Cold Smoking on a Ceramic?

[Naldo]

If I understand cold smoking correctly, it should be done at temps of 80 to 100 degrees F. Has anyone ever successfully done this on a KK or other ceramic cooker? This would be for fish or cheese, for example.

I understand there is information on-line out there, but I'm more interested in finding out if anyone has done this on a ceramic, and what their technique is.

Thanks!

[Syzygies]

Short answer, yes people do this.

The BBQ Guru's most basic model, the PitMinder, will go down to 90 F; it has this sort of application in mind. I wouldn't try sticking such low temperatures by hand.

Even then, you'll have trouble generating smoke; it takes heat. I'd make some experimental runs with small pieces of cheese you don't care about, before a production batch.

These temperatures are potential havens for food poisoning, another issue one needs to straighten out. Smoke and salt alone aren't a sure guarantee one is safe. I'm sure the northwestern native americans who smoked salmon over alder weren't using preservatives (other than salt) or Gurus, but they had generations of very specific experience, some of which involved getting sick.

So why focus on 80 to 100 F? This is the sweet spot for some piece of equipment you don't have; you have a ceramic cooker. Figure out what it does best. Perhaps e.g. at 140 F you manage to easily create a quality of smoke you like, with results you find delicious, but a ceramic cooker strains to imitate a different kind of equipment at 100 F.

[Syzygies]

One rig used a second cooker to generate the smoke. Others built very careful fires, and placed large trays on ice between the fire and the cheese.

The temperatures for cheese were indeed 100 F, one doesn't want to melt the cheese. For fish, one has more leeway.

[Naldo]

Thanks Syzygies. Yeah, I guess I was thinking about cheese mostly. I understand I would have a little more leeway with fish, but cheese would indeed lose it's shape and even melt.

I'm not familiar with which forum you and tcoliver are speaking about. If it should not be mentioned here, perhaps someone can PM it to me? That is truly funny about the ice trays!

I'm still intertested in anyone else's and additional thoughts...

[TheNakedWhiz]

I have a web page on cold smoking cheese and jerky on my website. I have smoked cheese below 100 degrees on my BGE and it would be no different on my Komodo Supreme OTB. Here's a link to Information Central:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/infocentral.htm

and then head on down the page to the cooking hints and tips section. There are pages for cheese, salmon and jerky. Good luck!

[tcoliver]

Somebody sent me this

Well . . . It is smoked cheese time again . . .

A cold night, a glass pan of ice between the fire and cheese, and an extremely small, controled fire for smoldering my favorite wood chips for smoke. Keep the dome temperature south of 100º using the polder probe for monitoring temperature.

Wood chips were added as needed for a slow, four hour smoke. To the uninitiated, smoke several blocks to start and pull a block off at thirty minute intervals for sampling. Wrap, label, and sample the next day. This will help you assess the level of smoke you like in your finished product.

What kind of cheese is that? It looks good already.

As I recall from the last go, djm5x9, the cheddar was not bad, but the Mozzrella dried out & crusted.

Harry

A few questions:

1. What kind of cheese have you had the best luck with, both in terms of flavor and in terms of the smoking process (maintaing consistency, absorbing the smoke, etc.)?

2. Do you rotate the blocks or leave them as shown in the picture?

3. Do you replace the ice as it melts?

4. How small a fire? How much lump to begin with?

5. What kind of wood?

The cheese looks delicious.

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eguy:

I smoke mild and sharp cheddar but will soon be trying my hand at mozzarella. I have had some by others and a slight touch to it is great.

The blocks of cheese are not rotated, just spaced well so smoke can get to all sides.

I do not replace the ice because I keep a very small fire. If you need to as you feel your way through a cook or two, the renewed cold buffer will greatly help you control temperatures.

By way of the flip grate I start and maintain a very small fire. In this picture of a #7 firebox the area where the chips are is where the fire is started. A single hot coal is placed on the chips and more chips placed on top of the hot coal. I try not to let it get bigger than this area. I try to "feed" the large piece of lump to the fire as needed. Periodically, more chips are added.

I used cherry and Jack Daniels for this smoke

It is very important to monitor your dome to keep the temperature under control. A polder is just the tool to assist with monitoring temperature. A cool night greatly helps with this. Keep the smoke under 100º dome and you should be OK.

How long do you smoke the cheese? Or more importantly, how do you know when to pull it off? (By taste?) Very cool set up, I'm going to have to try it!

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I smoked the cheese for four hours. I have found that is what works for me. I suggest you smoke several blocks of cheese and pull one off every thirty minutes to see how you like it.

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I tried your method for cold smoking cheese and it was wonderful! I also made lox - try the recipe posted here: Lox recipe The setup used for the cheese worked perfectly for lox as well.

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Hiya Maties, Really glad to find a discussion on smoking cheeses. Been trying this off and on for a few months and have had mixed results. Their are some benefits to higher unit temps to melt cheeses add ingredients and then chill.

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I tried the lox recipe posted too. Did not like the rum mixture but other wise worked out fine. I kept the temps below 100 F by using the BBQGURU. I followed the instructions in their manual on cold smoking (wrap the two thermocouples in foil and set the meat to 110 F and the pit to 175. the ramp mode tricks the unit into heating to the meat temp). I used a pizza stone and placed the salmon on the upper grill. I did not use a pan of ice.

The lox recipe only required an hour or so of smoke, but the same technique would probably work for

[ThreeDJ16]

Guru + External Smoke Box

Here are some pics of one I made up a while back. Just never had to time or room to get into curing/cold smoking....yet....on the to do list.

Ignore the ugly welds, really thin SS is a lot of fun to weld. I think the next version will be a separate box and attached with a foil hose. Might have found a reason to break out the old Smokey Joe grill...hehe.

-=Jasen=-

[Naldo]

DJ, that is quite the set-up. So, you are hooking that up to a ceramic and just blowing smoke into it---without any heat source within the ceramic? Is that right?

Thanks TNW and tcoliver and Syzygies for the additional info. It sounds like for those type of set-ups, the ice is actually quite helpful in keeping the temps down. The info on your site TNW is really awesome and appreciated---there's so much good info there.

I plan on trying this out someday. I think I'll be soing some more low and slows, grilling an droasting to bring myself back up to speed before attempting cold smoking on a ceramic!

[ThreeDJ16]

DJ, that is quite the set-up. So, you are hooking that up to a ceramic and just blowing smoke into it---without any heat source within the ceramic? Is that right?

Thanks TNW and tcoliver and Syzygies for the additional info. It sounds like for those type of set-ups, the ice is actually quite helpful in keeping the temps down. The info on your site TNW is really awesome and appreciated---there's so much good info there.

I plan on trying this out someday. I think I'll be soing some more low and slows, grilling an droasting to bring myself back up to speed before attempting cold smoking on a ceramic!

Time of year (or rather outside temps) will play a major role in how you plan to cold smoke. Around here, you really would not need much of a heat source (maybe Jan/Feb) as the smoke from the box will provide a little. Now that is for cold smoke (<100). You don't really need anything (well, the Guru really helps) to smoke as low as 150.

-=Jasen=-

[TheNakedWhiz]

And of course, using the "briquette and wood chip" method, I have to think you could get away with 3 briquettes instead of 6, and perhaps smoke longer if necessary. That should help keep the heat down.

[Naldo]

Yeah, the briquette and wood chip method---that is incredibly creative as well---just what I was looking for, thanks!

[TheNakedWhiz]

Just make sure you don't skip over the section warning you about putting the cheese in the fridge. Otherwise, you'll be going to Home Depot for some activated charcoal filter material, lol!

[Naldo]

I did read about that, and I, too, L'ed OL! For when I ever try this---how long to cool? A couple hours? I guess it depends on the size of the blocks, huh? Perhaps until they reach room temperature?

[Farmer John]

Ideas for cold smoking

Of course you could try this:

http://www.cuisinetechnology.com/thesmokinggun.html

And of course I have this too! You can even use one of those yellow water coolers to smoke in!

http://www.smokepistol.com/smokepistol.html