fridge for cold smoking

[buckeyebbq]

I posted this question on a bbq forum as well, so apologies for any cross posting, but the topic fits here as well.
One question that I haven't figured out with cold smoking is that, as I understand it, people try to keep the temp below 100 degrees (I'm an American, so temps are farenheit), in order to avoid cooking whatever it is you're smoking. Would it be even better to keep it at a lower temperature, say around 40 degrees? If so, it seems like an old, but working, fridge would be ideal-you could cut a hole in the side, near the bottom, fit some flexible tubing (like a dryer vent) and attach it to the vent of a regular smoker (or even a hotplate). You'd also have to vent the top, which would obviously reduce the efficiency of the fridge, but it still would make controlling temps a lot easier.

As I understand it, you have to use an old fridge because they don't have plastic, and some of the insulation on the newer fridges are flamible.

This fridge idea is really appealing to me because I also understand that a fridge is really good for dry curing sausage.

If anyone has done this, I'd love to hear your thoughts

[tristar]

buckeyebbq,

In answer to your question, as I understand it if the smoking temperatures are too low, alkelydes such as creosote and formaldehyde condense on the surface of the food being smoked which leads to bitterness of the smoked product, this can also happen when the food being placed into a normal smoker is at too low a temperature, which is why it is better to let your food come up to room temperature after removal from the refrigerator before smoking it.

Best Regards,
Richard

[buckeyebbq]

Richard
thanks for the information, that makes sense.