Smoking Peppers

[violentblue]

I kow a lot of you guys here are very much DIY. so I figured I'd ask
I'm moving to an acerage, always wanted my own smoker, but never attempted it before.
would you use the same kind of smoker for meat as you'd use for smoking peppers and other veggies?

[punkin]

I use mine for meat, jerky, salt, nuts and chillis. No reason why you couldn't use a controllable cold smoker for cheese or whatever you wanted. I went with electricity for the ease of control after trying fire and gas.



The stainless box down the bottom holds the smoke material (used wet oak sticks from bourbon or rum are terriffic) and is heated by an electric element salvaged from a stovetop.
The top 80 litre (21 gallon) keg holds three trays for smoking and has an element in it for seperate temp control.



I've got most of the materials gathered for a new, larger drier for jerky and malt barley with a lot more trays, just have to find the time to start yet another project....

[theholymackerel]

Yep.

A smoker can be as complex or as simple as ya want. They break down into wet smokers, and dry.

I use a Webber Smokey Mountain (just about the best wet smoker ya can buy, and the only one ready to go outta the box), I have a friend who built himself a fancy unit with a thermostat and an electric element.

I know one guy that has a nice cabin that he uses for duck/goose huntin' each year. It's west of Taos on a mesa covered with dirt-hippy squatters. He uses a hollow log leaned up against a juniper tree. He starts a small smoky fire under it and hangs the birds inside it from strings. He does super low temp multiple-day smokes. He says durin' daylight hours all the hippys give him crap about drinkin' booze and huntin' and eatin' meat, but when the sun goes down they come by with their hats in their hands wantin' some booze and meat on the sly. Heh.

[punkin]

Yep.

A smoker can be as complex or as simple as ya want. They break down into wet smokers, and dry.

I use a Webber Smokey Mountain (just about the best wet smoker ya can buy, and the only one ready to go outta the box), I have a friend who built himself a fancy unit with a thermostat and an electric element.

I know one guy that has a nice cabin that he uses for duck/goose huntin' each year. It's west of Taos on a mesa covered with dirt-hippy squatters. He uses a hollow log leaned up against a juniper tree. He starts a small smoky fire under it and hangs the birds inside it from strings. He does super low temp multiple-day smokes. He says durin' daylight hours all the hippys give him crap about drinkin' booze and huntin' and eatin' meat, but when the sun goes down they come by with their hats in their hands wantin' some booze and meat on the sly. Heh.

I've always seen em classified as either cold smokers or hot smokers, never wet or dry?

The cold smoker cures your food at around 60 C using the smoke and pickle as a preservative, whereas a hot smoker actually cooks your food using the smoke as a flavouring.

You can get the same flavouring by smoking salt on a tray in your cold smoker (or probably hot smoker too) until it's a dirty grey sorta colour.
Use it in cooking to give that smoky flavour to anything you want. Great in boiled peas and tops in chilli salt or salt and pepper squid. VERY nice sprinkled over roast vegies before cooking.

We learnt commercial fishing as a family from a very old fella who'd been netting all his life. He had an old upside down rainwater tank that he'd cut a door in and used to smoke any large quantities of Tailor over a couplea days. Ive never been able to smoke fish as good as old Edgar did, and i've never found a commercial source even approaching the flavour and quality.
Was funny what you say about the hippies too as we had the same experience when fishing the lake, we used to haul to a beach and stand in the water sorting the pocket. Always the locals would wander down with a bucket in hand for a couplea freebies or to scoop up some undersized deadun's.
Funny thing was, the local Seven Day Adventist camp used to do the same thing, even though we were aware their religion shunned them eating finned fish.

[punkin]

Just googled 'wet smoker' and did find one link though...

http://www.toxictommy.com/brinkmann-review.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Doesn't sound like a good system to me.

[Tomfooleryxxx]

Complete plans for a smoker made out of old propane tanks in PDF fomat http://www.compuvices.com/smoker.shtml

[violentblue]

hmmm lots to think about
thanks all.

smoked cheeze, always enjoyed it, never thought of making it myself.

[violentblue]

thats a nice setup, I might construct something similar

[Butch50]

You can get the same flavouring by smoking salt on a tray in your cold smoker (or probably hot smoker too) until it's a dirty grey sorta colour.
Use it in cooking to give that smoky flavour to anything you want. Great in boiled peas and tops in chilli salt or salt and pepper squid. VERY nice sprinkled over roast vegies before cooking.

By God I love this forum! I have never heard of that; it is a truly inspired idea! I am going to give that a try on my next smoker run!

[Dnderhead]

4 us gal water (3 1/3 IP g) water
5lb salt ( 8cups
1 lb brown sugar (1/2 kg
3 cloves garlic
small onion ( run garlic/ onion in blinder)
hot sauces if you want to taste
mix to together ------brine fish, for at 1 hour per lb pat dry , hot or cold smoke.
I also have a sweet brine recipe somewhair

[blanikdog]

I am NOT going to make a smoker!!!!! Well, not until I finish my new condenser - complete with parrot.

[violentblue]

the plan is to have enough land that I can be self sufficient.
smoke my own meat and veg, preserve my own fruit and veg, make my own drink and grind my own flour.

it is a bit of a pipe dream, bt its getting closer each day. now if oak trees only grew a little faster, I could make my own barrells.

[Rudi]

I would love to be self sufficient just seems impossible at the moment so I spend my time learning and thinkin and collecting plans cause one day its gonna happen

[CoopsOz]

I am NOT going to make a smoker!!!!! Well, not until I finish my new condenser - complete with parrot.

Aw man, now I'm gonna have to find another keg! Any build pointers Punkin? I am gonna be up shit creek if a CUB rep ever comes past my house!

[punkin]

I am NOT going to make a smoker!!!!! Well, not until I finish my new condenser - complete with parrot.

Aw man, now I'm gonna have to find another keg! Any build pointers Punkin? I am gonna be up shit creek if a CUB rep ever comes past my house!

Ahhhh... the tubing came from a truck parts place it's flexible exaust tubing in about 2".

The elements and controlls came from the tip outa an old stove, i used the solid type electric elements, big one in the keg and the smaller one under the stainless box. Frame is just a bit of 3/4 rhs with timber decking for a bench.

Been a long while since i built it, but if ya have any queries along the way, i'll do my best to help out.

The keg is an old style '18' btw (pommy gallons)

[alice]

What temp do you run that neat rig at, Punkin? Looks right up my alley...

[punkin]

Hams and chicken and stuff is cured at 60C. You can run a little cooler for jerky, i only give the jerky an hour or so smoke at the start of the cure and an hour or so in middle, takes ten or twelve hours for jerky, i think the new drier will be better for the jerky as i'm gunna incorporate a 12v computer fan to get more air circulation.
A good size ham takes 35-40 hours, but i mainly do pork belly as bacon nowadays (14-20 hours), the hams are more trouble than they're worth. The bacon is excellent, as are chicken fillets smoked up for 16 hours or so. Drumsticks are worth the wait too. Nuts go well, i've done my home grown pecans and cold smoked fish butterflied are one of the ones that don't last very long at all.

[blanikdog]

... I am gonna be up shit creek if a CUB rep ever comes past my house!

Me too, coops/ I've been eyeing some at the pub and this is a good motivation to 'purchase' one.

[Dutchmancreek]

I agree with TheHolyMackerel.....the Weber Smokey Mountain is the best all around smoker you can buy. I use mine to the exclusion of the other smokers setting around here. It'll hold temperature for 12 to 16 hours with no fussing around and can be used with a water pan or dry. Runs about $200 with free shipping from Amazon.

[msrorysdad]

I'm sorry guys I've been gone a while and you let this one slip. I tried smokin peppers once, my lungs hurt for weeks.

[theholymackerel]

They are hard to keep lit too.

[punkin]

Papers keep tearing, yeah, yeah.....













SlippedCauseItwasJustTooObviousPunkin

[punkin]

Started the new dryer/smoker today, cleaned out the box i'm gunna use and removed all the brackets and wires and stuff. Got some light angle here that'll be fine for slides for the racks. The inside of the box measures 600 x 600 x 400 deep (2' x 2' x about 16" or so), and i reckon i can get 6 or 8 shelves in there.
Got some old circular vents from a Webber here, that i can screw to the top to allow moisture to escape, and the piece standing up at the back will lay down above an electric element on a thermostat controller on the base and act as a diffusser. A 12v computer fan will be mounted at the very back to assist in circulating air. I believe the perspex in the door will have to go, it's a damn pity though (might give it a dry run with it still in there first and see what the heat does to it?)

Qestion for the electronics gurus. I'm in Aus, so have 240V, what size element in watts would one guess would be nessercary to use to be able to hold temps tween say 40 C for grain drying and 55 C for jerky while still being able to crank it up to 70c or so in the winter?










AnyIdeasOrSuggestionsPunkin

[violentblue]

smoked some Jalepeno peppers, gave them a try and boy are they hot and smokie, I think these ones are for sauses only

[junkyard dawg]

Violentblue, I leave my japs on the plants till they turn red, then slow smoke for a couple of days. After that I dry them in the sun and grind 'em. MAkes a great fiery hot chile powder that I use all the time. A little of this goes a long way... It is HOT!

[violentblue]

yup, bought these peppers at the local ethnic foods store, they are so much hotter thas\n any jalepenos I've ever bought at the big grocery stores.

there is a lot of flavor there, I think I'll have to look out for a pepper that is not so hot to smoke.



on a semi-related note, anyone here smoke cheeze before? I love smoked cheeze but never attempted to make it before. now I got myself a little smoker and I'm going to go nuts smoking everything I can get my hands on.