Author Topic: Frankenstein!!! My home made cost effective cold smoker. (Read 28802 times)

colin · « **Reply #20 on:** June 10, 2015, 08:18:41 AM »

love working on this Heath Robinson type project

, but I can never leave well alone

.tinker here. adjust there

. Drives the missus nuts.

Lenny · « **Reply #21 on:** June 10, 2015, 09:17:29 AM »

This is awesome .

Will send you guys some mackerel to smoke .

I would love to smoke a pork rib in there .

CRANKMAN · « **Reply #22 on:** June 10, 2015, 09:24:23 AM »

Quote from: gavin erwin on June 10, 2015, 07:51:09 AM

Great info CRANKMAN! Hahaha I haven't tried barbel yet only trout but still trying to find the texture I want. I rub the fish with a mixture of brown sugar and course salt then place it in a zip lock bag for around 8 hours then wash it off and smoke it for another 4 to 8 hours. Slice it super thin and it is delicious. I need to find this crown brine mixture now! If I want to hot smoke it I just shorten the pipe and pile the wood in the little can.

I get the brine mix from a catering supplier in 1 kg packs (makes 5 litres wet brine, which is good for about 6 kgs of belly), but most butchers buy it in bulk and would probably give / sell you a bit. It speeds up the process a bit - 20 hrs for belly, and from what I have read, about 20 mins for fish.
Try drying your fish a bit longer in the fridge or on a chilly night, with a fan, till it has a nice glassy shine before smoking to get a firmer texture.
I hoped the fatty content in the meat of barbel would behave like herring when smoked, ending up tasting like a Scottish kipper. I must give it another try.
Barbel is so ugly and has a bad name, but filleted smoked and given a fancy name, I think it could be a winner - "Cold smoked African sharptooth", your mates will love it!

gavin erwin · « **Reply #23 on:** June 10, 2015, 12:10:34 PM »

Hahaha they wouldn't tell the difference! Maybe im curing the fish too long? Its good but I can do better. Can you wet brine fish? This is the batch I did yesterday.

SAfish · « **Reply #24 on:** June 10, 2015, 12:18:16 PM »

Gavin, that looks finger licking good!

CRANKMAN · « **Reply #25 on:** June 10, 2015, 12:23:07 PM »

That looks superb - I can almost smell it from here.

Herrings are often wet cured, so I'm sure other fish could be as well.

Homie · « **Reply #26 on:** June 10, 2015, 12:31:34 PM »

you guys are going to get seriously straffed for this.....

my mouths watering here...

gavin erwin · « **Reply #27 on:** June 10, 2015, 03:02:15 PM »

Quote from: Homie on June 10, 2015, 12:31:34 PM

you guys are going to get seriously straffed for this.....

my mouths watering here...

Maybe ill bring some tastes to the next social

gavin erwin · « **Reply #28 on:** June 10, 2015, 03:04:32 PM »

Quote from: CRANKMAN on June 10, 2015, 12:23:07 PM

That looks superb - I can almost smell it from here.
Herrings are often wet cured, so I'm sure other fish could be as well.

Thanks CRANKMAN!!! Well we just ganna have to experiment till we get it right

Keep posting your ideas and progress.

Chigger · « **Reply #29 on:** June 10, 2015, 03:44:46 PM »

Eish, those bacon pics made me so hungry......

Rory · « **Reply #30 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:28:12 AM »

Gav something I tried which worked pretty well was to roll one of the cured pork bellies that has not been smoked, and then I hung it in the biltong dryer for 3-4 days. Came out awesome! I also took a crack at dry curing some deboned warthog shoulder and leg - had to lock my fridge when any of my mates came over, super stuff.

gavin erwin · « **Reply #31 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:39:32 AM »

Wow wow wow that is some awesome stuff there Rory

Very nice idea im going to try that!!!

gavin erwin · « **Reply #32 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:41:02 AM »

Let us know your method of curing and smoking Rory

Nooduck · « **Reply #33 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:43:50 AM »

Looks great Rory. Yes please let us know more about your process.

Rory · « **Reply #34 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:54:42 AM »

Quote from: gavin erwin on June 11, 2015, 09:41:02 AM

Let us know your method of curing and smoking Rory

I've only ever dry cure pork. I'm old school - although I have premixed curing salt, I prefer to mix my own. Then I just add aromatic herbs and sugar to the salt mix and vacuum pack. Leave it in the fridge a week, turning the packs over whenever I remember to. Panceta will get hung in the biltong box, and bacon in the smoker. I don't have a fancy smoker, I just use one of those shoebox type efforts. Took plenty stuffups of epic proportions to get that thing to cold smoke, but its possible, and very quick.

Rory · « **Reply #35 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:00:19 AM »

In fact that little shoebox smoker does an amazing job smoking cheese, delicious

gavin erwin · « **Reply #36 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:13:21 AM »

Interesting! How long does panceta cure for?

Rory · « **Reply #37 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:16:25 AM »

Quote from: gavin erwin on June 11, 2015, 10:13:21 AM

Interesting! How long does panceta cure for?

I dry cure it for a week in the fridge, same as the bacon, then 3-4 days in the biltong box to extract more moisture

CRANKMAN · « **Reply #38 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:19:31 AM »

Well done Rory, that all looks amazing.
Give us a bit more insight to your methods.
Do you add nitrates / nitrites to you dry cure mix?
How long do you smoke for, and how long does your cured meat keep without freezing?

Rory · « **Reply #39 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:31:07 AM »

Quote from: CRANKMAN on June 11, 2015, 10:19:31 AM

Well done Rory, that all looks amazing.
Give us a bit more insight to your methods.
Do you add nitrates / nitrites to you dry cure mix?
How long do you smoke for, and how long does your cured meat keep without freezing?

Nitrates Sean, I add saltpetre to my salt - very carefully...

In my little smoker its incredibly easy to seriously oversmoke, so once I've got the woodchips smoking proper no more than 5 minutes! After curing/smoking/drying I generally re-vacuum pack the meat, and keep it in the fridge. Its all scoffed after 3 weeks so that's the longest I've kept any without freezing!