How much Smoke

[Fallow Buck]

Hi Guys,

Im planning on cold smoking my Xmas Gammons form the other thread using a Bradley suitable adjusted. I'm just not sure how much smoke to give them.

I was thinking about doing between 2-4hours but thought I would check with those more in the know than me.

Thanks,
FB

[saucisson]

Well I found this for Foss Hams:
Smoking Method
Place meat in the Bradley Smoker and smoke with Maple flavor bisquettes. If the temperature is 25�C to 30�C (80�F to 90�F) smoke for 3 to 4 days; 40�C to 50�C (100�F to 120�F) smoke for 3 days. Too much heat causes the meat to shrink. Your hams are ready to be cooked.

At a �1 an hour running costs that had better be a seriously nice ham . If the ham is at 50 degrees C for 3 days surely it will be half cooked?

Some of these recipes "cold" smoke say overnight at up to 80 deg C producing a cooked prodyuct at the end of it which is not what we would think of as cold smoking.

On the other hand you see a recipe that cold smokes a whole turkey for 3-4 hours before cooking it, which is more the sort of thing I think you are after FB.

HTH

Dave

[welsh wizard]

Hi FB

Cold or hot smoke?

WW

[saucisson]

Im planning on cold smoking my Xmas Gammons form the other thread using a Bradley suitable adjusted.

[Heather]

Fallow buck, I also have a Bradley suitably modified for proper cold-smoking. I tend to run an 8-hour cold smoke, and fill the smoker with sides of bacon, sides of salmon, cheese, butter, salt, garlic, etc. etc. etc. Although the gammon will be thicker than a loin of bacon, I would imagine 8-12 hours would give a good flavour. What "flavour" bisquettes are you planning on using, we use mesquite which has worked well so far.

[saucisson]

Slightly off topic, I've seen photos with the Bradley used as is but with the tumble dryer hose strapped to the vents on the top and then running into another vessel (I think it was one of those massive pitmann firepit/smokers that looks like a traction engine if I recall correctly). Just a thought for those about to modify their Bradley's.

Dave

[Heather]

Dave, my OH modified our Bradley by putting a stainless steel box between the smoke generator and the smoking cabinet, and connecting the box to the cabinet with silver flexible ducting from one of the chain "hardware" stores. He then put more flexible ducting on the top vent and fixed this to a vent in the side of the shed so that the shed doesn't completely fill with smoke when we're smoking. The stainless steel box does get warm while smoking but the cabinet stays at ambient temperature, and in summer we have been known to put those blue plastic ice bricks in the cabinet to reduce the temperature from ambient if it's a hot day.

[eddy current]

A cheap and cheerful method of using a Bradley for cold smoking can be found here:-

http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpa ... moking.htm

[Heather]

Good pictures eddy, that's pretty much how ours is modified, except substitute stainless steel box for cardboard box, we also have the smoke generator and box on the floor and the cabinet on a small table in the shed, and then the hose from the top of teh cabinet to a vent in the side of the shed.