Introduction to Borniak Smokers
Borniak smokers are wood chip fed electric smokers that are designed and built in Poland. Their smokers are sold throughout Europe and are suitable for both commercial and domestic use.
There are eight smokers in the range offering a choice of two different sizes of smoker, the 70 Litre and the 150 Litre capacity models, each of which have a choice of digital controller or digital controller with timer for ease of use and a choice of two external construction finishes of Stainless Steel or AluZinc.
The smokers can heat up to smoke food up to 150C but can also be converted into a cold smoker with the additional of the Borniak cold smoking adapter.
The model that we have unboxed is the 70L, Stainless Steel smoker with digital controller.
What do you get with your Borniak Smoker?
As part of the smoker package, all Borniak smokers come with the following:
10 Litres of FREE Woodchips to get you started which will allow you to smoke for approximately 40 hours.
5 x Double food hanging Hooks The double hook is mainly used by connoisseurs of smoked fish. They are also perfect for meats such as ham, pork loin or bacon
5 x S hanging Hooks practical for the preparation of hams, bacon or any other type of meat.
1 x Grate for smoking food on if not hanging or on the the BBQ Tray
3 x Smoking Sticks for hanging food
2 x drip bowls for collecting ash and food drips
1 x Large BBQ Tray (BBQ Models)
Unboxing the Borniak Smoker
The one thing that is evident when you unbox the smoker is the quality of the build. It has a quality finish, with thick insulation, sturdy fixings and a well-sealed magnetic door to minimise heat or smoke escape. The 70L models weighs almost 30kg whilst the 150L almost 40Kg which re-affirms the quality of the construction.
The main smoker unit comes complete, with only the external attachments that need fitting including the adjustable legs, top vent. handles, digital controller and wood chip hopper. In all it takes about 20 minutes to put the whole thing together.
The internal dimensions of the 70L clearly gives you more than enough space to smoke a whole load of food on racks or hanging at the same time. Internally you have an area 60cm high by 40cm wide by 30cm high which is more than enough for most domestic smoking needs.
Features
Key features that the Borniak Smoker has are:
Adjustable top vent to allow you to control air/smoke flow. Its also a good for allowing you to feed through your food temp probes into the smoker with affecting the seal on the door
Digital temperature controller with internal thermometer to allow you to set and leave the smoker. The timer model also allows you to prgramme a length of smoke as well
A wood chip hopper that holds 2L of wood chips which will allow for approximately 8 hours of smoking without the need to refill. The chips are fed automatically into the smoker to create the smoke flavour.
Adjustable feet that can be replaced with wheels.
The facility to add up to 7 levels within the smoker
The option to add a food drying fan to aid the drying of meats before smoking
Smoking with the Borniak
Hot smoking foods couldn’t be simpler. Once your food is prepared all that is require is the desired wood chips to be added to the hopper, the desired smoking temperature to be set and once its reached temperature add your food.
The temperature controller will ensure that the correct temperature is maintained throughout the smoke without the need to keep checking or adjusting it, and once your food has reached the correct internal temperature then you’re done.
Any food that you can smoke on any other form of grill or smoking oven can be smoked on a Borniak, there are no real limitations, plus with the addition of the cold smoking adaptor you have a professional/large cold smoking cabinet as well.
Summary
The Borniak Smoker is a great sized smoker, even the smaller 70L offers more than enough space for most size smokes. The quality of the build is evident throughout, the large wood chip hopper and digital controller makes smoking food a breeze and very user friendly even for the smoking novice. The cold smoking adapter adds another dimension and makes for a very versatile smoker that would appeal to both the serious food smoker and the beginner alike.