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Smoking methods
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Feather View Drop Down
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Joined: 21 October 2012
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    Posted: 13 December 2012 at 12:48
I'd love to share smoking methods but I'm the novice.

I've read about
COLD SMOKING
For instance cheese, letting it mellow for a week after smoking to avoid the harshness that smoking can provide.

Regular smoking, and then to an internal temperature.

Using different kinds of wood chips/flakes/powder to give it a different flavor

What kind of advice can you give based on your experience and reading to help a 'new smoker' do a good job and not ruin the sausage/bacon/meat?

I'm all for learning new things. ~Feather
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Points: 3454 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 December 2012 at 02:55
Hi Feather...cold smoking might be a good way for you to start, and it can be done very inexpensively.
You could do some cheese, or cure and smoke some salmon which both do well with low temperatures.

If you have access to some wood chips you can smoke on your charcoal or gas grill just by wrapping the chips in aluminum foil and punching a few holes in it then tossing it on the coals....you may have to replace it a time or two during your smoke.

If you are looking to make some bacon, I would highly recommend that you invest in one of Todd's cold smokers over at Amaz n products. for under 50 bucks you will get a quality product from a guy with outstanding customer service.
Here is a not so good picture of my amaz n smoker in action:

I use one of Todd's cold smokers all the time and can get up to 10-12 hours of smoke from one filling. It comes in very handy when I'm doing sausage  or bacon and I want to apply smoke until I see a certain color, then I will light the smoker and take the item to the internal temp I want. 

You can also cold smoke your own spices...I do sea salt, black pepper and paprika to make my own pimenton all the time. You can even put some smoke on hard boiled eggs and get a very different and delicious egg salad.

As far as hot smoking...it would help if I knew or had a picture of your grilling equipment....Tas will also have some good advice I'm sure.
Go ahead...play with your food!
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hi, feather -
 
dave's post is pretty much would i would advise, too, especially this:
 
>>>You could do some cheese, or cure and smoke some salmon which both do well with low temperatures.<<<
 
I would also add to that list (once you get a few cheese, spice and fish smokes under your belt): jerky, nuts and eventually sausages. if you enjoy going down the road of charcuterie, your cold smoker will also be great with hams, bacon and other similar, cured products. the cold smoke will get the flavour in there, and you can always finish or bring something "up to temperature" in the oven.
 
In the past, I always recommeneded a Little or Big Chief smoker, and if you find one at a yard sale, they are a great, but new ones are getting a little expensive now that they are famous again. With the AMAZN smoker, you have a very good, very affordable alternative. Definitely worth considering - I'm thinking hard about taking the next step and getting one!
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Points: 1778 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 December 2012 at 09:40
Originally posted by Feather Feather wrote:

I'd love to share smoking methods but I'm the novice.

I've read about
COLD SMOKING
For instance cheese, letting it mellow for a week after smoking to avoid the harshness that smoking can provide.

Regular smoking, and then to an internal temperature.

Using different kinds of wood chips/flakes/powder to give it a different flavor

What kind of advice can you give based on your experience and reading to help a 'new smoker' do a good job and not ruin the sausage/bacon/meat?

I'm all for learning new things. ~Feather


   Hi Feather!

  Can you post a description about the type of smoker that you have?  and maybe the fuel that you normally use?  Depending on what I'm doing, I've got a few options available to cold smoke in my FatBoy.  Sometimes I'll choose differing methods, depending what I want to do.

   What smoker (or cooking vessel) are you using?

   What type of fuel are you familiar with?

   What are some of the projects you want to cold smoke at first.

   Take care!
  Dan
Enjoy The Food!
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Joined: 21 October 2012
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I am a novice. I don't have a smoker (yet).
I have a gas grill and a standard old but good quality weber grill.
I won't invest in a smoker until I've tried smoking 'by hand', monitoring temperature, air flow, etc.

I was planning on using the Weber grill for smoking, for a few projects first to get a feel for it.

I usually make jerky in the dehydrator, but, it would be great to smoke it instead.

I have many types of woods available, mostly fruit (apple, pear), some high bush cranberry--not sure how that would go. I can get my hands on hickory and that would be my first choice.

I'm not currently interested in smoking cheese, but spices would be great. I've heard smoked garlic is a good thing too--and I have lbs of that to work with.

When I make sausage, I want to try to smoke some of it, to see how it works out.
Bacon is another project I'd like to accomplish (cured is great but smoked is better).

So jerky, sausage, bacon, garlic and spices.

Maybe what I'm asking is 'what shouldn't I do'......smoke too long, smoke too much--what can ruin a smoked item?
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>>>I have...a standard old but good quality weber grill.<<<
 
to be honest, that's all you need right there, either to get started or for years of good smoking of any kind.
 
the wood you choose is mostly a pretty trivial thing. try a few and decide what you like! hickory is the best place to start but fruit woods are great too. alder is a natural for game and fish.
 
>>>'what shouldn't I do'......smoke too long, smoke too much--what can ruin a smoked item?<<<
 
addressing those questions, the best answer i can give is that your biggest enemy is "creosote," and the main cause of that is a lack of good combustion and airflow. ALWAYs make sure you have good airflow and you will always be in good shape, in nearly every circumstance.
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Joined: 21 October 2012
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Originally posted by TasunkaWitko TasunkaWitko wrote:

>>>I have...a standard old but good quality weber grill.<<<
 
to be honest, that's all you need right there, either to get started or for years of good smoking of any kind.
 
the wood you choose is mostly a pretty trivial thing. try a few and decide what you like! hickory is the best place to start but fruit woods are great too. alder is a natural for game and fish.
 
>>>'what shouldn't I do'......smoke too long, smoke too much--what can ruin a smoked item?<<<
 
addressing those questions, the best answer i can give is that your biggest enemy is "creosote," and the main cause of that is a lack of good combustion and airflow. ALWAYs make sure you have good airflow and you will always be in good shape, in nearly every circumstance.


Well that is all GOOD NEWS to me! Thank you! ~Feather
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