quote:Originally posted by Chef-Boy-Arnie:
Have you attempted cold smoking pieces of butter?
I've cold smoked butter a few times with pretty good results. I never thought of doing it until, during a drive down Route 1 from San Francisco to Big Sur, I came across a little fish smokehouse in Half Moon Bay, CA that sold it . While I didn't buy the smoked butter at the time, I thought I'd try it at a later date, and I did.
Instead of the cold smoke baffle, I have a MacGyver type setup utilizing flexible tubing, a styrofoam cooler with holes cut for vents and the tubing, a cooling rack, frozen ice packs, and, of course, duct tape. It works great.
To smoke the butter, I cut very cold sticks of it into tablespoon portions, and put into the cooler. I use 2-3 ounces of hickory or apple and smoke it at 125 for 3 to 4 hours. I then let it come to room temperature, blend it together, and refrigerate it a glass container.
I'm not wild about it served simply with bread, but it's a great addition as an ingredient with things such as scrambled or fried eggs, vegetables like potatoes or beans, as a topping on grilled or sauteed meats, etc.
It simple, so give it a try.