Who does cold smoking?

halfafish said
I know @inkjunkie does this, but who else is into cold smoking? I fabbed this setup with a Brinkmann fire box, 4" rigid dryer vent for the plumbing, and made the smoke box of cedar.

The sizing was such that I can use full sheet cake pans inside. The bottom pan is solid to catch drips, the other two are perforated to allow the smoke to pass through. I have three sets of crossbars I can use to hang sausages from when I get to that step.

Right now I'm using the A-Maze-N pellet smoker for my generator, but I'm going to try stick wood in the not too distant future to see how this goes. So far it's been very cool for the smoke temps, only raising the smoke box temp by about 10 degrees over ambient.

The maiden voyage was a few weeks ago, I did a little cheese and some bacon - both came out great.

Today is the second run, it's two pounds each of Tillamook cheese (white cheddar, monterey jack, and colby) along with five pounds of brie from Costco. I tossed some nuts in there too for some smoke flavor for the holidays.

View attachment 1715653877
View attachment 1715653878
View attachment 1715653882

And we're off to the races! Cheese galore and it's a-smokin like crazy.

View attachment 1715653881

Very nice set up! Here in TX, we do a lot of smoking but I've always appreciated the finesse required to do a cold smoke (where heat regulation is key). Stick with pellets for cold smoking, wood temps vary too much. At first the wood burns bringing temps up, then the embers smolder bringing temps down. Easier to control with pellets.
You may or may not know about this, but I'll share it anyway. To really enjoy that cheese, go grab a box of Ritz crackers (saltines also work), brush both sides with melted butter and line that top rack with them. You've never had anything quite like a smoked Ritz.
Also, if you enjoy chili, toss your chili meat in a foil pan and smoke it for 60-90 mins. Then make your chili like normal with it. It's a whole new flavor profile for chili.