Coldsmoking Digital Cookery School

Wood is wood isnt it??  well, in a way yes, but the way wood behaves when it burns largely depends on the size of the pieces. There are a few other factors which influence the way the wood behaves when it's burning like the moisture content and the species of wood. I'll cover these other factors in another blog post. Wood burns when it is heated beyond a point known as the fire point which is normally around 300 celcius. However this can change depending on the size of the pieces and moisture content. When wood is in a fine dust form it can be explosive and there are examples of wood mills exploding due to the dust being ignited by a spark resulting in a dust explosion . Now, were not looking to put our smoked food into orbit but it's nice to know that we are dealing with something that has a lot of stored energy which we can employed to flavour and enhance our food. The only time we really need to take account of the form the wood takes is when we want it t...

Back in our cave-dwelling days, food smoking was used to preserve food and then our ancestors discovered just how great it makes food taste. Turan has been a passionate smoker of food for many years, teaches courses all around UK and now crystallises his knowledge in food smoking; a practical guide. Within its covers he explains the basics of cold and hot smoking; delves into the principles of combustion (he's a career fireman in another part of his life so he should know!) and explains brining and dry salt curing. He outlines how to source wood for smoking and provides plans for building a cold smoker and smoke generators. He simplifies and demystifies the process of smoking food to enable you to produce wonderful smoked food in a sustainable, eco-friendly way. Enjoy! If you would like to purchase a signed copy of the book please visit smokedust.co.uk and drop Turan an email with your name or who you would like the book signed to. turan@coldsmoking.co.uk

If you like this post please visit Facebook and like our page - We also have a youtube channel Thanks. In part one we looked at the process of turning a herring into a kipper. We looked at the preparation of the fish, splitting the fish through it's back and the method used to brine the fish ready for the smoker. In this part of the blog we will discuss the smoking process, what's happening to the fish while it is being smoked and some of the finer points of smoking. In particular we will look at the cold smoking process, what this means and how to manage the process. First of all we will discuss the benefits of hanging your fish or laying them flat. Well, we've brined and dried the herrings and were ready to give them some time in the smoke. The smoking process will transform the humble herring into the wonderful kipper. We will be cold smoking the herring which means we will be using the qualities of the smoke to add flavour and utilise the ability for smoke...

If you like this post please visit Facebook and like our page - We also have a youtube channel Thanks. Kippers have come in and out of favour more times than flares and platforms but these days trying to purchase anything other than a vacuum packed dyed abomination can be a little difficult. It's true, there are lots of supermarkets out there with impressive wet fish counters but when it comes to kippers, there's nothing like a home smoked one to really set things alight.   The big question for many would be how the heck do I brine and smoke my own herrings to make a wonderfully home smoked kipper? Herrings each about 400g The process is not that daunting as one might think. The first thing obviously is to get hold of a supply of herrings. Thankfully these little darlings are available through the supermarket but do watch out that you only pick the freshest of the bunch. A good barometer for freshness is a nice clear eye and reddish gills. If the eyes are a littl...

Our relationship with food is like no other I know. When we experience a craving it can quite literally change our whole physiology. We just have to have it, whatever it takes. Sight, smell and even the sound of food being prepared can take us on a journey. When our senses are stimulated it can make our mouths water, our stomachs gurgle and, unconsciously, it even activates our nervous system, preparing our bodies for that impending culinary delight. (If you want to know more about food smoking you can visit our youtube channel Coldsmoking Digital Cookery School for lots of resources to get you started)   For me, smoked food one such delight. Whether it’s hot or cold doesn’t really matter, just that wonderful scent of wood smoke triggers something primitive within me. It has to be said there is little archaeological evidence to suggest the exact origins of food smoking but as huntergatherers, our ancestors would have hung their meat high up, out of reach from prowling animals on t...

Calm down dear, it’s only a raw piece of Salmon that’s been cured and smoked with some old piece of wood from I don’t know where… And so about now you run a mile.   Home smoked Salmon is a wonderful thing tasting like nothing you’d ever buy from the shops, but before embarking on making your own home smoking quest it’s worth knowing the basic principles of storage, handling, curing and smoking and you’ll live to enjoy your smoked food for another day.    When buying fresh Salmon make sure it is fresh and that it has been kept refrigerated. It should have fresh smell about it somewhat counter intuitively not a strong fishy smell. Now, get it home quickly or keep it refrigerated on the way home with some frozen peas. Ideally one should aim to get fresh salmon in your fridge within 15 minutes.  Handling the fish is important too. Don’t over handle or bend the Salmon as this will separate and pull apart the flakes of flesh allowing in bacteria and too much salt...

No matter how many food smoking courses I host I'm always bowled over by the sheer enthusiasm and gusto of all my guests. That's all fantastic however, I can't help being surprised at people's reactions to how little smoke I actually use to smoke food. There's a common misconception that one has to use lots of smoke to impart a smokey flavour to your food when you smoke it. This isn't the case and anyone who's enjoyed the warmth from a smokey bonfire will attest. You can smell the smoke on your clothes long after the fire has gone.  Wood smoke is a very complex and pungent compound of many different chemicals with lots of flavour and aroma compounds mixed in.  Wood is essentially cellulose, Hemi-cellulose and Lignin. Cellulose and hemi-cellulose contain sugar monomers and Lignin is a very complex carbon based chemical compound which accounts for between 30% and 40% of the dry weight of wood. When combusted Lignin produces the main flavour and aroma compou...

I specialise in creating smoked Salmon and smoked Cheese in my own smoke houses. I've been doing this for years and really enjoy passing this wonderful skill onto people who share my interest in food. I regularly host food smoking courses and currently have my summer dates up on the website. In addition to my own courses I also host food smoking courses for other high end cookery schools around the country. Why not join me on one of my summer dates. My courses start at 10am and run through to 4pm. There's lots of tasting and discussion on the different foods one can smoke and we spend a little time sampling various smoke aromas. We include lunch which is usually homemade soup in winter spring and autumn and salads throughout the summer. Delegates on the course can take photos and notes and go away with a 27 page guide on smoking food at home.  It's interesting to see people's surprise when they find out just how little smoke you need to influence the flavour of th...

If you like this post please visit Facebook and like our page - Thanks. It’s true that the simplest things in life are sometimes the best, and Oak smoked air dried Duck breasts are no exception. I had the pleasure of preparing 4 of these wonderful duck breasts recently with the aim of bathing these little darlings in some lovely, traditional 0ak cold smoke. Well, what can I say! 18 hours in a salt/herb cure and after what seemed an infinite wait air drying in muslin, I finally had the pleasure of opening one of the treasures after drying it for 10 days. The suspense was killing me. Opening the package was just like birthdays and Christmas all rolled into one. A gastronomic delight to fill the senses! I have to say I was surprised at what I found. I was not disappointed! The Duck breasts had firmed up really well and had darkened considerably. The fat had also lost a lot of moisture and had yellowed on the surface. It even smelled of charcuterie which was reassuring to say t...