[Sca-cooks] Re: smoking meat

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> In the case of pre-refrigeration smokehouses, as I recall, they were
> windowless single room shack with a firepit on the floor and hooks for
> hanging meat suspended from the rafters.  It was a situation where the
> surface temperature of the meat would likely be a function of the inverse
> square distance from the average source temperature.

Wouldn't it be the inverse cube X surface area? I seem to recall that that
was the formula for the amount of energy emitted by a point source striking
an object, although usually that formula is used in relation to astronomic
forces in a hard vacuum.

Regardless, you still have a joker or two in the equation- the amount of
heat reflected from the walls of the enclosure vs their coefficient of
reflectivity/absorption, and not forgetting any transference caused by any
solid mass (like air) drifting off in that direction- likely too many
factors to conveniently measure and calculate.

OTOH, rule of thumb works- I suppose you could work out a rough formula of
initial heat vs a specific distance in a specific volume, but trying to do
it specificly using physics might get you something akin to proving that
bumblebees can't fly- there are simply too many variables to conveniently
work with:

Combustion temp of the fuel
Any increases in that combustion temp caused by drafts or additional fuel
Volume of air
Air pressure
Density and volume of the foodstuff (which will vary across time)
Reflectivity vs absorption of the foodstuff (which will vary across time)
Reflectivity vs absorption of container walls (which will vary across time)
External temps affecting the container.

My experience has been that in a cool smoker, the temps are tolerable but a
bit uncomfortable for short periods of time, and that the foodstuffs, when
removed, are somewhat, but not a lot, warmer than lukewarm- they aren't
cold, and they don't burn my hands, nor do I need to use "hot material
handling" to handle them (HMH is how I can deal with hot stuff in the forge
which would burn most people).

So, as you said in the beginning, your best bet is to measure the various
temps and see what you've got- but you'll likely need electronic
thermometers with exterior read-outs so you aren't screwing everything up
with an influx of cool air as you check the temps.

Or, you can simplify life, and find a good ol' boy or gal, and take their
advice about how to set up your smoker....




Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS, who likes playing with numbers among other things, but prefers
being able to eat the results of that play...

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....