Creosote off the air vent?

[smokin stu]

HELP!!!

First time I cold smoked anything.  I had the temp at 100 for five hours, smoked with apple the whole time.  Pulled my brined and now smoked fillets of Coho Salmon out of the BS and on one of the fillets, a big black wet spot.

I had creosote or some such thing dripping down from the air vent.

What is going on here?

I wipe down the inside of my BS with hot water after each use, but admit to not wiping down the ceiling of the unit.  I usually unscrew the air vent thingy and clean that up as well.

Should I be doing something else to prevent a black smudge on an otherwise beautiful deep red to orange slab of mouth watering smoked salmon?[:p] I cut the black section out as I am not one to eat creosote marinated food, and it ruined the look of a spectacular fillet.

The rest of the fish was spectacular by the way.

[bsolomon]

Anything dripping from the top of the unit is the result of condensation.  The fact that it is black/ash is of course due to the fact that you have soot build-up in the unit, but that build-up is what "seasons" the smoker and helps everything taste good.  So rather than concentrate on the cleanliness of the unit, concentrate on the condensation.  

If you are getting condensation, this is usually the result of having the vent too closed.  Since you are cold-smoking, a fully-open vent should limit condensation as well as help keep the cabinet temperature down.

[gotbbq]

Condensation is the cause of the dripping.  Open the vent all the way when cold smoking.  Also, 5 hrs is a long time.  I've had good success with 3 hrs and a lower temp- around 70.  Keep ice in the bottom.  Can also use the freezing part of an ice cream maker.  (garage sales cheap)[:D]


gotbbq