About Us
SMITH'S LOG SMOKEHOUSE was founded and built in the woods of Maine in 1980 by Andrew Smith,
a third generation meat cutter from Philadelphia who came to Maine to lead a simpler life.
Smith yarded the logs for his buildings with oxen he raised and trained, using them as well
to haul his smoke wood from the forest.
This slow, deliberate pace was to be the hallmark of his smoking operation.
A family run business, watching over the meat as it cures or the cheese at it slow-smokes over smoldering pecan shells is like watching over one of their own--each batch of hams is tended at birth through maturity, hung in the smokehouse and aged by the loving hands of the family. Smith's motto: "The quality of the latest finished product cannot be superseded by the happiness of the moment.
In 1987 Smith came out with his first Beef Jerky, this after six months of toiling with the process to make a jerky like no other and just as hard for the "big boys" to copy.
On his 13th try, coming down out of the big, log smoke loft was the HONEY CURED SMOKED BEEF we know today, although at first Smith had to introduce his new jerky through hardware stores, lumber yards, new car dealerships (and even junk yards) to market his softer product sold in the larger package.
This business would not be here at all without the patient backing of Smiths lovely wife, Libby. She's the "glue" that holds it all together. She's the loving wife and mother, She's the bookkeeper. She's also the taster, the smokehouse worker. She's probably the one you'll talk to on the telephone when you call. And by the way, she's the owner too.
In 1999 "Sledge" Leyendecker joined the Smiths as Sales Executive. He was in retail sales for 10 years and left as Store Manager for IGA, a food store chain. With Humpty Dumpty, a potato chip company, he spent 15 years going from the top Salesperson in the company for two consecutive years to Supervisor, to District Manager of 20 routes and five supervisors.
Since joining SMITH'S LOG SMOKEHOUSE, he has sold as much as 16 cases of jerky in one week and has averaged 13 to 14 a week this Summer. He works alone and covers the "Down East" area where the stops are few and far between.
This slow, deliberate pace was to be the hallmark of his smoking operation.
A family run business, watching over the meat as it cures or the cheese at it slow-smokes over smoldering pecan shells is like watching over one of their own--each batch of hams is tended at birth through maturity, hung in the smokehouse and aged by the loving hands of the family. Smith's motto: "The quality of the latest finished product cannot be superseded by the happiness of the moment.
In 1987 Smith came out with his first Beef Jerky, this after six months of toiling with the process to make a jerky like no other and just as hard for the "big boys" to copy.
On his 13th try, coming down out of the big, log smoke loft was the HONEY CURED SMOKED BEEF we know today, although at first Smith had to introduce his new jerky through hardware stores, lumber yards, new car dealerships (and even junk yards) to market his softer product sold in the larger package.
This business would not be here at all without the patient backing of Smiths lovely wife, Libby. She's the "glue" that holds it all together. She's the loving wife and mother, She's the bookkeeper. She's also the taster, the smokehouse worker. She's probably the one you'll talk to on the telephone when you call. And by the way, she's the owner too.
In 1999 "Sledge" Leyendecker joined the Smiths as Sales Executive. He was in retail sales for 10 years and left as Store Manager for IGA, a food store chain. With Humpty Dumpty, a potato chip company, he spent 15 years going from the top Salesperson in the company for two consecutive years to Supervisor, to District Manager of 20 routes and five supervisors.
Since joining SMITH'S LOG SMOKEHOUSE, he has sold as much as 16 cases of jerky in one week and has averaged 13 to 14 a week this Summer. He works alone and covers the "Down East" area where the stops are few and far between.