(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- There are a lot of jobs that can be pretty unpleasant when it gets this hot. But here’s one you’ve probably never thought of: fish smoker.
As a regional heat wave continued, WBBM Newsradio on Thursday paid a visit to Calumet Fisheries at the 95th Street bridge over the Calumet River.
It is one of the few businesses around with an EPA permit for a smokehouse.
Christian Villarel was tending an oak wood fire and racks of sturgeon, sable and salmon.
“Boiling hot,” is how he described the workplace and the need to constantly monitor the fire and the fish hanging overhead. But he added: “It’s fine.”
Villarel said he comes into the smokehouse at least every 30 minutes to make sure everything is fine.
Standing at the open door of the smokehouse, he estimated the temperature at 200 degrees. Yes, he drinks a lot of water to stay hydrated.
The smell fills the air. Inside the 75-year-old business, it’s actually pretty pleasant – temperature-wise – unless you’re standing at the fryer.
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