Remote Cold Smoker....Help please?

[superevent]

Firstly I am new to this site and apologise if I have posted in wrong place and stuff like that. I'm getting started and no doubt will find my way around. Meanwhile apologies. I have been in the catering business as a chef and chef lecturer for 35/36 years or so. Needless to say food, cooking smoking you name it (Food) its my business and pleasure!

Last year built myself a stainless steel double wall insulated smoking oven. Double insulated, keeps heat in, reduces fuel costs etc etc. Regularly smoke big joints of meat over charcoal with smoke; able to control temperatures by various vents works well. Purchased a remote thermometer that gives me warnings on temps etc, all works well. Hot smoking and general roasting no problems. Looks little better than a stainless steel filing cabinet with hotbox for coals at bottom various vents built in to hotbox and chimney style top to manage airflow. Shelves at whatever levels I like, built in simple thermostat in to door. No rocket science but works for me. Would be happy to put photos up, but someone would need to talk me through how to do it. Would be happy to email images to someone else if they wanted to put them up.

When I built the smoke oven....call it what you will I also built in to it an access point, with the idea of producing smoke remotely and channelling it in. To this end I bought a Bradley remote smoke generator. Frankly, I find it of no use whatsoever. It just does not produce enough smoke. Simple as that.

Anyhow, searching here and there have seen what looks like a superb, high volume smoke generator, capable of running for 10 hours or more. Ventura? I’m sure many members will be aware of this system. In effect a container of wood chips with air blown through it. I have no wish to "steal" anyone’s ideas but would be more than happy to pay for plans for a similar system. Help advice and thoughts please.

I have just salted and laid down (early stages) two legs of pork that the next stage would be to smoke for three days then hang for three months or so. The idea is to produce a parma ham "Type" product. Nothing to do with my business just for my own home consumption. Looking forward to how it turns our. I would like to build or buy at the right price a reliable system of producing smoke for a good number of hours at least overnight.

Thoughts and help please.

Just so that you know who I am am???? Link to my web site is below.

www.superevent.co.uk

Help please.

Regards.

Superevent

P.S
I am based in East Sussex, united Kingdom. Would be very inetrested in touching base with similar interests in my neck of the woods.

[wheels]

Hi Superevent, welcome.

I'm assuming that you want a remote source of smoke for cold-smoking your ham, in which case you don't want a high volume of smoke, you just want a trickle passing by the meat for a long time; otherwise the meat is likely to be bitter.

The Bradley can do this, but may prove to be an expensive option as it's running coats are high. Most members here have found the Pro Q to be the best option, giving them 10+ hours smoking on one refill:

http://www.macsbbq.co.uk/CSG.html

I hope this helps.

Phil

[saucisson]

Some of these new venturi systems look interesting, but even I am avoiding tinkering with them Actually I may be unable to resist

Dave

[superevent]

Many thanks for the help and advice.

I already have a Bradley remote cold smoker; I just find mine seems to produce very, very little smoke. Don't get me wrong not expecting it to gush out, but I feel it does not produce enough. Have taken in apart to see inside if it contains any option to alter the temperature of the plate the Bradley pellets sit on? Clearly nothing....so put it back together. Just makes me think mine is faulty? Really produces just so little smoke?

Anyhow just bought the Pro Q as you guys have suggested, try it, im sure it works otherwise you guys would not be using it. I might add it seems a very economical way of doing it, and frankly if it burns for ten hours seems just the job. "An essential company expense"

I have placed an order for a Ventura made by a chap in New Zealand, paid for it just waiting for delivery. Produces vast amounts of smoke but have a mechanism in hand to reduce the amount of smoke. "An essential company expense" quite useful being in the catering trade at tiother mes!!!!

No doubt I will also try the other remote smoker you guys have sent me the link to. Many thanks for that.

As I said in my earlier scrawlings built myself a smoker last year that I would be well chuffed to show others. I might add I built it myself in total isolation of others, so don’t laugh if you think it's crap. Mind you work for me.

In pursuit of better smoked and cured food have booked myself on a couple of courses over next few weeks, smoking bacon and curing, salami etc. I'll let you know how I get on.

Meanwhile if someone could give me some idiot proof (I mean idiot proof) instructions how to get photos up, ill show some of my smoker.

Don’t forget as I said made it on my own, with little knowledge and no help, so don’t laugh if you all think its crap.


I might add any smokers (I use that term with some caution) curerers salami makers whatever in the Sussex area would be delighted to touch base.

All help very highly valued and much appreciated.


Regards and many thanks to all.

P.S
Nothing to do with my business my interest in all these matters but the following is a link to my business web site.

www.superevent.co.uk

[wheels]

I would be great to see your smoker. There's a tutorial on posting pictures here:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=1610

An alternative is to host them on your own server (where you have your website) and just place the url link in 'image' tags:

Code: Select all

[img]http://www.mywebsite.co.uk/any folder/myimage.jpg[/img]

HTH

Phil

[saucisson]

Don't worry, no one will laugh... Most of us started out from even humbler beginnings than yourself

Dave

[superevent]

Many thanks for replies. Ill get images up tomorrow...must take them first.

Just had a phone call from a pal of mine. Sadly a deer just walked in front of his rifle. Life’s tough at times? Anyhow, said dead deer comes to my place in morning. Now, that makes me think of when I was a kid, (post college) and I did my chef apprentice in Switzerland. We ate tons of dried cured venison....Bundtner fleisch. Did a Google search, yielded nothing? Anyone ever made Bundner fleisch? Anyone done anything with dried cured venison.... simple as that.

Recipes, methods ideas much appreciated. As I say deer arrives in morning.

Regards to all.

[wheels]

I'm guessing that Bundtner fleisch is one way of spelling the product that Brican made here:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... c&start=48

HTH

Phil

[welsh wizard]

Hi

I buy some of this guys products to sell and it is really good. He does quite a lot with venison so have a look at his product list to get the little grey cells working - no recipies there though mores the pitty!

http://www.martinsjerkedmeat.com/

Cheers WW

[superevent]

Remember, I built this smoker with no input from others, as very simply I don’t know anyone also who smokes food. If it’s crap, just tell me gently. I built this oven so that I could BBQ charcoal cook, Roast turkeys etc and also cold smoke. When hot roasting as the whole oven is double skinned and insulated I can control roasting temperatures pretty accurately. I often roast over charcoal, bring up to required temp by use of lower and upper vents, place wet wood chips over fire, and generally, as boys do, play about a bit!! Im a chef od 30 odd years have my own catering firm and entertain a fair amount. Not as much as id like because during summer when others play, I’m working.

Pictures take a while to load, probably a bit too high resolution. I'd like to say they are worth waiting for, but await your thoughts

1. Door is fitted with Piano hinge. Also fitted door with the type of seal fitted to wood burning stoves. The logic was, I wanted to make it sealable, so that I could then accurately control flow of air through vents in main burning box at bottom and control vent at top
2. Door is double skinned, as is the whole oven. This allows me to control heat inside and maintain heat as Cavity is filled with specialist insulation the type fitted in to normal “Hot Ovens”
3. Door is fitted with thermostat.
4. Oven has shelves that can be raised to whatever levels I need. Shelves were taken from a commercial oven, and this oven was built to accommodate those shelves.
5. Oven will also take tray of water, wines herbs stocks when I want to roast say, meats but want to keep temperature low ish
6. Fitted with Bradley cold smoke generator
7. I fitted a couple of door closers that pull the door nice and tightly closed

The following links, god willing will take you to various images


Front view with Bradley smoker fitted, thermostat in door.
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1497/dsc1302j.jpg


Door seal.
http://img835.imageshack.us/i/dsc1307.jpg/


Top vent, control airflow
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6627/dsc1306e.jpg


Front view door open
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/5574/dsc1305i.jpg


Hot charcoal roasting bin at bottom with vents both side of box. This box can be fitted at any height I want in the oven, depends on how much I'm cooking
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/8981/dsc1304c.jpg


Door catches.
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3277/dsc1300c.jpg

[wheels]

If it’s crap, just tell me gently. If it’s crap, just tell me gently. You what?, Crap? That's the pooches privates! If there's a Rolls Royce of smoker builds, yours can't be far off.

Mine is of very similar design, without the insulation (but with 30.000 btu power!), but nowhere near the same build quality.

If I was being picky, the only thing I might add would be a chimney.

Phil

[superevent]

Thanks for your kind words. It has worked for me, but in the world of serious smokers no idea really how it stood up. Much of what I've done is based on pretty simple logic. Not rocket science is it?

However, I have to admit it does have a Chimney and it's telescopic. In effect the chimney just drops in to the top vent, and the chimney is two lengths of stainless tube, one inside the other. This allows me to make the Chimney at various lengths depending on wind and not least atmospheric pressure. The chimney slots in to the top of the oven, and accordingly I then cannot use the top vent control on the oven. However to over come that problem I built a simple open/close vent in to the chimney. So, without the chimney use the vent on top of oven, with chimney use the control vent built in to chimney. Didn't bother insulating chimney as frankly all exhaust gases and smoke etc at that time is total loss. Also put a cap on top of Chimney, so when it hisses down with rain, water is displaced, rather than run down chimney in to the oven.

Clear as mud? I'll try and put another photo up of that.

I have to say though, whilst it was not cheap to build, quite tricky and very time consuming the effort of building it from stainless and insulating it was a real result. I can hot roast with charcoal (I use huge lump wood charcoal not the pissy small stuff) for hours, with minimum fuel, minimum heat loss, and easily managed temperature. If I had had to buy it mind you, don’t think it would come cheap somehow? Also when I’m inclined, (albeit not very often) just power wash out. We keep a bath of Caustic soda here for various purposes. Throw all the internal bits in to Caustic soda, like brand new in five mins. I’m also anticipating that as it is built of stainless it should have a pretty long life. Not rotting and rusting. Despite is being made of stainless inevitably after some considerable use the hot firebox at bottom will burn out holes. Inevitable despite that particular element being of very heavy gauge stainless. However been in pretty constant use and no sign of any wear/damage thus far.

As I’m pretty sure others do I use it with a remote digital thermometer. Allows me to roast say a Turkey on Xmas day over hot charcoal (Oven sealed and vented as need be) because it uses little charcoal can be in house go and have a look when digital thermo send me some information, temperature to high too low whatever. Mine gets used all the time, not just summer BBQ’s. I’m sure you all know what I mean.

One more little trick I have is as follows. In the catering trade we have data tracking devices that we can place in say a cold room or other environment. Comes with a bit of software. Plug it in to your laptop and you can see and have an accurate read out of exactly what has happened. Can programme the device to take temperature samples at whatever frequency you wish, by minute, by hour by whatever you like. Very useful when cold smoking when you want to see literally minute by minute (well, if you want to?) exactly what temp took place and also keep a record of the same. I seem to recall they are about £25 each, think the software is free. Only suitable for cold smoking as is housed in small plastic device about 2 and a bit inches diameter.



Many thanks and regards to all.

[wheels]

I've been looking at one of those data loggers for my drying fridge.

Phil

[superevent]

This is the type we use. Link below

http://thermometer.co.uk/590-mk1-thermadata-logger.html

I think price has gone up a bit since we bought ours just seen they are £38. You will also need a lead to conect to computer softeware is a free down load. Good bit of kirt. Very accurate and allows if you want for you to see an exact illustration for whole process.

Cheers.

Tony.

[wheels]

Many thanks.

I'll probably end up going for one that monitors both temp and humidity.

Phil