Fall and winter are perfect seasons for cold smoking.
For those who don't know what it is, cold smoking is actually a process that "cooks" food with brine, salt, and smoke. You'll notice that "cook" is in quotes, because in fact, the BBQ is not lit; the meat (or cheese, or nuts...) is not actually cooking. Also, for your cold smoking to be a success, it is very important that it is cool/cold outside (a temperature between 0 and 10 °C is ideal) so that bacteria do not proliferate in the food.
What can you cold smoke? Honestly, quite a few things. Meats (not chicken, mind you!), cheeses, spices, sauces, nuts, and fish (some species) can be cold smoked without any problem. As for meats, they can generally be cold smoked, but they must be properly cured and always at a maximum temperature of 4 °C for cold smoking to be 100% safe. By the way, whatever recipe you make, I assure you that the result will be delicious!
Cold smoking is really great, and above all, very easy. There are even several ways to do it. So I'm going to show you 2 possible methods and tell you, at the same time, everything you need to know to cold smoke like a pro.
Method 1: with the BBQ Quebec Smoke Maze Smoker
The Smoker Labyrinth BBQ Québec is a very simple to use accessory that allows you to transform any BBQ (yes, even a propane BBQ) into a cold smoker. More precisely, the Smoker is a lightweight, durable and portable smoke generator with which you can burn pellets or sawdust. The BBQ is not lit, it serves as a receptacle for food and smoke.
The type of pellets or sawdust is important to consider because the type of wood you choose will infuse your food with its own unique flavor. If you use maple pellets, for example, you will be infusing your food with a maple flavor, which will make it really, really delicious. 🤤 (No, it won’t taste like maple syrup, since it’s a light smoke, but the maple flavor is already well-known to our taste buds, so it will be perfect.)
When filled with pellets (or sawdust), each "section" of the Smoker represents approximately 4 hours of smoking. So, if you want to cold smoke for approximately 12 hours, you only have to fill the accessory completely with fuel. Once this is done, you only have to light the pellets (or sawdust) through the hole on one end and let them burn. If you want to smoke more intensely and more quickly, you can even light the fuel at both ends.
Once about 1 inch of pellets (or sawdust) has burned, extinguish the flame and place the accessory in the BBQ. The principle is simple: the fuel will start to burn quietly, which will release smoke, therefore an aroma, and give an incredible flavor to your food.
You can place the Smoker on the grill of your BBQ, on the opposite side of where your food is, or, ideally, as far away from your food as possible, so either directly on the burners, or, right under the burners. Be careful, since there is heat coming off the fuel, you don't want any food directly above the accessory! If you find that the heat is too high, one thing you can do to reduce its intensity is to place a BBQ Québec Pizza Stone above the Smoker. You'll see, it works very well.
Once everything is in place, all you have to do is close the lid of your BBQ and let the Smoker smoke slowly and do its good work. Since there is no “cooking” involved, however, make sure that the temperature inside your BBQ is as low as possible, i.e. below 80°F, or even better, below 70°F, throughout the smoking process. To ensure that the temperature remains low, you can even add bags of ice to the BBQ, if necessary. Also, a tip: make sure that your BBQ is not exposed to the sun, especially if it is dark, as its internal temperature could quickly rise above 70°F.
Method 2: with the All-in-1
The All-in-1 is an accessory that, like the Smoker, can be used for cold and hot smoking, but unlike the latter, can transform your BBQ (kettle type only) into more than one thing. Yes, yes, as its name suggests, the All-in-1 really allows you to do everything on the BBQ (or almost), simply by installing it on your machine. With the All-in-1, your BBQ can become a smoker, a rotisserie, a pizza oven… whatever you want.
To cold smoke with the All-in-1, on the other hand, the Smoker is still necessary. The difference is that by installing the All-in-1 on your BBQ, you will create a larger space between the grill and the lid of your appliance, which will allow you to keep a lower temperature more easily.
Also, if you want to smoke a larger quantity of your food, you can put an additional grid on your All-in-1. More food, more happiness!
Taste above all
Cold smoking is another way of cooking on the BBQ that gives incredible results. If you want to equip yourself to do this, there are other products than the Smoker, pellets, sawdust and All-in-1 that may interest you.
Indeed, what would a good smoked salmon be without seasonings!? The wow effect would certainly be less strong. BBQ Québec dry marinades are therefore really essential for cold smoking. If you are making salmon, sprinkle it with a mixture of Caribbean, Montreal , California dry marinades and Gâteau seasoning before smoking it, you will see, you will FUCKING CRAP. (If I have made you want to try it, my recipe is right here . 😉) Want to smoke cheese? A mixture of Tex-Max and Jamaican Jerk dry marinades will give something absolutely awesome. Seriously, let your imagination run wild, you will create crazy combinations!
Also, to let your food marinate in your mixture of ingredients, I recommend you use aSacAZip or, again, a Napoleon Marinade Tray . In both cases, you will be able to put a large quantity of meat (or fish, or nuts ...) and easily store everything in your refrigerator.
At the end of the process, you can even pour Quebec BBQ sauces on your food when it comes out of your BBQ to get even wilder results! 👌
And there you have it, you now have the keys to success in your possession to cold smoke like a real “pitmaster”.
Happy BBQ!