Thread: Turned my Traeger cold

I’ve been wanting to start experimenting with cold smoked cheese, butter, fish etc. but the Traeger only goes down to 75’. Too hot for the job in hand.
What to do?

I found an old Smokai in the garage and thought about how to McGyver something up.

Made a shelf out of some old kauri planks I got from the Dunedin Railway station. Application of some flame aged them nicely.


Made a couple of wee brackets from some aluminum (painted them black to match the grill) and mounted the Smokai.
Turned a piece of rimu to hold a wee stainless saucer (don’t want hot ash landing on the wooden deck).


Bought a bit of food grade silicone tube which attaches to the Smokai, and I shove it up the drain hole to fill the smoker.

End result a nice cool smoke.
Let the games begin.
I’ll let you know how it goes

Nice!!

I did the same with a Bradley (different connections, but same concept)

A tip for smoking cheese, is 1kg block, cut to 1/4,and put each piece on a small bit of baking paper....

Oh and another, keep the smoker out of the sun. It's amazing how much heat ends up inside, just from the sun.

Oh and vac pack finished cheese, and leave in fridge for Atleast a month before trying. (any earlier and it tastes like Ash) I just opened one from Dec 2021, and it was fantastic!

Oh and put some whole raw eggs in to. Leave for maybe a week, 2 max then use in side. Tastes like they were cooked on a wood fire.

If you want to insulate any heat from the deck I know a guy who made a fire-insulation cushion (for his BBQ) by getting about 80 pieces of fist-sized paua off the beach then "sewing" them together in a double-layer cushion using chicken wire sheet with galv steel wire threaded around the edges
It's light and insulates any heat from hitting the wooden deck - it worked pretty well

Originally Posted by Beaker

Nice!!

I did the same with a Bradley (different connections, but same concept)

A tip for smoking cheese, is 1kg block, cut to 1/4,and put each piece on a small bit of baking paper....

Oh and another, keep the smoker out of the sun. It's amazing how much heat ends up inside, just from the sun.

Oh and vac pack finished cheese, and leave in fridge for Atleast a month before trying. (any earlier and it tastes like Ash) I just opened one from Dec 2021, and it was fantastic!

Oh and put some whole raw eggs in to. Leave for maybe a week, 2 max then use in side. Tastes like they were cooked on a wood fire.

Great tips thanks for that.
1kg of cheese ! Might need to sell a kidney

Another tip is to buy just dirty old plain vanilla Colby, it will transform into something wondrous. Always smoke more than you need, it makes very appreciated xmas gifts,and little thank you presents.

Originally Posted by johnd

Another tip is to buy just dirty old plain vanilla Colby, it will transform into something wondrous. Always smoke more than you need, it makes very appreciated xmas gifts,and little thank you presents.

Plus one for this.

I do about 4-5kgs at a go. Buy whatever colby when on special (I remember those days.....)

My cold smoker is an old soldering iron and a stainless tube of sawdust, gerry (jury) on the side of my cabinet smoker.

Put in top facing down, plug in and leave it alone. Works ok I guess but I'd love to have a proper set up with a Smokai or similar.

Bought a block of bland old Colby.
Oak and pear chips.
Did 4x 250g blocks at 2, 2.5, 3 & 3.5 hours.
In the fridge for 3 weeks.
Watch this space

@Boner you tried that cheese yet?

Originally Posted by Beaker

@Boner you tried that cheese yet?

Nah mate, at least another couple of weeks.
Will report back

Originally Posted by Beaker

@Boner you tried that cheese yet?

After @Beaker hit me up, I thought, fuk it, let’s give it a try.
So, the wife and i had a bit of each.

Verdict:
2 hours - wow Smokey as and quite harsh, as this was the first one we tried, I thought “I have just wasted a block of cheese”
2.5 hours - hmm, still really smokey, but not so acidic. Might work ok on burgers.
3 hours - by a mile our favourite, well balanced smokiness and made the cheese feel quite silky and smooth on the pallet.
3.5 hours - not too much difference between 3 hours. I wonder if the cheese has absorbed as much smoke as it can.

So that was Oak and pear.
Will try another wood when we have consumed this batch.

cant quite place the taste.................

Originally Posted by Boner

After @Beaker hit me up, I thought, fuk it, let’s give it a try.
So, the wife and i had a bit of each.

Verdict:
2 hours - wow Smokey as and quite harsh, as this was the first one we tried, I thought “I have just wasted a block of cheese”
2.5 hours - hmm, still really smokey, but not so acidic. Might work ok on burgers.
3 hours - by a mile our favourite, well balanced smokiness and made the cheese feel quite silky and smooth on the pallet.
3.5 hours - not too much difference between 3 hours. I wonder if the cheese has absorbed as much smoke as it can.

So that was Oak and pear.
Will try another wood when we have consumed this batch.

Interesting. The last lot I did, I think was about 2 hours.
Next time, I'll do some alot longer to.

I'd suggest seal the ones you don't like and leave them for a couple of months and try it again.

Originally Posted by Beaker

Interesting. The last lot I did, I think was about 2 hours.
Next time, I'll do some alot longer to.

I'd suggest seal the ones you don't like and leave them for a couple of months and try it again.

Yeah that’s what I thought too.
Put some of the 2.5 hour on venison burgers with Caramelised onions. Good god it was awesome