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The Good Eats Custom Corrugated Vapor Colloid Applicator from the Alton Brown Food Network Show I recently took up smoking salmon and ribs in a simple cardboard box smoker after a friend sent me some information from an Alton Brown Food Network Show. Until then, I always thought one had to sit over the smoker and spend a lot of time stoking the coals. When I learned that one can use a simple and inexpensive electric burner to acheive excellent results, I was hooked. I smoked my first salmon fillet and three hours later both my wife and I were amazed with the wonderful flavor and tenderness of the fish. And best of all, there wasn't that salty flavor too long associated with smoked fish. Below is some information on the cardboard box smoker. I tweaked the construction and technique a bit. Happy smoking.
The Good Eats Custom Corrugated Vapor Colloid Applicator(Cardboard Box Smoker) from the Alton Brown Food Network Show Key: a) heavy-duty corrugated box (no interior painting) Get a box at least one foot wide and 18-24 inches in height. b) flap door (make a flap at the bottom to add more wood chips. Make another flap adjacent to the dowels so you can put in your food to smoke. This flap will also help to release excess heat. c) electric single hot plate at least 750watts. Get it at target about $16.00. d) small cast-iron skillet. Do not use thin aluminum pan, but you can use a steel pan if it is enameled. e) hardwood chips and small chunks of apple or hickory wood. I prefer using apple, alder. Hickory is pretty strong flavor. http://www.northwoodssmokeofmn.com/chips.htm I carry this brand in my store. You can buy them online at the site listed here. After searching the net, this company seemed to be the best and a good price. I just started using their bourbon barrel chips. Awesome flavor. f) small battery-operated fan (optional). This is not really needed. g) 2 ¼- ½ in. wooden dowels inserted through box in parallel fashion. Put these dowels about two thirds up the box. If you want, you can add a second set of dowels so you can smoke more food. h) small oven rack or small cake frosting rack which can fit inside box easily. i) target food (fish skin-side down) j) thermometers (although probe styles are shown, standard stem models may be used in a pinch) . No need to stick a thermometer into the food, just make sure you hit 160-170F for 15 minutes or so. I just use on thermometer which I stick into the box from the top. Also, you don’t nee to keep chips on the burner plate every minute. The heat from the burner will do the cooking, while using a small handful of chips 2-3 times during the period will give a nice smoky flavor. Smoking Notes: I cooked small slices of salmon at temps. between 130-160F. No need to keep the temperature exactly the same. It took 3 hours to smoke this salmon slices at the above temperatures. For the best results I recommend smoking at 100-120F and bring up the heat to 160-170F for 55 minutes (just to kill any possible bacteria). Lower temps are better for cold smoking which guarantee you don’t dry out the fish. Smoked SalmonThe following mix (brine) will last awhile and you can use it for future batches.4 cups brown sugar 2 cups pure Kosher or sea salt
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