New Little Chief

the top picture is how I cold smoke with wood chips now. the bottom is how I used to do it. Note the ice. It worked pretty well until I figured out the soldering iron deal.

Careful,

If I'm correct  ice is not suggested when cold smoking cheese due to the amount of moisture created in the air which will stick to the cheese.  But you can consider using a frozen plastic bottle of water.

cmayna said:

 
Careful,

If I'm correct  ice is not suggested when cold smoking cheese due to the amount of moisture created in the air which will stick to the cheese.  But you can consider using a frozen plastic bottle of water.

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This would be true with cheese I think. A gallon milk jug frozen would last quite a while. I do these eggs for like 40 minutes after they are deviled for a little more flavor.

Also FYI most "nitrate free" cured meats just substitute celery powder for sodium nitrate as celery has naturally occurring nitrates.

Don't believe me check this out....  http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/

ThackMan said:

Also FYI most "nitrate free" cured meats just substitute celery powder for sodium nitrate as celery has naturally occurring nitrates.

Don't believe me check this out....  http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/

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Unfortunately, nitrate needs bacteria to convert to nitrite.... bacteria will not flourish below 40 degrees F and therefor will not convert the nitrate to nitrite, which is necessary to prevent botulism.... nitrate should be used when meat products are "aged" at temps around 50 degrees F.... The conversion to nitrite takes time... lots of time... months... that's why is it used in slow curing/drying of meats...



http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

Sodium Nitrate and its chemical equivalent potassium nitrate are interchangeable. For the most part potassium nitrate has been replaced with sodium nitrate – which is considered more stable and reliable; both are extremely poisonous. These ingredients are still widely used for home curing outside the United States, but it is recommended that these cures should only be used in it pure form by meat processing plants. In such plants this is done by trained personnel under strict supervision. Therefore it is highly recommended when using nitrates to obtain it in premixed cures that can be safely and accurately measured; such as in cure #2, and the Morton cures which are discussed in more detail latter on.

Nitrates are considered a slow cure, and are referred to as a “time release capsule.” It does not cure meat directly and initially not much happens when it is added to meat. With nitrates the curing is dependent on the amount of bacteria present, and the environment (temperature) the bacteria need to grow. For nitrates to work as a cure it requires the presents of certain microorganisms. These microorganisms are present in all meats, and start to react with the nitrates to reduce them to nitrites. It is the nitrites that will start the curing process.

This is a slow process that steadily releases nitrites over a long period of time. This makes it well suited for curing products that require long curing times. Dry cure products can take as long as several weeks to several months to fully cure. Nitrates are used for making dry cure sausages; such as pepperoni, hard salami, geonoa salami, dried farmers sausage, capicola, etc, and dry cure meats that are not cooked or need to be cooked.

Sorry i unintentionally misspelled or misspoke.  I actually meant nitrites.  Thanks for the correction... The article i posted says it correctly.

I KNOW this is an old post, but I had to laugh when I saw it...

I keep reading where people say you can "use the box" to cold smoke on the L/B Chiefs...I had a COMPLETELY different image in my mind as to how this would work!

THIS makes sense...what I imagined did NOT!

As you were! :)

dirtsailor2003 said:

Hey Bryce I sent you a PM but wanted to post the same info here for all to see. The Chief Smokers used to come with directions on how to cold smoke using the box. With the top loaders this is easy. With the front loaders if there aren't any vent holes (older versions had vents formed in the top) in the top you need to drill (4-6) 1/2" holes into the top. You could go 3/4". Use corks to plug them when hot smoking. Here's a few photos that show how this goes.

swamprblittlechief2.jpg

• dirtsailor2003
• Apr 23, 2015

images2.jpg

• dirtsailor2003
• Apr 23, 2015

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