How cold is too cold?

[headgames]

Trying my first attempt at cold smoking some brats  I put up last night . 20 degrees F out side have them in my rebuilt freezer with the bradley smoke generator .  my love temp control only goes down to 100 degrees F .  I am thinking .... OK I am now bringing the box temp to 100... planning on shutting off the temp control and just counting on the burning bisquets and plate to heat ..........  I am assuming I can maintain about 40-50 degrees .  is this too cold ??

[owrstrich]

longtime no post there head... welcome back...

i have not a clue... but i can say on an 80 degree day in the shade i could obtain and maintain 150 deg box full of brisket with just the smoke gen on... that is how i discovered a bad heat bulb... i would think that on a 20 deg day you would overshoot 100 deg with just smoke gen... but its just a guess from an owrstrich...

you gotta eat...

owrstrich

[manxman]

I am assuming I can maintain about 40-50 degrees .  is this too cold ??

"Optimum temperature for cold smoking is 70-80F/21-26C, if food is smoked at a temperature of 50 - 60F/ 10 - 15C it will take longer due to higher relative humidity but will not taste any different".

Quote from book: Home Smoking and Curing (Keith Erlandson), similar quote in Cold Smoking and Salt Curing Meat, Fish and Game. (A.Livingston) in which they suggest not attempting to cold smoke below 40F/5C.

I have cold smoked at around 50F/10C without any discernable increase in times, can't comment personnally any lower than this but maybe this is some help?

[headgames]

Thanks guys .  as it  worked out the temp yesterday got up to 45  and my large smoker maintained a 85 f temp for the 6 hours.....  they turned out excellent . thanks for the info and the help.  ;D

[manxman]

Great news HG,  ;)

[West Coast Kansan]

Would be fun to see your freezer conversion is you have a way to share a photo.

[headgames]

Sure as soon as I get home from Canada after :o Christmas . Not on much but I will muster up a photo .....  ::)

[West Coast Kansan]

I appreciate it, thinking about the same type of thing.

[lisahall]

Cold smoking typically requires temperatures between 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal results. Attempting to cold smoke brats in a 20 degrees Fahrenheit environment may not be ideal, as it falls significantly below the recommended range. While your improvised setup might help raise the temperature to 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, it's still lower than the desired conditions for cold smoking. The cold environment may affect the smoking process and the quality of the final product.

[TedEbear]

Wow, talk about a thread revival - over 17 years! 

Welcome aboard. 

[dubob]

Newbies - ya gatta love 'em.  Welcome aboard lisahall.  🥰