It's going to be my first try at cold smoking.

[trainman]

I'm getting 4 pork shoulders "picnics",going to brine them using pink salt and kosher ,cloves ,brown sugar, bay leaves and a few other spices..I plan on brining for 7-10 days is this long enough or do i need longer time? I would like to make sure it's long enough for the cure to get all the way into the meat. Then I plan on cold smoking them .Is there an internal temp that I'm looking for in the meat ?The temp in Florida has come down some that's why i want to try it. What is the maximum temp i should stay at for cold smoking? I'm using an elec. coal starter for the chip burn with a rheostat"light dimmer " to regulate the temp..seams to work good..I don't think i'll have a problem with minimum temp. Thanks for any help

 

[daveomak]

Trainman, morning..... Cold smoking is generally done at temps below 70 deg.... some say 80 and some say 100..... I prefer < 70 deg....   Cold smoking should be done over many days..... smoke added 6-8 hours per day..... The smoke should be VERY thin, hardly visible, and air flow while hanging the meat is a must.....   I use the heat to keep the temp above 50 deg...  Some smoke hams, like you are describing, for up to 30 days....   The ham then needs to be fully cooked to an IT of somewhere around 150 deg F before eating..... 

Cure should be injected along the bones and joints (if any) to insure complete penetration.... The meat should be injected also at about 10%....    

Since you are fairly new to this process, I would recommend you read all you can before attempting this project....  Below is a link that has a good amount of information...  be aware, some misprints or errors can occur and the information may not be correct....   We have found several errors in web documents....    Dave

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/