Cold Smoker build

christopher.j.esteves

After looking at
"The Smoking Gun" by Polysci and someone else's hack on how to make a
similar device I've been playing with the Idea of making a larger volume cold
smoking device that I could theoretically hook up to a box with food racks inside
or use the hose independently.

The thought process is
that since living in a city apartment, grills and traditional smokers are not
allowed due to city fire code(otherwise I'd be using my green egg); I will
build a cold smoker in order to flavor meat/fish before sous vide or just to smoke
some cheese/salt/beverages/etc.

The basic plan is a mesh
fuel compartment that holds the burning sawdust/woodchips connected by a tube
or pipe long enough to cool the smoke, and an electric air pump that has a
variable speed control and a heat/foodsafe hose.

Has anyone build
something similar or played with the Idea? I don't mind starting from scratch I
just want to know if this has occurred to anyone. If not when I start the
project I'll put it up.

Also I'm trying to keep
this build under $50 while having a quality product.

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Comments

Tim_Sutherland_52834

Alton Brown made one on Good Eats out of a cardboard box and an electric hot plate. Any cold smoker will need to be used outside as you need a hot box to make the smoke and then a tube to run the smoke through to allow it to cool down. If you try to do this inside without very good ventilation your smoke detectors will go crazy.

One method I have heard of is to get your wood smoking, dump it in a heat proof dish and put it in the bottom on your off oven. Have your food to be smoked on the racks and with some error and trial you will work out how long you need to keep the door shut to get the flavour you are after. Best thing is you can do it with available kitchen tools.

christopher.j.esteves

Thanks Tim, I did see that Good eats episode but I also wanted the ability to serve smoke infused things like drinks similar to the functionality of polysci's "smoking gun"

My plan is to use it on my apartment's balcony, I believe that the rapidly moving air from the cold smoking device would impart a smoke flavor in less time ie. few minutes vs hours

As far as smoke detector's going crazy... they go off every time I pan sear anything from the sous vide, so like every other day

DiggingDogFarm_65362

I posted this previously......

Here's my solution......

I spent several weeks looking for a reliable and inexpensive way to do indoor cold smoking.

I settled on rolled cigarettes (LOL) heated with a soldering iron because it’s possible to smoke with pure tea leaves, herbs, sawdust, etc. without the fuel burning up too rapidly.

I invested about $20 in the cigarette roller, papers, soldering iron, spring and clamp.

Below is some rosemary being rolled.

Maple smoked butter, rosemary smoked foccacia, tea smoked hard-boiled eggs….the possibilities are endless.

Important: The cigarette must be able to slide freely inside the spring.

The soldering iron raises the temperature inside the cold oven only about 10 degrees above room temperature. Each cigarette smokes for about 30-40 minutes. A vent hood is recommended. My vent hood doesn’t vent to the outside, but that wasn’t a problem with a window open and the ceiling fan running. : )

Note: Placing a bowl over the targeted food does help to concentrate the smoke.

Ultimately, I highly recommend one of these.. http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12

The sawdust smoker will burn the coolest and will work fine in a cardboard box.

However, I recommend going beyond a cardboard box to prevent the possibility of a fire.

I have a very basic small set-up for cold smoking using a $59.00 smoker from Lowes and the A-Maze-N smoke generatirs linked above.

I even have it set up so I can remove the racks and smoke a 20 lb. ham.

~Martin

Lennard__34626

I've been looking to build a cold smoker for a long time but never got around to it. I've been looking for a diagram and this is what I've found

Do I really need a fan at point E to force smoke into the food box? I assume that if the smoke generator box is lower than the food box then it travels upwards naturally, all I need is a hole in the generator box for fresh air to support burning of the chips

Also, does the food box need to be vented? I would assume you would want to trap the maximum amount of smoke

Nicky_J_17040

That smoking device from A-mazing is pretty cool. If you don't mind using pellets.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

@Lennard.....

I'm not at all crazy about that design.

IMHO, a cold smoker should be designed much the same as the old smoke chimneys of Europe - but on a smaller scale - where the structure is relatively tall and narrow and the smoke continually passes over the food and exits so the smoke doesn't get hung-up inside the smoker and go stale.

As Nicky noted, the A-Maze-N smoke generators work well.

potkas7

I use a Traeger Pellet Grill for smoking and slow cooking meats like ribs and brisket but even at it's lowest setting it was too hot for cold smoking salmon. Then I stumbled upon a product called The Smoke Daddy made by a guy up in the Mid-West. Using an electric drill and a Uni-bit I was able to make a hole in the back of my Traeger and install the Smoke Daddy. I've been using it for 3 years now and absolutely love it. I chose the "Big Kahuna" since it handles chunks of charcoal and wood. Here's the link to the website. You can also find some user videos on YouTube. Oh, my own innovation was to install it using a 1/2" plumbing union for easy removal; for cleaning after use.

http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/

lockgavin

For those folks who are looking cold smoker similar to the amazen products one that @DiggingDogFarm talked about but like to test it out on the cheap take a cheapy wire mesh sieve from the dollar store and push the center up like a donut ring. Fill with pellets (I use treager because they are readily available [but not the best from what I read]), put your torch to one spot and boom.. you are smoking.

I use this all the time to smoke ribs, butts, briskets, chicken, cheese, etc. on my gas grill, using the burners for heat if required. Depending how you light you can get more or less smoke for shorter/longer periods of time. I don't have a photo but here is one someone else made. Just fill the outside ring with pellets and light! (google strainger cold smoker)

Brendan_Lee_56950

Cool idea.

Nicky_J_17040

Did anyone see the "Iron Chef America" where part of the challenge was to have your plating vessels carved out of ice?

Chef Morimoto had his crew take a block of ice and turn it into a cold smoker.....perdy cool.

@Vinlo...love the idea. I might try that out this weekend

lockgavin

Works well, just have to find the right setup as if it gets too close to the heat source (if you are not cold smoking) it will catch fire. I have a ~7" and can get a few hours of smoke out it no problems.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I think I would use something like that for smoking with more delicate stuff instead of busting out the big smoker for a few pieces of fish or something.