Cold Smoking on Performer

[G Savrnoch]

Has anyone ever tried cold smoking with their kettles? I'm considering making bacon (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon). So I'm doing my homework now about curing products/methods, etc.... I've found a local supplier of cure (SureCure is the name) So one hurdle is smoker temp. It appears keeping things under 200 deg. is the plan. Has anyone done bacon on their kettles??? Has anyone had experience smoking at 200 deg. or less???

Thanks as always guys/gals.

 

[Darrel Williams]

I have thought about this. I would want to smoke at a temp around 140*F, not 200.

Here's some of my ideas. I was going to acquire an extra ash can, and cut a hole in it. Attach some sort of duct work to that hole somehow. Use another grill (probably a smokey joe would be perfect) to generate smoke and get the smoke going through the duct, up through the ash can, and out of the top of the kettle. I think I could keep the temps really low by generating the smoke outside of the Performer/OTG. You would need to seal stuff up with foil and maybe use a small fan to force the airflow properly, but that is all stuff I got lying around.... ie no additional expenses. The only thing I'd need to buy is another ash can. I am making an assumption that the 3 air vents at the bottom of the bowl are sufficient to allow enough smoke to enter the grill/chamber. if it's not, then maybe picking up a sacrificial old kettle from Craiglist would be a good idea, then I could just cut a bigger hole at the bottom.

I was thinking that maybe you could generate the heat/smoke in the ash can. I'm not sure how safe that would be.

But heck, Alton Brown has made smoked foods using a flower pot, a gym locker, and a cardboard box as a smoking chamber on Good Eats.

I got the "Charcuterie" book for Christmas, but I havn't spent any time with it. I wouldn't try anything like this until May when the weather warms up around here.

 

[Gary S]

cold smoking generally means temps under 100F, there is no cooking but hot smoking can run temps in the 170 range where cooking begins.
The device below should work in your kettle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9HPyEKjR3s

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Has anyone ever tried cold smoking with their kettles?

Yes: http://www.ehow.com/how_7469980_use-weber-grill-cold-smoker.html

 

[Rene]

I just got the Amaze-n smoker today with some oak pellets. I'm going to smoke some pork belly on Saturday.

 

[Gary S]

I bought one too Rene but I haven't used it yet. I'm intending on using it in the kettle for smoking fish. I see that in addition to pellets you can also use small wood chips or sawdust. They look to be pretty versatile.

 

[Timothy Hoffman]

Got me one of those back in December. They work GREAT!

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?37779-New-cold-smoker

 

[G Savrnoch]

Thanks for all the tips/advice - the Amaze-n-smoker is very cool (no pun intended), I've added it to my wish list.

 

[Josh G]

I purchased the ProQ Cold Smoke Generator, very similar to the Amaz-n-smoker. Same kind of set up and design, but lights up with a small tea light candle. Can go for up to 10 hours. Check out their video on their site below.

http://www.macsbbq.com/cold-smokers/product/proq-cold-smoke-generator

 

[Jim Lampe]

i've smoked pig belly in my kettle for four to five hours at 140ºF to 150ºF temp...
well, you do have to add lit charcoal to keep it going, butt it works just fine.

 

[Geir Widar]

I've tried several methods of cold smoking, including the use of a can and a solder iron. I will not do this again. The meat tastes like ash, and the smoke taste is flat and not good at all.

Remember, cold smoking European style requires a temperature lower than 88f. There are several reasons for this, food safety, taste and so on. That is the very short version

My cold smoking setup looks like this:

I'ts a modified oil suction pump, with an aquarium air pump, and my WSM. It would work just as well using the performer as a chamber, or even a cardboard box, if that is what you've got.