I just finished today what I call a warm smoke. A cold smoke is for folks that live where it gets cold. Where I live that just don't seem to happen enough to be able to plan a smoke around it.
I use a small amount of water just before putting the sausage in the casing to make it more fluid and easier to load and its a great way to better mix the cure in the meat.
This added water must be reclaimed in the smoker. I call it a dewater cycle, or a drying cycle. Its when you heat the smoker with all vents doors and windows open to allow the water to evaporate and travel outside the smoker. Then after about and hour I shut it all back down allow the box to cool down and and start my smoke cycle.
I have found that if I keep the box at less than 140 degrees I never worry about fat rendering or meat cooking. Actually I try to stal less than 130 to be safe.
So anyway, could that be the drying you are asking about?
Like I said there are numerous reasons for a warm vice a cold smoke. Warm smoke the meat takes the smoke much better. I can in 6 hours apply as much smoke if not more than it would take a cold smoker 60 hours to do. My region of the country doesn't have cold weather so I have to warm smoke. It is just the only way I can come close to a cold smoke. It will never get cold enough to smoke butter here, But I never had smoked butter so I don't know what I am missing. I have smoked cheese, but you must be prepared for that one day that is cold this year ahead of time. I have learned what I can and can not do basically, what I can't do I'll just have to do without.
I can do bacon, sausages, hams, etc.... remember the 4/140 rule. you can smoke for 3 hours then an ice bath then in the reefer overnight to start again the next day (or night!). Cured meats change the rules.
We were just having a discussion about cured meats this last week. These guys around here are really a wealth of knowldge, I just read the texts and it sort of soaks in like a brine cure. LOL
I just posted a bacon thread and it also has some pictures of a sausage warm smoke which might help.