Done Seasonal Detecting? Make Jerky - Build A Cheese/Meat Smoker For Under $12.00?

Smoked cheese is very tasty! It must be smoked with cold smoke, and if you use a regular smoker, the cheese will melt. Building a cold smoker can be done for around $10.00. You need to purchase a soldering iron, about 30-45 watts. you can't used a used one, as the lead and flux are poisonous, and will make your cheese taste yucky. You also need an an empty tin can. I used an empty can of beans. using a can-opener, cut the lid about 3/4 around. Punch a hole in the remaining attached portion of the lid next to the rim. Now get your soldering iron as shown, insert it through the punched hole, then fill the can about 3/4 full of tiny wood chips such as alder, cherry, apple, birch etc. don't use pine or spruce, as it is too tary. Get a cardboard box, attach a tray of some sort near the top to put the cheese on, set up the smoker can, close the box, plug in the soldering gun, and wait one to two hours. The cheese should have a nice coating on it. Wrap it up tightly, put it in the fridge for at least a week to get the smoke flavor deeper into the cheese. Hope the cheese tastes good! You can also smoke sliced apples, hard boiled eggs, and salt.

You can also smoke your meat after marinating it. Leave it in the smoker until 1-2 batches of wood have been consumed, then dry it in your oven, as the temperature in the box will not be warm enough to safely dry the meat. Hang your meat on the racks, not touching each other. Set the temp to about 130F, and keep the door open slightly. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat. I usually slice mine a little thicker then 1/8". The meat will be ready when it bends, and just starts to show signs of splitting.