Instructions for cold smoking in Helia Smoker H24 and H48 smokehouses

The question of cold smoking often arises among aspiring entrepreneurs planning to expand their product range, whether they're running a small store, a beer bar, or a sausage and fish production facility. It's difficult to find ovens on the market that perform cold smoking, which requires low-temperature smoke penetrating the product. Due to the demand for cold smoking in the Ukrainian market, Food-Service has developed a brief guide to cold smoking in German-made Helia Smoker H24 and H48 ovens.

1. Pre-cool the oven: Place ice cubes, crushed ice, or ice packs in the large tray and close the oven for approximately 15 minutes. The oven should be unplugged during this time.
2. Preheat the woodchip heating element (turn on the central timer) with the door open until the heating element turns red. Then, place the tray with hardened woodchips on the heating element. Insert the grate with the product to be smoked and close the smoker door.
3. Always take the food to be smoked (salmon, sausages, etc.) straight from the refrigerator immediately before smoking and place it in the smoker. Salmon can be frozen or fresh-frozen. Leave ice cubes in the smoker chamber throughout the smoking period. It's recommended to place the salmon on the top rack and, instead of using a standard baking sheet, purchase a special 7cm deep baking sheet and fill it with ice cubes (you can also fill the baking sheet with water and freeze it). This amount of ice will optimally cool the oven and produce optimal results, especially when cold smoking salmon.
4. Let the product sit in the chamber for about 10 hours (or overnight). If the product isn't smoked enough, simply repeat the process.
5. After the smoking process is complete, cold-smoked salmon should be wrapped in special food-grade parchment paper (this removes the gray smoke) to restore its appealing appearance. Important: sausages and ham can also be smoked at normal oven temperatures, without ice chilling.

For cold smoking salmon, it's crucial to reduce the chamber temperature to a minimum. Ideally, the smokehouse itself should be kept in a cold room.

Note: Of all smoking processes, cold smoking takes the longest. The smoking process must be repeated several times. Smoking time depends on individual taste preferences.