Cold Smoking Questions

[TheBrewSherpa]

I just got a Smoke Daddy "Big Kahuna" cold smoker for my Backwoods Smoker Party. Attaching it with the BGE adapter was easy and perfect. I cold smoked some bourbon beef jerky for about 6 hours on apple wood slivers. The ambient temperature was about 40-45, so the inside temperature of the smoke chamber was probably right around 45. The jerky came out extremely smokey with an ashtray type flavor. What did I do wrong? Will cold smoke taste different than hot smoking? Do I need to add some heat to the smoke chamber?

Thank you in advance for any input you might have.

 

[toys4dlr]

Any additional smoke attachment or tube burns a more dirty fire than hot cooking, in most cases. The trick with the cold smokers is dialing in the duration and I find good airflow through the unit you are using to cold smoke is key.

Was it puffing white smoke most of the time?? I have had that same unit before attached to my FEC120 and I would turn on the internal fan of the cooker to get the smoke running through the chamber. I think you are tasting stale, dirty smoke.

FYI, it should dissipate a little after you finish up drying the jerky and hold it for a while. This is true for For cold smoked cheese, you want to seal the cheese and let it mellow for at least 30 - 60 days after cold smoking.

Keep at it.

 

[TheBrewSherpa]

It was puffing white smoke for most of the time. I think I had the top vent of the Backwoods Smoker Party only partially opened and probably should've had it wide open for cold smoking. I suspect, based on your thoughts, that I trapped the stale, dirty smoke in the chamber and had insufficient airflow?

 

[toys4dlr]

I would think that was the issue.

 

[thirdeye]

A successful cold smoking set-up needs a reliable smoke generator and a chamber with a lot of volume and good draft. I burn sawdust for cheese & butter, and pellets for everything else. When you mentioned "ashtray taste" that tells me your smoke was too heavy and you did not have adequate draft. The smoke was not flavoring your food, it was building up on the surface giving you a bitter flavor.

Whether you're cold smoking cheese, jerky, bacon, nuts or whatever.... you should be able to test sample so you can dial in the exact flavor you want. Cheese is the easiest, just slice (not the end slice) and taste. With bacon you have to slice (again not the first slice) and fry a piece or two. Mellowing various products will improve the flavor and with cold smoking you have second chances.... say you sample your cheese or bacon the following day and you want it little smokier all you do is give it some more time.

For as small as it is, my mini-WSM has excellent draft with both vents open wide, and I can block the lid if I want. Here I'm cold smoking a ham, you can see the amount of smoke I needed.

Here I'm cold smoking some bologna in my drum smoker, I prop the lid open from 1/4" to 1" for additional draft. Below are some cold smoked loin hams. Of course the smoke is a little heavier when the lid is on, but this might give you an idea of what you're looking for.

 

[IamMadMan]

Cold smoking is done for flavoring purposes only, there is no heat involved in cold smoking so there is no condensation of smoke residue to form if properly vented.


White smoke is normal when cold smoking, because there is no controlled combustion, it is simply just smoldering wood.


Keep in mind that cold smoking requires ample airflow. In fact, many even crack the doors on their smokers to let the smoke keep moving efficiently. The smoke should only lightly kiss the surface of your meat, and your meat should not be trapped or bathe in stale smoke that takes too long to exit.


Also keep in mind that the size of the item your are smoking plays an important factor in determining the total smoking time. Depending upon the type of wood you use, 1 to 2 hours of cold smoke should be more than ample, before starting the drying process (whichever you choose).


Wayne has some great ideas to follow above.

 

[gcs]

I use a tube thingee when cold smoking, with pellets in my 22 WSM, You want a lot of air flow, the top vent on the WSM isn't enough, I offset the lid a little to keep the smoke flowing, Sometimes, less is more, the tube will go over 4-5 hours if full, I usually fill it half way or less, if you want more smoke after that, give it another session