Quote:
Originally Posted by Erin
I received my Amazing Pellet Tube smoker (AMNTS). I used it tonight. I smoked eggs, cheese and salt all at one time. I filled the AMNTS with pure hickory pellets purchased from the A-MAZE-N website. I filled the tube to about 5/8ths full and put it in the bottom of a Little Chief metal smoker box with the element and power cord removed. I sealed up the holes with cardboard and then put the metal rack with trays of goodies into the Little Chief. I immediately noticed that the color of the smoke didn't look right. It was thicker and gray, but I thought "this is new, just let it do its thing". Well, two hours later food is removed and sure enough the smoke flavor is acrid......a dirty bad smoke flavor.
Has anyone used the tube pellet smoker? What did I do wrong? Any help and advise would be appreciated. I want to cold smoke so bad!
Thanks,
Erin
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The amount of smoke you want for food is directly proportional to the size of the smoking chamber.
You also stated that you closed the holes in the smoker. By doing this you have no airflow inside the smoker and the smoke will condensate and form a creosote type residue on your meat giving it an over-powering smoke flavor with a bitter aftertaste.
Also hickory is a stronger flavored smoke than the milder alder and fruit woods.
The "Little Chief" is designed to be a cold smoker, and by leaving the top vent open. The temperatures allegedly will not get over 100 °, and even colder with lower outside temperatures.
Consider the size of the "Little Chief" and the normal amount of wood chips or sawdust used in a normal smoke (about 1/4 cup or less?). This with proper air flow is the target you are trying to hit as far as the amount of combustible materials to create smoke. The AMNTS at 1/2 full is probably 5-6 times that amount.
Bottom line is smoke should be smelled and should not be seen heavily billowing out of the smoker. In cold smoking you will see slightly more smoke than you would with a hot smoke, that is why airflow through the smoker is important.
The smoke should lightly bathe the items in the cold smoker, only to impart a smoke flavor as it finds it's way out of the top vent. Sometimes it is suggested that some some smoked items sit or stand a day or so to mellow out and distribute the flavor throughout the item (Cheese, Some Sausages, Ect).
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