Separate smoke box for Bradley smoker

[Dave the Cook]

I love my Bradley smoker. Over time, however, I've had to acknowledge its shortcomings when it comes to cold smoking. Primary among these is its propensity to generate too much heat, even when the heater is off. This is no doubt a result of a design compromise: the simplicity of the Bradley pretty much demands an internal heat source for the bisquettes. Unfortunately, this means that the bottom rack can get pretty hot. In the cooler months (and even early summer), this isn't too much of a problem. You rotate your racks, so nothing gets overexposed to the heat, or if your product is sensitive, you don't use the bottom rack. I've tried loading the bottom rack with ice; unfortunately, this can create condensation on your product, depending on atmospheric conditions. Wet meat doesn't smoke very well.

I can deal with all of this, until the ambient temperature gets into the 90s. The bit of heat that the bisquette cooker adds sends the chamber temperature over 100 F, a point at which it's hard to make a "cold-smoking" claim. You're getting uncomfortably close to cooking.

Here's my solution: a wardrobe box, a couple of dryer vents (get the louvered kind rather than the ones with a flap), a length of vent hose and (what would a project be without this?) a roll of duct tape. My topic description lies; you also need a good pair of scissors.

The nice thing about the wardrobe box is that it comes with an access flap already cut for you. This lets you maintain the bisquette stack and discard bowl without taking the box off the smoke generator (which, in case it's not obvious) you remove from the side of the Bradley).

Let's call this the prototype, since I can already see a lot of room for improvement. First, the thing leaks. I spent the first hour closing up creases and slits. Second, the smoke generator box is now the thing that gets hot, and our friend duct tape doesn't much care for heat. Also, the box is bigger than the Bradley itself. I have no idea where I'm going to store it. Finally, it seems obvious that you could cool the smoke further by routing the tubing through an ice- or dry ice-filled chest.

All in all, though, I'm very happy. The smoke chamber is stable at 85 F, more or less ambient temperature.

[tim]

Dave,

That looks like a really great solution for cold smoking.

I adapted a Jacques Pepin cold smoking concept using a flower pot with an electric charcoal starter that is filled with wood chips to generate smoke. This is sealed with aluminum foil and aluminum tape. A vent carries the smoke to a plastic garbage can. The seams are sealed with aluminum tape.

The total cost is under $50. The picture shows the smoker being set up.

Smoke is applied by plugging in the electric starter for 10 minutes once every hour. A full flower pot is good for two or three smoke sessions.

The temperature in the garbage can does not rise more than 15 degrees above the ambient temperature. I have learned that you cannot cold smoke salmon when the outside temperature is above 85 degrees - the salmon cooks.

Tim

[scubadoo97]

I am temped to try a very simple method for cold smoking smaller items shown in the video below. All you need is a can some wood chips and a soldering iron.