Hot or cold smoke and food safety question

[pjplovedog]

Hi all,
I have been talking to somebody who wants some advice... what he and I were discussing is about how to safely smoke-flavor some foods for cooking later. 
I'm going to describe what were were talking about and please give me feedback.
Can you apply smoke to chicken, pork, etc either through a hot or cold smoke for about 1 hour, then immediately refrigerate it and bring the internal temp back down to cook through later the same day in an oven or on a flat top or grill? 
If you did not exceed 4 hours between 40 and 140 degrees, would this be a safe practice?
He actually is a restaurant chef who does not own a Bradley- but would use a smoke application that he has access to but it doesn't achieve much in the way of heat.  Probably mostly top 140-160.   He would like to pre-smoke flavor some of the meats, then immediately chill them down until service time and cook them at that time.  The meats would be in smaller portions, not huge pieces.  Most likely individual portions, like a pork chop or small 1/2 chicken, etc. 

I'd like the experts opinion on this to share with him.  He's pretty excited to add some smoked foods to their menu, and be successful, then convince the owner to purchase a method of smoking foods for the restaurant.  Of course food safety is the primary consideration with an experimental  method like this. 
Also, he would brine the meats in advance of the smoke, in case that matters. 
Thanks !

[Saber 4]

I don't have an answer but want to see what the answers are.

[Salmonsmoker]

That proceedure would make me nervous if I were a restaurant owner serving food to people. I understand he wouldn't know ahead of time who would be coming in when, and ordering what, so he couldn't pre-plan when to start smoking a meal portion. If the cold smoking could be done with the food being smoked under a temp. of 40F(fridge thawed if frozen) for the total time before returning to fridge until cooking time, he might be ok.

[pjplovedog]

Yep, thanks for the feedback. The practice would make me nervous too. That is exactly why I asked the question here.  I think the only way to do it is to do it the right way.  What we'll probably do is smoke up some samples on my Bradley that he can share with the owner of the restaurant and do some taste and recipe tests.  Then, he can convince the owner to invest in a smoker if that is feasible, so that they start well ahead of time for dinner service.  A Bradley wouldn't be big enough so they'd have to explore a different solution for the restaurant... :)
Thanks!!!!

[Salmonsmoker]

I've seen the commercial smoking units that they'd need for restaurant application. There used to be a very popular place by SeaTac airport that featured fruitwood smoked entree's- chicken, pulled pork, etc. and a good microbrew selection. There was always a wait line to get a table. They had several smoker units that were about the size of a two door reach-in beverage fridge.

[pjplovedog]

I've seen the commercial smoking units that they'd need for restaurant application. There used to be a very popular place by SeaTac airport that featured fruitwood smoked entree's- chicken, pulled pork, etc. and a good microbrew selection. There was always a wait line to get a table. They had several smoker units that were about the size of a two door reach-in beverage fridge.

Yes, Salmonsmoker I remember that place down by Seatac....  I wonder what happened to it. 
This restaurant in Seattle is reworking their entire menu and the guy who is doing it really wants to add some smoke-flavored or fully smoked specials.  He would be smoking different items according to what is fresh and seasonal.  I am pretty sure it would be a huge hit with the customers.  He tells me my smoked food from the Bradley would fetch a big dollar per plate at the restaurant.  I am helping him with recipes, etc but of course it has to be safe.
It will be fun to be a customer at the restaurant when the menu is re-done and find my own recipes featured on the specials sheet.  He's also going to put some of my other recipes on the menu that are not smoked.  How fun is that?

:)

[BoxcarBetts]

Based on the advice of other members, I've used a bunch of ice in the bottom pan to keep the cabinet temp down for my cheese. My understanding is that people can have trouble with cheese melting when the ambient temp is too high. So, that being said, perhaps some large ice packs or some sort of refrigeration mod could be done to a restaurant sized smoker? Not sure if they're already available or if it would have to be a custom thing, but I've heard of people converting old fridges into smokers. So if the refrigeration system is still working, I wonder if it would be feasible to use it.

[Salmonsmoker]

I've seen the commercial smoking units that they'd need for restaurant application. There used to be a very popular place by SeaTac airport that featured fruitwood smoked entree's- chicken, pulled pork, etc. and a good microbrew selection. There was always a wait line to get a table. They had several smoker units that were about the size of a two door reach-in beverage fridge.

Yes, Salmonsmoker I remember that place down by Seatac....  I wonder what happened to it. 
This restaurant in Seattle is reworking their entire menu and the guy who is doing it really wants to add some smoke-flavored or fully smoked specials.  He would be smoking different items according to what is fresh and seasonal.  I am pretty sure it would be a huge hit with the customers.  He tells me my smoked food from the Bradley would fetch a big dollar per plate at the restaurant.  I am helping him with recipes, etc but of course it has to be safe.
It will be fun to be a customer at the restaurant when the menu is re-done and find my own recipes featured on the specials sheet.  He's also going to put some of my other recipes on the menu that are not smoked.  How fun is that?

:)

That sounds like great fun pjp, I'd enjoy doing something like that too. Good Luck! I hope it works out for you. My wife can't remember the name of the place by SeaTac either.