Wanting to learn how to Cold Smoke

TKoot

 In a recent BGE email, i saw a recipe for

http://biggreenegg.com/recipes/bourbon-glazed-cold-smoked-salmon/?id=wh1205salmon 

the video showed a clip of how to get a BGE set up for cold smoking. i was just wondering if its as easy as the video or if there are a few tricks or tips i need to know. I've had my BGE for 7 years and thought cold smoking would be sweet just never realized you could do it on a BGE. Now i'm very excited about the prospects of it.

OhioEgger

Here's a technique I've used and like a lot:
http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/08/thirdeyes-nova-lox.html

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Ha! Video says to light a fire and smoke at 50-70f. hard to imagine your egg will hold 50-70f with a fire (even a small one) going inside of it.

Get an A-Maze-N Smoker and you can smoke at near ambient temps. 2nd Best $30 accessory you can buy for your egg (Thermapop is first)

Stormbringer

These blog posts should help you:

https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2016/10/14/enhancing-flavours-with-cold-smoking/

https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/11/03/smoke-your-own-cheese/

Woodchunk

It's pretty simple, clean out your smoker, fill your pellet tray and light, put in the bottom of the egg and place your cheese on the grate, indirect. Should be cool or cold for the outside temp.

nutshellml

@The Cen-Tex Smoker
Question on the A-MAZE-N Smoker - I have the XL BGE, Looking to try cold smoking.  I see there are 4 different Smoker products, any specific one work better than the other?  They have the tray type then the tube.

Also, assuming I NEED pellets and what about fruit wood, no hardwood in these right?

Also, any other tips would be appreciated.

fishlessman

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Ha! Video says to light a fire and smoke at 50-70f. hard to imagine your egg will hold 50-70f with a fire (even a small one) going inside of it.

Get an A-Maze-N Smoker and you can smoke at near ambient temps. 2nd Best $30 accessory you can buy for your egg (Thermapop is first)

thats 70 c which is doable with that setup,  its hot smoking though

fishlessman

old school cold smoking, easy to do

HendersonTRKing

Like @fishlessman, I'm partial to the old school cold smoke.  I do a whole lot of nova salmon (lox) in this simultaneously over-engineered and under-engineered unit.  Not quite Rube Goldberg worthy, but I love it just the same.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1209834/cold-smoked-salmon-mailbox-lox#latest

vb4677

What's your real objective?  Colder smoke or good food, too?   I would think the A-Maze-N (I use mine for cheese!) would keep an easily contaminated food like salmon in the temperature danger zone for way too long.  Here's what I did for salmon where I kept it under 200F.  Fish was phenomenal and will also be served this Christmas!

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1198868/sub-200f-salmon-smoke#latest

vcool

Just as an experiment last year when it was -30 or something awful like that, I put on the CyberQ to see how low it could reliably hold.  Around 80F was doable. 

As the set temperature dropped below that there were wilder variations in temperature.  It would cool off a bit to 50ish, then the fan would go full throttle and over compensate, getting it up to 90ish, then it would shut off because it was way over temp, allowing it to almost go out again, dropping back to 50ish

SmokingPiney

nutshellml said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker
Question on the A-MAZE-N Smoker - I have the XL BGE, Looking to try cold smoking.  I see there are 4 different Smoker products, any specific one work better than the other?  They have the tray type then the tube.

Also, assuming I NEED pellets and what about fruit wood, no hardwood in these right?

Also, any other tips would be appreciated.

Sorry, not Cen-Tex, but I do cold smoke a lot of cheese and salmon in the colder weather. 

I use the Amaze-N tray to cold smoke. It lights easily and gives off plenty of smoke. I only put the cheese on the smoke for 2 to 3 hours and no more. Too much smoke overwhelms the cheese.

I have cold smoked cured salmon the same way with great results.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/category_s/12.htm

 I clean the fire box out, set the tray in it, and put the plate setter over the tray to diffuse the smoke. I leave the bottom vent wide open and daisy wheel off. 

You will need pellets for the Amaze-N smoker and you can use any pellets you like - fruit wood or hard wood. I like alder pellets for salmon. There are even spice mixes, and this one is my favorite for cheese:

Woodchunk

SmokingPiney said:

nutshellml said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker
Question on the A-MAZE-N Smoker - I have the XL BGE, Looking to try cold smoking.  I see there are 4 different Smoker products, any specific one work better than the other?  They have the tray type then the tube.

Also, assuming I NEED pellets and what about fruit wood, no hardwood in these right?

Also, any other tips would be appreciated.

Sorry, not Cen-Tex, but I do cold smoke a lot of cheese and salmon in the colder weather. 

I use the Amaze-N tray to cold smoke. It lights easily and gives off plenty of smoke. I only put the cheese on the smoke for 2 to 3 hours and no more. Too much smoke overwhelms the cheese.

I have cold smoked cured salmon the same way with great results.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/category_s/12.htm

 I clean the fire box out, set the tray in it, and put the plate setter over the tray to diffuse the smoke. I leave the bottom vent wide open and daisy wheel off. 

You will need pellets for the Amaze-N smoker and you can use any pellets you like - fruit wood or hard wood. I like alder pellets for salmon. There are even spice mixes, and this one is my favorite for cheese:

Those pellets look amazing. I have sprinkled dried herbs on top of the pellets

how long did it take to cure your salmon just using the pellet tray?

SmokingPiney

@Woodchunk,

The smoke doesn't cure it. The salmon cures in the fridge for about 4 days. I use a Gravlax recipe to cure it:

Ingredients

• 1 (8-pound) boned salmon, cut into 2 fillets, skin on
• 1/4 cup whole anise seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup whole caraway seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup salt
• 5 large bunches of fresh dill, coriander, or chervil
• 1/4 cup vodka, aquavit, or gin

Directions

1.   Place salmon fillets on a parchment-lined work surface. Remove any remaining bones from fillets. In a medium bowl, mix together anise seeds, caraway seeds, pepper, sugar, and salt.

2.   Place one fillet in a large glass or enamel pan. Cover with spice mixture. Spread dill on top of spices, then pour vodka or other liquor on top of dill. Place second fillet on top of the first, in the opposite direction (head to tail).

3.   Cover entire pan tightly with plastic wrap. Place a heavy object, such as a book or brick, into a smaller pan. Lay pan on top of fish to weigh it down, and place both pans in refrigerator.

4.   After 12 hours, remove fish from the pan, turn it over, and rewrap tightly with new plastic wrap. Replace weighted pan on top of fish. Continue to refrigerate for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 more days, turning fish over every 12 hours.

5.   After 4 days, remove fish from refrigerator, unwrap, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Remove top fillet, and scrape dill and spices from the surface of both fillets.

To serve, slice each fillet on the diagonal into thin pieces.


 Once its done curing and cleaned up, it goes on the smoker for about 2 hours to get a kiss of smoke. 

The pellets pictured are great for cheese, but I prefer alder for salmon - a light earthy tasting smoke. 

Here's where I get my pellets:

https://www.firecraft.com/category/wood-pellets

Woodchunk

SmokingPiney said:

@Woodchunk,

The smoke doesn't cure it. The salmon cures in the fridge for about 4 days. I use a Gravlax recipe to cure it. Once its done curing and cleaned up, it goes on the smoker for about 2 hours to get a kiss of smoke. 

The pellets pictured are great for cheese, but I prefer alder for salmon - a light earthy tasting smoke. 

Here's where I get my pellets:

https://www.firecraft.com/category/wood-pellets

Thanks

TKoot

fishlessman said:

old school cold smoking, easy to do

How do I find it more about specs to set this up? I've tried googling but didn't get very far. 

PigBeanUs

fishlessman said:

old school cold smoking, easy to do

That’s what I was going to suggest. 

You can let the dryer hose coil on the ground too. Smoke will still draw, and it cools off too. 

You will (or rather, I always did) get condensation in the hose. So be careful when dismantling

PigBeanUs

TKoot said:

fishlessman said:

old school cold smoking, easy to do

How do I find it more about specs to set this up? I've tried googling but didn't get very far. 

Here are the specs:

Three inch dryer vent 

stick it in the egg and then in a box. 

nolaegghead

It's easier if you use a 4" dryer vent.

nolaegghead

Run the egg at whatever low temp you can stabilize at.  You should be able to keep it at 250F.  Ambient temperature dictates the smoke temp at the end of the vent hose.  So the egg temp doesn't really matter.  

PigBeanUs

nolaegghead said:

It's easier if you use a 4" dryer vent.

True. 

I use my small BGE as the hot side. Smaller vent for that. Been a while since I cold smoked. Didn’t gain much for hams or bacon. And i don’t do much cheese or cured salmon. 

Langner91

I use the Amaze-N Tube and cold smoke cheese all winter. 

But, now I am thinking of using my Mini-Max as the Hot side and a dryer hose to cold smoke in the Large!

nutshellml

Langner91 said:

I use the Amaze-N Tube and cold smoke cheese all winter. 

But, now I am thinking of using my Mini-Max as the Hot side and a dryer hose to cold smoke in the Large!

Do the same and now have a minimax. Just wondering the benefit of thst vs the cold smokd Amazen tube.  

PigBeanUs

Possibly no benefit. 

Just an alternate. 

Not every option has to be “better”

i will say you can add more smoke wood to the hotbox side to get more smoke if you want it. 

The hot side can run 300 or more and still deliver cold smoke. 

nutshellml

PigBeanUs said:

Possibly no benefit. 

Just an alternate. 

Not every option has to be “better”

i will say you can add more smoke wood to the hotbox side to get more smoke if you want it. 

The hot side can run 300 or more and still deliver cold smoke. 

I’m considering doing it because I’m in a hot climate. The amazen does give off heat so wondering if I use my minimax or I’ll it be better (not as hot) also I cold smoke for 10 hours for two nights.  So not sure hot thst would work w minimax. 

PigBeanUs

I sometimes used to smoke for 18 hours or so (home cured hams). The small could hold enough lump running at 275-300 to get close to that. 

The hotter you go the more smoke, but the less the duration will be

I sorta thought the amount of smoke had more impact. But you don’t want rolling “new” smoke necessarily. 

Langner91

nutshellml said:

PigBeanUs said:

Possibly no benefit. 

Just an alternate. 

Not every option has to be “better”

i will say you can add more smoke wood to the hotbox side to get more smoke if you want it. 

The hot side can run 300 or more and still deliver cold smoke. 

I’m considering doing it because I’m in a hot climate. The amazen does give off heat so wondering if I use my minimax or I’ll it be better (not as hot) also I cold smoke for 10 hours for two nights.  So not sure hot thst would work w minimax. 

The reason I am excited to use the Mini-Max for hot smoke is that I can more easily buy smoking wood (chips or chunks) in various varieties, than I can pellets.  I don't want to buy 30# of pellets, I like to experiment with different types of wood, etc.

May I ask what you smoke for 10 hours?  Sorry if I missed it above.

Finally, I have found that if I put the Amaze-N tube in the bottom of the Mini-Max (the surface where the ashes end up) and put the plate setter in (above the Amaze-N tube), it doesn't really give off enough heat to affect the product on the grid.  More ceramic, more heat sink, I guess?

This is a very interesting thread.  

nolaegghead

The smoke quality from the external fire/dryer vent rig will always be better than the amaz-n-schmoker or whatever coffee can rig you have *inside* your cooking chamber. 

This is because smoldering fires create bitter tasting particulates and creosotes.  On the plus side, the amaz-n-thingy doesn't generate a lot of smoke and much of that bad stuff will just condense and stick to the bottom of your heat shield.  But what gets on the food will def taste smokey, but you can tell the difference.

nutshellml

Langner91 said:

nutshellml said:

PigBeanUs said:

Possibly no benefit. 

Just an alternate. 

Not every option has to be “better”

i will say you can add more smoke wood to the hotbox side to get more smoke if you want it. 

The hot side can run 300 or more and still deliver cold smoke. 

I’m considering doing it because I’m in a hot climate. The amazen does give off heat so wondering if I use my minimax or I’ll it be better (not as hot) also I cold smoke for 10 hours for two nights.  So not sure hot thst would work w minimax. 

The reason I am excited to use the Mini-Max for hot smoke is that I can more easily buy smoking wood (chips or chunks) in various varieties, than I can pellets.  I don't want to buy 30# of pellets, I like to experiment with different types of wood, etc.

May I ask what you smoke for 10 hours?  Sorry if I missed it above.

Finally, I have found that if I put the Amaze-N tube in the bottom of the Mini-Max (the surface where the ashes end up) and put the plate setter in (above the Amaze-N tube), it doesn't really give off enough heat to affect the product on the grid.  More ceramic, more heat sink, I guess?

This is a very interesting thread.  

So I buy 4# from bbqpellets online. Great quality pure fruitwood pellets.  Lumberjack are great brand.  I currently cold smoke my bacon w Apple hickory for 10 hours overnight then rest then again for another 10 the next night. Never over smoked. 

nutshellml

nolaegghead said:

The smoke quality from the external fire/dryer vent rig will always be better than the amaz-n-schmoker or whatever coffee can rig you have *inside* your cooking chamber. 

This is because smoldering fires create bitter tasting particulates and creosotes.  On the plus side, the amaz-n-thingy doesn't generate a lot of smoke and much of that bad stuff will just condense and stick to the bottom of your heat shield.  But what gets on the food will def taste smokey, but you can tell the difference.

Interesting, exactly what I was wondering.  So maybe I’ll give the minimax to xl smoke a try next time.  Any idea how long full firebox in the minimax will go for?

nolaegghead

Don't know how long a minimax will go in low and slow mode, but I have cold smoked with a number of different techniques, including a rig I built with refrigeration so I could smoke fish/cheese/whatever at sub-ambient temps.  I don't have an amaz-n-smoker but I basically built one and copied the design.

Living in Southeastern LA, you can really only cold smoke in the cooler months unless you have refrigeration.