Looking for Cold Smoke grills and procedures

[steelfish]

Guys,

does any one do your own cold smoked salmon or Yellowtail?

do you have a cold smoker DIY or can I buy a cold smoke grill on-line?

I would like to get into smoke my fish, but know nothing about it LOL
I have tasted normal smoked fish and cold smoked fish and liked more the cold smoked one, and would like to get the tools, grills, etc to make my one.

any recommendations?

[steelfish]

Go to www.sausagemaker.com They have everything you could want in smoking products and literature.

Joe   

great , I will take a look
thanks Joe


but if someone has your own procedures or Smokers dont hesitate to comment

[Dominick]

Someone on this site made a smoker out of a refrigerator.  I tried to find the link but the search function on this site (I'm being kind) is a little crude.  Dominick

[Steve-O]

Someone on this site made a smoker out of a refrigerator.  I tried to find the link but the search function on this site (I'm being kind) is a little crude.  Dominick

Took me three tries.

SoCalAngler...June 30,2015 ...smoker frig...

http://alantani.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=bj5cptn2ji2pl5bp9ktbfvn6v7&topic=14680.0

I do a hybrid, hot, cool, hot smoke on mine. Then vacuum bag and freeze it. Always tweaking the technique and flavor. Real pleased with the latest. Teriyaki/maple brine soak with brown sugar glaze in the smoker.

Fish candy!

[foakes]

I have a dead-simple two step recipe for smoking Tofu --

1).  Toss it out.

2).  Smoke some meat or fish.

Best,

Fred

[philaroman]

be VERY careful w/ DIY cold-smoking -- it's very easy to screw up & spoil the fish/meat & strong smoke flavor may hide the "spoiled flavor" until it's too late & your precious delicacy is coming up as chum!!!

hot-smoked is essentially slow-cooked, as opposed to cold-smoked which is merely preserved w/ salt cure & smoke is just the drying/flavoring agent...  the fish/meat has to be MUCH farther from the heat source, hence you need MUCH more smoke.  I can't imagine how you could do that on a grill or any small contraption -- you pretty much need a proper Smoke House, or smaller version thereof

try gravlax recipes (fridge-to-table, without chancy middle step), while you do SERIOUS, DETAILED research on DIY cold-smoking

[thorhammer]

Alex, Ted is your guy. He just did some this week, and is award-winner in contests.

[thorhammer]

Alex, Ted is your guy. He just did some this week, and is award-winner in contests.

correction, he smokes with heat

[steelfish]

be VERY careful w/ DIY cold-smoking -- it's very easy to screw up & spoil the fish/meat & strong smoke flavor may hide the "spoiled flavor" until it's too late & your precious delicacy is coming up as chum!!!

hot-smoked is essentially slow-cooked, as opposed to cold-smoked which is merely preserved w/ salt cure & smoke is just the drying/flavoring agent...  the fish/meat has to be MUCH farther from the heat source, hence you need MUCH more smoke.  I can't imagine how you could do that on a grill or any small contraption -- you pretty much need a proper Smoke House, or smaller version thereof

try gravlax recipes (fridge-to-table, without chancy middle step), while you do SERIOUS, DETAILED research on DIY cold-smoking

after reading a lot in this last day, I think Im better with low temp smoking (normal smoking) than cold smoking.
once I feel confident with the results of normal heat smoking I might jump to cold smoking.

[humboldtdan]

I cold smoke salmon for about 24 hours and then pack into pint jars and pressure cook to preserve.  I prefer it to a wet brine/hot smoke.  I think one of the keys is to slice your salmon relatively thin i.e., 1/2 inch so that you get more drying and pellicle development.  I use alder which is a mild smoke/less bitter.

I made my own smoker-looks like an outhouse (10 footX4foot).  I rotate the racks closest to the heat.  The lowest rack is approximately 3.5 feet above the fire; 7 racks approximately 8 inches apart.  I built the smoker on a small poured foundation and just build a small fire in the bottom on the ground; very little heat/flame primarily just smoke and a few coals.  Some people that use these cold smoke set-ups pipe the smoke in from an external source like a small woodstove.  I have seen some people use a hotplate set-up like what is in a little chief with commercial chips but one time I put out an unattended smokehouse fire caused by a malfunctioning hot plate.  Caught it just as it was catching the house-attached garage on fire.  Good thing their outside hose was within reach and operable.

I don't necessarily think it takes more smoke just a longer period of time.  I typically don't brine because it makes a wetter product and therefore requires more drying time.  I just use a rub; sometimes just salt and pepper but I have also included some brown sugar or whatever dry spices/flavors you want (e.g., garlic powder, dill, lemon pepper, chili powder).  I learned the technique from the Yurok Tribe here in California.  If they don't pressure cook the fish they will dry it for even longer say 3-4 days depending on humidity and fat content of the fish.

[philaroman]

seriously, try the GRAVLAX

OR

if you enjoy the firm, dense texture & concentrated flavor, do an extra-salty dry cure & throw thin slices in the dehydrator

[humboldtdan]

Gravlax is good but not the same.  Dehydrating your fish leaves out the smoke...Yuroks have been doing this for thousands of years so they must know something...I think most of the Pacific Northwest Tribes have some variation of the smoked/dried salmon.  I like it better than almost any other fish I have tried and I have never received any complaints.

[David Hall]

Just use plenty of salt either in your brine or in your rub.
I used to get a lot of smoked salmon from some tribal members in the PNW always to salty that's all they used was salt, so I stick with hot smoked, lots of salt and sugars, I like the candied salmon too!
Bit I'm gonna try humboldt Dans recipe next time, hot smoking then pressure cooking is tough, if you smoke it to long then pressure can it it dries out, if you smoke it to short it sort of washes out in the PC process and doesn't taste the way I want it, cold smoke longer to get plenty of smoke goodness then pressure can and It might come out just right!  Thanks for that tip Dan!

[David Hall]

I have a dead-simple two step recipe for smoking Tofu --

1).  Toss it out.

2).  Smoke some meat or fish.

Best,

Fred

That's the best tofu recipe I ever read, I'm going to use this one if that's okay with you Fred?

[broadway]

Don't know if Ted will cough up his secret recipe, but man, John is right on... his salmon is off the hook, no pun intended
Ted, send some salmon my way soon!
Best of luck,
Dom