Free Smoking Meat by Jeff Phillips Page B

pour some of the saved
jus
or some broth over the top. Set the removable pot back into the slow cooker base and heat on high for three to four hours, or until the meat is warm enough to serve.
    Oven
    Using the oven is the best method for reheating quickly when you do not have a vacuum sealer. After the meat has finished smoking, place it in a deep pan covered with foil and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat it (not to exceed three days). Save the meat’s drippings as
jus
for the reheating process.
    To reheat, preheat the oven to 350° F . Remove the foil from the meat, and pour some of the saved
jus
or some broth over the top. Recover with foil and set in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the meat reaches the desired serving temperature.
    COLD SMOKING BASICS
    An entire book could be devoted to cold smoking, so while I don’t intend to delve too deeply into this topic here, I can give a few pointers on how to set up your smoker for creating smoke with little or no residual heat.
    Cold smoking is great for cheese, bacon, seafood, and lean meats such as steak or wild game. For the last three items, which are typically grilled, I recommend cold smoking for 30 to 45 minutes right before grilling. Although they would be exposed to smoke from grilling only, the smoke flavor would be minimal because of the short duration spent on the grill. By adding a cold smoking session just before grilling, the smoke flavor can be greatly enhanced.
    For cheese especially, it is imperative that the heat be no higher than 90° F to prevent the cheese from melting all over your smoker. There are several options for creating the much-needed smoke while keeping the heat to the bare minimum.
    Dual Smoker Method
    This method of cold smoking is the most difficult. I mention it because it has been used so much over the years, but I don’t recommend it since there are much easier ways to accomplish the task.
    Basically, smoker A is filled with lit charcoal and some wood chips or chunks to create smoke. A dryer hose or other pipe is attached to the top of smoker A and run slightly uphill about 6 to 10 feet to smoker B. The hose is attached to the bottom of smoker B, which contains the cheese or other food you want to smoke. As the smoke travels from smoker A to smoker B, it cools down and does not increase the temperature in smoker B beyond 90° F .
    Soldering Iron Method
    Fill a large metal coffee can with a mix of wood chips and wood chunks. Plug a soldering iron into a wall outlet and insert the end into the coffee can. Place the cheese or meat on the top grate of your smoker or grill, and the smoking apparatus on the bottom grate or in the firebox, and let the magic happen. The can will need to be shaken occasionally to knock down ash, but it will create smoke with minimal heat production.
    Three Hot Coals and a Wood Chunk
    I know it sounds like a nursery rhyme, but this is actually a simple way to cold smoke. Place the cheese or meat on the grate of your smoker. Set three lit charcoal briquettes flat in the charcoal pan or firebox of your smoker. Place a flat wood chunk on top of the charcoal to create smoke. Provide a little airflow and replace the charcoal and/or wood chunk as needed to keep the smoke going for the desired period of time.
    Smoke Generators
    Devices designed to create smoke and turn any smoker or grill into a cold smoker can also be purchased. They are inexpensive and are recommended for real hassle-free cold smoking. The two devices I have used extensively are the Smoke Daddy and the A-Maze-N-Smoker, both of which do a wonderful job.
    Smoke Daddy
    The Smoke Daddy is a cylinder that attaches easily to your current grill or smoker via a ¾-inch hole using a washer and a nut. The cylinder is filled with wood chips or pellets and is lit with a butane torch to provide smoke. A fish-tank air pump attached to the cylinder provides positive pressure to push the smoke into the grill or smoker. It works for several hours