The Smokehouse

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 this two-step process:, 1.) The fresh cuts were packed in tubs of coarse salt for about six weeks, the salt drawing most of the water from the meat flesh., 2.) Then the salted meats would be hung in a tightly constructed wooden shed, usually without windows or a flue, in which a fire smolders (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. The fire was started every morning and left unattended for most of the day. Nobody worried if it went out, as it would be started again the following morning. When cold smoking, such occasional breaks are even recommended., The product would continue to hang in the smokehouse, sometimes up to two years, and during that time it lost more moisture and acquired more smoke, although at smaller rates. The smoked meats were constantly rotated to different areas within the smokehouse where they would continue to receive the daily smoke, but with less intensity. Thus the smokehouse also functioned as a storage facility at the same time.