Well now I have been at the Charcuterie business for some time now I thought it was time to start off with some smoking of my bacon and salami. It is weird but as with salami it is not a quick one shot deal but many facets… grinding, mixing, stuffing, curing, maturing etc.. So in many ways this is the last bastion needing tackling.
Now I thought long and hard about how to make a cold smoker (the superior method to hot). I also wanted something easy to use and quick to make but with a good capacity. Finally the idea came to me from Ikea I present the “Facktum” solution. Obviously only for interior use!
You need to go to the shop and get all the bits on their own and then it is cheaper.
Ikea Cupboard Parts….
- 341.800.10 – £20 wall cabinet 92cm x 40cm x 35.5cm 18mm melamine.
- 401.368.60 – £15 Door Applad
- 701.323.75 – £3 Hinge Pack
- Shelf Support Pins (Ask at spare parts bin for 6)
Homebase
- Stormguard EPDM Rubber P-Profile – White – 10m – £7.99
Wood Pile
- Shelves – Any soft or hardwood strips cut down to 36cm x 15mm sq (or 20 mm sq). Must be exactly 36cm. Also make sure they are clear of any rough parts or varnish/treatments.
- Side Supports – 30mm thickness x 40-50mm deep x 34.1cm. Then measure up against the metal peg holes and drill to size. It is better to place drill holes nearer to the top of the support to give a better cantilever feel.
Method…
- Put together the cupboard, make sure back is on nice and tight.
- Cut shelves and supports. I made three side supports and 20 shelves but you can make as many as you want.
- Push on using predrilled holes.
- Tape the rear of the door around the edges with duck tape leaving one hole part open.
- Cut the double door seal to separate making a single seal. Slowly stick around the door, cutting the last part to size to ensure a good clean fit.
- Mount the door hinges and add the door.
- Use a final piece of duck tape so you can close tightly to compress the door seal.
- Add a ceramic tile and then the Pro Q Smoke generator £34.99
- You will also need some dust to smoke with which you can buy from www.smokingbbq.co.uk as well. I bought a selection pack and some basic fine dust to make sure the smoker keeps burning as using larger chips will not work.
Smoking the Food
Now the fun…
- Fill the Pro Q Smoke generator with dust making sure that it is compressed down, simply shake and then fill up with any dust falling out. You can mix the dust with very small chips as well but make sure it is mainly dust. Ensure the dust does not overflow or it will skip the spiral and burn too fast.
- Light the tea light, keep it going for more than the 30 seconds on the instructions or it will go out.
- Blow out the candle and shut the door
- Leave for 1 hour, the open the door to freshen the air and repeat each hour to keep an eye on things. If the dust goes out, simply tealight it again for another minute to get it going.
- Also you might want to turn the bacon after a couple of hours.
- Give it 10 hours and you are done!
- Pictures also show the Salami and Chorizo I made as well.
