Yet another smoking question

[Zapp]

Right then chaps... I live in shoe factory country, which means that a lot of the old houses, including mine, have brick built cobblers barns at the end of the garden.

 

I'm in the process of renovating mine after using it as a wood store for years in order to use it as a brewery/game processing area and larder for cured stuff. The larger of the two rooms has a fireplace in it, with a chimney around 4m/12-15ft tall.

 

Whilst repointing it yesterday, it occurred to me that as we as using it to heat the place when I am using it in cold weather, I could potentially install an access panel in the chimney at roof level (3.5m approx) and use it to smoke stuff.

 

The chimney is pretty wide bore, so there would be no issues with things touching the sides (within reason). Obviously I could only hot smoke things with this setup, which I can live with, but I wanted to get some advice from experienced smokers as to whether:

 

1. This is viable or not?

 

2. Whether I will have a sufficient distance between smoke source and food?

 

3. Whether it is possible to smoke over a small fire (of a suitable wood type) without incinerating the food, or is it chips/shavings only?

 

Many thanks for any guidance.

[happy.plinker]

Hello Zap, I use a Snowbee hot smoker with oak dust ( cheap ) , the dust and fish are all in the main part with meths burners below, the dust is about 1" uderneath the bottom rack. There is a small cover over the dust to stop juices dripping on it. Its very compact in close proximity and works well, I think with hot smoking you really cant go wrong as far as a set up goes.

 

http://www.sportfish.co.uk/snowbee-steel-smoker?gclid=COaO5faar7kCFbHKtAod5jsAmQ

[Fatcatsplat]

Conceptually it works, but only if you have a smouldering fire i.e. loads of glow but no flame - Very hard to control though and a real hassle to keep going. As per happy plinker above, how about putting wood dust on a baking sheet/tray over a camping stove or similary set under the chimney - Flame stays down, smoke goes up - Job's a good un!

[henry d]

I think this is the set up HFW had in his first river cottage cookbook, I`ll check when I get home...

[Piebob]

I think this is the set up HFW had in his first river cottage cookbook, I`ll check when I get home...

 

Pretty sure you are correct. I recall seeing him smoke something (fish I think) on telly and he had an access hatch to the chimney.

[Zapp]

The whole HFW thing is what pinged into my mind as I was up the ladder repointing. I've got the river cottage cook book so I'll have a look.

 

I was also wondering about using a smoke generator such as the baking tray or biscuit tin design, or one of those little mesh cages you can buy that burn sequentially, and suspending it in the flue.

[Flashman]

Didn't HFW have the Yank smoking a pig leg via a hatch towards the top of the chimney?

[henry d]

I was also wondering about using a smoke generator such as the baking tray or biscuit tin design, or one of those little mesh cages you can buy that burn sequentially, and suspending it in the flue.

 

That would be the way I would go, small charcoal block glowing and a huge pile of dust and chips over it

[FalconFN]

Sounds like a very good idea to me but I think it'll be a case of suck it and see. Light a fire and then test the temperature in the flue, then you'll have an idea of what you can smoke well. There is no reason why you couldn't cold smoke in summer and hot smoke in winter

[Zapp]

Excellent stuff, thanks to all for the advice.

 

Time to start measuring up for the hatch

[Pole Star]

Get a copy of John Seymours Self Sufficiency it covers pretty much the same thing as the River Cottage type ie an access hole about 10ft up in your chimney to hang stuff in , just make sure you burn the right stuff on the fire . not coal unless you like black !

[Jonty]

It would definitely work Zapp. If you've got a suitable source of hard wood there would be no reason to faff about with a form of generator as the wood will provide your heat and smoke. Using a cold smoke generator in something with the through draft of a chimney would be pointless. Once you've got the hatch in situ, spark up a 1 log per hour fire and monitor the temp at the hatch, then try a 2 log per hour etc. I have a friend in the states who spend many a pleasant evening tending a smoker this way, often with a glas of something erm, home purified to ward off the cold.

 

Once you know what temps you can achieve you'll get a better idea of what you can do with the smoker, the ranges you have to play with are:

 

sub 20 deg C - cold/mild smoking which will not cook the meat or render any fat - suitable for cured salmon/cheese mild smoked bacon etc

20 deg C to 70 deg C - heavier smoke but still not really cooking the meat or rendering the fat - ideal for stronger smoked bacon

110 deg C to 135 deg C - this will cook and smoke meat low and slow whilst rendering the fat and breaking down the collagen in the meat resulting in a tender joint with a smoke ring - ideal for things such as pulled pork or brisket where typically it would be cooked over long periods of time

135 deg C - 200 deg C - heavy fast smoking which will give you a smoke ring on the meat but as it is high temp cooking not break the meat down - typically suited for hot smoked chicken or mackerel etc

 

I think that if you could put some sort of metal baffle or plate in the chimney above the fire you would get some benefit as it would make the heat getting to the smoker area a little more indirect which is desirable for this type of cooking, and also stop drips from the meat etc causing flare ups on the fire.

[Zapp]

Superb, thank you. I'll have a think about the baffle idea, I dont think it would be too hard to achieve.