- Jan 26, 2016
- 8
- 13
We live on a some acreage west of Montrose, Colorado, and are some 60 miles south of Grand Junction, and about the same distance east of the Utah border. I am a recovering lawyer and retired electric utility CEO; my wife is a retired university professor. We have had Traeger "smokers" for many years, and yearned for "more smoke" from them much of the time. I tried a Brinkman smoker years ago and gave it away after a few uses as it was junk. About a year ago, we got a Masterbuilt electric smoker and loved it, except for its erratic performance with the built-in smoke generator. So a got an A-MAZE-N pellet/sawdust tray and found it to be a big improvement, although the smoldering combustion quit several times before all the fuel was consumed. A few weeks ago, we bought a Masterbuilt external smoke generator and after some grief trying to get it to flange up with the smoker because of the MB leg kit I'd installed, fabricated a little shelf that is attached to the legs to support the generator, it works great, and all that's left of the wood chips when it gets done is some fine white ash!
I came upon these forums while looking around the Web for some tips on smoking cheese, and after reading others' thoughts here, I have just put in a batch of cheddar and colby/jack for a few hours with hickory chips, and decided to join! The outside temperature here at the moment is 30º F, and the temperature inside the smoker is slightly elevated from the smoke generator at 45º. I think that I'll do a year's worth of cheese this winter, once I get the hang of it, to avoid problems with high ambient outside temperatures during other seasons.
I have had many successes using controlled water bath cooking sous vide, and found the smoker a great companion to the bath with cold smoke both before and after cooking, and am looking forward to sharing experiences with others on these forums!
I came upon these forums while looking around the Web for some tips on smoking cheese, and after reading others' thoughts here, I have just put in a batch of cheddar and colby/jack for a few hours with hickory chips, and decided to join! The outside temperature here at the moment is 30º F, and the temperature inside the smoker is slightly elevated from the smoke generator at 45º. I think that I'll do a year's worth of cheese this winter, once I get the hang of it, to avoid problems with high ambient outside temperatures during other seasons.
I have had many successes using controlled water bath cooking sous vide, and found the smoker a great companion to the bath with cold smoke both before and after cooking, and am looking forward to sharing experiences with others on these forums!
