Homestead Skills: Smoking Meat And Fish
Smoking animal foods can produce some remarkably flavorful results, and it can be done without much in the way of modern conveniences. Smoking can also be used in conjunction with drying to save and preserve your meats and fish – without the need for electricity or special equipment. Follow in our ancestor’s footsteps, and you too can make some delicious and long-lived foods.
There are two traditional ways that I like to smoke fish and other foods, with a hot smoking process and a cold smoking process. These can be done with the same food and the same apparatus, the big difference is the heat.
HOT SMOKING This technique involves a closed box to hold in the smoke and the heat from your smoke producing materials. The animal foods are cooked by this heat, and permeated with a smoky flavor. Fish prepared in this manner can last for several days, up to a week, at room temperature. Red meats, white meats or any poultry should be eaten the same day, or the next day at the latest.
COLD SMOKING Cold smoking is done at cooler temperatures, for a longer period time. The goal in this method is long term storage, which requires more of a drying process than a cooking process. It should not get hot enough in the smoker to actually cook the meat and fish. Temperatures under 100 F are a must. Temperatures under 80 F are ideal. This cold smoking process can be done in a box or shed, like hot smoking. It can also be done in open air, by placing the meat or fish downwind of a smoky pile of coals. Maintain the smoking and air drying for a full day. If the meat becomes almost brittle, it is done. Bring it in at night, and smoke for a second day, if conditions are damp or humid.
SMOKING WITH WOOD CHIPS The heat source is important in smoking, but the woods chips are the most vital part of the operation. A modern smoking setup can involve a cooking hot plate (portable electric burner) with a pan of dampened chips sitting on it. More traditional methods (sans electric) can happen with a pan of hardwood coals from a fire, and wet wood chips sprinkled over the top. Find out which of these species are locally abundant in your area, and chop up some chips with an axe or machete.
• Apple wood from a local orchard makes a great, sweet smoke perfect for poultry and pork.
• Hickory wood from the nearby forest gives a rich, sharp flavor and makes hot long-burning coals.
• Maple wood chips are another excellent choice. Maple is great for smoking cheeses.
• Mesquite wood, native to the southern US, is a coveted smoke producer with an earthy flavor.
• Ash is a light flavored smoke, great with fish and poultry.
• Oak has a heavy smoke flavor. Red oak is good on ribs and pork, while white oak turns into long lasting coals.
Just make sure you avoid any local species that are toxic. My local bad guys in the eastern US are black locust, yew, buckeye, horsechestnut, rhododendron and mountain laurel. You’ll also want to skip bitter smoking and resinous woods like cedar, cypress, redwood, fir, pine, spruce and other needle bearing trees..
Ready to give it a try? Our Food Storage and Preservation class will show you how to smoke beef jerky and create several other foods that are perfect for storage.
Written by Tim MacWelch First draft published on outdoorlife.com