Preserve Your Food with Cold Smoking

By Dick Strawbridge And James Strawbridge
Published on February 9, 2015
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Leave different food products far apart enough so that they don't taint one another in your oil-drum smoker or smoke box.
Leave different food products far apart enough so that they don't taint one another in your oil-drum smoker or smoke box.
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It's important to not cook fish and other food in temperatures between 75 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit because that's the range ideal for bacterial growth.
It's important to not cook fish and other food in temperatures between 75 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit because that's the range ideal for bacterial growth.
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Chickens can provide both meat and their eggs to your cold smoker.
Chickens can provide both meat and their eggs to your cold smoker.
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Though you should fill your cold smoker to capacity, you should also make sure to leave enough space for smoke to circulate.
Though you should fill your cold smoker to capacity, you should also make sure to leave enough space for smoke to circulate.
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“Curing and Smoking,” by Dick and James Strawbridge, demonstrates how simple it is to use the magic of smoke to create wonderfully aromatic foods with distinctive flavors.
“Curing and Smoking,” by Dick and James Strawbridge, demonstrates how simple it is to use the magic of smoke to create wonderfully aromatic foods with distinctive flavors.
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In addition to an oil drum, you'll need a wooden lid, threaded bolts, lid with holes drilled in, sawdust and a paving stone to make a cold smoker like this one.
In addition to an oil drum, you'll need a wooden lid, threaded bolts, lid with holes drilled in, sawdust and a paving stone to make a cold smoker like this one.

Curing and Smoking (Firefly Books, 2012), by Dick and James Strawbridge, offers encouragement and practical instruction on how to transform fresh meats, fish, seafood and even eggs and cheese into flavorful treats. The authors show you all the key methods and give you ideas on making your own creations with your homemade products as the star. The following excerpt from “Introduction to Cold Smoking” covers cold smoking basics.

You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store:Curing and Smoking.

Cold smoking is a means not of cooking but of preserving food, and if kept in cool conditions, cold-smoked products should last for many months. The name, of course, says it all, and it is important to use as little heat as possible. Therein lies the challenge: we all know that there is “no smoke without fire,” but we need smoke and we don’t want any heat. It sounds tricky, but cold smoking is surprisingly easy and delivers delicious results.

How Cold Smoking Works

Food (more specifically meat) is usually cured before smoking, as the curing process draws out the moisture that bacteria need in order to grow, and this promotes the absorption of the wood smoke. We are after this smoke flavor, but the penetration of the smoke into the food also creates a barrier to pests and bacteria. Very little hardening of the outside surface of the meat or casing occurs in cold smoking, so the smoke penetrates the food easily and completely. For our easy cured bacon recipe, check outLearning to Make Bacon at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR. — MOTHER

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