Cold Smoking in AZ

[AzJazz]

I am considering purchasing the new Bradley Cold Smoke adapter to smoke cheese (and possibly salmon or whitefish).

Living in Arizona, I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to use it though. Maybe I can use it during the chillier nights that get close to freezing.

Does anyone know what the maximum outdoor temp should be in order to use the adapter? Also, does the CS adapter use the water bowl to catch the used pucks?

Lastly, is alder the preferred wood for smoking whitefish?

Thanks,

AzJazz

[GusRobin]

I can answer the question regarding the water bowl - yes it does se the bowl.

As far as ambient temp, you can use pans of ice to help lower the temp in the smoker. So I would say with a CS you probably are looking at 85*ish ambient with plenty of ice. Jst guessing.

Yo know yo can make a CS on your own relatively easy and cheap.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Over the last month I've been doing more cold smoking than anything else, in SE TX, with the Bradley cold smoke adapter.  It works very well.  More for peace of mind than anything else, I use a small pedestal fan directed at the duct between the cold smoke adapter and the tower to keep air flowing over the duct the entire time.  With the adapter and the fan at ambient temps of 40-70 °F the temp increase in the cabinet above ambient will settle in to 9-12 °F, with 10 °F being about average for six hours. I have no idea what it would be without the fan - probably little different if any at all.

For most cheese you should be good to about 120 °F in the cabinet, but lower is better.  For cold smoking fish the critical temperature is 90 °F (some technical sources actually pinpoint 87 °F).  Based upon my experience in three salmon cold smoking sessions over the past three weeks I would say the maximum ambient temp for cold smoking salmon would comfortably be 70 °F, and for the way I do it you need six hours of time. 

Many have used the ice-pan trick to help keep temps down, but I haven't so I don't know how much that will improve things.

[ArnieM]

The general idea is to get the SG out of the cabinet and keep the cabinet heater off.  The SG, buy it or DYI, is connected by 4 inch duct.  All you're trying to do here is apply smoke to the cabinet without heat from the SG.

Yes, you need the water bowl to catch pucks.  But, that's in the SG box, not the cabinet. 

Send me a PM if you have additional questions.

[Habanero Smoker]

Using a cold smoke setup works well. Some other tips are to smoke during the cooler times of the early morning or late evening, or if it is not inconvenient during the night. If you cold smoke during the day time hours, you want to make sure your smoker is out of direct sunlight. During cold smoking I always leave the vent wide open. Also since you are cold smoking, you don't have to worry about drippings, so as Arnie pointed out you can use the bowl that came with the smoker inside the cold smoke adapter; and also remove the drip tray (V tray) for better smoke circulation.

Depending on the source, cold smoking temperatures are at or below 90°F; and the best range is the 70°F - 90°F. I rarely find the cabinet will rise more then 10 degrees while using a cold smoke setup, so you should shoot for an ambient temperature of less then 80°F. But as mentioned above ice can be placed in the cabinet to help control the temperature, or you can occasionally crack the door to allow some heat to escape. I do find, when using ice, the smoke circulation is hindered a little.

[AzJazz]

Thanks, guys! Great advice! I ordered the CS Adapter.

Last questions: Do I want to use Alder for smoking whitefish? And, what "whitefish" should I use to get the smallest (or no) bones?

AzJazz

[howlin]

hickory works good for whites and plyers work good for bones on any fish,i do the plyer trick every time as i hate bones too

[AzJazz]

My Bradley Cold Smoke adapter came in last Friday!

I have decided to cold smoke some blocks of cheese from Costco tomorrow: a 2 lb. block of Dubliner Cheddar, some 1 lb. chubs of soft Mozzarella, and maybe a 2 lb block of Gouda or Swiss. I'm planning on just using Apple pucks. I'll have the upper vent wide-open throughout the night (Forecast is for a low of around 42 degF tommorow night)

A few more questions:

• My wife doesn't like a strong smoke flavor. How much time/pucks should I be smoking?
• Do the different types of cheeses need different smoke times? (Softer for less time?)
• Do I need to cut the cheese into smaller portions, or will keeping the full size be OK?
• I read in this Cold Smoking forum that I need to package the cheese for awhile before eating it. I have a vacuum sealer (also, from Costco!:)). How long do I need to package the cheese for?
• Do I need to refrigerate the vacuum-packed cheese during the "resting period"?

Thanks again!

[pensrock]

f your wife does not like strong smoke flavor then Adler would be a better choice of wood. I mostly use apple which is fairly mild as well. To get a very light smoke I would only smoke for an hour. Let it sit in the fridge for at least two weeks then try it. I do not vac seal cheese, I only wrap with plastic wrap and put into a zip bag. Works great for me. I also cut blocks of cheese down to 1 pound size or smaller. I also do not worry about the temp unless it starts getting over ninety degrees F. If it starts getting warmer then Ice on the bottom tray will help but I normally just crack the door open slightly. Yes smoke will come out but so will heat, there is still plenty of smoke.
So to answer your questions:
(1) 1 hour.
(2) Yes if you are going to be smoking over two hours.
(3) Should cut cheese to one pound or smaller, this will give more surface area for the smoke to reach the cheese.
(4) Let the cheese sit in the fridge for a good two weeks before eating.
(5) Keep it in the fridge.

[Shasta bob]

Gus, do you still use your PID when cold smoking? or put the OBS back to original mode of operation.

[AzJazz]

Thanks! I'll let you know how it goes (in about a couple of weeks, I guess)!

[GusRobin]

Gus, do you still use your PID when cold smoking? or put the OBS back to original mode of operation.

When I cold smoke I don't use the PID since I don't use the cabinet element. I just unplug the SG from the PID and plug it directly into the outlet.