The cold weather is still upon us and your BBQ's are still in a well-deserved hibernation state after a blazing hot summer. But sometimes you need to step out of your normal barbecue comfort zone, and 2019 is the year to learn how Cold Smoking can open up a whole new world of flavour possibilities.

What is cold smoking?

Since 2010 cold smoking has been used by top chefs, fishermen, and foodies all around the world to add beautiful smoky flavours to foods such as fish, meat, cheese and nuts to name a few, the list is endless!

In this blog we discuss how the ProQ Cold Smoke Generator is used to smoke many of your favourite foods.

The cold smoking process is used in conjunction with the curing process; it preserves and enriches that rich smoky flavour into lots of different meats and fish.

Why cold smoke?

Cold smoking is different from hot smoking as food remains raw rather than being cooked. With temperature levels reaching no more than 20 degrees the food is infused with a cool woody flavour that gets those taste buds salivating!

This process goes back a long way as the technique was used to preserve meat in the winter when food was limited. But this culinary cooking art is seeing a strong comeback for its easy role of intensifying flavours.

How is it done?

If you are a cold smoking novice it is best if you start with a low risk food like cheese, this will allow you to get a handle on the technique.

It is a very simple process and you will wonder why you haven’t tried it sooner!

Fill the ProQ Cold Smoke Generator (CSG) with wood dust, ensuring the dust is level and top of the spiral is visible. Light the candle and place into position, when you see smoke remove the candle, the dust will smoulder for around 10 hours.

Place the smoker into your ProQ Eco Smoker cabinet or better yet you could bring your BBQ / smoker out of hibernation early and place it under the grill and close the hood. Let the cold smoker work its magic and voila!!

When using the CSG we find that cheese comes out best when smoked for 2-3 hours. You can use any hard cheese, but if using a dense cheese like cheddar it is best to cut it up into smaller pieces to allow more smoke penetration.

Remove the cheese from the smoker, pat dry with some kitchen towel, wrap in cling film and then leave the cheese in the fridge to rest overnight.

Now you’ve mastered smoked cheese, your cold smoking journey has begun!

Smokey Suggestions…

  • Peppers- (Jalapenos our favourite)
  • Garlic
  • Haddock/Mackerel/Salmon
  • Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Advanced option: Cured Meats- Salami/Bacon

The Flavour FIVE

The ProQ Cold Smoke Generator uses ProQ Smoking wood dust which is of 100% natural, containing little or no bark and sourced from sustainable forests. It comes in 5 main smoky flavours:

Hickory
Cherry
Maple
Oak
Whiskey Oak
These can also be purchased in additional flavours; Alder, Apple and Beech.

Don’t be afraid to use different woody flavours. Oak is the most popular and can be used for smoking pretty much anything, whereas Hickory can be used for Chicken and Pork, Apple for Ribs and Beech for fish.

Or why not create your own flavour by mixing different wood dusts together!

Safety Savvy Smokers

The ProQ Cold Smoker should only be used outdoors avoiding wind and rain and in a well ventilated area, as it can create the odourless fumes of Carbon Monoxide which can be lethal if inhaled. The tea-light should also be removed once the dust has started to smoulder and before being inserted into the smoking cabinet. Your ProQ Cold Smoke Generator kit can be purchased here on our website