Cold smoking technology: the concept of the process, the construction of a smokehouse, the main rules of smoking and food preparation

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

People come to the dacha, of course, not only to work on the land, but also to take a break from the noisy metropolis in the fresh air. And of course, all sorts of family gatherings are often arranged in suburban areas. At the same time, in addition to vegetables grown in the garden, some original products can also be served at the table - for example, fish or meat smoked with one's own hands. It will be relatively easy to prepare such country "delicacies" on your own. In this case, you can also use the technology of cold smoking.

Types of smoking

Man has been using this method of cooking fish and meat for a long time. Scientists have discovered a lot of rock paintings with the corresponding plots. At the moment, there are only three main ways of smoking:

• hot;
• semi-hot;
• cold.

The first technology is distinguished primarily by high speedproduct preparation. You can smoke fish or meat using this method in just a few hours. The advantage of this method is that in this case all harmful parasites or microorganisms die in the product. Approximately the same advantages are distinguished by the semi-hot smoking technique. It is these two technologies that are most often used by summer residents when cooking products “with smoke” on their own.

However, sometimes the owners of suburban areas use a more complex and costly method of cold smoking. Using this technology, you can get much tastier products. At the same time, cold-smoked fish and meat can be stored much longer. The main disadvantage of this technology is the duration of the process. Fish or meat can be smoked using this method for several days.

Main smoking rules

The technology of cold, hot and semi-hot smoking differs primarily in the temperature of the smoke used to process the products. The taste of fish or meat prepared in different ways can vary significantly.

A characteristic feature of cold smoking is, first of all, that the products in this case are exposed to the already cooled smoke. Its temperature, according to the regulations, should not exceed +15-30 °С for meat and +20-40 °С for fish.

In enterprises for such smoking, among other things, the following standards are provided, for example:

• humidity of the smoke-air mixture - 40-70%;
• duration of smoking - 20-72 hours;
• smoke speed - 1-8 m/s;
• s alt content in the finished product - 4-12%.

What foods can be smoked

One of the features of cold smoking, including do-it-yourself, is that the product in this case is practically not subjected to heat treatment. In fact, this technique is a simplified drying technology. Therefore, meat or fish prepared in this way may harbor all sorts of parasites and harmful bacteria.

Use for cold smoking, therefore only known high-quality products that have passed various kinds of checks are relies. For example, freshly caught river fish cannot be cooked using this technique.

Also, when choosing products using cold-smoked technology, you should definitely pay attention to their degree of fat content. Dry meat or fish for cooking by this method is absolutely not suitable. Such products in the process of cold smoking will simply dry out and turn out to be very tough.

From meat for cold smoking, basically only pork or fatty lamb is suitable. However, poultry and beef are cooked in most cases using a hot method. Cold-smoked fish may work well:

• eel;
• sturgeon;
• Far East salmon;
• whitefish.

Usedoften for smoking mackerel cold smoking technology. Bream and roach are also relatively well suited for this method. Herring is usually smoked in a hot way.

Preparing fish

Very often cold smoking technology is used to prepare such a product in smoke. In production, fish is cooked in smoke cabinets faster than meat. The same thing happens at home.

Preparing fish for smoking is allowed both by s alting and pickling. Moreover, in both of these cases, different recipes for small and large fish can be used. In any case, proper s alting or pickling is a prerequisite for the preparation of a high-quality, tasty smoked product.

S alting methods

In Soviet times, the technology of cold smoking fish in production was labor intensive. Used for the preparation of such a product expensive, difficult to maintain equipment. But the fish at the same time, in the end, turned out to be very tasty and fragrant.

Today, such a product is smoked in production, unfortunately, in most cases, not according to GOST, but according to TU. Accordingly, it turns out it is often not very appetizing. At home, if desired, you can cook even tastier fish than purchased. But of course, before smoking, such a product must be s alted correctly.

Small fish are usually not slaughtered in preparation for smoke processing. In some cases, it is not even gutted. Such a product is usually prepared as follows:

• fish wellwashed;
• a small amount of s alt is poured into the bottom of an enamel pot;
• rub each fish with s alt, paying special attention to the gills;
• put a layer of fish on the bottom of the pan and cover it with s alt;
• repeat the procedure until the pot is full.

The laid fish is then left for 2 days. During this time, it will be saturated with brine and will be ready for smoking.

Do-it-yourself cold smoking of large fish involves the use of the following preparation technology:

• the heads and entrails are removed from the carcasses and thoroughly washed;
• fish is rubbed with coarse s alt and put in a saucepan;
• leave the product to s alt for a day;
• prepare a brine from 2 liters of water, 25 g of sugar and 0.5 packs of s alt and fill it with fish;
• leave the carcasses to s alt for another 5 days.

In the brine for flavor, you can put a little pepper and parsley. First, it should be boiled on the stove and cooled.

Methods of pickling

When using cold smoking technology, pre-s alting allows you to get quite tasty fish. However, when marinated, this product may eventually turn out to be somewhat more tender and juicy. Fish is prepared before smoking in this case, usually according to the following technology:

• carcasses are cleaned, head and entrails are removed;
• wash the fish and put it in the fridge for an hour.

The marinade is being prepared in a large pot. To do this, pour into it:

• 1 tbsp semi-sweet white wine;
• a little soy sauce, lemon juice and water.

Next, a mixture of thyme and rosemary is added to the marinade. At the next stage, the brine is heated over low heat, without bringing to a boil, and the fish is put into it. Next, put the pan in the refrigerator for 10 hours

Technology of smoking fish

In the belly of a large s alted or pickled fish, spacers must be inserted before starting the smoke treatment. The technology of cold smoking rudd and flounder, bream and roach, since they are relatively small in size, usually does not require such a procedure. But in salmon carcasses, for example, spacers should be inserted.

Sawdust in the smokehouse should be poured aspen, alder or oak. The fish is suspended in the chamber in a vertical position. The term of cold smoking it with your own hands will depend on its size. This procedure usually takes 1-6 days.

Cold smoking technology at home: meat preparation

This product is also often smoked cold in the country. Prepare the meat for processing, depending on what they ultimately want to receive. So for basturma you will need:

• 1 kg pork fillet;
• 100 g curing mixture with s altpeter;
• 1 liter of water;
• by½ tsp sugar and cumin;
• 1 garlic clove.

Garlic is pre-crushed, and then all the ingredients are poured into the water. Pour the meat with the prepared brine and leave the pan in a cool room for 4 days. Next, the fillet is taken out, thoroughly wiped with a towel and dried for a day. Such meat is smoked at a temperature of 25 ° C until cooked.

To prepare raw smoked ham, the following ingredients are used:

• 7 kg ham;
• 700g s alt;
• brine of 3 liters of water, 350 g of s alt, 2 g of sodium nitrate.

The thickness of the fat on the ham chosen for smoking should not be less than 3 cm. Chilled meat in this case is rubbed with s alt and placed in some container. Next, the load is laid on top and kept for 1-3 days at a temperature of 4 ° C. The remaining s alt is first poured onto the meat.

The pickled pieces at the next stage are poured with chilled brine and left to marinate for 10-15 days. After that, the meat is taken out of the container and hung in a cool room to dry for 3 days. Next, the ham is soaked for 2-3 hours, washed with water and wiped with a towel. Smoked meat prepared in this way should be carried out with thick smoke at a temperature of 35 ° C. At the same time, pieces should be placed in a barrel for a period of 3 hours daily for a week.

Can I cook beef

The technology of cold smoking pork meat at home is thus relatively simple. But if desiredusing this method, you can also cook beef or poultry in the country. The meat of these varieties, with prolonged exposure to cold smoke, as already mentioned, can become dry and tough. To prevent this from happening, such products will need to be heat treated before smoking. Usually, such meat is simply put in a saucepan beforehand and the water is brought to a boil.

Which firewood is suitable for meat

When using cold smoked technology for such a product, a very good solution would be to use fruit wood, for example, apple or pear. Also, meat is often cooked in this way on oak, ash or alder. Birch firewood, chips and sawdust are not recommended for smoking such a product. Otherwise, the meat will taste like tar.

Cooking sausages

The technology of cold smoking meat and fish at home, therefore, is not particularly difficult. It will be quite simple to cook sausage using this method. To get such a smoked homemade product, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 kg beef;
• 1.5 kg lean pork;
• 1.5 kg solid fat;
• 10g sugar;
• pepper to taste;
• 200g s alt;
• 3 g of ascorbic acid (instead of s altpeter).

Meat for making sausages is s alted and put in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Next:

• the product is scrolled in a meat grinder;
• thoroughly knead it with the addition of ascorbic acid, sugar and spices;
• lard is cut into small pieces and added to minced meat;
• distribute the mass on the board with a layer no thicker than 10 cm and keep in the cold for 2-3 days.

Further, the cooked meat is stuffed into well-washed intestines and everything is tightly bandaged. Before smoking, sausages are left in a cold room (+5 ° C) for a week. Next, the sausage is smoked at a temperature of 20 ° C for 2-3 days. At the final stage, the sausages are kept in a cool dry place (+10 °C) for 4-6 weeks.

Can I make a smokehouse

Such equipment is now sold in almost every hardware store. However, in our time, it is possible to purchase ready-made products mainly only for hot smoking chambers. In addition, such equipment is quite expensive. Therefore, in most cases, the owners of summer cottages prefer to collect smokehouses for cold processing on their own.

It will not be particularly difficult to equip such a device in the garden or in the garden. The most important thing to achieve in the manufacture of such a smokehouse is that the smoke cools before reaching the fish or meat. This can be done, for example, by arranging a moat about 3 m long between the fire and the chamber.

You can make a homemade smokehouse, for example, using this technology:

• a fire pit is being dug in the area;
• a 3 m long trench is laid from the pit;
• onat the other end of the trench, an old metal or wooden barrel without a bottom is installed;
• the trench is closed, for example, with slate and covered with 15 cm of earth.

For the convenience of hanging products on the barrel, a grate should be placed on top. In the future, fish or meat will be attached to it. The technology of cold smoking fish or meat at home using this equipment will not be particularly difficult. During smoking, the chamber from the barrel should simply be covered with a piece of thick cloth.

Another way to make a smokehouse

You can also collect such equipment at your summer cottage, for example, from an old refrigerator. In this case, a pipe with a cooler is connected to the branch pipe of the stove welded from metal sheets. The other end of the pipe is inserted into the refrigerator. He will continue to serve as a smoking chamber. A chimney with a fan is fixed on top of the refrigerator.