Cold smoking

deerstalker.308

Well-Known Member
Question,
From looking online, it seems you need a constant temperature below 10 degrees for cold smoking, which although is pretty likely at times, it’s never a certainty....
so.....
I was wondering, would anyone have any thoughts on converting a fridge to become a cold smoker? The fridge being functional and not just a box.
I was thinking if I drilled an inlet hole for a metal pipe in the base and then added some vents to allow air circulation?
Anyone have any pearls of wisdom? Is this hairbrained idea in anyway shape or form likely to work? The fridge could be set on its highest setting, say 5/6 degrees?
 
Don't get too worried about the need to keep the temperature too low? With most food, keeping the temperature below 20C is fine. If temperatures are likely to go above that (but below 30C) you're in the danger zone for botulism, but you should be using Cure1 in any case. The exception is eggs, cheese and fish, but you don't want to be using Cure1 with these foods anyway. Ventilation is still a really good idea, as you want to keep the humidity low, and allow the smoke to properly-circulate. No need to keep the fridge active
 
When I looked into it and built a cold smoker the definition of cold always seemed to be below 30°C.

I've done plenty of salmon, sausages, cheese etc and never had an issue even doing it in the summer. Granted I wasn't doing it in direct sunlight on a baking hot summer's day otherwise the oil drum would have got so hot it'd have melted the cheese!

However I can't see an issue with your plan if you used a cold smoke generator like a ProQ (the small metal mesh maze type). If you were using a venturi style with air flow then you'd have to keep it pretty slow or the change of air would keep the fridge working hard.
 
You'd be surprised how cold shade temperature is during even the summer. Most places say must be below 32degrees c for cold smoking. Depends how you create smoke, but my cold smoker only raises temperature by 1degree.
 
If proceeding with using an old fridge as the chamber, be advised to have it outside and away from anything else flammable, as once the thing catches fire (and it will) it'll go up like Grenfell Tower, and nothing you will do will stop it until the insulation is consumed, trust me, been there, and done that, over twenty five year ago.
 
Way back in my teens I worked part time for a fishmonger. There was a permanent breeze block and timber smoke house that was maybe 4' or 5' square and maybe 8 or 9 feet tall. Tucked away at the end of the yard, haddock and salmon plus a few other options were cold smoked all year round.

I recall the brine for haddock and bloaters was salt plus a fist full of saltpetre but too long ago to remember how much water. I *think* the salmon was just dropped into dry salt.

The fish were brined in the shop then threaded onto rods and allowed a period of drip drying. The wood dust was simply a small pile at the bottom of the smoke house, not in a separate chamber.

The boss would light it before going to bed, sometimes it would still have some smouldering going when I got there in the mornings. Certain items required a longer time anyway so he would add dust to keep it going.

The produce was gorgeous, I miss it frankly and one of these days I will make something on a small scale of my own. I have some of the parts made up, just lack the time.

I realise my reminiscence has drifted on a bit, the main point being that summer or winter it still worked.
 
fist full of saltpetre

Yep. The use of saltpetre has all but disappeared these days due to the more consistent results given by modern (relatively) cures such as sodium nitrite and nitrate.

To be perfectly honest, great results can be had from the simplest of setups. It's not a black art by any means, you just need a constant supply of 'thin blue smoke', and a vented cabinet to place the food in while the smoke does its magic. Sure, there are things to learn, such as the correct use and dosage of Cures, and what temperatures you need to bring certain meats to, but it's not in the least difficult. In fact, I've even managed to produce a beautifully-subtle smoked cheese just by leaving it in the cabinet overnight. The 'taint' (for want of a better word) of the blackened insides was more than enough to lend a beautiful flavour.
 
Yep. The use of saltpetre has all but disappeared these days due to the more consistent results given by modern (relatively) cures such as sodium nitrite and nitrate.

To be perfectly honest, great results can be had from the simplest of setups. It's not a black art by any means, you just need a constant supply of 'thin blue smoke', and a vented cabinet to place the food in while the smoke does its magic. Sure, there are things to learn, such as the correct use and dosage of Cures, and what temperatures you need to bring certain meats to, but it's not in the least difficult. In fact, I've even managed to produce a beautifully-subtle smoked cheese just by leaving it in the cabinet overnight. The 'taint' (for want of a better word) of the blackened insides was more than enough to lend a beautiful flavour.

I've done that with cheese, it really did absorb the flavour well.
 
I only smoke occasionally, and I use a mesh-type cold smoke generator and (bear with me here) two very large packing-type cardboard boxes. One with the bottom flaps opened up to make a more stable base and so the CSG can sit on the ground and the lid opened to accept the other box (one set of flaps open). It makes a more than double-height chamber with only a lid at the top. Put a couple of sticks through the sides near the top and hang stuff from them, light the CSG and slide it under, leave for however long. Make sure there's enough holes in the top to let a steady stream of smoke escape and just leave it.

Afterwards the whole lot folds flat, and if it gets too tatty you just get another couple of boxes.
 
Ah yes, the blackened insides barely covers it for that old smoke house. The inner surfaces were dripping with tar. Must have been a good self sealing system. :)

That shop ran from 1901 for a little over 100 years but I don't know when they built the smoke house that I knew.
 
One project weekend (myself and friends have a couple of those every year), we built smokers.

Mine was built in a 47kg gas bottle. With two doors, one for the food, the other for access to the coals/chips. Being steel, it gives the option of hot smoking too.
(Advice: Use an orphan gas bottle from a long defunct company. As people like Calor will hit you hard if they find you chopping up their bottles!)

One of the other guys used a large wooden kids toy box, on end, with an electric hob in the bottom, to speed up the wood chip smoulder rates. And various vents and chimney.
Looking very much like nicowilsons.
 
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