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...