The Smokehouse

The main purpose of the smokehouse was to preserve meat so it would last for a longer period of time. Preservation was achieved in a two-step process: fresh cuts were packed in tubs of coarse salt for about six weeks, with the salt drawing most of the water from the flesh, and then the salted meats were hung in a tightly constructed wooden shed, usually without windows or a flue, where a fire smoldered in a method called cold smoking for two or more weeks. The fire pit was situated in the central part of the smokehouse, sometimes right on the ground, and the fire was started every morning and left unattended for most of the day. If it went out, it was simply started again the following morning, and such occasional breaks were even recommended in cold smoking. The meat could continue to hang in the smokehouse for as long as two years, losing more moisture and acquiring more smoke at smaller rates, while the smoked meats were constantly rotated to different areas to receive the daily smoke with less intensity. In this way, the smokehouse also functioned as a storage facility.

Ohio · United States