Cold Smoke Essentials
Cold smoking garlic and cheese transforms flavors. We use smoked garlic in our Smoked Garlic Sauce and Smoked Chipotle Garlic Sauce, and smoked cheese adds a rich, savory note to many dishes.
While cold smoking, we also smoked a fully cooked ham chub for sandwiches and some boneless pork chops seasoned with our Date Night Butt Rub. Cold-smoked pork chops aged for a week and then grilled develop amazing flavor and texture.
Cold smoking is done below 100°F (38°C). You don’t actually cook during cold smoking — it’s a flavoring technique. For a gentle “kiss of smoke” we use a smoke tube and let the items sit in smoke for a few hours. Remember that raw items should be cooked after smoking unless they are already fully cooked, like our ham chub.
To maximize space and keep everything organized, I use Bull Racks for smoking. They let you load the grill and separate items so drips don’t contaminate delicate foods like cheese and garlic.
See Video: http://datenightdoins.com/video-cold-smoke-essentials/
My Bull Racks and Smoke Tube — Notice the Ice Packs
Cold Smoke Essentials
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins.
Cook Time: 3 hours “Cold Smoke” under 100°F (37–38°C).
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill.
Pellets: Pacific Pellet Mountain Maple.
Ingredients: Cold Smoke Essentials
- Ham chub, 5 lbs, fully cooked
- 3 lbs thick-cut boneless pork loin chops (cut to preference)
- Assorted cheeses, about 8 pounds total — choose your favorites
- Garlic cloves, about 5 lbs, peeled
- Date Night Butt Rub seasoning
- Grandville’s Pineapple BBQ Sauce (for glazing the ham)
Cold Smoke Essentials
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Cooking Directions: Cold Smoke Essentials
Cold smoking works year-round in pellet grills, but in very warm climates you may need to lower the grill temperature. I use ice packs in a zipper bag placed in the grill to help keep temperatures under control without creating a mess.
For the ham chub, score a diamond pattern so seasonings penetrate the meat. Rub it with Date Night Butt Rub and a coat of Grandville’s Pineapple BBQ Sauce. Place the ham on a Bull Rack over a drip pan to catch drippings away from cheese and garlic.
Season the pork chops with Date Night Butt Rub or your preferred seasoning. Place them on the rack near the ham, leaving space between raw and cooked items to avoid cross-contamination. If you are smoking raw chops, plan to cook them after smoking to a safe internal temperature.
Cut cheese into smaller blocks so it takes on more smoke and is easier to handle. After smoking, vacuum-seal or place cheese in plastic bags and age in the refrigerator for two weeks or longer to develop flavor.
Smoked garlic can be used to make our smoked garlic sauces within a day or two. It adds a deep, mellow garlic flavor to sauces and spreads.
We use an instant-read thermometer for checking meat temperatures to ensure food safety and doneness.
Tip: Lightly spray Bull Racks with cooking spray before use to make cleanup easier.
Note on pellets: A recipe is an outline — experiment with pellet blends until you find what you like. When smoking at temperatures below about 250°F (122°C), pellet choice affects smoke character more than when cooking at higher temperatures, where the smoke is less pronounced.
Cold Smoke Essentials
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Score the Ham Chub and Season
Cold Smoking is under 100°F (37–38°C)
Cheese is Lookin’ Good
Cheese Smells So Good
Cold Smoke Essentials
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Garlic is Ready
Pile of Smoked Sliced Ham
Cold Smoke Essentials
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
About our Recipes
We prepare recipes on a patio with a variety of grills, from pellet to charcoal and gas. The techniques we share work across many systems — pellet grills, gas grills, natural wood, and traditional charcoal — with adjustments for time and temperature.
The two keys to great results are time and temperature. Some recipes can be adapted for an oven or slow cooker, but outdoor cooking adds that distinctive smoky flavor.
A recipe is a guide, not a rule. Feel free to experiment and adapt flavors to suit your taste.
Live your passion and do what you love,
Ken & Patti