My first cold smoke

[richard cameron]

Today was the day I finally got to use my AMNPS and cold smoke some food.  I used my RF patio smoker to cook in.  The outside temperature never got over 50 degrees today.

I prepared a batch of almonds using SQWIB’S recipe.  I placed half a container of sea salt in a glass dish.  I sliced up some cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack, and put a piece of parmesan on racks.  I also put three sticks of butter and a couple of pieces of chocolate in the smoker.

Cold Smoke.jpg

• richard cameron
• Jan 16, 2017

The results were overall good.  I cooked the almonds, butter, and chocolate for 5 hours.  My wife said that the almonds tasted great, the butter had a mild smoky flavor, and the chocolate was a bust.

I left the cheese and salt in the smoker until I got home from work.  The cheese has a distinct smoky smell to it, and the salt I don’t know how it turned out.

Cheese & Almonds 2.jpg

• richard cameron
• Jan 16, 2017

The AMNPS worked great in my smoker.  I placed it inside the cooking chamber and let it smoke.  It had plenty of draft to keep it lit.

I will know in a couple of weeks how the cheese turned out.  Already my wife is afraid of me cooking more cheese than we can use in a year.

 

[gnatboy911]

Love the experimenting! I'm always a huge fan of trying new things.

 

[wade]

It is good to see you starting to experiment with cold smoking and what you smoked there looks good. The AMNPS is a great smoke generator. What were the pellets that you were using?

You have a good selection of items there and do not hesitate to try different things. Yes, some things will just not work... but other things can be quite a surprise. Be mindful though that different foods need different times in the smoke - and also sometimes time to rest afterwards before eating.

Although everyone has their own variations, here are a few general guidelines for the items you smoked...

Cheese picks up the smoke flavour quite readily however different cheeses take the flavour better than others. Relatively mild and less complex cheeses are best (and I include mature cheddar in this category) however with the the stronger blue cheeses (like Stilton or Roquefort etc.) the smoke flavour can often detract from the flavour of the cheese. Most cheese only needs about 3 hours in the smoker (though some here smoke for a lot longer) and it is important that when it comes out of the smoker to allow it to rest uncovered for a couple of hours to allow the surface to dry before packing. Cheese then needs to rest for 3 weeks or more before eating for the smoke flavours to mellow. Do not worry about producing too much smoked cheese as you will soon be finding friends and relatives asking to be given some.

Butter does not take on the smoke flavour as readily as cheese and I usually leave this to smoke overnight. Smoked butter is quite subtle and the smoke flavour is quickly lost if it is used in cooking. I smoke butter for a local restaurant and they use it to add to things like steak or prawns at the point of serving where the smokey smell and flavour is still quite distinct.

Nuts I usually leave in overnight and benefit from being stirred occasionally.

Salt I usually leave in for at least overnight and often longer. I find that coarse grain sea salt works the best and I smoke it in a fine mesh tray. It too benefits from being stirred occasionally

I must admit that I have never tried smoking chocolate.

I am looking forward to seeing the results of your next smoke 

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job on your first try!

Al

 

[gnatboy911]

@Wade  Those are some great tips...thank you

 

[masondixon]

Richard it all looks great! I have been wanting to try my hand at cold smoking and the amnps looks perfect for my setup. If your wife is worried about that cheese going bad just send some my way!