I’ve been learning how to cold smoke for many decades, and I now teach others how to do this craft through this website and in-person classes, whether it’s cold bacon or other foods.
I thought it would be hard to learn at first, but it’s not. Like everything, it’s a process; however, it’s also a craft. For some reason, people perceive it as really confusing. I hope to explain meat curing and cold smoking and slightly demystify the subject.
It’s also not like baking, roasting, or cooking in general. It has nuances and is multifaceted in some regards. These are what make it interesting to many for flavor or preservation factors.
Summary Points:
- Cold smoking has a reputation for being complex, but it’s a straightforward process.
- Cold smoking is primarily for preserving and flavoring meat; it can also be used for cheese, nuts, vegetables, spices, salt, dairy, or fungi.
- Equipment for cold smoking includes various devices like pellet tubes, maze smokers, smoke generators, or DIY setups.
- Cold smoking should be below 30°C (86°F) to prevent meat cooking, ideally a lot cooler.
- Cold smoking has been used for centuries for preservation and flavor enhancement, and European regulators are more advanced in understanding its safety.
- Cheese, nuts, chocolate, salt, and spices are easy foods to cold smoke, as are meats like bacon, fish, and turkey.
- Cold smoking requires an enclosed area with airflow and a reliable smoke source to ensure the safety and quality of the final product.
Cold Smoking is simple. However, it cannot be summarised in a short article; I’ve gone into some depth below. More so, it can be brief – but won’t cover the nuances that I think are important for successful and consistent outcomes.
With some essential equipment and knowledge, cold smoking can be incredibly satisfying.
I’ve got four different cold smoking devices/techniques to go over also.
Nowadays, you can find commercial and artisan cold-smoked goods everywhere. I have tried every cold-smoking technique and taught others how it is done.
Defining Cold Smoking
Cold smoke is for preservation and flavor.
It was necessary in many cultures that needed the protective impact it had before refrigerating was standardized.
Or it can be done for flavor alone.
Cold Smoking is technically done below 30°C/86°F. The meat must be fully dry, salt-cured, or brined properly. Above this temperature, if you cold-smoke meat, it will start to cook.
European guidelines (which are more advanced than many other countries) suggest cold smoke should be applied below 72°F/22°C.
Some German meat smoking books I have read suggest under 65°F/18°C.
That’s why I like to cold smoke between 50-68°F/10-20°C, personally, either on cool winter days or at night with a reliable smoking device. In winter, where I live, the humidity is about 75% regularly, which is ideal.
It takes 1 day to 6 weeks, depending on the meat recipe. It is done primarily to preserve and flavor the meat.
Although cold-smoked bacon does have a magnitude of variations in how long it is cold-smoked, unlike traditional dry-cured bacon, I choose about 6-10 hours of cold smoking for my bacon style.
The Principles of Cold Smoking
For meat, these are the most important points I can give you from what I have learned:
- Make sure you have fresh, good, high-quality meat
- Weighing before curing and working out the finished weight
- Make use of adequate refrigeration when processing meat
- Accurately salt cure or salt wet brine the meat
- Choose wood that won’t be too strong
- Have a smoke generator or cold smoking device
How to Cold Smoke in Detail
For a consistent result, there are subtleties and nuances. I’ll elaborate on each of these steps:
- Fully salt cure the meat
- Form pellicle on meat
- Setup a Reliable Cold Smoking Environment (In and Outside the Smoking Area)
- Cold smoke and dry in sessions
- Monitor the cold smoking regularly
- Refrigerate and continue the following day if needed
Salt curing is only applicable for meat, it is not required for dairy products like cheese.
The non-cured options for cold-smoked foods will be elaborated on at the bottom of this article. Cold-smoking foods that aren’t cured meat are an excellent way to learn and develop a feel for the craft of cold-smoking food.
1. Salt-Cure, Dry or Wet curing
Quality of the Meat
This is just a reminder that you want fresh meat. Ideally, it even has a good story behind it about its traceability. Locally harvested or bought meat often means the best flavor and best outcomes.
You do not want dry/wet aged meat; fresh meat is always best. That has been effectively refrigerated.
I have used frozen pork belly for bacon, which turned out great. I knew the quality and the traceability well.
Explaining Dry and Wet Curing
Dry salt curing involves covering the meat with salt and letting the process occur when the salt comes into contact with the meat. It is vital to ensure all areas of the meat have salt rubbed into them.
Salt Wet Brining – Simple Recipe
For example, Bacon – pork belly slab of 11 pounds /5kg (can be scaled to suit)
- 1 Gallon or 4 Liters of Water
- 250 grams of sea salt
- 125 grams (max of sugar)
- 80 grams Pink Curing Salt No. 1
Heat to dissolve in a pan and leave to cool to room temperature before brining.
Salt Dry Curing – Simple Recipe
2+% sea salt to the total weight of meat – this is using the dry salt equilibrium curing method I’ve written about a lot; here is a guide to understand this in detail.
2. Form Pellicle on Meat
Binding the proteins on the outside of the meat will allow the smoke vapor to attach to the meat more easily.
For some reason, many online guides do not cover this. The pellicle is essential to developing a good smoke flavor. This also relates to the environment inside and outside the smoker, which I’ll discuss.
Leaving the cured meat uncovered and hanging overnight in a relatively cool area achieves this; no insects or some protection (under 15°C/60°F) may be needed.
This can also be done on an uncovered, non-reactive rack inside the fridge.
Pellicle formation or drying the meat out before cold smoking can be done, I often do it. Since you are going to be cold smoking for long sessions, it isn’t vital so much. The meat should also start drying out in the cold smoker.
However, my preference is still to do it the same way as hot smoking pellicle formation. After curing, place in the fridge uncovered overnight.
3. Setup a Reliable Cold Smoking Environment
Under 20°C & 65-80% Humidity
I’ve seen a few people online trying to use charcoal smokers or another low-and-slow smoker to cold-smoke food. Most kettle charcoal smokers will not be under 30°C/86°F; some have used bowls of ice to keep the temperature down. Since the heat is inside the chamber, you’ll always create too much heat unless it’s a large chamber or a smokehouse.
For hot-smoked food, it’s okay to cook and smoke food at the same time, which is the definition of hot smoking, whether it’s with direct heat or indirect heat (portable hot smoker vs. offset low and slow smoker).
It won’t be able to cold smoke = smoking cured meat for flavor/preservation or just flavor.
I have just lit one piece of charcoal and sprinkled it with wood chips. As long as the smoking area remains cool, this can create cold smoke. This has worked by having the smoldering smoke outside the ‘food/meat’ area below it like this:
But with fire in the same chamber, it just doesn’t work. You need to pump ‘cold’ smoke into the chamber or have a fire small enough to generate minimal heat (like the pellet and maze smokers).
Considering you can quickly and cheaply acquire a maze or pellet tube smoker. This would be a better option for cold smoking. It also burns/smokes very consistently.
The actual smoke process is much simpler with cold smoking compared to hot smoking in some ways. I think it’s straightforward if you have your basic factors, which are:
- Reliable cold smoker – pellet tube, smoker generator, maze smoker
- An enclosed area where the meat or food is
- Under 86°F or 30°C – much less ideally
Here is a video overview I made about cold smoking also.
Cold Smoking Setup – Options
You can easily make a cold smoker box, wine barrel, cabinet, or smokehouse; many options are available. Attaching a smoker generator to it is simple.
Cold Smoke devices are available to create smoke like the above, with adjustable airflow.
More options are below under “Equipment for Cold Smoking.”
Choosing the Wood
Lighter hardwoods like apple and cherry are my preference for cold smoking. Heavier or stronger woods like mesquite will create a deeper, more robust flavor. Ideally, I like to mix them. Sometimes, I use an 80:20 ratio of light to stronger wood.
For more wood selection, I wrote easy universal woods in this post.
4. Cold Smoke the Meat
Once the smoke enters the area, it’s pretty straightforward. You can use a thermometer to ensure the temperature is under 25°C or 86°F. If I’m using an electric cold smoker attachment or smoke generator, I don’t normally bother. I wait until the temperature outside is under 25°C / 77°F.
You shouldn’t have any issues if you have fully cured the meat and it’s cool, winter, or maybe nighttime.
Keep Your Cold Smoking out of the Sun
The sun can heat things, so I always try to find a shady spot to do the cold smoking on the porch. The sun will swing across the sky, so consider this when positioning your cold smoking session.
Hanging & Racks
It does come down to the design. Traditionally, fish fillets and salami are hung. But if you have racks in the smoker, it can also work this way.
I read in a book that if you hang meat, the salt is drawn down through it.
One advantage of being hung is that smoke can more easily surround the meat.
5. Monitor the Cold Smoking Regularly
When it comes to smokehouses with offset smoking areas or smoke generators, I find myself checking every hour or two to make sure the smoke is still being generated. Sometimes, a smoke generator will go out and need igniting again.
Since you are generally cold-smoking for hours or a few days, it’s just nice to have a look now and then.
6. Refrigerate and Continue the Following Day
It’s an extended process, but if you want to take breaks, you can wrap the meat up and put it in the fridge for the next session. Cold smoking requires rest every 4-8 hours, especially for pork and red meat.
When cold or hot smoked food is refrigerated, the smoke flavor intensifies once completed. This is even when you cook/smoke a sausage and leave it in the fridge overnight.
I find it sometimes hard to put it in the fridge; it gets devoured too quickly!
Equipment For Cold Smoking
- Cold Smoking Device
- Food
- Salt
Here is a review of the Smokai I did; it’s a solid and a consistent clean smoking…. cold smoker. Can be used to boost smoke for a hot smoker or low and slow smoker also.
That’s about it when it comes to cold smoking; the equipment needed is simple. I guess this is why is done so widely across many European countries.
You want to make sure the meat is refrigerated before cold smoking will give the best outcomes.
Also, full salt curing of the meat is essential.
There are many ways to cold smoke; here is a selection that I am familiar with. You need to generate smoke and make sure the smoking area is well under 30 °C. In that old smoking book I read, Home Smoking & Curing by Keith Erlandson, it mentions that meat starts to cook above 30°C, hence why cold smoking occurs below this temperature.
DIY Smoker Options & Designs
Below, it will cover the simplest of smoking devices, which can be used in many smoking chambers, structures, or smokehouses.
Most designs I have seen have two chambers.
- An area where wood is smoking & smoldering
- food or meat area where meat can be hung or on racks
A pipe or some connection is made so the smoke can travel to the smoking food area. Because the fire/wood is in a different area, this keeps the temperature below the all-important 30°C or 86°F, generally speaking.
I came across one Dutch butcher many years ago. He had a huge metal storage tank with double doors. He would make a large pile of sawdust below the meat and light it with a blow torch. Because it was 6 feet below where the meat was hung, and it was winter, the temperature always remained low.
The devices below can be used inside a smoking area, depending on their dimensions.
Pellet Tube & Maze Style Smoke Devices
You will find these work very similarly to each other. You light one end, and it starts smoking—pretty simple. However, because it isn’t a controlled form of burning, it can be a little hit-and-miss. For example, sometimes I find the pellets stop burning.
Keeping an eye on this method is key. It would help if you also remembered fire needs oxygen, so how you set these devices up needs to consider this factor.
I use a pellet tube on the gas grill to enhance my cooking, such as steaks or eggplant. Alternatively, I leave the gas grill heat off and use the enclosed area to cold-smoke some food.
A pellet tube or maze might not generate enough smoke to fill a smokehouse or larger cabinet. I guess it does depend on the design.
Smoke Generator (Venturi Effect)
This has a significant advantage over many electric smoker accessories or the above maze or tube smokers. It has variable controllers, so you can control how much smoke is generated and how it burns.
Depending on the wood you use, this means you have more control over the cold smoking project.
These can come in a range of sizes. I find they can create a good amount of smoke. I’ve played around pumping smoke into my gas grill BBQ, portable smoker, and kettle BBQ.
Some smoke generators can handle larger chips and chunks of wood, while others are more suited to pellet wood fuels. I’ve tried using the unrecommended wood sizes a few times, but it becomes annoying because you have to relight or clean out the tubes often. If I were you, I would avoid this experimental behavior.
This is a ‘cool’ (cold smoke) invention. I have been using it for many years. My smoke generator came with a drill bit. You can then make a hole and use a nut and thread to mount the smoker in many different locations.
A small air
The key to smoke generators working effectively is to use good, dry wood that’s right-sized for the device. Some generators prefer chunkier-sized wood, while others prefer some dimensions or pellets.
If your looking for the 'ducks nuts' (that means a very good bit of equipment). A smoke generator can be used as a cold smoker, or adding smoke to indirect cooking which equates to a form of 'low & slow' bbq or making smoked ham and some much more.
The inventor of smoke generators was Smokai, it's a simple device that uses the venturi effect and a variable air pump to control the amount of smoke you are pumping.
I have a range of cold smoking options, and the Smokai is my favorite.
By far the smokai is the most efficient cold smoker I've come across because you have control.
It also burns very clean, which flavors the food exceptionally well. I've been using smoke generators for over 10 years, and this one is the ducks nuts.
Check out this review I did of the Smokai Smoke Generator here.
As mentioned, you probably want to start with something non-meat, like cheese. That’s nice and simple, actually, a lot of milk or non-milk-based products can be cold smoked, believe or not even chocolate!
This can just help make sure you have an environment conducive to cold smoking.
- Under 30 degrees temperature at all times (ideally 10-20)
- Enclosed area with an exhaust for the smoke
- reliable smoke generation
Tom Mueller
For decades, immersed in studying, working, learning, and teaching the craft of meat curing, sharing the passion and showcasing the world of charcuterie and smoked meat. Read More