Looking for some help

[steve marshall]

We have been cold smoking for some time now - mainly hams, bacon and salmon - with great success.
Today we tried our first hot smoking - four mackerel from a good fish monger we have used for years - and ended up with some rather acrid tasting fish. We would like to work out what went wrong.
We used an old boiling pot, somewhat rusty I admit, but washed out. Oak sawdust in the bottom - from chainsawing firewood - it had been kept dry but was probably a year old.
Rack about 10 inches up for the fish and a lid. Smoke leaked out but there was no explicit ventilation. Some of the sawdust was burnt through when we took the fish out after about 10 minutes.
Heat was from a portable gas ring and gas bottle.
Fish looked good and bronze and seemed to have all the right flavours. But there was an acrid oily or tar like edge to it.
Any ideas welcome.

 

[kit s]

We have been cold smoking for some time now - mainly hams, bacon and salmon - with great success.
Today we tried our first hot smoking - four mackerel from a good fish monger we have used for years - and ended up with some rather acrid tasting fish. We would like to work out what went wrong.
We used an old boiling pot, somewhat rusty I admit, but washed out. Oak sawdust in the bottom - from chainsawing firewood - it had been kept dry but was probably a year old.
Rack about 10 inches up for the fish and a lid. Smoke leaked out but there was no explicit ventilation. Some of the sawdust was burnt through when we took the fish out after about 10 minutes.
Heat was from a portable gas ring and gas bottle.
Fish looked good and bronze and seemed to have all the right flavours. But there was an acrid oily or tar like edge to it.
Any ideas welcome.

Probably the fish did not have surface dry enough. Also you probably do need more ventilation.

 

[PAS]

Chain saw bar oil on the saw dust?

 

[myownidaho]

Sounds like too much smoke too fast.

 

[mowin]

Smoke should have a way out the top of the chamber. Keep the smoke flowing. Don't trap it in.

 

[indaswamp]

Smoke should have a way out the top of the chamber. Keep the smoke flowing. Don't trap it in.

Yep. Sounds like creosote to me....

 

[steve marshall]

Thanks all. We carefully blocked the hole that already exists in the lid. Creosote is the smell and this makes sense.
Does it matter if the sawdust gets burnt black or not?

 

[kit s]

Thanks all. We carefully blocked the hole that already exists in the lid. Creosote is the smell and this makes sense.
Does it matter if the sawdust gets burnt black or not?

No...on the black sawdust. But the ventilation is important.

 

[cmayna]

Cold smoke or hot smoke, you need an exhaust vent, which is open.

 

[steve marshall]

Thanks all - we will try