Smoke box question.

[Spuddy]

cyfido
It sounds like you're talking about HOT smoking.
All of the smoker types mentioned above are COLD smokers.
I wouldn't recommend cold smoking an uncured chicken even once cooked.

[Wohoki]

Yeah, I'm setting up a cold smoker, so the meat is brined first and then smoked at a maximum temperature of 25-30C for quite a long time (7 days for streaky bacon, up to 30-40 for a ham). The only meats that can be eaten after this treatment are those that can be eaten raw (if you like that kind of thing) such as salmon/trout, good beef and sausage/ham with an appropriate treatment (prague #2 and a good period of maturation). Anything else needs either cooking or hot-smoking to at least 70C for about an hour before eating.

I know that a lot of smokers from the US are into hot steam smoking, but I'm after the taste you get from bacon after 7 days in dry smoke, and then fried in lard. Call me an atavist.


I have to take a guess that the chickens you're talking about have been brined for a few hours, then cold smoked for a day, then finished in hot smoke to cook them. I have to recommend a book, "Home smoking and curing" by Keith Erlandson, (ISBN 0 091 89029 2). Loads of good stuff.

[welsh wizard]

Wohoki

Many thanks re ebay I have found the place but thanks once again.........WW

[Sandy]

Hi Guys!

Check out this link. It is american, so...........

However, there seems to be a lot of good stuff.

Sandy.

http://bbq.about.com/od/plansforsmokers/

[UncleVic]

I've managed to get hold of a used oak whiskey barrel, and I wondered if anyone had any good ideas as to how to convert it into a smoker, mainly the smoke generation side of things. Any advise more than welcome.

I would cut an access door into the barrel (at the bottom). Place a small electric hot plate (w/adjustable thermostat) in there and put a cast iron pan on it for your soaked woodchips. You may have to add vent(s) to the sides to adjust the amount of smoke/fine tune the temperature..
Also, a good resource on BBQ discussions can be found here: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=2
and you may want to check this one out also: http://www.barbecuenews.com/

[Wohoki]

Thanks for the reply UncleVic, and for the link.

[Wohoki]

Finaly got the thing up and smokin'.

We ate the first of my cold smoked meat last night, which was some chicken thighs that I brined, smoked for 6 hours at 10C and then roasted. My six year old daughter said that I'd managed to make chicken taste like over-salted bacon, and then ate three of them, so I guess that's a success .

I'll post some pics as and when.

[Wohoki]

Had a problem with my smoker. I'm using aluminium ducting to get the smoke from the old barbie to my barrel, but the combination of the smoke's alkaline nature and the occasional flareup of the chips has made it dissintegrate twice now, in a month.

Any one got any bright ideas as to an alternative?

[Paul Kribs]

Wohoki

I take it the aluminium ducting is breaking down close to the heat source?? If this is the case you could try acquiring a stainless tube for the first couple of feet, or even a sheet of 18 gauge stainless steel and rolling it yourself. The easiest way would have been a gas fire flue, but they are normally galvanised steel.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Wohoki]

Cheers Paul.

I think it's mainly the heat that's causing the problem. There's a sheet-metal fabricator at the other end of town, I might get on the phone as they made us a cooker hood for about thirty quid, and I can see myself spending that much on ducting (we're eating a lot of smoked bangers at the moment )

[Oddley]

I have been pondering on hidden smokers, and am intrigued with a little idea of a smoker similar to a Roman hypocaust system.

As most gardens these days seem to be small, I was thinking that if you dug two lined pits about 2-3 metres apart connected by a trench lined with either tile or concrete blocks and covered with paving or grass. You could when not in use cap the two pits with paving stone. when needed use one of the pits as a smoke generator and the other, could have a barrel or container of some sort put on top to allow the smoke to raise up into it.

If only I had a garden

[Seminole]

Pipe material

Any environment friendly material could be used for making pipes, and some of the best ones are listed. Stainless steel, metal, concrete, sewer pipe, clay pipe and stove pipes are all good materials for pipe making. Air conditioning duct pipe is also good, and it comes in different sizes. There is a wide assortment of elbows, reducers, as well as other connectors for those interested in making pipes. It is inexpensive, very easy to work with, and commonly available. It has one drawback; it is made of galvanized steel. To tell if galvanized steel is good for smoking is like trying to decide which came first, the chicken or the egg. It is made of metal sheets that are dipped into a hot bath of melted zinc and some other chemicals. Zinc melts at 787� F (420�C), and boils at 1,665� F (907� C).

Although zinc presents no danger, a metallic element such as cadmium is bad for our health. Determining the exact composition of a particular pipe is difficult. This is why the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United Stated Department of Agriculture says "Don�t smoke foods in makeshift containers such as galvanized steel cans or other materials not intended for smoking." With every puff of a cigarette, we probably inhale more chemicals than if we had smoked meat for 100 hours with a galvanized pipe. But to keep our conscience clear, we decided to present the official view of our government.

Before smoking for the first time, any section of pipe that makes direct contact with burning wood in the fire pit should be burned with hot fire. This takes care of initially burning away any deposits. The rest of the pipe is exposed to such low temperatures that it can not possibly react with any chemicals that were deposited on its surface during the manufacturing process. Better still, break your pipe into separate sections. The section that makes direct contact with a fire pit can be made of steel, tile pipe, or reinforced concrete, and the rest can be made of galvanized duct.

I hope it helps. If you need more information check out the Smokehouse Design at:
http://www.wedlinydomowe.com

They have some incredible photos of smokers and smokehouses.

[Wohoki]

Thanks for that.

I think I could get away with galvanised steel, but I'll give it some more thought first.