Cold smkoe box for pellet grill

[val v]

I was wondering. If i build a box with racks and attach it to the chimney of my Green Mountain Grill with maybe a metal dryer vent tube. Will it work for cold smoking?

 

[wade]

Are you proposing to use the GMG as the smoke generator?

Unfortunately this is unlikely to be very efficient as the GMG burns pellets to create heat rather than smoke and the pellet burn is usually very efficient. They do produce smoke too of course, however one of the regular comments that you hear from hot pellet smokers is that, because they burn so efficiently, they do not actually produce enough smoke flavour. I have a GMG myself and sometimes that can be true. Even at its lowest setting the GMG will actually produce smoke way hotter than you want and so you would need a fairly long tube to allow it to cook right down before it reached the smoking box.

You would probably be better off buying something like a AMNPS and place it at the bottom of the new smoking box - or place it in a separate box to one side like the mailbox mods you regularly see here. With the AMNPS you can obviously use the same pellets that you use in the GMG.

 

[smokin monkey]

I agree with what Wade has said, the smoke you get is minimal and the hose would have to be unmanageably long.

 

[val v]

Wade, SM, today I did a test run.
I used a 3"x10ft dryer vent duct and a cardboard box. At first the temp was 102-104 but when I positioned the duct like a big upside down horseshoe the temp dropped to 92-94. I guess the heat diffued in the top oof the loop. It. Held this temp for 2 hrs.
The ammount of smoke seemed adequate. Though I reall dont have a frame of reference. My grill is a Jim Bowie(the Large GMG)
I mostly just want to make Lox, for now. I was thinking about whipping up a real box this weekend.
What do you guys think?
Also, if I smoke overnight, it should be even cooler, right?

 

[wade]

After the Salmon has been cured (I use a dry cure of 50:50 Salt:Sugar on mine for 24 hours) they do not need to be kept cool while they are smoking - but 95 F (35 C) is really too hot for traditional cold smoked salmon. I smoke mine at ~75-78 F (26 C) for up to 24 hours. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/237224/smoking-fish-an-old-dog-can-still-learn-new-tricks

That temperature will certainly be too hot to smoke other foods like cheese or butter. Is there any way you can reduce the temperature further? Maybe run the ducting through a bath of cold water?

 

[val v]

I can probably cool it off. I just threw this together to see if it was even a possibility. I imagine ill come up with something.
If not ill just buy something. Id rather build it though. Ill let you know how it goes.

 

[smokin monkey]

The longer the hose the more heat drop you will get. Passing it through a water bath would help, but the water will have to be changed as the pipe will act as a heat exchanger and pass the heat to the water. (Add a drain tap to bath). All depends on the temperature you are trying to achieve if the hopper on the GMG will hold enough pellets to smoke over night. Possibly look at a hopper extension, but then this is getting expensive and a AMNPS or something like a Smoke Daddy would be a cheaper option.

 

[wade]

If not ill just buy something. Id rather build it though.

In that case you may want to try this as a cold smoke generator. It is about as DIY as you can get and is actually very effective. You need to fast forward to about 30 seconds into the video.

Don't forget the vents at the top of the smokebox as it is important to have the smoke flow OVER the salmon and not be trapped around it. The greatest preserving steps in making smoked salmon are the addition of salt through the cure and the removal of free water. The smoking part of the process is actually more to do with water removal than it is with applying the smoke. The smoke does have some antimicrobial properties but is essentially there more for flavour.

 

[smokin monkey]

Wade, great video clip you found the there!

 

[val v]

My intention was to drill several small vent holes on top and cover or uncover them as needed to control smoke flow and maybe temperature.

 

[val v]

Yeah, at 150* it goes for at least 10 hrs. Kinda depends on the pellets though. Apple, hickory last long. Mesquite burns through a lot of pellets but i wont be using mesquite for this i dont think.

 

[val v]

Thanks Monkey.
Ill shoot for under 80*

 

[val v]

Well, my little cold smoker works great! Stayed at 80 degrees or less. Plenty of smoke. I did my salmon for 12 hrs..I smoked Coho and Atlantic.the Coho tastes much smokier. I like The Atlanitcs more sutle flavor a
Nd the texture if great for Lox. I think the Coho might be better for just snacking though.
Ill try to post some pics.

 

[wild west]

I'm curious to know the quantity of pellets used for your smoke.

 

[val v]

About 3/4 of the hopper on my GMG. Less than I expected.