and nothing will get you happy like good burn from a Cayenne!

Alan

[Sidekick]

Sabre, I usually catch a cat or two a week so I'll give that a try. I usually just use an electric fillet knife and that works pretty well but I don't always have a place to plug into.

Grandpa showed me a lot of things before he passed. Everything from water witching to weather forecasting. He knew how to do a lot.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Sabre, I will try your method. I am always open to new and better ways to clean fish.

Sidekick, there are fish that I use an electric knife on and catfish aren't one of them. I will use one on Sheepshead and the bigger Redfish and Black drum. I have a friend who wastes an incredible amount of fish using an electric knife. Besides, I cut myself enough with a regular knife, liberal application of an electric fillet knife might seriously affect my guitar playing!

I saw another gadget that strips the backbone and ribs out of fish. It's a stainless tube. Don't know that it would work all that good.

Alan

[ncboman]

I'll try that on the next one I clean. :)

... might take 2 men though. :rolleyes: :D

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The Herrings, the herrings! How do you pickle the illegal herrings? Why is it illegal? Are the Herrings in a pickle environmental wise? I see Herrings in the store in the sardine section. What's up with the Herrings? do you realize how fast I can type Herrings right now? Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, Herrings, ...........................

Geeeeze I gotta get some sleep.

Alan

[Altjaeger]

Juglines are not legal everywhere or face restrictions in some states so check yours first. A traditional jug line is as the name implies simply a jug or bottle with a drop line normally about 20' long and 1-4 hooks on droplines from it. A weight may anchor the end of the line or it may be free floating and normally tended from a boat of some kind. The primary target it is intended for is good size mess of catfish. One of the problems with them is that if you have very many they can get bulky and cramp a boat, especially if you kayak as I do.

Using plans I saw and modified I have 16 that will fit easily into a milk crate. Taking kids float toys called pool noodles with a 3/4" hole I used a sheath knife to cut 1 foot lengths. Then I cut 3/4" wooden dowels into 18" lengths and inserted to stick through and about 1" above the noodles. Using duct tape I wrapped from the top end down and around the noodle onto the noodle below 1 wrap and then screwed an eye into the bottom of the dowel. Texas requires non-commercial juglines to be white so I used white duct tape.

From that eye I ran 20' of tarred line and weighted the bottom with about 5 oz of old washers garnered from the garage. Then about 3' above that I tied a 3 way and attached a drop line. Running 5' higher I repeated the step. That left me with two circle hooks which is all I felt safe using in tight confines. Treble hooks are popular as well. With that you are ready to gather a bit of bait and go fishing.

The original plan I modified was a "flagging" model using 3/4" capped PVC instead of the dowel. Insert a 6" length of rebar and when setting tip it into the the noodle. When the fish bites the bar will slide to the bottom end holding the noodle upright instead of its normal position on its side.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I do mine much like yours except I use detergent jugs and tie five knots in the line at about 3 foot intervals from the bottom. I then put trot line clips rigged with those prefab stiff leaders and clip them on above the knots. I use a 5 oz lead weight and it's really too much. 3 oz would do fine. I save the livers from all the hogs we kill and cut them up into bait sized cubes. I bait the hooks and put them in a zip loc in the freezer. When I'm ready to go, they're ready to go and the first set goes in the water real quick.

I never leave the motor in gear while I have a line in the water and in my hand. I have a 6 inch dowel (broomstick) tied to each line at the top and a large snap swivel attaching the line to a swivel attached to the jug. When I'm through, I unclip the hook and leaders, wrap the line around the dowel to the weight and slide the line in a keeper slot cut inthe dowel. The the whold thing gets dropped into the jug and the top goes on and it's ready for next time.

Alan

[Altjaeger]

Since the hooks and line are between my legs in the kayak two is all I care to risk, and not treble hooks. :o

I wrap the line around the jug sinking the hooks in the noodles.

[Altjaeger]

Texascatfishjuglines.com has a good picture of those lines made with the PVC pipe. A search under "jug lines" will turn up a number of sites with info on how to make these and lines using bottles. The thing I like about these is how compact they are. Sixteen fit easily in a milk crate (12x12x12 with 6" sticking out the top) available for asking at most corner stores.

[Bill Gunn]

Made my "Fish Cleaning Station"

Set up a board that angles down to keep the water in the sink, and a cat litter bucket for the guts...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397989.jpg

Got tired of the plastic or stamped metal paper towel holder dropping the roll when my hands were messy and wet, so I made my own out of scrap wood.
You could pick up a tractor with this thing and a come-a-long :p

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397964.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397955.jpg

There's a ton of stuff in my barn I "Invented" to make life easier....


My buddy gave me and old 12 volt boat winch. I mounted it to one of the poles...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397970.jpg

And can move the hook anywheres in the 30 X 70 barn to lift deer, boats off of trailers, or anything else that needs lifting..

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397980.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397947.jpg

A length of 1 1/2 PVC can make a lot of rod holders...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397948.jpg

[tommyt]

Bill Gunn
Nice looking Barn with the amount of Fish Poles
I checked your Profile thinking for sure I knew your Location
Florida or Texas
I was way off

Tommyt

[dave-t.]

Sturdiest paper towl holder I ever saw! LOL:D

[Bill Gunn]

Bill Gunn
Nice looking Barn with the amount of Fish Poles
I checked your Profile thinking for sure I knew your Location
Florida or Texas
I was way off

Tommyt



Tommyt,

Check out the fresh water fishing monthly posts, I do a lot of fishing.
I'm going tonight again :)
Here's some other fishing pics from around here...

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2652330


Here's another "Barn Thing"

It's a 12 volt charging station, and distribution point...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397983.jpg

My automatic battery charger is hooked to the copper bars I got out of an old large breaker panel I pulled out of a dumpster on one of my jobs. I painted them red and black for positive and negative, and drilled and mounted screws as attachment points.
It powers the 12 volt winch system in the barn mentioned above.
I also ran wires through the length of the barn, and into the shop to give the entire barn a 12 volt system. It has a branch that goes to a 50' retractable wire reel with battery clips to keep my boat batteries charged, and will also charge a car, truck, or tractor as needed.
It also runs into my shop and powers a car stereo for "Music to work by" :p

[Bushman]

Bill, I am looking at that fishing knot picture on the single hook that is in your link and I can't figure out if that is an improved clench or some modification of the clench knot? I am always looking for a better knot than a polymar, but so far I haven't found it.

It looks like you and the Mrs. eat pretty well. I would drool over those yellow perch dinners.

[Bill Gunn]

I take it you mean this one...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/2652330/220057391.jpg

NOT this one...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/2652330/15911604.jpg

I've been using that Knot (top one !!) for over 25 years, and I swear, it's NEVER broken on me. I VERY seldom break a line because I fish in deep water, but I have broken one once or twice, and the knot never failed.

There's a little story behind that knot...

I was at a sporting show, and a guy from a fishing line company ( I forgot which Company) called me over to his counter.
He told me, "Tie ANY knot you want, in any size line I have here (He had up to 30#). I'll pick the next smaller size line, tie my knot, put both of our lines on the pull tester, and I guarantee your knot will break first."
Now who can pass that challenge up?
I picked my line (about 8 different times :o ) and lost every contest with all tries with different test lines.

He showed me that knot, and I have been using it since. It can be tied in about 7 to 10 seconds at most, and is great for ice fishing as it's very easy to tie with frozen fingers !
For many years I tried to find the name of the knot, and it's (K)not :p on any of the knot tyeing lists on the computer.
A couple years ago I noticed that Larry Dahlberg (Hunt For Big Fish) uses the exact same knot to tie all his lures on.

I studied the knot, and it's pretty much a "Hangman's knot" with 5 or 6 loops instead of 8.

The way you tie it (Right handed) is put the line through a lure or hook (Works best to hang a little weight on the hook, if your tyeing on a bare hook).

Take the main line and hold it running through your left hand. The lure will be hanging from the bottom of your left hand with about an inch or two between the bottom of your left hand and the lure. Have about 6 or 7" of extra line on the tag end after the hook.

Bring the tag end up to your left thumb, and create the loop and hold it between your thumb and your left index finger.

Now take the tag end below your left hand, and wrap it around the line between your hand and the lure 5 or 6 times, bring the tag end up to your thumb, and pass it through the loop.

WET THE LINE

Then pull it tight by pulling on the tag end and the lure. On larger (and sometimes smaller) line you will feel a "Thump" when the line tightens enough.

If you try it 3 times I promise, you'll be able to tie it in the dark (I fish at night remember :) )

If it's good enough for Larry Dahlberg AND will rip the friggin' head off of Saddam Hussein without breakin' the rope, It's good enough for me ;)

It can also be used to tie a rope to almost anything. I use it around the house here because it's so quick to tie.

Honestly... Everyone I show the knot to while I'm out fishing comes back weeks later and says it's the only knot they use now too!

Like my boat name...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/2652330/220057938.jpg

[Bill Gunn]

I told you the wrong way to tie that knot !! :rolleyes:

Never give detailed instructions at 4:21am ;)

Put the lure on the line. Then put line between left thumb and index finger. Make about a 2 or 3" loop that has the lure on it, and put the tag end between your thumb and index finger also. Wrap the tag end around the loop with the lure on it 5 or 6 times, and feed the tag end through the loop your thumb is holding.

WET LINE

Pull tag end and lure to tighten, then trim tag end.

It's actually the same, but written so you can do it !!
Sorry 'bout that :o

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Dang Bill! You got some "Yankee Ingenuity" going on in that shop. I've just got ni...... uh, TexMex things to hold my place together. I like the idea of a 12 volt power supply for the shop though. I could put a little wind generator up and never have to "buy" a spark of electricity again. How fast do the batteries wear out?

Alan

[Wismon]

Yeah, Bill, post more "barn things", please.

Also, with regard to knots, isn't that a type of modified hangman's knot, not the actual hangman's knot itself? For it to be a hangman's knot wouldn't it the leader or tag or whatever it's called have to be threaded through all the loops? I can see how that would be tough to do in fishing situations and how the knot you've shown would be just as effective but also much easier to tie. I'm just trying to clarify.

[Bill Gunn]

Wismon,
Exactly right, a hangman's knot you bring the tag end to the lure, and then wind up toward your thumb, then through the loop. This puts all 3 lines inside the winds.
On this knot you just wind from the thumb down, then bring the tag to the top and through the loop. That puts 2 lines inside the winds, and one outside.

Just a quicker way to tie it.

[Bill Gunn]

How fast do the batteries wear out?

Alan

They don't, there's an automatic battery charger that turns itself on and off as needed to keep the batteries charged.

Here's a couple of ATV things...

I picked up a 3' X 4' X 1/2 " thick piece of aluminum from the junk yard ($80.00) , and started sawing (29 feet of cutting & trimming!!).
Two days (and about 4 saw blades) latter, I had a bucket, deer, whatever carrier that lets me get all my ice-fishing stuff out on the ice, and a deer back to the truck. I even drive the ATV up the ramps and home without even unloading it. The chain is for pulling my Brother-in-law's ATV out of mud, which I had to do twice on just our last outing a week ago.

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397946.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397954.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/369790768.jpg

Keeps all the blood off the ATV, and most off the truck.
Here was my "Phase #1" deer carrier, just 2 aluminum "Planks"
Phase #1, and #2 are held on with u bolts to the rear rack...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/335273369.jpg

Two more for the front..

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/373397945.jpg

Mount a trailer ball to the front of your ATV for much easier and more precise parking of trailers in tight areas (I have one on the back too).

Put a boat winch on the front instead of an electric winch. 1/20 the price, 1/10th the weight. In the 10 years I've had this ATV I only had to use it once, and thank God it was there. I was alone, stuck on a hidden stump in high weeds down in a creek bed, with a deer on back, and it was pitch dark out by the time I walked back to the truck to get the ATV to haul the deer out. I took off the regular handle, Jambed 2 nuts together, and use a ratchet and socket to work the winch. The 2 sheaves are to get double the pull, or change direction of pull.

[Wismon]

Very cool. Bill, how'd you cut those circular holes? I know you said it took four saw blades but those look mighty smooth for it to have been a sawsall.

[Bill Gunn]

I just used a DeWalt Variable Speed Jig Saw with a metal blade and took my time. Aluminum is a pain to cut because it keeps clogging the teeth of the blade, but you get a good cut when your done.
The edges were very sharp though, so I went over them all with a 4" hand grinder. The aluminum also clogs the grinding disk, but then gives a smooth finish.
By the way, if you grind aluminum, wear a mask, the dust can take your liver out.
I lost mine to copper dust, and I'm very lucky to be alive today.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Sausage.

I bone my meat and cut all sheath and sinew out. It clogs the grinder and sticks in my teeth. I have skimped on pork in the past but now I mix 1:1 deer and pork. I grind the pork and deer separately and mix afterward I keep the ground meat in big plastic square tubs I get from #General. I spread lots of freezer paper around where I'm working. It keeps both the facilities and most importantly the meat, clean. I use fresh pork casings or salted pork casings. I rinse them in warm water and keep them in a small container of water until I am ready to use them. I use a seasoning mix that my local store makes up and I use the same mix for link sausage and pan sausage.

After grinding I put all the meat into a clean, dry ice chest. By clean, I mean I have washed it out with dish detergent and dried it with a paper towel. Then I mix the meat and seasonings. This is the hardest and most time consuming part of the process. I mix with my hands and usually for about ten minutes. I fold one kind of meat into the other along with the seasonings to insure an even mix.

I attache the stuffer to the grinder, load the casing and begin. I run a bit of mix out into the casing and tie it off wit a square knot, then I stuf as much as there is casing or until it tears. then I tie it off. Next I cut the long piece into links and tie each en off and feed the dab of mix back into the stuffer. the links go into another ice chest to await the smoke.

My smokehouse is a simple four sided box made from plywood. I put half a bucket of mesquite coals in the bucket and then cram as much mesquite or oak bark as I can on top of the coals and put a loose fitting lid on the bucket. This will provide about 2-3 hours of smoke. I do this in the morning and the evening for two days, wrap the links in freezer paper and freeze.

You know what comes next!

Alan

[Bill Gunn]

That sounds mighty tasty, what temp do you keep the smoker at, and how big is the smoker physically ??

I always wanted to make one, yours sounds like a handy one...
Can you get a pic ??

Bill

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The smokehouse. The first one I ever used was an actual smokehouse, 10' X 10', that had been built by my great-great grandfather, I then built another after we moved from the ranch that was much smaller 4' X 8'. The one I have now, I call it mine because I bought the plywood, is 4' X 4'. #1 son, who lives directly behind me, actually built it, and it sits in his back yard. It is nothing more than four pieces of 3/8" plywood standing upright with 2x2s for corners. The top is a half sheet and the bottom is a half sheet. He had it screwed up pretty tight until I told him to loosen the top a bit to allow for air flow. That's what cures the sausage is adequate air flow.

He cut a hole for a door in one side which is just right for him but a bit small for me. It really does not have to be that small and only needs to be tight enough to keep critters out.

I was struggling to stay awake when I posted last night and left quite a bit out. When you tie the links off with cotton string you use the same piece to tie both ends making a loop of the link. Hang the loops of sausage by the string over rods run through the sides of the smokehouse. The links need to be hung so that they are not touching each other.

Back in the day, before refrigeration, the sausage, hams, bacon used to hang for most of the Winter and Spring but they were heavy on the salt and were much less discriminating as to what we, today, would consider food being on the verge of spoilage.

I gotta go for now but will try to post a pic or two later this evening.

Alan

[tommyt]

Awaiting pictures of Smoke House and Where is the smoke fire Located is it out and smoked piped in or inside to Kipper the meats/fish


STILL AWAITING PICKLED HERRING RECIPE :(



Tommyt
... :D

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I have my priorities Tommy. I went dove hunting yesterday evening with #1 son. It's been a while since I jump shot doves out of dove weed instead of lounging around the water hole at dusk. I was pooped. I wanted to go to the ranch for the opener of bow season but slept right through the alarm I was so tired. None of my boys were going to get to go either though so it wouldn't have been the same anyway. I'll try to get out there and take a few snapshots of the smokehouse before the big rains are supposed to hit. I'm on "cuppa" #1 right now and don't have my makeup on or my hair done. Try to be patient.

Alan

[Bill Gunn]

I tell everyone "I just washed my feet, and I can't do a thing with them" :p

[tommyt]

I have my priorities Tommy. I went dove hunting yesterday evening with #1 son. It's been a while since I jump shot doves out of dove weed instead of lounging around the water hole at dusk. I was pooped. I wanted to go to the ranch for the opener of bow season but slept right through the alarm I was so tired. None of my boys were going to get to go either though so it wouldn't have been the same anyway. I'll try to get out there and take a few snapshots of the smokehouse before the big rains are supposed to hit. I'm on "cuppa" #1 right now and don't have my makeup on or my hair done. Try to be patient.

Alan
I fully understand
I missed opener dove wifes Birthday :confused:
But she's so good years ago a so called friend made a big stink about me going to the dove opener because it was her birthday
I told said friend it was between us .
Well for Christmas I got a letter for all to see... from my Bride the letter stated :
I was free to Dove hunt anytime I wished :D no matter whose Birthday it was.
She's a Keeper :D

[ncboman]

She's a Keeper


:)

That's good.

If I've got free time in the fall and not huntin or doin huntin stuff, my wife want's to know 'what's wrong?' :D

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Most of us guys that have been married for long enough to call our wives "Keepers" can probably be more than just a little bit sure that we are too. Although, my MIL tells me that my wife has only remained married to me out of "Spite". I didn't ask her to elaborate whether the "Spitefulness" was directed at me or at her!

Alan

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Tommy, thanks for being patient. I'll try and take pics tomorrow (if I remember).

Alan

[Bill Gunn]

The part about the "Bucket 'O Coals" is what interests me. I'd really like to build one like yours. You said you loosened the top to get air flow, is there an opening in the bottom for air or is it all from the top? What stops the hot bucket from burning the floor of the smoker?
What do you do, set it outside and just burn a bunch of wood until it's coals only? Do you think that water soaked chunks of wood dropped into the coal bucket instead of bark would work? How big is the bucket, and after the 2 or 3 hours, how low does the temp in the box get before you put in the evening bucket?
The reason I'm interested in the temp is that we do our smoking in a "Brinkmann" type smoker, or our (fairly large) grill, and I try to keep the temp about 200 to 225*F (fairly easy to do). I think this is "Hot Smoking", and I'm wondering if your doing "Cold Smoking" which really interests me. Cold is the way they did it "way back when" there was no refrigeration available. I'm wondering if I would need a source of heat to keep a min. temp inside the smoker here in the land of ice and snow between the times the bucket is "refreshed"?
Do you keep a thermometer in the box to monitor the temp, or is it not a concern you have to worry about?

Sorry for all the ? :o :o
Answer at your leisure :p

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The pictures. 1, 2, 3 outside. 4,5 inside.

As I said earlier, it sits in my son's back yard and he made the door (I think he was going for the "cave" look) a little small but it works fine. He also made it very "air tight" and I got him to loosen up the the top and sides to allow for more air flow. The bucket sits, as you can see in an old homemade three legged fryer so it can't burn a hole in anything. Mesquite wood is reduced to coals in a fire pit (forgot to take a picture of it) and the bucket is filled about 1/3 full. The other 2/3 is mesquite bark crushed down on top of the coals. A small garbage can lid or a piece of tin goes on top of the bucket to keep the bark smoldering but not on fire. Yes, it is the cold smoke method, in fact one of the things we guard against is having the inside heat up. Moisture + heat + time = something you don't even want to have inside you. In a colder climate (or with extended cold weather down here) the sausage or jerky can hang for a week if need be. We usually don't get that long of a cold spell. In colder places the hams, sausage, etc can hang till Spring. Bill I don't know how wet wood would do. My experience with wood chips is that at some point the dry out and catch fire and as I said that is to be avoided. I can't answer any questions about what to do if the temps outside are at or below freezing for the duration of the smoking. I have rarely experienced freezing temps for more than a day and that is the rare occurrence. This particular smokehouse does not have a bottom in it, I don't know why, I told him to put one in it. I'll have to take that up with him because I don't like it to be open to the ground. He made jerky but we didn't make any sausage last year (never got a hog and never got cold enough). That won't be the case this year. If I have to buy pork butt we're going to have sausage.

You can see the lengths of conduit running through the wall of the smokehouse. I'll make some "S" hangers to hang the links from. The last one I had, had a piece of net fencing wire nailed to the ceiling that I hung the "S" hangers from. As I said about two days smoke, morning and evening, possibly three is all you need for ample smoke flavor. When I first started doing this many years ago I kept smoke on the first batch for several days constantly. We could hardly eat the sausage it was so smokey.

Alan

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

In a colder climate, if you added "saltpeter" to the mix (which I don't do) you can let it hang until it dries. The sausage I make is NOT "Cooked". I just freeze it after smoking for two days and then when I want some I cook it thoroughly on the stove or pit.

Alan

[tommyt]

looks like a good working Smoke hut
I know waht you mean about over smoking
really hurts a man's feeling to mess up a bunch of good food
Tom

[Bill Gunn]

Thanks for the info Alan, I'm going to look into the cold process a little more and set one like yours to give it a try...

Bill

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Well Bill, quite obviously it does not have to be very fancy. You just need to be able to keep the weather off of the meat (rain, snow, etc) and after you start the first smoke there are no insects or other critters to sorry about. I imagine in an area where there are black bears (or any kind of bears) it would need to be a bit more substantial in it's construction. If you make one you can get as fancy or as plain as you like. I saw one a fella had once that had strap hinges on the sides and top. He would fold it up and store it in his shed when not in use. It worked just fine and he didn't have it sitting out all the time.

Alan

[Bill Gunn]

Alan

Insects shouldn't be a problem, the weather here is changing and today's high is in the 40's, their talkin' snow on Friday...
They just opened a bear season for this area (Bow season starts Saturday) but there ain't enough of them to worry about.
RACCOONS, COYOTES, & CATS... :( :( I'm giving them a lot of thought... My neighbor (about 1/2 mile down the road) kills about one raccoon a week. I had to hide our barn cat's food, they eat it all...

I'm part of the raccoon problem though. When I get a fifty fish limit of perch, I throw the guts out back, and there is NEVER anything left of the pile in the morning, but coyotes, turkey buzzards and cats get their share too...

This pic was taken on the lawn in my back yard...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/17861808/285965855.jpg

I'm thinking because there is a min. temp I'll have to maintain in the cold smoker, it's going to be a pita in the cold weather.
Here's some info I found, and the complexity of it keeps me from doing it...

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Exactly-is-Cold-Smoking?&id=108679

From what your saying, it sounds like your "Smoke Flavoring" the food, then cooking it, which sounds a lot easier, and better for my purposes.

I wonder if maybe I found an old school type locker or two (put two together for increased area), or a double door type with locking doors, if that would keep the critters at bay. I'm trying to keep it as simple as you have it though.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

From what your saying, it sounds like your "Smoke Flavoring" the food, then cooking it, which sounds a lot easier, and better for my purposes.

I wonder if maybe I found an old school type locker or two (put two together for increased area), or a double door type with locking doors, if that would keep the critters at bay. I'm trying to keep it as simple as you have it though.


I am just flavoring it. The smoke does seal the casings pretty good though. The sausage I make is not smoke cured, or salt cured, or dried. If I could keep the temp low enough for long enough I could do more but I would have to install a little AC in the smoke house.

I don't know about the locker thing. Perhaps if you were going to do it with hot smoke then the more confined area would be ok. A good latch on the door will keep the coons out as long as it isn't something that little coon fingers can figure out.

In South Texas the coyote would not be paying any attention to whatever is in that bucket. He would already have that cat fricasseed and served up.

Alan

[tommyt]

Down here I've seen a few different kinds
One I'll never forget was a refrigerator box
Yep the card board box the guy had was used for smoking mullet
I believe its called Kipper where its a hot smoke and the fish is edible
when removed from the Process
all he did was season, set them on oven racks he had gathered (Dumpster diving) put a small fire/smoke pan below (not in ) the bottom of the box
The box was siting on a few cinder blocks , I can tell you this,
they where good ;)