Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

You've always wondered how to build a curing/aging chamber. Well wonder no longer!

Equipment:

· 1 - True beverage cooler

· 1 - Ink Bird Humidity Controller

· 1 - Ink Bird Temperature Controller

· 1 - Ultrasonic Humidifier w/ rocker type on/off switch

· 1 - Dehumidifier w/ rocker type on/off switch

· 1 - Heater (undecided)

· 1 - Power strip

Hardware:

· 4 - #8 x ¾ machine screw and nuts (power strip and Ink Bird Controller outlet hold downs)

· 46 - # x 5/8 sheet metal screws (cable ties, pipe strap and bracket hangers)

· 26 – ¼ P-strap cable straps

Electrical:

· 3 – duplex 120v wall outlets

· 3 – PVC electric surface wall box

· 3 – PVC duplex cover plates

· 3 – ½” PVC male adapters

· 3 – ½” PVC 90

· 3 – ½” PVC pipe straps

· 24” - ½” PVC pipe (wall sleeves for the power outlets and temp/humidity sensor and the risers going up the outside of the curing chamber)

· 4 – male 3 prong 120v plug end (Plug into the controllers)

· 1 – female 3 prong 120v plug end (Compressor and/or refrigerator to plug into this. Basically made an extension cord from the controller to the fridge plug)

· 12 feet +/- of 16ga power cord. (Home center sells for $0.42 per foot or I sacrificed an old extension cord)

· 12” – 1” x 1” x 1/6” aluminum angle (mounts for power strip and Ink Bird Controller outlets)

Tools:

· Phillips and straight screw driver

· Drill motor

· 1/8” drill bit

· 1-1/8” hole saw

· Wire strippers and tape measure

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  Fridge inside lower right side
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  Fridge bottom w/ humidifier and dehumidifier plugged in
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  Frontal nudity
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  Controls right side of fridge
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  Controls and equipment
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  I found a heater at Lowes last evening.Its small and has a hi/low/off toggle switch and as a max of 200w. Best parts was it was inexpensive at $16.00.
  
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    Curing chambers is not 100% ready to go
    
    I actually ordered an Inkbird ITC-1000 temp controller and a Image WH8040 humidity controller and an going to try and make my own control panel for a cheese cave. If it works out I might make a couple more and put them up f/s sale. Should be able to sell them for just under $100 complete in 1 of 2 ways:
    
    Option 1 - 4 120v outlet on the control panel (heat/cool/humidify/dehumidify) Then simply plug your components into the outlets.
    
    Option 2 - Have 4 foot long cords coming out the bottom of the control panel with 120v female plugs on them for (heat/coo/humidify/dehumidify) Than way if you want to put some or all of the plugs interior of the fridge, unwire the plus drill a 1/2" hole to put in a sleeve in the fridge wall and put then cord through the sleeve and seal with foods grade silicone caulk. Then rewire the plug end.
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    And finally for the smoker portion of the thread. Summer sausage hanging in the curing chamber to cure and age overnight prior to getting smoked in the morning:​
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I need this for venison.

 

Saving this. Thanks!

 

A couple of build notes.

• A chest freezer or a household refrigerator can make a fine curing/aging chamber or cheese cave as the controls take care of all the things need to keep and maintain a controlled micro climate. Upright freezers DO NOT work because typically each of the freezer shelves in a upright act as the evaporator and have a refrigerant circuit running through them.
• When drilling through you soon to be chamber make sure there are no refrigerant lines or wiring where you are drilling.
• For the heater/humidifier and dehumidifier get ones with on/off rocker switches. That way you set them in the "ON" position and the controller turns them on/off as needed. My humidifier has a 4 position momentary switch that required me taking the humidifier apart and reworking a few connections on the board so it is always powered on and the switch is bypassed. Its not hard to do but if I had to do all over I'd have sent that humidifier back and gotten something different.
• Order as much if not all the components at one time. Try not to piece mill it. It gets frustrating getting one facet about 90% complete only to find you ran out of screws or cable ties. So you move onto anther facet and find you only have 50% of the stuff for it. Soon you have loose ends all over the place and not much to show for your work.

When I original set out to make my curing chamber I wasn't sure what to do. No one had really compiled a complete list of components mostly just what controllers they used. So my 1st order was controllers. Then I shopped for and ordered a humidifier. Two days later shopped and ordered a dehumidifier, then several days after that same for a heater. Plus no less than 4 trips to the local home center to get various components. So my build took over a week when if I had all my components I could have done it in a weekend and now that I've done it I could build one done in a Saturday morning.

 

On leftover steak, if it is somewhat lean I will often slice it thin and eat it cold. Especially with some thin sliced sharp cheddar. Like most here I really like it for breakfast too. I usually cut up and cook bacon, onion and mushroom with butter to mix with the bacon grease first then a couple of eggs. While I am doing that I will put the steak in the oven at 250° for half an hour or so. Check the temp and pull it about 140°.

Pretty much like how America's Test Kitchen reccomends



Didn't have any leftover steak this morning. But had a ribeye I pulled out of the freezer Friday and planned on cooking last night. Ended up meeting a friend at a pub instead. Grilling chicken later today so this morning was a good time. Any time is a good time for grilling steak, but not sure why I don't do it for breakfast more often.



Bacon. Mushrooms. Onion. Butter. Eggs. in the cast iron skillet.



Damn that was good and should do it more often in the morning. When I recover LOL need to start brining then marinating some chicken for later today.

 

Sweet cave simulator

Slap on a charcoal filter and hang a light and that appliance could multitask lol

Dibs on a salami should U ever make a run of them

 

My cooler already has a 18" fluorescent fixture in it on a separate on/off switch. So an aging chamber is just a 18" UV bulb away and a few pieces of cardboard to block the UV rays from escaping the glass.

1st to dry age will be the 6 Guanciale I have had curing since last Saturday. I need to get a couple fermentation starters so I can so a batch of Sopessata and Soujouk.

Salami will certainly get done at some point along with Bresaola once eye of rounds go on sale again.

 

I’m so hungry

 

Damn @PerazziMx14 taking people to school today!

 

Did you rub with lemon pepper and add more after plating? Looks good!

 

I usually spray mist mine with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle lemon pepper over top give a few good tosses then plate

 

DAYUM!

 

You guys know I eat a ton of chicken (leg quarters mostly). Well look at this price.
Of course 40lbs came home with me. But today it’ll be baby backs, prepping as we speak.

 

Everyone heard that @scottalot was having another cook. Eastbound traffic was more like a bbq exodus!

 

I wanna BBQ, but I'm sick... everyone food looks good though!!!

 

This was the other day 2 exits down from me on I-10. Some people I know were stuck on the freeway for 4 hours. Very unfortunate event. https://www.pe.com/2018/02/16/eastb...t-down-after-semi-truck-crashes-catches-fire/

 

Hope you get better soon, there is some really nasty stuff going around. Will be plenty of time for you to BBQ later, take care of yourself now.

 

I marinated them in Stubb’s garlic citrus for about an hour, the when the came off the grill sprinkled with some lemon pepper seasoning

 

Read some pages back that you crazies were dry rubbing your steaks and then letting them “marinade” openly in the fridge allowing air to flow around them.

Giving it a shot with a quick SPOG+PF rub on some NYers. Probably hit them with some olive oil and Worcester sauce an hour before cook time.

Smoke to temp and then reverse sear on the propane.

 

Smoked dried venison sausage and hasbrowns