Want to add smoked brisket, ribs, pork, chicken, vegetables, or other smoked foods to your restaurant menu without adding another giant piece of equipment? There’s another option.
A Winston CVap® Cook and Hold Oven or Retherm Oven can be converted into a commercial smoker oven with a Winston Smoker Box. That means you can get real wood smoke flavor while using the precise temperature control of CVap technology.
It is a pretty useful combination for restaurants that want to smoke food without dedicating their entire kitchen to a traditional smoker. And yes, you can smoke more than meat.
What Is a Smoker Oven?
A smoker oven is a commercial cooking oven designed to cook food while exposing it to smoke. Traditional smokers generally use a combination of heat, airflow, and burning or smoldering wood to cook and flavor food. A CVap smoker oven adds another layer of control.
CVap uses Controlled Vapor Technology to control both vapor and air temperatures. When you add the Winston Smoker Box, the oven can also introduce real wood smoke into the cooking environment.
The result is a commercial smoker that combines smoke flavor with the controlled cooking environment of a CVap oven.
Winston’s Smoker Box is designed for CVap Cook and Hold and Retherm Ovens and can provide up to six hours of continuous smoking. It can use wood chips or pellets, allowing operators to experiment with different smoke profiles.
Why Would a Restaurant Want a CVap Smoker?
A restaurant may already have a lot of equipment competing for the same kitchen space.
Adding another dedicated smoker means another footprint, another piece of equipment to manage, and another process for the kitchen staff to learn.
A CVap smoker oven can add smoking capability to the equipment you are already using for other jobs.
One oven. More menu possibilities.
A CVap Cook and Hold Oven can already be used for cooking, holding, baking, braising, steaming, poaching, and other processes. Add a Winston Smoker Box, and you can add smoking to that list.
That gives a restaurant another way to use the same piece of equipment throughout the day.
You might smoke brisket overnight, hold it for service, then use the oven for another process later. Or smoke chicken in the morning and use the same CVap for holding during service.
That is where a smoker oven becomes more than just another way to cook.
It becomes another tool for building your kitchen workflow.
What Makes a CVap Smoker Different?
Traditional smoking relies heavily on controlling the smoker environment and managing moisture loss over a long cook. CVap brings its own approach.
CVap combines heated vapor and air heat to control food temperature and texture. That gives operators independent control over the cooking environment rather than relying solely on dry heat.
For smoking applications, that can be particularly useful for large proteins that spend hours in the oven.
Winston’s smoker oven guidance notes that the heated vapor in CVap can help prevent meat from overcooking or drying out during extended smoking.
The goal isn’t simply to make food smoky. The goal is to make it smoky, tender, and consistent.
How to Build a Commercial Smoker Oven
Here’s the easy part. You don’t need to build a smoker from scratch. Start with a compatible full-size Winston CVap oven and add the Winston Smoker Box.
Step 1: Choose the Right CVap Oven
The Winston Smoker Box is designed for full-size CVap Cook and Hold and Retherm Ovens. Winston offers full-size CHV and RTV models in several configurations and capacities, so the right oven depends on what you plan to smoke and how much you need to produce.
Before choosing your oven, think about:
- What foods do you plan to smoke?
- How much product do you want to smoke at a time?
- How many pans or racks do you need?
- Do you plan to smoke overnight?
- Will you be cooking and holding other foods in your CVap?
- How much kitchen space do you have available?
- Do you have room under your hood?
- Can your electrical system carry more equipment?
- What else can you use your CVap for?
This gives the Winston team a much better picture of what you actually need. The goal isn’t just to buy a smoker. It’s to add smoking capability to an oven that can earn its keep all day.
Step 2: Add the Winston Smoker Box
Add the Winston Smoker Box, part number PS3145, to your compatible CVap oven. The Smoker Box includes a chip box and a power box. The chip box holds the wood chips or pellets, while the power box controls the smoking cycle.
Installation is designed to be straightforward. Mount the Smoker Box to the CVap oven according to the owner’s instructions.
One important difference: standard CVap operation typically does not require a vent hood, but CVap operation with the Smoker Box does. Because the smoker produces smoke, the oven must be located under an appropriate ventilation hood.
The Smoker Box also requires its own independent 120V power supply, so make sure your kitchen has the necessary ventilation and electrical setup before ordering.
Step 3: Configure Your Oven
Make sure your CVap has the appropriate racks and rails for the products and pans you plan to smoke. Winston offers racks and rails as CVap options.
If you plan to monitor internal food temperature during cooking, a food temperature probe can also be used with applicable Series 7 models.
Once the oven is configured, load your food and set the CVap cooking parameters based on your recipe, product, food-safety requirements, and desired finished result.
Step 4: Choose Your Wood
Now you get to play around.
Different woods create different smoke profiles. The Winston Smoker Box can be used with wood chips or pellets, including options such as:
- Hickory
- Apple
- Oak
- Mesquite
- Cherry
- Maple
Hickory can bring a bold barbecue profile. Apple and cherry can provide a milder, sweeter smoke character. Oak offers another option for hearty smoked meats. The right wood depends on the food, recipe, and flavor profile you want.
Step 6: Smoke It
Turn on the Smoker Box and let the CVap do the work.
Use your established recipe and cooking process to determine the appropriate temperatures, cooking times, and smoking times for each product. Use a food thermometer or food probe where appropriate to monitor internal temperature.
And that’s it. You’ve turned a compatible commercial CVap oven into a smoker without adding a dedicated smoker to an already crowded kitchen.
What Can You Smoke in a CVap Smoker Oven?
This is where things get interesting. When most people think about a commercial smoker, they immediately think of brisket. Brisket is a great place to start, but it certainly isn’t the end of the list.
Brisket
Large cuts of beef are a natural fit for a smoker oven. Smoke brisket for barbecue service, sandwiches, plates, tacos, or whatever else is on your menu.
Pulled Pork
Boston butt and other pork cuts are another obvious choice. Smoke the pork until tender, then have it ready for service.
Ribs
Baby back ribs and spare ribs can both bring plenty of opportunity for a restaurant smoker. And because CVap is designed for controlled cooking, operators can build repeatable processes around their recipes.
Chicken
Smoked chicken can become a menu item on its own or an ingredient for salads, sandwiches, tacos, pizzas, nachos, and more. Whole chickens, chicken breasts, thighs, and wings can all be incorporated into different smoking programs
Turkey
Smoked turkey can work for restaurant entrées, sandwiches, catering, seasonal menus, and holiday service.
Vegetables
Don’t stop at protein. Winston specifically highlights vegetables and other foods as candidates for CVap smoking. Try smoking: Corn, Potatoes, Peppers, Tomatoes and more. A little smoke can turn a familiar side dish into something customers remember.
Sausage
Smoke sausage for a stronger flavor profile, then use it in sandwiches, entrées, breakfast applications, or specialty dishes.
Herbs and Other Ingredients
You can also experiment with smoked herbs and other ingredients to build smoke flavor into sauces, sides, garnishes, and specialty recipes. You’re not limited to the traditional barbecue menu.
A Smoker Oven Can Do More Than Smoke
Here’s the part that makes a CVap smoker especially interesting for restaurants. You aren’t buying a smoker that only smokes. You’re adding smoking capability to a piece of equipment designed for multiple cooking processes.
A Winston CVap Cook and Hold Oven can handle applications including cooking, holding, baking, braising, poaching, steaming, sous vide, and staging.
That means the same smoker oven can potentially support different jobs throughout the day.
- Morning: Smoke pork, brisket, or chicken.
- Afternoon: Hold finished product for service.
- Dinner: Cook or stage additional menu items.
- Overnight: Run an extended cooking process.
The exact workflow will depend on your operation, menu, and equipment configuration.
One Important Thing to Know Before You Start Smoking
Once you turn a CVap into a smoker oven, you’re committing to some smoke flavor in that oven. Smoke gets everywhere.
We warn all customers considering a conversion that using the Smoker Box will permeate the oven with the patina and aroma of smoke. That’s great if you’re running a barbecue operation. If you’re planning to smoke brisket on Monday and delicate pastries on Tuesday, think about your workflow first.
The smoke isn’t going to politely disappear because you’ve changed the menu.
For that reason, Winston recommends considering the smoker application carefully if smoked foods aren’t a primary part of the operation.
How to Buy a Winston Smoker Oven
You don’t have to piece together a commercial smoker oven setup from random equipment.
Winston can help you build the system around your operation.
Start by choosing the CVap oven that fits your capacity requirements. Then add the Winston Smoker Box and any accessories you need for your cooking process.
Winston sells CVap equipment through its network of foodservice representatives and dealers. We recommend contacting your Winston Partner Experience team to determine the appropriate equipment and connect with a representative.
Are You Ready to Turn Your CVap Into a Smoker?
A commercial smoker doesn’t have to mean buying another giant piece of equipment and finding another place to put it.
With a compatible full-size Winston CVap oven and a Winston Smoker Box, you can add real wood smoke to your cooking process while taking advantage of CVap’s controlled cooking environment.
- Smoke brisket.
- Smoke ribs.
- Smoke chicken.
- Smoke vegetables.
- Smoke something nobody else is smoking.
The equipment is already built to do more than one job. Why not put it to work?
Talk to Winston about the right CVap oven, Smoker Box, racks, probes, and accessories for your operation.
