Suggest that you try some pimento peppers. These are very thick meaty ones and are almost twice the thickness of a bell pepper, as well as being sweet when ripened to red. The bottoms are usually pointed. I grilled them in my gas grill with mesquite wood chips to burn off the skins when they turn black. Then, I puree them with roasted onions and roasted garlic, also done on the grill. For canning they are all pureed and Balsamic vinegar is added. Really great spread on crusy bread or as a topping for roasted chicken. They also dehydrate a lot better compared to a bell pepper due to the thicker meat of them. Thats what is pushed into green olives. I may also roast and can as whole, but with stems and seeds removed.

A tip from one in Native "Smoke" country (Texas) Regardless of your chosen smoking wood there is a term often over looked,green wood and seasoned wood,knowing the true differences is the key to over all smoke quality. Mesquite is a very good wood when used with experience,that "toxic" flavor most describe is from the "green" and primarily from the bark. Remove the bark on wood that isnt at least a year/season old from cutting and the animal indeed changes spots. Using Mesquite as a finishing wood works very well over both pecan and oak for very distinct flavors with all meats(even fish,both fresh and saltwater species) These simple tricks are passed down thru generations and will not be seen on FoodTV. I cant wait to grow some quality strains and smok'em like we do old school wild game meats.

I have a Brinkman smoker with an off-set smoker box. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind by suggesting the smoke should move across the food but away from the heat source? No, that unit is a hot smoker (despite being able to run pretty cool). Cold smoking is done with smoke, period, with a temp around 90° . Picture a pit and a bit up hill from the pit is your smoke house. 10 feet or so. If you don't have a hill just elevate your smoking house...so long as you run the smoke uphill. This smoke house can be an actual shed, hut, house or it can be a cardboard box. I have a buddy who does it using two barrels. One for the fire and smoke generation, one to hang or rack product in, joined by a pipe. About 15 feet of pipe in his case. You light your fire in the pit and clamp it down, now the smoke runs through a pipe (I use diesel truck exhaust pipe, cheap at the junkyard...well cheap enough) to the hut, house, box, whatever you have your product in. By the time the smoke gets to the house it has cooled considerably and you truly are preserving with smoke. Most of the time we are cooking with smoke flavour added. Now, before everyone runs out and starts cold smoking, you have to be able to control and maintain a fire or you will soot up your smoke. Food smoking smoke should be white, with a light gray to it when you add a chunk. Black or dark gray smoke is bad. You have to be able to maintain a steady draft but not too strong or you will make your product bitter. You have to be very certain about your cure or you will die. Certainly you can poop funny for days. I've (mostly) got it down but I still mess up sometimes (too often, really) and ruin a batch. Its an art and it is based on trial and error, not recipes. Tell the truth I only cold smoke oysters, cheeses and salt with any regularity. Once a year we set up to do a big load of semi cured sausages but that is a real weekend of work. We try and do a years worth at that time because it is a real pain to get it done properly. I hot smoke my salmon, if I want a cold smoke type salmon I make gravlax.

wow I haven't updated in a while. Renovations are going slow. SO far all I got accomplished is getting my window put in and my back wall now has fake bricks face over real bricks, LOL. I did get my fuse box taken out and now have a circuit breaker box, window is out and vent hood vent is in place. whoooo whooooo. here are some previews. Like I said nothing finished yet... window is in brick face wall...still a little wet Logs were re-chinked and painted white and I decided that was tooo much so I covered them partially with drywall I had to get a new door because my cabinets would not fit through the 31" doorway. Doorway is now 36" a couple of cabinets are up Of course you can get the blow by blow story on my blog