A-Maze-N-Tube-Smoker

Pyrotech

Pyrotech

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I have been wanting to try Cold smoking. My first thought was to build my own, I wanted something more durable then a soup can, So I was looking at Stainless water bottles, or black pipe nipples.

Then I saw the videos for the A-Maze-N-Tube-Smoker... Nice concept Like the idea, but was concern about the durabilty. After seeing one in the store this morning, I was sold. Durability is not the issue at all. this will outlast my COS.

So tonight I tried some Swiss and Sharp Chedder with some Hickory pellets. I may have over smoked, oops... will no more after it rests for a few days.

I did slice off a piece of Swiss. it may not be too bad after a rest, but it sure did smell strong when I pulled it off the grates.
 
I use mine solely for cold smoking. I have tried to use it in my kettle to do regular smoking but it doesnt want to stay lit when there is a heat source nearby. I have tried dozens of times to keep it lit and I have come to the realization that it is only going to be good for cold smoking.

Make sure to vacuum seal the cheeses and let them rest in the fridge for a few weeks.
 
I have one

its not the tube style, its a tray but the same idea.

they are built very well

its easy to oversmoke with these things.

I tried it on some bacon. I just lit it and put it in my offset and let it go.

The bacon was terrible, smelled like an old ash tray.

After contacting Todd, the maker, he told me that if the smoke is cold then it hangs around and is easy to oversmoke

He recommended a temp of about 100f, when I did it it was cold out, he even suggested some guys put a 100w light bulb in the smoker just to give it a little heat.

Makes sense since I did notice that the smoke was just barely wafting out of my chimney, kind like the smoke out a factory chimney.

With a little heat I am sure it would circulate faster through the smoker
 
ButtBurner said:
I have one

its not the tube style, its a tray but the same idea.

they are built very well

its easy to oversmoke with these things.

I tried it on some bacon. I just lit it and put it in my offset and let it go.

The bacon was terrible, smelled like an old ash tray.

After contacting Todd, the maker, he told me that if the smoke is cold then it hangs around and is easy to oversmoke

He recommended a temp of about 100f, when I did it it was cold out, he even suggested some guys put a 100w light bulb in the smoker just to give it a little heat.

Makes sense since I did notice that the smoke was just barely wafting out of my chimney, kind like the smoke out a factory chimney.

With a little heat I am sure it would circulate faster through the smoker
Click to expand...

I have bunch of unused 12v muffin fans, I might try sticking one on the exhaust to help it draft.
 
After I got home, I set up a 12v muffin fan inside the smoker under the smoke stack, spaced about two fingers width below the opening. the bottom fans are just used as a spacer for now, I wanted to get the opening of the fan near the stack close as possible.

smoker_fan.jpg


I then lit a tube of pellets and I noticed a difference in how the everything worked. ambient temps are close to the same as yesterday. when I unplugged the fan there was a drop in the amount of smoke coming out of the stack.

The smoke smells sweeter as well...

Its not a perfect solution by anymeans, but the limited results I have warrant further experiments. we will see how it goes.
 
I love my amnts I use it for all my hot smoking as well. Works fine up to 275. Plus it lasts for hours which is a big plus for night smokes
 
Pyrotech said:
I did slice off a piece of Swiss. it may not be too bad after a rest, but it sure did smell strong when I pulled it off the grates.
Click to expand...

Once the cheese is finished smoking, wrap in saran wrap, vacuum pack, or place in a ziploc bag for 2 days to 2 weeks to allow the smoke to disperse all the way through the cheese. If you do not wrap the cheese your refrigerator will be over powered with the smokey smell. In my opinion, the longer you rest the cheese the better it will taste. I like to wait at least 5 days before tasting the cheese, but after a week it is what I consider to be the best flavor. Some people even let the cheese rest for two weeks.
 
I smoke my cheese pretty much a max of 1 hour or it gets to much. definitely needs to mellow for awhile in the fridge.
 
IamMadMan said:
Once the cheese is finished smoking, wrap in saran wrap, vacuum pack, or place in a ziploc bag for 2 days to 2 weeks to allow the smoke to disperse all the way through the cheese. If you do not wrap the cheese your refrigerator will be over powered with the smokey smell. In my opinion, the longer you rest the cheese the better it will taste. I like to wait at least 5 days before tasting the cheese, but after a week it is what I consider to be the best flavor. Some people even let the cheese rest for two weeks.
Click to expand...

The week long rest made a big difference, I smoked the cheese on a Sunday, and wednesday it better but still a bit harsh,by the following Sunday it was alot better. It no longer smelled like an used ashtray, and didn't have the bitter bite, like it did earlier in the week.



My resident cheesehead approved of the flavor, so that's a good thing.
 
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