of usingheat. Some people believe that cold smoking occurs attemperatures between 160-190 degrees F, but smoking at thistemperature is really a form of hot smoking. Types of Smoked FoodsA few examples of foods that are usually cold-smoked includebacon, sausage, ham, cheese, and fish. When smoking fish, apreservation salt is needed to pickle the fish before it issmoked. This will help prevent bacteria from groing while thefish is curing in the smoke.When to Use Cold SmokingCold smoking is very difficult, and even impossible in thesummer months, because the outside air temperature is normallyas hot as or hotter than the temperature needed for true coldsmoking. The best time to use cold smoking is during the wintermonths when the days are typically cooler.How it WorksThe key to cold-smoking is using smoke to cure the food. Toachieve such a low cooking temperature while c...

...ooking with smoke,the fire needs to be in a seperate container than the food beingsmoked. The smoke is transferred to the cooking container bypiping, and the heat can be easily regulated.If you are using a wood smoker with a offset fire box, it can bevery hard to consistently maintain the low temperature neededfor cold smoking. The easiest way I have found to achieve thelow cooking temperature is to use a charcoal starter to lightonly a few coals at a time. When the coals in the smoker burndown, simply use the starter to light more charcoal, to add asmall amount of charcoal that is already lit to the fire box.Then wood chips can be added to produce smoke.Cold Smoked Salmon RecipeUse frozen salmon because it has lost some of it's moistureduring the freezing process, and it will accept the brinesolution quicker.Preparation:1. Cut the Salmon filets into 3x6 inch pieces. 2. Prepare abrine solution of salt, brown sugar, and water. The salt tobrown sugar ratio is 2:1. With 2.5 gallons of water, you willneed 7 cups of salt, and 3.5 cups of brown sugar. The water willbe about 80% salt, and to test if the water is salty enough, andegg should float. 3. Place the fish in the brine solution. Makesure the fish filets are completely submerged. 4. Refridgeratefor 12-24 hours. If the filets are thin, the time will beshorter. 5. Before removing the fish from the brine solution,slice one filet open down the middle to see if the brine hasfully penetrated it. If the brine has not fully penetrated thefilet, place leave the rest in the solution for a little longer,and then test again. 6. When the filets are done, remove themfrom the solution and place under cold running water for 1 hour.7. Place the filets on a cookie sheet, and refidgerate for 12more hours. This will allow the salt to even out.Smoking:1. Place in a smoker at 70-85 degrees F for 12-16 hours. I usecharcoal and add mesquite or hickory chips to produce the smoke.2. When the fish are done, vacuum seal the filets and freeze for3 days for parasite control.The Smoker King...