Process — Structure of a home smokery and how it works

The diagram shows how a domestic smokery is constructed and how smoke passes through it to cure fish and meat.

Overall, the apparatus consists of two separate chambers joined by a connecting pipe, rather than forming a single unit. This separation is the key design feature, since it allows the smoke to cool before it ever reaches the food.

The smoke is generated in a fire box on the left, in which wood chips or sawdust are left to smoulder rather than burn, air being supplied through an inlet in its side. The smoke produced there is fed into a pipe that runs sideways and then upwards into the main chamber on the right. Inside this chamber, fish and meat are hung on racks at three levels, with a drip tray positioned beneath them to catch any fat, and a chimney sits at the top.

In operation, the smoke travels along the connecting pipe and cools on the way, so that the food is preserved without being cooked. It then rises slowly through the chamber, passing every rack in turn, before escaping through the chimney. The volume of smoke retained inside is regulated by an adjustable damper fitted at the chimney opening.