The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Food processing => Topic started by: Womble on December 03, 2014, 10:00:44 am
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We have a wee hot smoker that we use mainly for fish, but I think the time has come to step this up a gear.
I'm looking to build or maybe buy the kit do do both hot and cold smoking, so I just wondered if anyone on here could offer any tips or experience?
Cheers!
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can't help, but if you ever need a co-pilot for such idea's please shout!!!
or even just a quality control taste tester :excited: :excited: :excited:
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Sorry Womble, I can't help either but am interested in finding out more about your wee hot smoker
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Hi Bionic,
I've had the wee smoker for twenty years - my Dad bought it for 'my' birthday one year after he discovered how good hot smoked trout tasted ;D . It's an ABU one, and they still sell them (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abu-Garcia-Smokers-Smoker/dp/B004O6LQ8Q).
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jk1jpKTbL._SX425_.jpg)
Basically it's an enamelled steel box. You put a dusting of smoking sawdust in the bottom of the tin and stick your fish on a wire rack inside. Then you put the lid on and fill the wee tin with meths, stick it underneath, and light it. Once the meths burns out, the fish is ready!:
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/Misc-Forum/Loch%20Long%20Aug%2007/smoker4.jpg)
It's also quite ingeneous in that the whole kit then packs up into the box, so i've found it great for camping, canoe trips etc. The only downside is the washing up!
However, if I had my time again, I wouldn't buy one, but would instead make one out of an old enamel bread bin or similar, then use it over a gas stove or BBQ.
What I'm planning now is on a bigger scale though, as I want to be able to smoke ham joints, bacon, whole chickens etc etc :yum: . Oh and Bloomer, yes of course you can "help". How good are you at catching fish? ;D
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Thanks Womble. i like the idea of making one :thumbsup:
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I'm sure there's an article of Dan making (or maybe just using) a large smoker... :thinking:
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I once made a boyfriend very seriously ill by smoking a frozen and not-quite-completely-defrosted trout in one of these. It probably says on them to only use with fresh meat / fish, but we didn't have the instructions... ::)
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Yes Sally, I've noticed it can be a wee bit fiddly to get the fuel loading right, even just for fresh fish. It's quite easy in such a small smoker to overload it so the air can't get round evenly. This can result in frazzled thin bits and still raw thick bits if you're not careful. That's one reason we want to upscale.
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smoked chicken....nom nom. :hungry:
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I used to be quite good, bit out of practice! Liking the sound of smoked chicken never had that!
I did see and I can't remember on which site, a cold smoker cabinet built from an old upright fridge, will try and find it when I get home!!!
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And a quick google search suggests an old filing cabinet would be a good starting point. I'm supposed to be working now I'm thinking schmokin!!!! Its all your fault womble!!!
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You could build a smoke generator and use it on your existing smoker or any box you have handy. I messed around with a few ideas over the years and after a bit of looking about I decided to build a venturi powered smoke generator. This works on the idea that if you restrict airflow it needs to speed up past the restriction to pass at the same volume. If you then make an additional inlet at that point it will draw air (smoke) into the stream at a measured amount. Look up venuri smoke generator online, there are lots of people who make them out of cocktail shakers or paint cans.
My fuel chamber is an old can with a couple of air hole drilled in the bottom to light it, the venturi sits on the top and is connected to an old fish tank pump. Smoke is vented through copper pipe to cool it into the smoking chamber. This setup gives me about 5-6 hours of smoking without having to check up on it all the time.
The last photo is it before shutting it in, you can see some fresh bacon on the bottom, a pigs cheek on the top and the middle two bits are a cured leg of lamb and rolled shoulder of pork for air drying for another 2-4 months after smoking.
The air dried stuff was delicious, especially the lamb
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I recently got a ProQ smoke generator. Basically it's a metal tray that you load up with sawdust and it smoulders away for 10hr or so, generating lots of cold smoke.
I then got a suitable cardboard box, put some metal rods through the box and a couple of wire cooling racks on the rods for shelves (I should really go take a picture of it...), the smoker sits in the bottom of the box (on an old slate to discourage it from setting fire to the box (but I don't think it would)). All in all it was dead easy to set up.
So far I have cold smoked salmon, cheese and bacon. All turned out well and I am on the hunt for more things to smoke. I highly recommend giving it a go.
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Thanks both. That's a nice setup you've got there Artscott!
oor wullie - I've been looking at the ProQ smoke generator as something I'd perhaps use in the bottom of my hot smoker to change it to cold mode, so it's good to hear good reports of it.
I'm currently reading about Ugly Drum Smokers, which seem to be the most popular home build design of hot smokers (there are hundreds of web pages out there devoted to them). I think the hardest thing's going to be sourcing a clean un-lined open topped drum from somewhere, but If I can do that, the rest looks straightforward....
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Womble,
I have a brick built smoker for cold smoking but can insert an elecric ring if I want to take it to hot smoking
it is about 4 x 2 foot deep 7 wide
the fire/smoke box is in thebottom half which is 39 inches tall and ontop of the the two paving slabs above the smoke box there is the acri=ual smoke chamber of a similar size
I've cut aa hole between the two compartments to let smoke up and also drilled 8 x 10 mm holes in the mortar joints of the top course of bricks to let the smoke out.
Made two sets of close fitting double doors one fore top & bottom & racked out the smoke chamber .
Total cost was under £60 excluding the actual sawdust/wood chip burner .
I've put some pluggable holes in the lower doors to give a variable air inlet as & when needed.
One fill of sawdust smoulders for about 7 hours and as the bricks sweat moisture the smoke sticks to the cheese, fish , meat , sausages , chickens , nuts etc very well .
If you want some pictures let me know & I'll pop put and take half a dozen or so .
I purchased a 15 kg sack of beech sawdust on line as that is definitely the cheapest way I could get it . ( Ashwood smoking chips ).
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This was our first setup:
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/diary/smokin/ (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/diary/smokin/)
I found it quite hard to moderate the rate of burn of the sawdust - may have been the sawdust but more likely the operator. :-)
We then bought a Bradley smoke generator, which produced excellent results even in our Heath Robinson setup:
Cold smoking salmon on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/428555)
But it's expensive to run. Those little sawdust bricks are pricey! I was speaking to someone at the SSGF who makes his own bricks for the Bradley, will need to investigate...
Reading this all with interest as we need to get something setup here, this is just the kick up the arse I needed. :thumbsup:
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The lower close fitting door with air inlet holes for the smoke box
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b597/splodgit/IMG_5774_zpsd75f55cd.jpg) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/splodgit/media/IMG_5774_zpsd75f55cd.jpg.html)
Overall picture it is 6 '62 tall by 2 feet deep by 4 foot wide uses bricks and four paving slabs
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b597/splodgit/IMG_5773_zps610aa008.jpg) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/splodgit/media/IMG_5773_zps610aa008.jpg.html)
This one shows the bits of concrete slab that make the smoke deflectors and gives a better front view .
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b597/splodgit/IMG_5772_zps0d4dd88e.jpg) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/splodgit/media/IMG_5772_zps0d4dd88e.jpg.html)
This one may be on its side, but it shows how I cut the smoke hole in both slabs with an angle grinder .
TIP :-
Mark it and cut it out before you lay the slabs on the first stage , as it is much easier to do when it is lower down on a sand bed or trestles .
The top two roof slabs do have a mastic joint between them .... put in place on first slab and then the second was eased up to it to give a sound seal .
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b597/splodgit/IMG_5771_zps83867a18.jpg) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/splodgit/media/IMG_5771_zps83867a18.jpg.html)
Adjustable racking a simple set of four uprights screwed to the corners . Long screws every 80 mm and some gash battening with six cheap wooden cut up broomsticks to make the shelves/racks
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b597/splodgit/IMG_5770_zps5528bb88.jpg) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/splodgit/media/IMG_5770_zps5528bb88.jpg.html)
I'm going to try using an old steel bucket with a dozen or so 5 mm holes drilled in the bottom 10 mm up from the lower rim and then place a 20 mm hole in the side a few mm up from the bottom . This is so I can charge it with a large amount of sawdust and stick a simple £3.00 soldering iron in the big hole ( have it on a time clock for say three hours ) to get it smouldering.. it should run for 36 hrs or more if i get the air flow suitably restricted .
In the picture of the full frontal of the upper chamber you can just see one of the 10 mm smoke release holes in the base of the top course by the left corner.
i may need to make a couple of 20 mm holes in the top of the upper doors and use old wine corks etc to plug or unplug the holes to get a better through draught of nice cool smoke .
I've found that because the brickwork breathes it drops the day temp quite quick at night ( kept checking with an accurate digital thermometer) .
This has been a bonus on hot days , for as soon as the opened up at night internal temperature dropped to 50 oF I was able to get the smoker going . Leaving it going t overnight and then nip out at 07.00 ish to take the smoked stuff out before the temps got rising with the sun's arrival.
You do have to then let the goods dry off in the fridge as the moisture level has been ideal for the smoke particles to stick . I wrapped the food in some greaseproof paper and left it alone for 48 hrs . All the cheeses were lovely & dry but not too dry so was the smoked meats salt , salmon , various sausages , nuts , oils.
My next big step is to brine a leg of pork and smoke if for 3 days , then hang it in the meat drying safe to air dry for 15 months or so
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And a quick google search suggests an old filing cabinet would be a good starting point. I'm supposed to be working now I'm thinking schmokin!!!! Its all your fault womble!!!
Careful ..... just how old the cabinet/s is/are , lead paint was still being used in the late 1960's so an old green or grey cabinet like I have will most likely have lead paint in it . I purchased my cabinets about four years ago , the chemical test kit testing for lead paint showed that two of my four four drawer cabinets have lead paint on them inside & out.
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Has anyone tried smoking food in an existing chimney fed by a woodburner?If so, how well does it work?
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Well, having done some more research, I'm liking the idea of the Ugly Drum Smoker, since it will do both hot and cold.
My only problem is where to source the drum. A new un-lined drum is going to set me back all of £29, but they want £40 on top of that for pallet post...... Any bright ideas on what else I could use that might be easier to source locally?
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Do you have oil deliveries to your area...
Most depots will have the odd leaky 45 gallon drum for £10 or so that you can chisel the lids out of . Then it's just a case of burning out the oils on a straw fire and power washing it afterwards
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I had my inaugural burning of my proQ last weekend. Just stuck it in my oil drum bbq. It seemed to work well. I tried garlic, salt and a whole belly I'd cured especially. Haven't tested any yet as I'm full of cold and don't want to waste my precious bacon whilst my taste buds aren't responding. I used the oak dust and smoked for around 8 hours.I'm not sure if the oil drum was a touch big for the generator though as it is at the upper limit for what the manufacturer suggests-the smoke never got very dense but perhaps is doesn't need to?
(http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u170/thebigmansphotos/34724258-C279-4163-BC92-A736D8DE96F7.jpg) (http://s168.photobucket.com/user/thebigmansphotos/media/34724258-C279-4163-BC92-A736D8DE96F7.jpg.html)
(http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u170/thebigmansphotos/73F5AE8E-4F35-4EF1-8C6F-6C6C0D7F414B.jpg) (http://s168.photobucket.com/user/thebigmansphotos/media/73F5AE8E-4F35-4EF1-8C6F-6C6C0D7F414B.jpg.html)
(http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u170/thebigmansphotos/A6ACFAE2-8545-446B-8F6C-40D463083FCB.jpg) (http://s168.photobucket.com/user/thebigmansphotos/media/A6ACFAE2-8545-446B-8F6C-40D463083FCB.jpg.html)
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Gosh that bacon looks delicious.
I have pigs.
I have a smoker.
I have never smoked bacon.
Ridiculous situation :D
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The oil drum sounds/ looks ideal so long as you can contain the smoke , perhaps a carpet tied round /over the whole thing to help retain it a bit more.
When smoked bacon is vac packed and heat sealed we found that it freezes well @ minus 21 oC for about seven months. Then after that the fat starts to go rancid and begins to give an off flavour though it is still edible for a while and can be fried then used in boiled /slow cooked soup or soup bases which can then be frozen for a few months