cold smoking with extreme cold temperatures

[rjm240]

Hi there,

Just wondering how the bradley smoker works in extreme cold.  It's approaching -40 deg C (which is the same as -40 deg F, look it up!) here in Saskatchewan and I was wondering if anyone has been able to cold smoke in weather like this?  Does the puck burner get warm enough?

I've got my smoker out on the deck which has a good wind block, but not much else.  I'd put it out in my garage, but I don't have a hole punched outside yet.  I was able to cold smoke some steaks for new years, but the temp was only -10 deg C (14 deg F).

I've got a block of cheese I'd really like to try since I've seen all the posts lately.  I'm hoping I don't have to wait too long for the cold snap to end, or at least if I knew what the limit was.

Any help is appreciated!

[ragweed]

I've never even experienced temps that low, let alone tried to smoke anything.  But if your smoker is out of the wind, I'd try it.  You only need a box temp of 70 or 80* F to smoke cheese.  If you decide to try it, be sure to let us know the results.

[manfromplaid]

i'am in alberta just southwest of Edmonton. I have used my smoker in weather just as cold   but I have mine in a small shed and I throw a small ceramic heater in there so I can work without my gloves on. have smoked up to 230 deg.  with no problem  but I also have the duel element mod done so heat recovers faster.you should be able to get to 70 deg if you watch and use the heat element if needed .  good luck.

[tskeeter]

rjm, if you find that you can't get the temp up to where you want it, you could try something I've done a couple of times.  Take a couple of bricks (or something similar), wrap them in heavy duty foil, and heat them in the oven (I was looking for about 225F, so I heated the bricks to 400F.), then put the hot bricks in your smoker (I can fit two in around the puck bowl).  This should help bring the temp up, and the bricks should release heat to your smoker for more than long enough to smoke some cheese.

[dave01]

you shouldn't have any problems. If you want you can drop in a light socket and about a 60watt bulb, plenty of heat there

[rjm240]

Thanks for all the advice.  I'll give it a try this weekend.

[rjm240]

Well, I didn't end up smoking in the extreme cold.  By the time I got around to it a couple of days ago.  It was only -2 to -5 deg C (or 28 to 23 deg F) outside with very little wind.  I ended up using hickory for 2 hours and had to use the heating element at the lower end of the dial to get the cabinet up to 50-60F on the door thermometer.

Here's before

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and after

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I did a variety of cheeses to see what works best.  I went for Medium cheddar (orange), aged cheddar (white), mozza, havarti, gouda and monterey jack.

I was hoping for a bit more color, especially on the orange cheddar.  Should I have given it more smoke? or maybe the temp wasn't high enough?   But at least I didn't melt it.  Now, just to wait 4 weeks! or is 6 weeks better?

[Jim O]

I'd definitely wait 5-6 weeks to allow the cheese to "bloom". As far as the colour,I've found that the best colour is achieved around 70-80 degrees. But  IMHO, colour is only for appearances ,and does not contribute to taste,etc.