For a long time, we wanted to build a backyard smokehouse primarily for smoking fish, but also for smoke-cooking pork and turkey, and making jerky and sausage. Our goal was to construct a house with more capacity than is typically provided by smoker units sold in outdoor sports catalogs. An article published in Fish Alaska magazine provided the general blueprint for many of the construction ideas outlined here (see “Smokehouse 101” by A.E. Poynor, Fish Alaska, July 2004, vol. 5, issue 5, pp 30-35). The actual smokehouse cost approximately $170 to build (including the propane burner used for heat and smoke generation).