So I bought my Dad a 18" AMNTS for Christmas and we are looking to do our first cold smoke tomorrow. I have done a little amateur hot smoking but this will be the first cold smoke for both of us (his first smoke ever.) We are planning to do eggs (hen and quail,) sausages, cheese, and nuts with apple pellets. I've got a decent handle on what we want to do but I thought I'd run it by the community for any advice:
Eggs-Following
this recipe for the prep. 3 hrs for the hen eggs, 1-1.5 for the quail.
Is that too little or too much?
Sausages-I got a few cocktail franks and kielbasas to smoke. I chose only those with nitrates added.
Is this a necessary precaution? How long should these be left on?
Cheese-Bought some cheddar, gouda, string cheeses and Babybels. Just gonna throw 'em on and leave 'em for about 3 hrs. I was thinking about cutting the cheese (ha) to increase surface area, but I'm worried this might dry out the cheese.
Thoughts?
Nuts-I got some raw almonds and cashews and was just going to spread them out over cheese cloth and stir every so often.
Any suggestions on how long they should be smoked for? Any spices that could/should be added? Also, I've read somewhere that they should be soaked in water prior to smoking, is this necessary?
We are also planning on smoking some kosher salt just 'cause. (1-2 hrs in an aluminum pan, stirring every so often.) We will be cold smoking apple pellets with the AMNTS on a (cold) gas grill with the hood closed. Outside temp will be mid-30s.
I am new to the forum and new to smoking so any advice, hints, or good luck would be appreciated. Thanks in advance and thanks for being such a great community!
