Do-it-yourself cabinet for drying fish. How to make a box for dried fish? From wooden blocks

Dried and dried fish is one of the most popular snacks in our country, and it would be strange to pay money for it if you yourself like to fish, and even boast of abundant and regular catches. The simplest version of a do-it-yourself fish dryer can even be an ordinary clothesline with clothespins on which the prey will be attached. To protect against midges, the catch can be protected with a mosquito net thrown over the top, but with the “production” put on stream, this does not look serious.

Home-made drying for fish of a decent appearance and the same functionality can be done at home by placing a large number of slaves in a small space and providing there at the same time good ventilation and protection from curious insects. In a rural area, such a solution is especially relevant, since not only fish, but also mushrooms, and even meat can be dried in a similar way. Two variants of this design can be distinguished. Let's consider each of them in more detail.


Demountable hanging cabinet

In private houses, in most cases, they resort to making a box, covered on all sides with a mosquito net to protect against insects. Depending on the size, such a structure can be hung on a wall or even be multi-tiered and stand on the ground - then up to several dozen fish can dry in it at the same time, but the likelihood of access by ground insects increases. The dimensions of the future box are determined only by you, based on your fishing abilities.

For good air access, the box should not have walls - in fact, we are talking just about a contour frame. For its manufacture, a bar is usually chosen or wooden slats, whose thickness should never be less than 2.5 cm. Moreover, in many cases it makes sense to take a thicker material if the structure has many tiers, or its volume allows you to hang several kilograms of fish at once. In order not to be mistaken with the amount of purchased material, you can draw up a drawing in advance.

Just keep in mind that any box of a relatively large size will not interfere with the presence of additional spacers for strength and stability. When purchasing a bar, it is worth taking it with a small margin - just in case.



For beauty, wood is often sanded and then painted, but it is more reasonable to do the first procedure before assembling the structure, and the second after assembly. The polished slats are cut so as to make two identical rectangles out of them, which will become opposite walls. You can connect them together either with several separate spacers, or with two more equal rectangles. After all this, one more rectangle needs to be made according to the size of one of the walls - it will serve as a door. For the perfect correctness of all angles, most masters advise using special metal corners small size, sold somewhere in the neighborhood with the same lumber.

When the frame is ready, if not painted, then at least varnished, because wood, and even outdoors, will last much longer.

Paint and varnish must be chosen wisely: they must protect the wood from water and salt deposits, but at the same time be environmentally friendly, because toxic fumes will surely soak the fish.





In the upper part of the box, as well as between the spacers of the lower tiers, you need to stretch a twine or wire on which the fish will be hung. The density of the rows and the vertical distance between the rows should be determined based on the size of the catch you can usually show off. Choosing among twine and different types wire, focus on the ability to withstand rain and withstand the expected weight of the catch, it is also reasonable to provide an easy option to replace sagging or torn pieces.

When this stage is also passed, you can start fitting the mosquito net - usually it is simply cut into fragments required size and simply nailed to the rails in a taut state. In this way, all sides of the box are trimmed, except for the one left for the door, and with the planned tight hanging on the wall, the opposite side may also be left without a grid. The door itself is also upholstered with a mesh, after which it is attached with hinges to the “doorway”. final touch there will be the creation of a “heck” of two or three nails, but here it is worth approaching the task as responsibly as possible so that not the slightest gap remains.




If it suddenly turned out crooked, and there are still cracks, you can paste them on the outside with a sealant.

Many, by the way, do not want to make the door on their own, but specifically adjust the dimensions of the box to the dimensions of a standard mosquito net on the window in order to use it as a door. The very lazy ones may not assemble any frame from a bar at all, simply by connecting several such grids together.

Some craftsmen do not like the fact that when the door is open (at the stage of hanging the fish or extracting part of the prey), insects can get inside, therefore, instead of doors, they sew a zipper into the mesh. This can make the inlet much smaller and easier to control, but this approach tends to degrade the mesh on that side more quickly.



Drying chamber with fan

This design is more intended for the city - at least, it not only can, but should be inside the building, since it requires electricity to operate.

Any box can be used as a frame, only now with integral walls and the possibility of tight closing. You can put it together with your own hands, but the use of large (at least 20 liters) is much more popular. plastic containers from anything.

The ventilation grill is usually built into the box cover located on top, but a small one is installed in one of the narrow side walls. exhaust fan window type, so that by its efforts the air flow passes through the entire box. Availability electric fan allows you to completely level the lack of draft due to the lack of free air circulation in the room, therefore even the dense walls of the plastic box will not interfere with the quick achievement of the result - in most cases, this design dries the fish faster than the classic one with a net and fresh outdoor air. In the upper part of the box, metal rods with a wrench thread are attached, which are fastened on the outer sides with the corresponding nuts - we will hang fish or other products on them.




On this simplest design home drying cabinet could be finished, but some craftsmen offer options to improve the design. So, it's no secret that for normal drying, you need not only constant inflow air, but also heat , which in winter time even indoors is not always achieved. good decision to increase the temperature inside the cabinet, it can be the use of an electric mat - such an item can be bought at a pet store, since it is necessary for the comfort of most pet reptiles. You can go the other way, providing a place inside the box for installing ordinary incandescent bulbs, which also heat up significantly during operation, but they will take up more space and may require numerous holes in the frame.

When installing any equipment for raising the temperature, it must be remembered that water flowing or evaporating from the dried products should not get on the heated surface, and even more so on electrical contacts.



Both design options are quite effective, tested over the years of operation and used by hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens, as evidenced by positive reviews on various fishing forums. Another thing is that for beginners who decide for the first time to try to dry fish or mushrooms on their own, the first pancake comes out lumpy. Out of ignorance, such people often sin on an unsuccessful design, although the reason for the spoilage of products or their very specific taste lies not in the crooked hands of the master, but in the banal non-compliance with the technology for preparing the catch.

For example, it makes no sense to dry fresh fish - the finished product will turn out to be completely tasteless and few people will like it. Before being sent to the drying cabinet, the fish must be salted for at least 10-12 hours, and not any salt can be used for this - only coarse-grained is suitable, and iodized and "Extra" are considered completely unsuitable for these purposes.

Another common mistake is to thoroughly wash the fish before salting - although this may seem unhygienic, this should not be done. The fact is that the inhabitants of the depths are already an excellent breeding ground. various microorganisms, and the increased presence of water also contributes to this, at the same time slowing down the drying process.

How is it done do-it-yourself fish dryer photo on our website will show all the steps. It is not at all difficult to make it. Today our article is about how quickly you can quickly make a fish dryer from improvised and inexpensive materials. If you fish not far from home, and you have a stationary, convenient large dryer for fish, that's good. But if a trip is planned for several days with handkerchiefs and outdoor recreation, then experienced fishermen will definitely not forget to take all the tackle with them or make a float fishing rod themselves on vacation.

Here imagine you have a rich catch , boiled fish soup , baked fish in foil , and there is still a lot of it left . We offer you a good option, dry it or wither it and bring it home and enjoy ramming with friends with a beer and remember what a wonderful catch it was. Also, this unpretentious device can be taken unassembled with you when traveling to the sea and dry gobies, which are found in abundance in salt water. And most importantly, annoying flies, which are attracted by the deliciously smelling dried pike perch, will not be able to get inside and spoil such a wonderful product.

Formaking a dryer with your own hands you will need:

  • An old umbrella, the main thing is that it unfolds and the dome is intact.
  • Fine mesh or thick gauze.
  • A needle and thread to sew a bag or you can prepare it in advance at home and sew a snake along the entire height for convenience.
  • Wire for the manufacture of the lower ring.
  • Drawstring or rope for tightening at the top and bottom of the dryer.
  • Hooks or clips for hanging the catch.

Making a dryer with your own hands is not difficult at all:

  1. Sew mesh or gauze along the diameter of the umbrella.
  2. From the wire we make a ring, which is equal in size to the diameter of the umbrella.
  3. At a distance of 70-80 cm, we fasten a wire ring on the grid with a thread and a needle.
  4. Below the ring we skip a rope or cord to tighten the dryer.
  5. We attach a loop or hook to the top of the umbrella in order to hang our invention.

How to use the dryer

P raising mesh or unfastening the snake , salted fish is hung on hooks , the protection is lowered below , tightened with a cord . Large bream, crucian carp, roach must be butchered, but not scaled. You need to hang in the shade and in a draughty place. Everything is ready , you can not worry about your catch , it is reliably protected from flies and insects . Such a dryer for her is compact, does not take up much space in the luggage, and most importantly, you can bring ready-made dried fish home and treat relatives and friends. You can use such a dryer not only in hiking, natural conditions, but also at home. The main thing is an excellent, high-quality ram.

Fish dryers, simple and reliable, hanging and stationary will delight every fishing enthusiast! Flake from the Mitek company the most reliable, capacious and durable fish dryer from NPO Kedr are compact, light and simple. Which one you choose, it's up to you!

To this day, many people try to dry fish in a tarinka, on outdoors, I don’t immediately think about flies that spoil the whole catch, but small animals at night. a scorching sun or rain? Everything comes with experience of course. We offer fish dryers that have already been tested by experienced anglers who know a lot about cooking fish.

It can be added that fish dryers can also be used as a dryer for herbs, fruits and other veins.

Fish dryers

Flake- a necessary thing if you are fond of fishing, especially if you go on a long fishing trip, and you are interested in the issue of the safety of your catch. It is they who guarantee the safety of the fish from flies and other insects during drying. In addition, wide the lineup dryers will provide you with the ease of choosing the right model.

How to properly dry fish in a dryer and how, if necessary, to make it yourself? What are the best ways to dry fish to give it best taste? How to avoid the most common mistakes using these technologies? We will talk about all this in more detail in this issue and immediately please leave a comment at the bottom of the page to understand how successful the material turned out.

What are dryers and what are they for?

There are many varieties of dryers in terms of models, sizes, capacities, materials for manufacturing. There are frame and folding, stationary and hanging, designed exclusively for drying fish and universal, that is, they are also suitable for drying berries, mushrooms, nuts, vegetables, herbs, fruits, bee pollen.

All of them are united presence of walls from a mesh or gauze, excluding the contact of flies and their larvae with fish, and allowing air to do its job. As well as the presence of a door for loading and unloading the catch, shelves, hooks or wires to place the fish in the correct position.

It is in this opportunity to save your catch from infection with larvae and subsequent spoilage of products that the advantage of using various types of dryers lies in traditional way drying fish (by hanging on a rope or wire somewhere under a canopy, in an attic or balcony).

We make a dryer with our own hands

Modern online stores, as well as departments of fishing equipment in sports shops and in the markets they present to the buyer a wide variety of models of fish dryers in various options value for money.

But with all the variety of products offered, it is far from always possible to choose a dryer model that suits the needs of a particular angler. After all, the catches of different fishermen can differ dramatically in the number and size of fish caught. The home conditions in which the fish will be dried also differ. Therefore, many economic fishermen, adjusting the parameters of the device being created to fit their needs.

First of all, you need to decide Where will the drying take place?. If under a canopy or in the attic of a private house, there are no problems with size. If in one of the rooms, on the balcony or loggia of the apartment, then the dimensions of the future dryer must be calculated based on the possibility of placing it in these rooms for drying and subsequent storage. You also need to keep in mind the size and number of fish caught on the previous fishing. Or calculate these parameters for future catches.

If there is very little space, you can consider options for folding and hanging dryers.

After determining the required dimensions, you need to decide on the materials for manufacturing. They can also be very diverse. For the frame and the door, they usually use the bars, slats or boards left over from construction or repairs, the remains of an aluminum profile or corner - that is, any suitable durable materials.

  1. A door is hung on the assembled frame.
  2. The opening is hermetically sealed to prevent the entry of insects.
  3. A mesh is tightly attached to the walls (best of all, a mosquito net).
  4. Many people also stretch the net on the ceiling, but this is fundamentally wrong, since the deposited fly larvae can penetrate the cells and infect the catch. Therefore, the ceiling must be made solid, preferably from a plywood or plastic sheet.
  5. A tray is placed at the bottom for the timely removal of flowing fish oil.
  6. After that, shelves are made inside the dryer or several rows of wire with hooks are pulled (in accordance with the estimated size of the fish). Dryer ready!

Below are some examples of the original creativity of our anglers.

As they say, it is better to see once than to hear 100 times. Therefore, we invite you to watch the video from detailed description making a dryer with your own hands.

How and how much to dry the fish

The drying time and the choice of technology largely depend on the type and size of the caught fish, as well as on the gastronomic preferences of the angler himself.

Before drying the fish, it is necessary to salt it. Small fish can be salted whole. The larger one must first be gutted and cut along the back. And the biggest one will need cut into pieces suitable for the size of dishes for salting.

The duration of salting, again, depends on the size of the fish and the angler's taste preferences - the longer you salt, the saltier the fish will be. Enough on average 2-6 days. After that, the fish is taken out, washed running water and on average for an hour is placed in a bowl with clean water for soaking and removing excess salt.

After soaking, the fish must be dried by laying it on a simple towel and placed in a constructed dryer.

Exists two ways to hang fish on hooks or ropes of the dryer - behind the head (through the eyes) and behind the tail (after making a hole in the right place of the body of the fish with an awl).

Each method has its pros and cons. For example, if you hang it by the tail, then the fat will drain through the mouth and the fish may come out dryish. And if for the head, then the remaining fat can give the meat a peculiar taste. In general, each fisherman chooses the method of hanging according to the type of fish and with his experience and taste preferences.

After hanging, the dryer is placed out of hit zone sun rays . Best in a draft. The catch is dried for about a week. Samples are taken starting from the smallest specimens.

Possible mistakes

When salting and drying fish, the most common mistakes should be avoided.

  • Salt for salting should be ordinary, coarse grinding. In no case not iodized! Its use is guaranteed to spoil appearance and the taste of dried fish.
  • It is not necessary to wash the fish immediately before salting (it is washed only before soaking), otherwise it will inevitably become dry.
  • Herbivorous fish should not be salted without gutting in hot weather. The algae remaining in its insides will begin to rot - the fish will have a bitter aftertaste or it will completely deteriorate.
  • When placing fish in the dryer, care must be taken that they did not touch. This will prevent uniform drying.

A dehydrator, or dryer for fish or meat, is a must-have item for many fishermen and hunters to use as one of the ways to process their prey. In order not to spend money on an industrial design, you can make a fish dryer with your own hands with minimal financial costs.

Of course, the most inexpensive option for a dehydrator is an ordinary clothesline, on which a fish is strung and placed somewhere under a roof or on a balcony. With all its simplicity, this option does not exclude the infection of fish during the drying process with larvae. various insects, as well as from sitting flies. Therefore, the most practical and reliable dryers for food are always designed with walls that protect prey from flies, other insects and pollution from the street, but somehow promote free air circulation. According to their design, dryers for fish or meat are different:

  • Suspended
  • collapsible
  • Stationary
  • With fan

Hanging dryers differ from stationary dryers in that, in accordance with their name, they are suspended from the wall, thanks to which their height and position can be adjusted, which is convenient when choosing the most suitable place for the amount of sun or wind. Collapsible dryers very convenient in that they can be disassembled for compact storage while they are not being used. In addition, they are mobile, and during long-term fishing, the catch can be immediately placed in the dryer right on the shore of the reservoir. All these dryers are adapted to dry fish outdoors. What to do if there is no such possibility, or dehydration of fish needs to be done in winter? In this case, a dryer for meat and fish with a fan will help, which is quite simple to do with your own hands.



In order to make a dryer with a fan, you will need the following materials:

  • Plastic container with lid. Can be used plastic box for children's toys.
  • Extractor hood with outlet grate. Sufficient fan power is 280 cubic meters. Instead of ventilation hood you can use a PC cooler.
  • Threaded rod on M8 or M6, can also be used metal bars 3 mm in diameter.
  • Nuts, washers, bolts.

The sequence of work on the manufacture of the dehydrator is as follows:

  1. At the bottom of the box, on its short side, it is necessary to mark with a marker the place for mounting the ventilation hood. The place for fixing the grate for the hood is also marked, it is best if it is located on the lid. If this is not possible, it is built into opposite side from the fan at the top. Holes can be cut with a jigsaw, a circular saw-crown suitable diameter, or use a drill with a thin drill: holes are drilled around the perimeter of the circle, then the jumpers between them are removed with an ordinary knife. If you heat the blade of the knife, the plastic will be cut more easily.
  2. The fan and the grate for the hood are installed in the prepared holes, fixed to the walls of the box with fasteners. The lattice can be planted on liquid nails.
  3. Next, you need to mark the location of the holes for the rod, which will hold the fish or pieces of meat during drying. To do this, masking tape is glued around the perimeter of the box, and markings are already applied to it. Holes are drilled with a screwdriver or drill. Another option for attaching a drying rod is using duralumin corners. They are fixed on the long sides of the container with the shelf down, fastened with bolts, and on the shelves of the corners they are arranged through holes for the bar. With the help of such corners inside the dryer, you can make several rows.
  4. The threaded rod is cut into required amount bars of the desired length with a hacksaw.
  5. The rods are inserted into the holes, fixed with nuts and washers. If you need to dry something roomy, you can unscrew the nuts and remove the rods.
  6. The fish is strung on rods through the eyes or clings to hooks and hung on rods. Then the container is closed with a lid, the fan is turned on, the box is placed in any comfortable spot for several days.

Such a dehydrator is universal, since it is used not only for drying fish, but it is also a dryer for meat, vegetables or fruits. In addition, if thick parchment is placed on the rods, you can dry small products - berries and mushrooms. The dryer from the container is quite capacious, airtight, protects products from the penetration of any insects. How fast the food will dry will depend on the outside temperature of the dehydrator. Modify similar dryer it is possible if you install a special adapter-timer to set the operating time, as well as a device that supplies warm air inside.