How to Cold-Smoke Meats

Cold smoking is how bacon is made. Just like bacon, you have to cook your cold smoked meat before eating it. Cold smoking meats is a time-intensive undertaking. Cold smoking requires relatively low temperatures and is best attempted in the colder weather months. It is a way to preserve meats that will need to be fully cooked later. Get out your wood smoker and follow these directions to cold smoke many different meats.

Things You'll Need

• Wood smoker Charcoal Charcoal starter Wood chips Matches Sea salt

Instructions

Cold smoking

1. Purchase a wood smoker with an offset firebox. The smoke will reach the food through a pipe leading from the fire box to the smoking chamber, thus keeping much of the heat from the fire out of the smoking chamber.

2. Light three or four charcoal briquettes in a charcoal starter, and when they are burning add them to the wood smoker's offset firebox. As the charcoal burns out you should light more and add to the firebox.

3. Add wood chips on top of the hot coals to produce smoke. Whenever you have to light and add more charcoal, you should also add more wood chips.

4. Keep the temperature in the smoke chamber between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit for cold smoking. Cold smoking works best in the winter , as the cool outside air may prevent your smoker from getting too hot.

5. Cover the meat to be smoked in sea salt. Place in the wood smoker from four hours to four days, according to your time available and preferences. This meat will not be ready to eat after smoking. It will have to be cooked prior to consumption due to the possibility of contamination.

Tips & Warnings

• Experimenting with different meats and different smoking times will increase your proficiency at cold smoking

• Always fully cook cold-smoked meat before eating it.