It has been the year of the cookbook. Last year’s releases of Grant Achatz’s Aleina set the new standard for uber food pr0n:

At $32.00, Aleina broke the mold of the $150 high-end celebrity cookbook.

And once the flood gates were open, it has been no holds bared for frugal foodies. These are some of my favorites from 2009:

Fortunately, most of us do not spend the winter working through our supply of canned produce from the previous season anymore. Most grocery stores carry the full gamut of veg year round. But if you live in Vermont and had broccoli in December, there’s a pretty good chance it did not come from a local farm. Vegetables are one of the best reasons to find a farmers market and to live seasonally. Eating what is growing naturally during the year is not only more sustainable and trendy, it tastes better. Really, I promise. Tasting asparagus that came out of the April ground from your local farm will always knock the socks off the South American produce laying limp under the mister at the store.

If you do venture out to your local farmers market, or are among the lucky few to have your own garden, then its time to think about how to celebrate the early harvest. One of my favorite ways to enjoy the first plucks of spring is with a simple vinaigrette.

The vinaigrette is one of the most versatile ‘sauces’ in the kitchen. Few things are so simple but pack such a big punch. At the most basic – oil and vinegar- you get bitter acid and sweetness from the wine vinegar, umami and fruit from the oil and maybe a hint of spice from cracked black pepper. One of the vinaigrette’s great tricks is its ability to complement foods and not over power them. Getting the hang of a basic emulsified vinaigrette will open the doors to a plethora of potential combinations: ponzu and yuzu for an Japanese flare, dill and caper to accompany fish, chopped pickle and hard boiled egg for a salad dressing… the list is endless.

The good news about the vinaigrette is that there are no real rules (shhh don’t tell the French), only guidelines. Most are emulsified, that is to say very well mixed to the point of being creamy in texture. They can also be ‘broken’ where the acid and oil are noticeably separated. The acid can come in many forms, from lemon juice to aged balsamic vinegar. For that matter, so can the oil; olive, walnut, grape seed, melted butter, duck fat! What follows is my take on a very classic and simple vinaigrette as well as some variants. Once you master the suggestion below, feel free to play around. Make sure to drop me and note let me know what you come up with.

When it comes to the classic oil and vinegar mix, I prefer an emulsified vinaigrette. Emulsification is tricky don’t worry if it does not come together for you right away. There are a few tricks that will help though. Get a Hand Blender
. Those are the hand held mixers that you can plunge into anything you want blended. I use mine almost daily. If you are going to use a whisk, stick it and the bowl into the freezer for five minutes. Heat is the enemy of an emulsification. For the recipe below, I assume a whisk. If you are using a stick blender, it will be the same, but you will want to use the tall narrow cup that your mixer came with.

A general guideline for ratios is 3:1 oil to acid. Keep that in mind and you can riff on the idea however you like.

Ingredients:
* 3 table spoons grape seed or canola oil
* 1 table spoon white wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
* 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
* 1/8 teaspoon (lets call it a pinch) of white sugar
* pinch of sea salt
* freshly ground black pepper (course)

Technique:
In a cool bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, mustard, sugar, and garlic and pepper. Whisk together to combine into a rudimentary paste.

Start whisking vigorously in a figure eight movement.

We want to add the oil very slowly. In a stream so small that the next stage would be a drip, not a stream at all.

Slowly drizzle in the oil. You want to look closely, you should never see the oil accumulate on the surface. If it does, whisk faster and drizzle more slowly. The goal here is to literally smash the oil and vinegar together. Mustard contains a natural compound called lethicin which helps that bond between the oil and vinegar.

As you whisk the in the oil, you will see the entire concoction lighten in color and take on the consistency of mayonnaise. (mayo is really just a vinaigrette with an egg yolk by the way).

Thats it, pretty simple right? For veggies, serve it as a dipping sauce in a bowl. Lightly toss roasted asparagus or roasted cauliflower in the vinaigrette. Early spring lettuces should get the lightest possible coating- spoon 1 teas spoon into a bowl and add the greens, toss to cover.

Variations

In the recipe above, I suggest a neutral oil like canola or grape seed (this tea oil is also wonderful but pricey). Olive oil has a very distinct and fruity flavor that can be overpowering, but sometimes, particularly with more hearty viggies, it works quite well. The technique would be the same and you can even mix oils, using half tea oil and half olive oil.

For my favorite salad dressing I like to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. This is where a Hand Blender
comes in handy.

* 6 table spoons grape seed or canola oil
* 2 table spoon white wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 small Bubbies pickle (bubbies brand is worth seeking out, they are fermented)
* 1 hard boiled egg, yoke separated from white, the white should be finely diced
* 1 table spoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (use the real stuff)
* 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon capers (get the salt packed ones, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes first)
* 1 big pinch of  red pepper flakes
* pinch of sea salt
* cracked black pepper to taste

The technique is the same, combine everything except for the oil and chopped egg white in the cup of the stick blender. Pulse a few times to form a slurry. Make sure the stick blender is on high and begin slowly drizzling in the oil just as before. Once the oil is incorporated and you have an emulsification, stop blending immediately. Over mixing will cause the emulsification to “break” and you’ll have something that feels like it has an oil slick on the tongue – not good.
Stir in the chopped egg white by hand with a fork.

If you do want a broken vinaigrette that does taste good, try this

* 3 table spoons good olive oil
* 1 table spoon lemon juice
* 1 small garlic clove, minced into a paste with the back of your knife
* pinch of salt and black pepper

in a bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Pour in the oil. Using a fork give things a good hearty mix. You will not get an emulsification, but when it turns cloudy, you are there.

Spoon that over anything from roasted fish to some arugula greens with shaved goats cheese. YUM!

One of my favorite dishes for this time of year combines the crunch gold brown goodness that warms the cool nights and a bright acidic lightness for those warm afternoons – crispy pork chops.

Pork is such an essential ingredient, and one that we are appreciating less and less. It is a real shame when you think about it. The pig is an amazingly versatile animal. For starters the meat runs the gamut of deep and rich to light and lean. It takes on flavors effortlessly but is sweet and savory on its own. Pigs are also endowed with a truly perfect fat-to-lean ratio. It is why pork is the basis of most of the great cured meats from saussion sec to the Spanish Iberian ham.

Chefs will tell you, given only one protein to work with that they will make a choice of the porcine persuasion every time. So why is it that for last twenty years we have relegated our pork consumption to gray flabby chops and tenderloins packaged in chemicals masquerading as a marinade? While I am fairly sure my goal of reintroducing lightly fried pork liver may be an uphill battle, I am confident that we can start giving pork chops the justice they deserve.

Like so many of the Food Simply posts in this series, the first step is finding great pork. And great pork usually comes from great pigs who are (you guessed it) probably closer to your home than on a factory farm ten states away. Locally grown pork may not be hard to find either. In a poetic mix, social media tools like FaceBook and Twitter are connecting local farmers with foodies in a very 2.0 kind of way. Try a search on search.twitter.com or ask some friends. Finding a real, bone-in chip will make a tremendous difference.

In addition to a bone-in chop, there are few other key things to look for when selecting a chop. As you move from the front of the pig towards the hind legs, the chops will get larger and contain more of a secondary muscle group. If you can find those back-cut chops, the reward is a richer, darker meat that is full of flavor. You should also look for a nice “fat cap” running around the outside rim of the chop. In general, the chops should be a nice rosy pink, free of sinew and should never have a slimy feel.

The Brine

Just like our simple roasted chicken, we want to start with a brine. You can pull the exact same brine method from that post. The basic idea is the same, add as much salt as the water will absorb – toss in any other flavors you like and give the chops a soak for at least 12 hours; you can take it to 72 in the fridge with no problem. Brown sugar will enhance the natural sweetness of pork.

The Prep

*At least an hour before cooking, remove the chops from the brine and pat dry.
*Let them dry on paper towels.
*On a plate, combine 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs (you’ll find them on the ethnic aisle) and 3 table spoons of white flour
*thinly slice 1 clove of garlic
*Mince a hand full of fresh parsley
*slice a lemon in half – we’ll juice it into the sauce
* grab 1/4 cup of chicken stock, if you don’t have homemade use water (its much better than store bought stock)

*optional – some people cut 3 slits vertically in the fat cap, on skinnier chops this helps prevent ‘cupping’

The Crust

This is a technique I learned from a chef friend. They used it at my favorite restaurant to make their sweetbreads extra crispy and it works on anything from chicken to …well.. pork chops. The goal is to really press the panko-flour mix into the meat. You want to almost force the breading into the pores. I like to lay the chops flat into the mix then press down with my palm. Flip them over and repeat. Then pick up some of the breading with your fingers and actually try and press more into the flesh. Pick up the chops and give them a gentle tap or shake to knock off excess.

Important – let the crust rest on the chops for 10 minutes before cooking. That will hydrate the flour and make a stronger bond so it does not come off in the pan.

Cooking

This is another trick that I have borrowed from Brad, my chef friend. He likes to cook New York strip steaks in their own fat by starting them on the fat cap and rendering it out. The result is a really crispy crust where the fat was. It works equally well with pork chops.

*in a heavy pan over medium heat, place the chops in standing on their side with the fat down. You may have to hold skinnier chips with tongs.
*Once the fat is golden brown – it may take up to 8 – 10 minutes, lay the chops down and crank the heat to high
*After about 4 minutes, life the chops and check for a deep golden color, if they look G.B.D. give them a flip.
*start checking the internal temperature after 2 minutes – we are shooting for 135F. Remember, this is quality pork and just like our chicken there is no reason to over cook it. Once it hits 135F, pull them from the heat and let them sit aside to keep warm.
*Dial the heat back to medium and drain the excess fat, saving a scant film
*add the garlic and toss for 30 seconds
*squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pan
*add the 1/4 cup of stock or water
*Allow the liquid to reduce via a boil for 1 minute
* add parsley

Serving

*pour your pan sauce over the crispy warm chops, garnish with slice of lemon and ENJOY!

UPDATE: AskAFoodie.net is now live- check it out for more info. The goal is simple – have short foodie exchanges on Twitter and delve in deeper on AskAFoodie.net

The social networking site Twitter.com has one rule – you cannot post more than 140 characters at a time. That means everything is short and to the point. That is the perfect place to try and new experiment – AskAFoodie. Jump on twitter and send a note to @askafoodie – anything from apples to zest. Soon Now you will also be able to ask questions via www.askafoodie.net so book mark it and check back soon.

Originally uploaded by NickDawson

For Christmas, Santa brought me a copy of Thomas Kelleher’s Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide – a cookbook largely devoted to the sous vide technique of cooking. Sous Vide, or under vacuum, is a bit of a misnomer but refers to cooking things sealed in vacuum bags in a water bath.

There are three reasons people use sous vide. First is that you can intensely flavor whatever you are cooking. Since the bag is sealed there is no chance for flavors to evaporate; instead they go into the food. Secondly is for precise temperature control – this is what makes sous vide at home such a challenge. Finally can get a sort of compression. Mellon has been the popular example. You can take a 5″ cube of watermelon and compress it into something about 1/2″ that has a much different texture.

Sous Vide requires two pieces of equipment. First, you have to have a way to vacuum seal the food. The $100 FoodSaver from Tilia does a fine job (although it will not provide much compression). The challenge comes with the temperature control part. Professionals are using laboratory-grade ‘immersion circulators’ which can keep a container of water at a perfectly controlled temperature. The only problem – they cost $1,000.00. That makes impressive tricks like preparing salmon that looks raw but is actually cooked a challenge. You need water that is exactly 104 degrees F. 103 and 105 simply do not work, its a protein coagulation thing.

(Worth noting, Grant Achatz has demonstrated sous vide in zip top bags – you can find the video here)

The good news is that the technique still has a place in the home kitchen. Some foods, like vegetables, are very forgiving and can withstand the fluctuation that you get using a pot of water and thermometer on the stove. We tried some green olive and grapefruit poached fennel that was outstanding. The olive and citrus flavor was pronounced throughout the fennel and it could not have been easier. We prepped a bag with sliced fennel, some crushed green Spanish olives, grapefruit slices and great olive oil and set it into a pot of water that we tried to keep around 160 degrees F. It took about two hours for the fennel to soften up, but the remarkable thing was how green and crisp they stayed.

Another forgiving food are scallops. Scallops are almost all protein and work very well in sous vide. We did ours with bacon fat and bay leaves. After rendering the bacon, I let the fat cool and poured enough in to cover the scallops which had been seasoned with a little gray salt. After that I tossed in a few fresh bay leaves and sealed the bag. 1 hour in a 120 degree F bath and they were cooked perfectly through and had a wonderful texture. The bacon flavor was intense but not over powering.

I am looking forward to working through Under Pressure and learning more about the technique, but I am excited to know that at least some part of sous vide is in reach for the home cook.

The rumors of the video link between the French Laundry and Per Se are true, but what impressed me were the custom inlay tiles with “Sense of Urgency” blazed in blue. That phrase is the montra for the entire staff – it means much more than simply working quickly. Sense of urgency is a reminder of how important every detail is in making a meal at Per Se one of the best dining experences in the world.

Our modest cable package- basic digital cable, HBO, and the set to box rental, was pushing skywards of $130.00USD per month. I suspect that is not an unfamiliar figure to many American households. However, when we really looked at the amount of TV we were watching we discovered that the few shows we did watch came on less than 10% of the channels we were paying for; that is a stat what will make you reach for the cable cutters. Giving up The Bass Fishing Network was an easy choice for us. But leaving some of our favorite food shows was a bit of a challenge. Pardon the metaphor, but this is one time where we can have our cake and eat it too.

The first step is admitting you have a problem – the problem is not how much TV you watch, in fact this probably makes more sense if you are a full fledged TV addict. The problem you have to admit is that paying $100 per month that’s $1,200 per year…that’s like 20 trips to Mammma’Zu. Once you have come to grips with the financial grip that cable TV has on your food budget (because after all, its all about bringing home the bacon), you can start thinking about alternatives. In our case we solved our need by combining online services and free HD broadcasts.

That’s right, free, as in beer. Each of the major networks, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC have been required to broadcast their signal in pristine high definition. All you need to take advantage is a pair of rabbit ears and the right equipment. Chances are, if you have a new HDTV it will have the electronic guts to do the job. If not, you can get an OTA (over the air) tuner for less than a dinner on the town. To truly take advantage of all that the free OTA world has to offer, consider a TiVo - with a TiVo you can scour the airwaves for your favorite food programs and record them for viewing when it works for you.

Taking advantage of all that free HD goodness will get you pretty far, particularly if you are a fan of prime time TV. But if you hanker for the globe trotting, tripe eating, tipsy style of the adventure foodies then hope is not lost. The internet has become the go-to place for video on demand; forget what you knew about that star-shaped button on your cable box’s remote, its all about IPTV. Internet TV, IPTV, downloadable media, call it what you like, the concept is the same. iPod Owners will already be familiar with Apple’s iTunes Store where you can download songs for $0.99 a pop. But its not just music; the iTunes store is also packed with foodie goodness from the Food Network, Travel Channel, TLC and more. You can buy shows for $1.99 each or purchase a whole season of Top Chef for $30.00. While you may only have one option for a cable company, your choices for online content are wide open. Amazon has gotten into the game with their Unboxed Video On Demand Service. Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern is $1.99 for an episode or $19.99 for the whole second season.

If you are truly reveling in the savings from the kicking your cable box to the curb, you can still get content for free online. Hulu.com offers free (and legal!) shows from NBC Universal. You can watch content from most of the NBC networks in a quality that ranges from near DVD to HD. Hulu has full shows for of its options (Top Chef for instance) and clips for other shows (Food Network). The free streaming goodness does not end there. If you are a Netflix Subscriber, you do not have to wait for them to ship your next disc, there is a good chance you can play it online with their free (to subscribers) streaming service. Queue up the last few seasons of Good Eats and get your food nerd on.

The following are some of my favorite foodie shows from 2008 – none of wich require a cable tv bill

Spain… On the Road again
This has to be the food show find of the year. Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, Gweneth Paltro and Claudia eat and drink their way across Spain. Admittedly the show has a special place in my heart since they highlight some of the places we discovered on our own tour of the Iberian Peninsula. Spain… On the Road Again is free to record from PBS, $1.99 or iTunes

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
Because one man’s slaughter room scraps are another’s three star meal. Bizarre Foods $1.99 on Amazon

Three Sheets
The Mojo network is sadly gone, but Zane’s legacy lives on. This man is paid to travel the world and go drinking, ’nuff said. Its free on Hulu.com

Feasting On Aslphalt
Alton Brown, of Good Eats fame, takes to the American highway on his motorcycle for everything from soul food to fried pork brain sandwiches. Stream it on Netflix.

America’s Test Kitchen
Its free, its on PBS, and its the cooking show your grandmother would make, if she was an anal-retentive bald man from Vermont. Record it on PBS

Top Chef
Watch pompous sous chefs make “caviar” out of everything … I’m not jealous at all… older seasons are free on Hulu, get current shows on iTunes on Amazon

Now its your turn – What are your favorite food shows and where do you find them? Leave a comment or drop me a line on Twitter.

Anyone from the South East will gladly tell you about their favorite BBQ joint – wether its mustard sauces from South Carolina or a vinegary spicy mix from Virginia, everyone has a favorite. BBQ is an example of hot smoking; or basically, cooking with smoke. You bring the chamber up to about 250F and let the smoke impart the heat and flavor. With cold smoking the goal is simply to bring the flavor to the party without the heat. Some cold smoked items are already cooked when smoked, hot dogs fall into this category. Others are cured, often with salt and sugar, then smoked and left to air dry for weeks or longer. Any way you slice it, cold smoking will take most cured items to the higher level of porcine perfection.

That, in a nutshell, is what led me to my Trash Can Cold Smoker. Ruhlman and Polcyn acknowledge that most smokers capable of cold smoking crest the $1,000.00 mark rather quickly and require some what of a professional operation to run. They do recommend a $450.00 model which has modest results. Having already built a $40 hot smoker based on Alton Brown’s terracotta pot design , I was fairly confident that I could apply some kind of McGyver engineering to the cold smoke problem. While we waited for polyurethane to dry (which has the mild advantage over paint of having fumes that will knock you out, but otherwise is of equal interest), my dad and I put our minds to the challenge. What we came up with is either an homage to L. Frank Baum or a wonderful cold smoker- the Trash Can Cold Smoker. With little more than $70 in parts, we were able convert my hot smoker and a galvanized Trash Can into a very functional cold smoker.

Parts Required

1 Terracotta Pot Hot Smoker – there are various sources, but I recommend finding a copy of the original Good Eats episode.
1 large galvanized trash can
1 8 foot long x 4 inch diameter flexible dryer duct
2 4 inch duct take offs – usually in the duct work isle of the hardware
2 worm drive duct collars – also in the duct work section
1 vent cover – again, duct work isle
1 role Nashua tape or other metal duct tape – avoid traditional vinyl duct tape
1 terracotta saucer or dome pot to function as a lid for the smoke chamber
1 19 inch grill grate
1 21 inch grill grate
8 small “L” brackets with hardware or 8 small nuts, bolts and washers
Optional Parts
Computer fan – any low voltage fan, check radio shack or CompUSA
18 gague bell wire – any two wires should work
9 volt battery case
low voltage switch

Tools Required

Sheet metal or tin snips
pliers
drill with masonry bit (hammer drill may be preferable)
Wood/Metal bit for drill (hint: most regular drill bits are made for metal as well as wood)
rubber mallett or hammer
screw driver

Attach the intake to the Trash Can

The first order of business was to attach the dryer hose to the trash can. Since we want the smoke to rise and fill the chamber, we attached it close to the bottom.
1.Use one of the 4” take offs to trace an outline of the hole.
2.Using a regular wood/metal bit, drill a hole just inside the outline you traced
3.work the metal snips through the hole and begin cutting out the hole – when in doubt, err on the side of making your hole too small rather than too large. Try and fit the “tabbed” side of the take off through the hole, if its a little snug remove just enough of the metal to get a good fit.

4.Bend the tabs of the take off flush against the inside of the can

5.using four sections of Nashua tape, make a square pattern around the tabs. Overlap a little of the tap around the inside of the take off, so that it overhangs the hole. Then carefully rip and bend the tape back inside the hole. At this point the tabs should be covered (to avoid sharp edges) and you should have a good seal.

6.Using either small (1 ½ inch) pieces, or longer pieces with partial vertical tears, being taping around the outside of the takeoff. Again, the goal is to ensure a proper seal to the trash can.

.

7.Loosen the worm drive collar as much as possible and slip it around the take off’s protrusion from the can.
8.Slip about 3 inches of the flexible duct around the take off.
9.Slide the collar over the duct and secure it with a screw driver

With that done, its time to manufacture the lid. This is a little tricky since it involves drilling terracotta, something notoriously prone to cracking. I found that saucers work quite well since they are rather thick. I have successfully drilled two out of two saucers, nevertheless you may want to buy a backup. Alton Brown’s design called for a bowl pot which would function as a dome lid – I love the idea, but I’ve not been able to find one at either Lowes or Home Depot.

1.Again, use the other 4” take off to trace an outline in the middle of the saucer.

2.Working just inside the line, being drilling a series of holes using a masonry bit. It may help to make as few as four holes around the ring, then being filling in the gaps with another four holes, evenly spaced. That helps avoid weakening one area before the other side of the ring is ready to be knocked out

3.after you have established a good ring of holes (more holes than connecting terracotta) being working across the hole by making an X pattern across the inside of the hole.
4.Make another X so that you have a star pattern across the inside of the area to be removed.
5.By now the area should look like swiss cheese, start in the center and with short and deliberate strokes, knock it with a hammer. If done right, small sections should fall out. Work back towards the edge

6.(Optional) using a grinding disk in the drill or a Dremel tool, you can smooth the edges of the hole
7.confirm a snug fit with the 4” take off
8.Repeating the process from the trash can, bend the tabs inside the lid as much as passable. The thickness of the lid may make a flush fit difficult. A pair of pliers will help you get a better grip.
9.Working with short 1 ½ “ sections of tape, begin taping from inside the take off back to the lid. Work around the hole, overlapping the tape
10.Use for longer sections to tape a box pattern around the short piece. Again, overlap the hole and carefully fold the tape inwards.

11.Use short sections or the tearing trick from step #6 above to seal the outside of the take off around the top of the lid
12.slip the second 4” worm drive collar around the protrusion of the take off

Building and attaching the chimney is very similar to attaching the take off to the can. While I worked away with the masonry drill, my dad painstakingly crafted a damper to fit inside the flue to regulate the smoke escaping. This is totally optional, you might also look for the a replacement grill vent and use that.
1.Trace an outline
2.drill inside the outline
3.use metal snips to remove the inside of the outline
4.make 3/4” vertical cuts around the bottom of the chimney, spaced about 3/4” apart. In other words, create tabs similar to the ones found on the take offs
5.bend the tabs back against the inside of the trash can lid

6.Secure with box pattern of 4 pieces of tape
7.secure the outside against the top of the lid with more tape

We are almost done, now its time to mount the grates. You’ll want to space these vertically in the can so that you’ll be able to fit both large resting items as well as hanging items. You might even put in extra brackets to make them adjustable. This can be done with brackets, or simply with bolts.
1.For the lower grate, pick a distance off the bottom of the can. We wanted to leave room for some ice in case we wanted to smoke on a warm day. Measure up about 16” from the bottom of the can.
2.Make 4 marks around the can at your desired height (ours was 16”). You can count the ridges in the can to space the marks evenly.
3.Drill a hole that is only large enough for your hardware (either hardware for the “L” brackets or just bolts secured with a nut and washer)
4.If you are using brackets, attach them with the provided hardare. We secured our ½” “L” brackets with small wing nuts and lock washers. If you are using bolts, push the head through so that it is flush with the outside of the can, secure it with a lock washer and nut.
5.Repeat the process for the upper grate.
6.Optional, you may want to even install hooks on the lid for hanging items. We did not since hooks can always be hung from the upper grate.
7.Seal the outside of any holes, screw and/or bolt heads with more tape.

Now for the final assembly. No matter how many terracotta saucers we tried, none were a perfect fit for our hot smoker. That means some smoke leaks out. One options would be to find some weather stripping or oven insulation (avoid things with lose fibers that might become airbone and get into the smoke). We elected to use two damp rags to seal the lid to the hot smoker.
1.Wet two old dish rags and ring out the water
2.role them up and use them to make a seal between your hot smoking chamber and the saucer “lid”
3.place the lid on top of the hot smoker

4.pull the flexible duct away from the body of the trash can
5.attach the lose end of the duct to the take off on the lid, secure with the collar and worm clamp

Thats it, you are ready to smoke! Of course you’ll want to pick a wood and get the hot smoker fired up, but otherwise things are ready to role. You might notice that we have not taped the duct work to either the trash can or the saucer “lid”. That allows us to disassemble the contraption, which can be a bit of an eye sore, and hide the parts inside the trash can. It also allows us to replace the duct work as it wears out.

While the smoker works well as a “passive system”, I have elected to retrofit mine with a small fan. For about $10 you can get everything you’ll need from your local radio shack. I mounted a small computer case fan inside the trash can where the smoke comes in. It draws the smoke from the hot smoker a little more effectively and even helps cool it in the process. I ran a short section of 1 pair bell wire inside the can and covered it with more Nashua tape. I secured a 9 volt battery housing and switch on the outside of the can. Presto, the passive system became an active one!

Ideally you want to maintain a temperature of around 80F inside the smoker- something that may be difficult to do on a warm day. I plan to experiment with ice in the bottom of the trash can or possibly even packed around the can itself.

There you have it, the Trash Can Cold Smoker.