Improved Fish Smoking Kiln
A chorkor-style stacked-tray kiln that smokes far more fish per load with less firewood and much less smoke in the operator's face.
- Estimated cost
- $120 – $300 in blocks, mesh and timber
- Skill level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4 – 6 days including curing
Not yet verified
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Tools
- Trowel and mortar board
- Handsaw and hammer
- Tin snips
- Spirit level
- Staple gun or fencing staples
Short a tool or material? Builders below have often swapped something local in — read Local adaptations before you buy anything.
Materials
Dimensions & cut list
An improved (Chorkor-type) smoking kiln with stacked trays, processing 100–150 kg of fish per batch. These are the reference sizes from Appropedia / FAO chorkor smoker documentation — scale them to what you have, but keep the ratios.
| Firebox chamber | 1.2 × 0.7 m internal, 0.5 m deep |
|---|---|
| Tray size | 1.2 × 0.7 m wire-mesh trays |
| Trays stacked | 8–10 highRotate the bottom tray to the top hourly so all fish smoke evenly |
| Tray spacing | 80 mm |
| Fuel opening | 300 × 250 mm with a damper |
| Wall construction | Mud brick or fired brick, 150 mm thick, mud-plastered |
| Smoking time | 3–4 hours hot smoke for light cure, 10–18 hours for dry storage cure |
| Fuel use | ≈ 1 kg wood per 4 kg of fishAbout a third of the fuel a traditional open drum uses |
Take this list to the yard
- ≈ 350Bricks
- 10Wire-mesh trays with timber frames
- 0.15 m³Mud or cement mortar
- 1Sheet-metal damper plate
- As per batchHardwood or coconut-shell fuelNever softwood or treated timber — the resin taints the fish
Step by step
Step 1 of 6
Build the firebox chamber
Lay a rectangular block chamber roughly 1,100 × 700 mm and 500 mm high with a stoke opening at the front and an ash pit below.
Swipe or use arrow keys
1. Build the firebox chamber
Lay a rectangular block chamber roughly 1,100 × 700 mm and 500 mm high with a stoke opening at the front and an ash pit below.
2. Make interchangeable trays
Build every tray frame to the same outside dimensions as the chamber top so any tray stacks on any other. Interchangeability is the whole design.
3. Mesh the trays with food-grade wire
Stretch and staple mesh tight. Loose mesh sags, fish stick and the load cooks unevenly.
4. Cure the chamber before use
Keep the blockwork damp for a week, then run two small warming fires. Firing green blockwork cracks the chamber.
5. Load and rotate trays
Fill trays with cleaned, brined fish in one layer. Bottom tray gets the most heat, so rotate the stack roughly every 30 minutes for an even cure.
6. Smoke, then dry
Start hot to set the surface, then run cooler and smokier for hours. Finish with a low-smoke drying phase until the fish is firm right through.
Why mine failed
The ways this build usually goes wrong, and what fixes it.
Top trays are raw while bottom trays burn
CauseTrays not rotated
FixMove the bottom tray to the top every hour. The rotation is the whole reason the Chorkor design works.
Fish tastes bitter or resinous
CauseWrong fuel
FixBurn hardwood, coconut shell or corn cobs only — never softwood, painted or treated timber.
Smoked fish moulds within a week
CauseNot dried enough for storage
FixFor storage cure, extend to 10–18 hours until the flesh is hard, then store in airtight tins with a dry desiccant.
Fuel use is barely better than the old drum
CauseLoose-fitting trays letting heat escape
FixMake the trays sit flush on the chamber rim and cover the top stack with sacking or a lid.
Safety notes
- Under-dried smoked fish spoils fast and can be dangerous. Dry to firm right to the bone, and store in sealed, dry containers.
- Wood smoke is a serious respiratory hazard. Work outdoors, stand upwind, and keep children out of the smoke plume.
- Never burn treated timber, plywood, painted wood or plastic — the fish absorbs whatever is in the smoke.
- Keep water at hand and a clear working space around the firebox.
Source & attribution
This plan is our build-step write-up of work documented by Appropedia / FAO chorkor smoker documentation. The original design and documentation belong to them — go read the source before you build.
Chorkor smokerLocal adaptations
What builders changed to make this work where they live.
- No adaptations shared yet for this plan.
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