Many times, cured meats can be eaten as is or they can undergo additional processing to further improve their flavor, texture and "survivability". These meats can be smoked, fermented or dried to complete the preservation process. This extra processing typically provides the characteristic and sometimes dramatic flavor associated with your favorite foods.
Using smoke with food can preserve and flavor food with results that are amazing and can cost a lot of money if you were to purchase it completely processed. Foods that are commonly smoked include ham, bacon, salmon/fish, poultry, herriing and oysters. It is important to make a distinction between smoking for preservation (smoke cooking) and smoking for texture and flavor. Generally there are three different methods of smoking foods: - Hot smoking
- Cold smoking
- Artificial Smoke Flavor
"Hot smoking" is done in the smokehouse or more modern gas and electric smokers, usually over a short period of time, just until the meat is cooked. The meat is cooked and smoked at the same time over a burning fire or electric elements of a kiln.
“Cold Smoking” is done over a much longer period of time, e.g. 12-24 hours, over a smoldering fire (below 85°F). These foods are held in the "temperature danger zone" during this period and microbial growth (40-140°F) could occur. It is very important that only those meat products that have been fermented, salted, or cured, should be cold-smoked. Most cold-smoked products should use a proven cure recipe and be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F before they are eaten. Not all cold-smoked foods are treated this way, e.g., smoked salmon and cold smoked mackerel, which are very delicately smoked for a long period of time and remain raw even when eaten. You have to remember that these delicacies need to be prepared carefully through proper cleaning and pre and post storage. "Liquid Smoke" is used by some consumers and many commercial operations to add smoke flavor to their foods. Liquid smoke can be easily measured and provides instant smoke flavor to your food, but has limitations in the type of smoke and its availability. Those who have tried hot or cold smoking and have tasted the results, rarely go back to liquid smoke. Fermenting and Drying
Fermenting and Drying, as food preservation methods, are covered in-depth in separate articles on Home Food Gourmet. For the purposes of this review, some cured sausages are also fermented and dried, e.g., salami and pepperoni.
|
How To 