Bitter taste when cold smoking with homemade smoke generator

[elquil]

Hi!

I'm new to smoking but I recently picked up the hobby of sausage making and charcutier and its been going pretty good. so I figured I would take the next step of cold smoking my meat product, i have watched a lot of YouTube videos on how they're made and I tried a few experiments on my own. This is my latest creation and it was going pretty good, I've tried it with both a small laptop fan and a air pump and it stays lit and puts out a good amount of smoke. when I tried smoking cheese though as a test it would taste bitter, one of my previous smokers had the air vet (not sure if that's the correct name) on the bottom and it would taste a lot more bitter. I've been reading posts online regarding this problem and I understand it's creosote buildup that's covering my products, I tried the solutions that was suggested. I tried increasing the airflow by adding another fan to the chamber to create a draft, I even tried smoking with the chamber door halfway open but nothing really worked. I spent the whole day today trying different things that i found on reddit and other YouTube videos, even bought different types of woods (pellets, chips and sawdust) and I'm ready to give up.

Now I'm sitting here looking through the commercially available cold smoke generators and i noticed they're a lot bigger than mine, or at least a lot taller. I knew mine was really small and it was my intention to make it small because I would probably smoke one piece of meat at a time and wouldn't need anything bigger. Could this be the problem? I remember reading somewhere that you need a taller burning chamber so the creosote would stay in there instead of going into the smoking chamber. I've been trying to find that post for hours without any luck and now I'm questioning if I even read that or if it's just and imagination. Could that be the problem or is there something else that I'm doing wrong?

 

[TNJAKE]

I think the smoke chamber you picture is too small. The pipe carrying the smoke definitely is. Therefore stale smoke is being held before traveling to the smoker

 

[Winterrider]

What type smoker are you using and why not just get a $20 tube ?

 

[elquil]

I think the smoke chamber you picture is too small. The pipe carrying the smoke definitely is. Therefore stale smoke is being held before traveling to the smoker

i will try making a bigger one with a longer pipe but how does a shorter pipe hold stale smoke? I thought it would be better with a shorter pipe

 

[elquil]

What type smoker are you using and why not just get a $20 tube ?

the picture i posted is what I'm using. i made it from a thermos i had, drilled a hole for the pipe that the air pump is connected to and another hole for the smoke to come out of. i also have a smaller hole at the bottom to ignite the wood.

 

[TNJAKE]

i will try making a bigger one with a longer pipe but how does a shorter pipe hold stale smoke? I thought it would be better with a shorter pipe

I'm talking about your pipe diameter. Smoke is stalling in your generator because the piping is way way too narrow. So it sits and gets stale

 

[TNJAKE]

the picture i posted is what I'm using. i made it from a thermos i had, drilled a hole for the pipe that the air pump is connected to and another hole for the smoke to come out of. i also have a smaller hole at the bottom to ignite the wood.

He means what are you using as a vessel to hold the meat. We have options for you but need a few more details to help you out better

 

[TNJAKE]

To better clarify the diameter pipe you are using is killing your draft

 

[elquil]

I'm talking about your pipe diameter. Smoke is stalling in your generator because the piping is way way too narrow. So it sits and gets stale

the pipe is 14 millimeter in diameter and it was moving the smoke pretty fast when i was using it but ill try it with a wider pipe

 

[SmokinEdge]

Typically the smoke generator should be 3-4 inches in diameter and 11-12 inches in length. The out let pipe should be around 1-1 1/4 inch, this is for flow. Remember you want clean smoke not stale smoke like Jake pointed out. Here is a very good step by step to building a good cold smoke generator.


https://www.meatsandsausages.com/smokehouse-plans/smokehouse-smoke-generator/home-made

 

[elquil]

He means what are you using as a vessel to hold the meat. We have options for you but need a few more details to help you out better

the vessel is an old metal cabinet that is that is around 50cm/20 inches on all sides. i just drilled a hole on the bottom part of it for the smoke generator and a vent on top. the vent is 6cm/2.3 inches in diameter.

 

[elquil]

Typically the smoke generator should be 3-4 inches in diameter and 11-12 inches in length. The out let pipe should be around 1-1 1/4 inch, this is for flow. Remember you want clean smoke not stale smoke like Jake pointed out. Here is a very good step by step to building a good cold smoke generator.


https://www.meatsandsausages.com/smokehouse-plans/smokehouse-smoke-generator/home-made

Thanks a lot! i never managed to find that when i was googling. all i found was youtube videos so i based it on that and on the commercial ones i found

 

[elquil]

i would post a picture of the vessel im using to smoke but it's late here and i cant take a good picture of it

 

[elquil]

and just to clarify thing for me. the only problem with my build is that i have stale smoke?

 

[TNJAKE]

the vessel is an old metal cabinet that is that is around 50cm/20 inches on all sides. i just drilled a hole on the bottom part of it for the smoke generator and a vent on top. the vent is 6cm/2.3 inches in diameter.

Use the search function and look up the mailbox mod. It will help you out. If you can't find it let me know and I will help you out. It's a cheap fix for you. All you will need is a mailbox, a smoke tube or tray and either a 3-4in dryer hose or same diameter aluminum piping

 

[TNJAKE]

and just to clarify thing for me. the only problem with my build is that i have stale smoke?

You have atleast 2 issues. What are you using to burn for smoke? I might have missed that

 

[elquil]

Use the search function and look up the mailbox mod. It will help you out. If you can't find it let me know and I will help you out. It's a cheap fix for you. All you will need is a mailbox, a smoke tube or tray and either a 3-4in dryer hose or same diameter aluminum piping

I did find that mod. but the thing is that I live in Sweden and those types of mailboxes are not availed here. I will post a pic of basically the only type of mailbox we have here. And I'm trying to make this as cheap as possible because I'm a 20yo student with a part time job so im trying not to spend too much on this new hobby.

 

[tallbm]

Hi!

I'm new to smoking but I recently picked up the hobby of sausage making and charcutier and its been going pretty good. so I figured I would take the next step of cold smoking my meat product, i have watched a lot of YouTube videos on how they're made and I tried a few experiments on my own. This is my latest creation and it was going pretty good, I've tried it with both a small laptop fan and a air pump and it stays lit and puts out a good amount of smoke. when I tried smoking cheese though as a test it would taste bitter, one of my previous smokers had the air vet (not sure if that's the correct name) on the bottom and it would taste a lot more bitter. I've been reading posts online regarding this problem and I understand it's creosote buildup that's covering my products, I tried the solutions that was suggested. I tried increasing the airflow by adding another fan to the chamber to create a draft, I even tried smoking with the chamber door halfway open but nothing really worked. I spent the whole day today trying different things that i found on reddit and other YouTube videos, even bought different types of woods (pellets, chips and sawdust) and I'm ready to give up.

Now I'm sitting here looking through the commercially available cold smoke generators and i noticed they're a lot bigger than mine, or at least a lot taller. I knew mine was really small and it was my intention to make it small because I would probably smoke one piece of meat at a time and wouldn't need anything bigger. Could this be the problem? I remember reading somewhere that you need a taller burning chamber so the creosote would stay in there instead of going into the smoking chamber. I've been trying to find that post for hours without any luck and now I'm questioning if I even read that or if it's just and imagination. Could that be the problem or is there something else that I'm doing wrong?

Hi there and welcome!

I have had the same cold smoking issue and I solved it.

The problem is that smoke is becoming stale.
This happens when smoke lingers around too long and I believe it loses all the oxygen.

The solution is to keep fresh smoking coming into the smoker/chamber and the older smoke to flow out.

Using a 12v computer blower fan, a 12v power cord, a big can and some cardboard I built a device that solves the problem. You can read about it in the thread link below.




I place the cardboard tube over the top vent of my smoker.
I plug it in and the fan blows up the tube. This forces the smoke and air inside the smoker to pull up and out of the smoker.

This way no smoke can linger too long.
So when fresh smoke is entering from the bottom of my smoker it fills up the smoker and swirls around and this device keeps the smoke moving up and out ensuring the smoke is always fresh and never lingers inside the smoker.

This solved all of my cold smoking problems.

Another guy simply did this:


I hope this info helps you because I'm very positive this is your problem and there are simple inexpensive solutions to it :D


Thread Link:

Another MES Mod - Cold Smoker Assist!!

Well guys the mod(s) are being tested right now but I ran into an issue where it is harder to see the smoke than I anticipated hahaha. I know things are working because there is no lingering smoke coming out of my mailbox mod and elbow joint connected to the MES. Last time I cold smoked, the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[elquil]

You have atleast 2 issues. What are you using to burn for smoke? I might have missed that

I've tried both oak and apple wood, oak chunks and apple pellets. I also tried putting them both in a small blender to make them finer.

 

[elquil]

Hi there and welcome!

I have had the same cold smoking issue and I solved it.

The problem is that smoke is becoming stale.
This happens when smoke lingers around too long and I believe it loses all the oxygen.

The solution is to keep fresh smoking coming into the smoker/chamber and the older smoke to flow out.

Using a 12v computer blower fan, a 12v power cord, a big can and some cardboard I built a device that solves the problem. You can read about it in the thread link below.

View attachment 663067


I place the cardboard tube over the top vent of my smoker.
I plug it in and the fan blows up the tube. This forces the smoke and air inside the smoker to pull up and out of the smoker.

This way no smoke can linger too long.
So when fresh smoke is entering from the bottom of my smoker it fills up the smoker and swirls around and this device keeps the smoke moving up and out ensuring the smoke is always fresh and never lingers inside the smoker.

This solved all of my cold smoking problems.

Another guy simply did this:
View attachment 663068

I hope this info helps you because I'm very positive this is your problem and there are simple inexpensive solutions to it :D


Thread Link:

Another MES Mod - Cold Smoker Assist!!

Well guys the mod(s) are being tested right now but I ran into an issue where it is harder to see the smoke than I anticipated hahaha. I know things are working because there is no lingering smoke coming out of my mailbox mod and elbow joint connected to the MES. Last time I cold smoked, the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I did try that with a blower fan but i attached it to blow clean air inside of my curing chamber instead of pulling it out.