Cardboard Box Cold Smoker

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tjohnson

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Dec 29, 2009
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Savage, MN
This is my "El Cheapo Cardboard Box Cold Smoker"

** Updated 10/9/10 **

I've been thinking about this for awhile, and found over 30 hits Google for "Cardboard Box Smoker", so I decided to make my own.  All of the "Cardboard Box Smokers" I found, used dowels & wire racks, and you had to load/unload the food from the top.  It made more sense to me for the cover to be removable and the racks stay stationary.  Picked up some cheese at SAMS and loaded it up.  It was either smoke the cheese or the kids fruit snacks......

Started one end and smoked for 4 hours with cherry sawdust.  Came out with very nice color and cheese sticks tasted GREAT.   I pulled the Cheese & Kielbasa at 4 hours, but left the Kosher Salt in until the sawdust burned for 8 hours total.   Vac Packed the cheese and "Napping" in the fridge for a week or so.

75* outside and temp in box got to 82*.  Did not add ice.  Cheese did not melt, but just started to sweat.

1st attempt on yesterday, was really a test run, and it went great, so I decided to do a real cheese smoke today.

Here's my 2nd attempt at it.

THANKS for Looking!!!

Sharp Cheddar, Cheddar, White Cheddar, Pepperjack, Cheese Sticks, Kielbasa Sausage & Kosher Salt



$9 Stackable Cooling Racks, Wife's Cookie Sheet, and a 6x6 AMNS With (1) Side Started



El Cheapo Cardboard Box Cold Smoker Loaded and Ready To Go



16"x16"x16" Cardboard Box with Exhaust Vent...Can You See The Cheese?....Nice Cherry Smoke!!



Cheese & Kielbasa Finished after 4 hours on El Cheapo Cardboard Box Cold Smoker



Cheese & Kielbasa Sitting On A Pretty Plate......Vac Sealed and Will Rest for a week or so



OK, I know it's LAME, But what do you really want from $9 Cookie Racks and a free cardboard box?!?!

Yesterday, I had my first trial run, and it far exceeded my expectations.  Today, I loaded it up for a real smoke.  Very inexpensive and easy to use.  Obviously, I'm going to use my A-MAZE-N-SMOKER, but a can with a soldering iron and chips or pellets would work good.  So, for someone who does not want to invest alot of $$$ to cold smoke food, this is a cool way to do it.

A hotplate would just get too hot and I would be concerned about "Fire"!!!

Tried to find a box that was both fireproof and can survive a flood, they were plum out-of-stock!

THANKS FOR LOOKING!!!!

Todd
 
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No go on the fruit snacks then?
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Damn I miss BuckWheat!

LOL!!!

Todd
 
nice to see ya pushing the envelope todd
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........love to see someone MacGyvin' it up!

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Looks like a great idea-Alton Brown had an episode on Good Eats where he had something similar, but you have him one upped-you have the a-maze-n-smoker.

You might want to push your themo probe THRU the apple, not just stick it into the apple-you'll get a more reliable reading that way.
 
Shoot, I thought he was smoking the apple.  Boy, talk about thinking outside the box........sorry, couldn't help myself.  I just want to know how we're supposed to be influencing SWMBO that we need to purchase another fancy smantzy "tool" for our smoking habit when you do this?  j/k of course.  Gotta delete this thread before she sees it though.
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$9 Wally World Racks

$0 Shipping Box

$0 Wife's Old Cookie Pan

$0 Rotten Apple

Todd
 
I didn't even see this post until MossyMO mentioned on the thread I started about your cardboard smoker! I'm doing it right now and loving it. I see you didn't put anything under your cheese, I did, but am going to take it off right now. Thanks!!!!
 
When I got your email I just started laughin. Todd has way too much time on his hands but these results look great. And I too love the Buckwheat!
 
This is the first I saw this post !!!!

Almost missed another one!!!!

I think you guys are doing this on purpose to keep me from starting trouble!!!!

Well anyway:

Todd, I think you stole this idea from the UK.

I think they had cardboard boxes for a long time!

Maybe even as far back as when Paul Revere was riding around warning everybody.

Just sayin',

Bear
 
They use "Special Cardboard" and I used a "Freebie" box..LOL

Todd
 
When I got your email I just started laughin. Todd has way too much time on his hands but these results look great. And I too love the Buckwheat!


Trust me, I was laughing just as hard!!

Never would have thought it would work as good as it really did.

TJ
 
They use "Special Cardboard" and I used a "Freebie" box..LOL

Todd
I wasn't talking about what "they" used, or what you used.

I'm talking about you stealing the idea of a cardboard box (usually a brown thing made of paper).

Just like if you used a pencil to take notes. They were using pencils in the UK & other places before you were born. You copied using pencils for taking notes!

Bear
 
LOL---Don't feel bad. I copied using a pencil to take notes on every smoke I ever did.
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I used a cardboard box during my last smoke too, as a wind deflector. I guess I should post it---It worked real good.

Works good for MES owners anyway.

Bear
 
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