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...

Turan has been smoking and preserving foods for many years. his ethos is to make these artisan subjects accessible to everyone. He hosts bespoke one day food smoking courses and Meat Curing & Charcuterie courses with the theme of low impact living.  The golden thread running through all his work is accessibility, simplification and safety. Turan's easy teaching style and his ability to simplify and communicate these subjects in an understandable and relaxed way has lead to many excellent reviews from previous guests. Turan has written many food articles for magazines and has also written two books on food smoking. Curing, Smoking and Drying food the latest was published in May 2015. Turan's previous career saw him serving as a senior officer in the London Fire Brigade. Turan retired in May 2014 after serving as an operational officer for more than 30 years. He served in all ranks up to temporary borough commander with over 200 staf...

We'll be releasing a new book in the spring of 2015. The book is about preserving meat and fish and looks closely at curing with salt, drying and of course smoking.  Some of the subjects we will be detailing in the book are smoked trout, cold smoked salmon, salami, jerky, biltong. There is also a section containing curing and smoking game. Contact Sheet from the photo shoot  We were photographing some of the food shots last week and will be continuing this over the coming weeks. Simon Pask who is taking the shots is a top bloke and knows his stuff inside out. I'm sure this will come through in the finished images. Contact sheet from the photo shoot We'll be working on this book until October this year and hen it's a waiting game until it becomes a tangible thing. I thought retirement for me was going to be a time or rest and leisure but I couldn't have been further from reality. 

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...

Well, What can I say. I know it's winter and it's pretty colt outside one could be excused for being a little soft for not wanting to go outside in all weathers. Bring on The Smoking Gun from Polyscience and hey presto you're smoking food indoors. This small Gun allows the budding food smoker the luxuary of smoking small quantities of fish, cheese and nuts indoors. The gun comes with two tubs of dust. Apple and Hickory. They are a little small and the refills are a little pricey but this hand held, battery operated smoker produces enough smoke to give a light smokey touch to many dishes. The Gun comes with handy rubber tube which allows your smoke to be directed into a cling filmed bowl or container so you don't upset the smoke alarm fairy. Batteries are included in the package and it only takes 2 minutes to set up. If you're a real foodi and you like your kitchen gadjets then this is for you. If on the other hand you are a food smoking purist then this is not goi...