Forgive my ignorance as ive searched this forum and others to no available answers to my question. I received a Bradley as a gift brand new and I am new to smoking.
its at or below freezing this week in central PA, with that being said. am I able to smoke cheese on the lowest setting the smoker will run on with the vent wide open as long as the temp stays low? (smoker is in my attached UNinsulated garage vented out the window above the unit)
id prefer not to buy it but if its absolutely necessary then I will.
Thank you for reading, smoking first batch of ribs tomorrow
Chris
Go For it! I have done it many times, with good results. If the tower starts to get to hot, just throw some ice in the bottom tray the puck bowl sits on. Do not turn on the tower heat, just the smoke generator.
Also, a number of folks have made homemade cold smoke adaptors with material as simple as a mailbox, or even a cardboard box and some dryer ducting.
Here are a few ideas if you'd like to make your own:
Homemade cold smoke adapter box for the OBS smoke generator question (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=22104.0)
New finish on old cold smoke adapter & some smoked cheese (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=25489.0)
Cold Smoke Adapter - Plan B (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30383.0)
Smoke Generator and Cold Smoke adapter Question (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=21007.0)
I never even considered making my own.. great idea. thanks
I have done this here with temps in the 60s. I had to watch it closely and use a lot of ice. I set the alarm on my thermometer at 80 degrees and opened the door for a minute whenever it got there. Bottom rack had an ice block, and the v-tray had some bags of ice.
an old microwave and a piece of dryer vent hose makes a good cold smoke adapter
Or you can go quick and cheap.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=11634.msg128234#msg128234
and here is some more of it.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=11883.msg132772#msg132772
is there a recommended size to use for the cold smoke box?
or basically just find something that you can use kind of thing
thanks
My cold smoke box is just that. A cardboard box from the liquor store. Smirnoff to be exact. Some guys use a tin mail box. I am making a more permanent one out of a big Hills brothers coffee can. Like the ones they get at restaurants. Just about anything will work. Be creative and make something cool.
Well I made my cabinet, made all the connections.. placed 8 pucks in the burner for a 2 hour burn (didn't get to buy the bubba pucks yet)
let it heat up for 40 minutes.. the current temp is 20 outside.. my digital thermometers are saying 40 degrees inside the smoker cabinet..
I have (4) 1 pounds blocks of cheese inside smoking with apple currently...
will I have to extend the smoking time since the temp is low or doesn't it matter?
Thanks and im going to post pictures here momentarily when I load them to my photobucket
Chris
You can apply smoke as low as 32°F (maybe 28°F; which is the freezing point of meat), but the cooler the surface the less smoke vapors that will deposit and adhere to the surface. Also the cooler the temperature the smoke is applied at, the "sweeter" the taste will be, but it may also lack color. Blooming your cheese in the smoker at 70°F, helps develop the color, other members will leave the cheese on kitchen counter. You can experiment and apply a certain amount of smoke two or three of the blocks, and increase the amount of smoke for the other(s).
I like to cold smoke around 70°F, so on cold days I will hookup my temperature control device, and turn on the heat to raise the cabinet temperature.
I didn't take a picture but they certainly smelled smokey after 2 hours.. a slight coloration on the mozzarella, but not much on the sharp white, sharp yellow and Monterey.. I let them sit on the counter for a little over an hour, no oil came about, so I vacuum sealed them and threw them in the fridgerator.. now we wait lol
the waiting is the hardest part.