Smokers...

[Flyrodde]

I guess this is as good a place as any to post this question.

I am looking for a small smoker that would be able to maintain a smoke tempurature of 80 degrees for up to a week. I have done some searching but have only found hot smokers. Anyone out there know of a model that can do both?

[alra195]

Can't help you with a specific model but try this web site. Sign in as a new member and post the question I'm sure these folks will have some ideas.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/index.php

[gerri]

hello Flyrodde,
I have used two types of smokers, one electric and specifically for smoking...called LiL Smoker and probably still available at B-PRO SHOPS and Cabela's. The second was a charcoal Weber Kettle. In the later case, the smoker was dependent on additional smoking and cooking material (charcoal) the smoke flavor was added to the basting oil and applied frequently by a baster and a bbq brush during the cooking process. Weber has the temp issue nailed down so that you know exactly how many briquets are needed to do the cooking based on the weight of the item being cooked. I would think that if you need specific temps that you might want to check out the weber products for whatever size you need. ANOTHER COMPANY you can try is 1-800-GRILLUP. THEY HAVE BOTH grills and smokers. When I do a turkey breast, it usually takes the better part of a day and needs frequent attention. What are you going to prepare for five days???Hope this helps and please let us know how you resolve the problem.

Gerri

[JohnScott]

Flyrodde -

Are you actually trying to "smoke" something, or just trying to dehydrate it with or without a specific smoke flavor ??

If you just want to dehydrate something, you can get an electric dehydrator with an adjustable temp range from about 80F to 145F with multiple trays for doing lots of stuff and a fan to evenly circulate the air and keep the temps constant through all the trays. Last time I noticed, they were available from Campmor for about $50.

John

Just checked at www.campmor.com - searched "food dehydrator." They have a Convergaflow model ( item #30086 ) with temps from 95F to 155F with four trays, expandable to 12 trays, for $60. But if you check some other sources, you might find one with temps down to 80F.

[Flyrodde]

I am trying to cold smoke salmon this fall. I love "nova lox" but I hate paying for it. I do a lot of salmon fishing and wanted to try my hand at curing and smoking my own. I have found a number of sites that instruct on the actual process, but when it comes to the smoking part, they just say smoke at under 90 degrees for 1 to 5 days depending on how much flavor you want and the thickness of the fillets. Worst case I am just going to cure some salmon and try it without the smoking. I have looked up a few electric smokers, but they usually hold the temp between 150 and 250 degree depending on model and if it has a regulator. I may pick up a small one for some kippered salmon that some of my family and friends like and some venison jerky.

[Eric-WD]

Looks like you might have to build your own smoker,
I found some plans here

http://bbq.about.com/od/customsmokers/a/aa052904a.htm

Hope it helps

Eric

[JohnScott]

Flyrodde -

Several years ago I caught a bunch of pink fleshed trout in a lake in Nevada, as did my friend. I ended up with about fifteen to start with, and at the end of six months still had five. I was concerned that I would lose them if I didn't do something with them soon.

I baked the trout just like you would for dinner - something like 350F for 40 minutes, don't really recall. The point was, the fish was cooked just the way you would normally do it. Then I put it in a food dehydrator very similar ( I think the only difference is the name and the temp range ) to the one on the Campmor site. I don't recall the exact time and temp, but it was something like 125-130F for five or six hours ?? ( I could get some very specific information, if you become interested. )

At the end of the dehydrating process, the trout was quite similar to smoked salmon, minus the smoked flavor but with a concentrated pink fleshed trout flavor that was just as good, to my taste.

Anyway, I took a full quart of the dried rainbow trout on a four night five day backback to Rainbow Bridge in south central Utah. The dried trout lasted the week with no problems. The last lunch on the way out, the seven of us finished off the trout.

If you are looking for "smoking only," good luck in your quest. If you want dried salmon, which is what you seem to be describing, take a look at the item I identified on the Campmor website. I am confident that it will do the job for you.

John

Don't know if it is still in print, but when I got the dehydrator I got the book "Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook." The subtitle goes "Everything you wanted to know to make .... " Worked for me.

[Eric-WD]

It looks to me after reading the smoker site that the difference between a hot smoker and a cold smoker would be a household thermostat.

Were I to build one I would start with a barrel (I dont like the trash can as they are coated with poisen to keep them from rusting) put a household heating thermostat at the top at the same level as the food. I would then run wire down and put a plug on the outside for a hot plate to plug into.

I would then use a little experimentation to find out where to set the thermostat to keep the temperature at approximately 85 deg.

A large cast iron fry pan full of chips and the thermostat should keep you in smoke and at the right temperature. If doing it in the winter I would try to find a way to insulate it. just wrapping it in fiberglass batting might do it.

the temperatures were talking about generating are not high enough to cause concern, I would just make sure I had it away from anything flammable for the first batches.

this sounds interesting, I might just have to try it.


Eric

[Flyrodde]

Well after doing some more research and thinking I have figured something out. Any smoker will do. What I need to do is cool the smoke before it gets to the salmon. I am not trying to cook or dry the salmon, just flavor it.

The good news is I can cure all my salmon at the same time, then smoke some of it until I figure out how to do it right. I'm going to try one of those small electric units and see if I can retrofit it to tranfer the smoke through some ductwork to cool it and into another chamber to flavor the salmon. At least it will give me something to do this fall between fishing. Thanks for the links and idea's