This week a friend emailed me a link to this Western Red Cedar Smokehouse with a few pictures of how to build it. I read through the link but there were some details lacking in it. So I cruised on over to the Smokin Meats Forum to this forum poster named ATCNick. In his post about building this smokehouse he shows more in depth pictures along with brief descriptions of how he built this great piece of backyard smoking pleasure.
This is the first time we have ever seen this type of project for Western Red Cedar. We feel the reason Nick chose Western Red Cedar for the use of his smokehouse is because it is resistant to rot and moisture. Cedar is a wood where when heat and moisture is added to it, like it will be in this use, the wood will stay stable throughout the life of it. It will keep the smokehouse tight allowing it to do the job it was built for. Now we need to figure out how to try some meat from this place.
Be sure to check out the Gallery View of the Smokehouse construction here.
The full forum thread on the construction of it can be found here.
The basic list of what you will need to build this in your backyard according to Nick’s plans is:
- Brick
- Fire Brick
- Mortar
- Cinder Blocks
- Western Red Cedar (2″ material for framing and Bevel siding for finish work)
- Castiron FireBox Door
- Metal Stove Pipe
The Smokehouse framework was moved onto the cinder block base with the Western Red Cedar Siding put in place.
Starting the firebox using masonry bricks for the outside and fire brick for the interior lining. It is important to use the fire brick on the inside to help insulate the heat better in the firebox. This will help to keep the heat from escaping to the interior of the unit.
Completed Firebox view
Completed Smokehouse with meat hanging