I was about to ask you how your smokehouse was coming along.

Cold smoking is at a much lower temperature than the 180 or 200 level.

I know little about it, however, it must make the meat last longer.

Bacon and hams, coming from the smokehouse supposedly needed no refrigeration.

Heavy salt brine for a week or two, followed by a brown sugar or maple rub, followed by the smokehouse was how an old feller, I believe to have been in his early eighties at the time (and this was around forty plus years ago), told me that's how he did it. His bacon was delicious. I never had an opportunity to check out his hams. He also smoked cheese and it was dayummed good.

He told me how many times he had to stoke the fire, but I forgot. It ain't just short term memory, y'know.

His smokehouse couldn't have been at a very high temperature, as he would walk into it to feed wood to keep the smoke going thick.

I've seen some recipes for making jerky in an oven, so smoking may not be required.