First cold smoke

[Jonas-Switzerland]

It was wet and cold the last week. But not copd enough to do a cold smoke.

Today finally the temperature dropped. 5C / 40F early morning.



Filled the the tube with wood chips and the WSM with cheese & whatever else I'd like to try cold smoking.



Gotta say, good that I try it out with produce that will be cooked before eating. The hygene process for raw produce is kinda the opposite as for hot smoke. So I touched the packaging, and then the produce, just as I always do. Then I facepalmed. Figuratively of course.



My partner was busy as well.



Pulled after 4 hours.

Note to self: Buy oven cleaner and clean them ro a spit-shine before next cold smoke.

Also, I had a lot more smoke on top of the cheese, less on the bottom, and a lot less from the sides. Smoke continuously escaped between the lid and the body of the wsm. Maybe I should fit a gasket for better smoke submersion.

I like the tube so far. A full 12in tube only lasted 2 hours with wood chips, which would not be enough for an overnight cold smoke. It did however not go out on me.

The grate temp was also an interesting side note. The little smolder managed to heat up a WSM 22 by 10-13 degrees C. I was expecting a lot less. If I want to smoke meats, I should probably fill up the water pan.

 

[JimK]

Looks good. Re: water pan - I've seen people fill it with ice.

 

[Tim Campbell]

Looks really good, Jonas. How long will you rest the cheese?

Love the smoked salt! How'd it come out?

My gasket kit definitely helped keep the smoke from leaking. I need a new door, but not until the gasket wears out.

 

[Bob Bailey]

It was wet and cold the last week. But not copd enough to do a cold smoke.

Today finally the temperature dropped. 5C / 40F early morning.

View attachment 101302

Filled the the tube with wood chips and the WSM with cheese & whatever else I'd like to try cold smoking.

View attachment 101303

Gotta say, good that I try it out with produce that will be cooked before eating. The hygene process for raw produce is kinda the opposite as for hot smoke. So I touched the packaging, and then the produce, just as I always do. Then I facepalmed. Figuratively of course.

View attachment 101304

My partner was busy as well.

View attachment 101305

Pulled after 4 hours.

Note to self: Buy oven cleaner and clean them ro a spit-shine before next cold smoke.

Also, I had a lot more smoke on top of the cheese, less on the bottom, and a lot less from the sides. Smoke continuously escaped between the lid and the body of the wsm. Maybe I should fit a gasket for better smoke submersion.

I like the tube so far. A full 12in tube only lasted 2 hours with wood chips, which would not be enough for an overnight cold smoke. It did however not go out on me.

The grate temp was also an interesting side note. The little smolder managed to heat up a WSM 22 by 10-13 degrees C. I was expecting a lot less. If I want to smoke meats, I should probably fill up the water pan.

For longer smokes, use quality pellets or a combination of pellets & chips in the smoke tube.

 

[Jonas-Switzerland]

Looks really good, Jonas. How long will you rest the cheese?

I aim for 3 weeks. Depending on my mood, I might try it on some raclette in a week.

Love the smoked salt! How'd it come out?

Turned out fine. I am convinced you can't oversmoke salt. If the next batch is too smoky, I'll add some unsmoked salt to it.

For longer smokes, use quality pellets or a combination of pellets & chips in the smoke tube.

Figured pellets are more dense. Is there a drawback to smoking with pellets? I seem to have read here it does not produce as much smoke as woodchips

 

[Bob Bailey]

I aim for 3 weeks. Depending on my mood, I might try it on some raclette in a week.

Turned out fine. I am convinced you can't oversmoke salt. If the next batch is too smoky, I'll add some unsmoked salt to it.


Figured pellets are more dense. Is there a drawback to smoking with pellets? I seem to have read here it does not produce as much smoke as woodchips

The only drawback I find when using pellets is they're harder to light, so you'll need some sort of torch. Make sure you get one end blazing for at least 6 or 8 minutes before blowing the flame out, otherwise they might go out mid-smoke. As far as chips producing more smoke, they do, but for a much shorter time. I find that the longer duration with pellets more than makes up the difference when cold smoking.

 

[Brett-EDH]

The only drawback I find when using pellets is they're harder to light, so you'll need some sort of torch. Make sure you get one end blazing for at least 6 or 8 minutes before blowing the flame out, otherwise they might go out mid-smoke. As far as chips producing more smoke, they do, but for a much shorter time. I find that the longer duration with pellets more than makes up the difference when cold smoking.

^^^ this ^^^ expertly stated.

 

[AndyK]

Interesting post Jonas .
I never considered smoking salt or using chips in the tube but I kinda like those ideas and will give that a try.

I normally just use pellets in the tube.
I think now I will blend in some chips with the pellets or maybe just a few chips to help start the heat/smoke and see how that works.

The last smoked cream cheese I did I infused some smoked steelhead (salmonoid similar to trout) in with it and served with crackers.
It was a big hit and disappeared quickly.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I think it’s getting near time to “tube smoke” some cheese!!! Temperature is getting a bit lower and I’ve got vacuum sealer so, I might need to get that project underway this week or next!!
You guys are not helping my weight!

 

[Jonas-Switzerland]

I opened a cheesepack up and tried a few slices on a raclette.

And...





It... Was not that good. The taste was a bit too intense, but it was not the main issue. It had a taste of brimstone to it. So did the WSM dueing cleanup. I had some left-over ash from a previous cook, which turned yellow after the cold smoke.

I smoked with wine barrel chips. I wonder if they contained some sulfides. Wood itself is unlikely to contain much.