Smokey Things

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Here's this afternoons cold smoke of cheese - a block of Mild Cheddar cut into blocks, some Blue & half a Camembert. 2hrs @ 28C.
 
Had to sample the Blue - WOW! Very nomnomnom.

Wood was 1/2 hickory chunks, 1/2 fine manuka chunks. Need to get bigger chunks of manuka as had to relight twice cause fine dust causes it to extinguish.

The 1/2 kilo of almonds and some capsicums are still in smoking
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2014 at 5:03pm
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Good effort BrentonClapClap 

But as articles I have read say the longer the better particularly at that temp.
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I'm taking it slow Al, prefer to slightly under smoke than over smoke and ruin it. Copious notes are being kept Geek

Smoked Spicy Almonds fresh outta the oven

3hr cold smoke + oil, cayenne, chili, salt & garlic Pig

Also next weekends bacon is curing in the fridge ...

looking forward to smoking that one


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Cheese Update:
Took the blue, Camembert & a block of the cheddar to a mates last night where they got thoroughly smashed! Just the right amount of smoke flavour. The Blue came out as the clear winner and everyone decided the Camembert need a more smoke, maybe the mold casing prevented smoke absorbption - more testing needed with this cheese
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Feb 2014 at 12:50pm
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Just a quick note: re not getting lower temps in the smoker
Way back above there is a comment about not being able to get lower temps
It looks like they have the same smoker as mine, but the principle remains the same regardless...
I modded mine.. a post further back.. door seals the exhaust size and I comment on having the water tray in... without the water tray I had problems getting my temps down below 70 deg
Also having any fats dropping into a water tray prevents any unwelcome fat build up and fire.
With water tray below 55 deg.. took the vent off , bigger exhaust, ducted it out of the shed up under the eaves  ..this gave better draw and allowed the temps to drop to mid 40s..
Then found the water condensed in the duct and ran back, so put a sag in it with a drain hole....
Not only do i get lower temps but have far more control of the temps.

Last smoke I did went way from Manuka and use Apple.. got a far more mild smoke flavour.. not the harsh 'edge ' that manuka gives and we are all sort of used to...
Got some cherry tree drying for next season.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Feb 2014 at 2:57pm
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I have the same smoker, I found the smoker run hotter when I used wood chips instead on saw dust, even if I soked them in water. I ended up buying a UFO smoke generator from FCO and bolting it on the side. Now I can run a cold smoke for a couple of hour then bring the heat on to finish things off. Cold smoke great for cheese.
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Bacon & a couple of lamb legs hot smoked today




Opted for a light smoke first time round, tastes good so far

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Mar 2014 at 3:02pm
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My tea is sorted...Thumbs Up


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Mar 2014 at 5:23pm
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Kerry's fillet caught with Deirdre - Mrs KrowClap


"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau
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Get your Beef Jerky On!!!!ClapClap


"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau
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Yep if there is space I do jerky.. shaved topside or wiener schnitzel
Mushroom soya,  Worcester sauce, home made relish, molasses + 1/3 that volume of water as the base for the marinate.. adding things like chilli , ginger or other sauces spices to suit ones taste.
Found manuka is a bit harsh, prefer apple cherry type woods.
marinate for around 2 to 3 hrs....squeeze /wipe excess marinate off, lay out on trays , 5 to 6 hrs in the smoker at approx 48 to 55 degs.
 Trim and Cut into slices with a rolling action of a good cast type cleaver

I trim all fat before marinating

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2014 at 4:16pm
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Marinaded some turkey drum sticks and then smoked for a few hours and will finish in an oven bag to keep them all tender and moist.

Did some Mainland Tasty cheese last night... 4 hrs at 60-70C come out great!






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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Apr 2014 at 9:18am
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I 'top up' the smoker with jerky and/ or drumsticks...
Found with drum sticks (and jerky )smoke same as/with fish fillets.. 4 to 5 hrs 45 to 50 deg.. which also puts a good seal on the drumsticks.. then the last 20 mins or so, wack the temp up over the 65.. more 75/85 deg.... just to make sure have cooked properly.
They still come out so moist, even after being chilled in the fridge, the juices will run down to your elbows.
15 to 20 mins just finishes the jerky off nicely... as REAL jerky should be.. not like that artificial reconstituted, compressed ground meat crap one buys at the supermarket

That looks like the identical smoker to mine.. except I have made better door seals ... now I can have the smoker in the shed, with a expandable vent that reaches outside above the shed doors (about 4m high)   Also enabled far better consistent temp controls 
 thrown away the chip container and rack... replaced with a cake tin and a rack it sits on that lays flat across the flame hole... get a good 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 smoke out of the tin, and more consistent burn with  far less ash .. near nil ... ash is what gives that bitter taste.
and added an extra rack at the very top
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Apr 2014 at 3:52pm
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I like your cake tin and shelf mod sounds much better lasting cos I am lucky to get 2 hrs if that on low out of the standard pan that came with the Gasmate.Thumbs Up
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Apr 2014 at 7:31pm
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OK heres some pics..
The cake tin.. I experimented with hole and size. the tin base is the same as the top in the pic.
Dont know exact size of the tin.. but get the idea of std cake tin size...

Seals... I got 2 of those real stong magnets andon the inside edge, top and bottom.. pulls the door real tight.....The seal.. I aligned the hinges better....greased the smoker door opening... cleand the surface around the inside door plate flange... loaded it up with silicone sealer, closed the door ...and left 24 hrs.....IF u do not apply enough grease or miss a spot u will be cursing.....slowly using a craft knife blade and peel back these spots..

Top shelf.. just a4 bits of Alumiu. angle and bolted to the side mounts  and the self knicked out of the wifes oven draw....got in trouble for that... mind u it was her idea about the cake tin.

Damn forgot to grab a pic of the chimney.. I had to remove that little cap in your pic which then gave me lower temps.. when u take the cap off u will find the  top hole is bigger than the cap hole.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Big Manly Yaka Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Apr 2014 at 4:51pm
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Hey guy's
I've got one of those UFO smoke generators bolted onto the side of my cabinet, and it works a treat, the only thing is the buildup of tar inside the outlet pipe, what is the best way to clean this out? so far I've been just scratching it out with an old knife or screw driver but its really caked on so hoped there was a secret cleaning solution I could use....?
Here is a pic of it when I'd just finished it, shiny and new...

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Southkiwi42 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Apr 2014 at 7:10pm
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Do the cold smoke generators work well on hooded BBQ's? Do you have to use the gas burners to contribute to the heat generation? Any thoughts would be a help.

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Big Manly Yaka Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2014 at 1:20pm
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RE: Cleaning the Smoker Generator 
For anyone that is interested I contacted the UFO Smoke Generator manufacturers and they suggested scraping out as much as possible with a pocket knife and then spraying some serious oven cleaner into it and leaving for a while before rinsing and check the air pipe has no blockages.
Cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Big Manly Yaka Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2014 at 1:28pm
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Southkiwi42
Yes you can use the smoke generators on hooded BBQ's they work well. They only emit cold smoke though so if you want to do a hot smoke at any point you'll need to use the gas elements for the heat source. I found I needed to block a few of the gaps in my BBQ to keep the smoke in, yours may be different. Bit of trial and error really. But its fun trial and error.
I've since built a separate smoking cabinet from Macrocarpa (see pic above) which works a lot better. I've used it for everything from cold (and hot) smoking fish through to cooking/hot smoking butterflied chickens (which come out orsum).
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Catchelot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2014 at 5:57pm
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Chicken Livers having a wee dry smoke in pohutukawa dust before a gentle quick fry in a few special spices!

And then gonna be added to a wee bit of mashed smoked blue marlin from the last of team NZTurtles' blue last season!



"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau
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