Flannel
I agree with you 100% on cooking by the old school methods, while keeping in mind that they didn't have the knowledge concerning food poison that we now have.
I would
LOVE to have a smokehouse! In fact I was leaning towards building one when I found my smoker...It is a very modest single axle, "homemade", offset design that I have broken in nicely in the last several years.
If you do move towards a smokehouse I would love to hear updates and possibly see pictures to follow your progress... I really need to learn the art of salt curing, as I fear there may come a day when we all need to know how it is done properly.
Crpdeth