What can you smoke in a hot smoker?

Who among you and I doesn’t like to enjoy a piece of smoked meat or fish? There are many lovers of such delicacies. It is a misconception to believe that only meat or fish can be smoked - there are a huge number of products that can be subjected to such processing. Meat, poultry or fish cooked in a home smoker, seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices, appetizingly exuding the aroma of smoke - what could be tastier?

Features of hot smoking

The home smoking process occurs by burning wood. The product is exposed to smoke combined with air masses. The prepared products are endowed with special taste and aroma qualities. But it is necessary to strictly adhere to the technology. After all, non-compliance is fraught with the release of harmful substances and, as a result, a negative effect on the body. The different heat treatment periods are characterized by:

• temperature, which varies from 80 to 170 degrees Celsius;
• absolute digestion of protein;
• low salt level - 1.5 - 4%;
• exceeding permissible water value - more than 60%.

The aroma and quality of processing are directly affected by firewood. For example, fruit trees - oak, birch, alder - smoke well.To improve the aroma, branches of juniper, sage, and heather are added to the listed firewood.

What can you smoke in a smokehouse?

Meat, fish, poultry, sausages, cheese, vegetables, and seafood are often chosen as starting raw materials. It is important to remember that before smoking a particular product, it should be subjected to certain processing - pickling, salting, cooking. The final stage - drying - is almost the main thing in the whole process. The fact is that if the semi-finished product is wet, then it is more susceptible to the penetration of carcinogens from smoke.

Hot smoking technology

As a rule, smokehouses are initially set to a high temperature. Large pieces of meat, fish, and poultry are boiled until half cooked, because raw they will simply burn on top, remaining raw inside. An excellent way to process raw materials before smoking is also marinating.

The process of starting a fire should also be approached carefully. The wood chips are soaked for 1 hour in advance. A fire is lit and allowed to burn for some time.

When the fire has burned out and a sufficient amount of coals has appeared, a grate is installed to place food on it. They are tightly covered with a lid and placed on the fire for further smoking.

The first stage of smoking occurs over open, high heat. Subsequently, for better cooking, the coals simply smolder.

The duration of the process itself depends on the product, its condition and size:

• for seafood it will take about 30 minutes;
• if meat, fish, poultry are cut into small pieces, then such preparation will take approximately 1 hour;
• Large carcasses are smoked for several hours.

Everything is simple here - the time allocated for the smoking process depends on the size of the product itself.

Reference! Fresh meat, immediately after slaughter, is not smoked - it should be kept in the cold for 3 days.

Popular hot smoked recipes

Hot smoked products are certainly very tasty and aromatic. But to cook it correctly, you should adhere to the best recipe.

A simple recipe for smoking meat

Let's prepare:

• pan;
• aluminum foil;
• grate;
• fruit tree sawdust;
• the necessary part of the carcass.

We cover the inside of the pan with foil, pressing it against the walls and leaving long edges. Pour fruit sawdust or tea into the bottom of the container. You can also add herbs and brown sugar here. Place the grill, place the meat, and cover with a lid. We now bend the edges of the foil, which we previously left, pressing firmly. It is very important that the foil does not leave a gap between the lid and the edge.

The container is placed on high heat, after a few minutes the heat is reduced. The meat is smoked for 60 minutes.

How to smoke fish

Before smoking, the fish must undergo a process of gutting and cleaning (it should be thoroughly rinsed in cold water several times).

If, due to its large size, the fish does not fit into the chamber, it is cut into pieces. The head is cut off and the gills are removed - this is done so that the meat is not bitter.

Reference! It is better to choose fatty fish. As a result of smoking, most of the fat will disappear, and the fish will turn out juicy and tasty.

Smoking poultry

Duck, goose, and other poultry are certainly tasty, but everyone’s favorite chicken remains a “classic.” We make the brine - add 80 grams of salt, 30 grams of sugar and 40 ml of apple cider vinegar to 1 liter of water.

The chicken is cut in half, rubbed with crushed garlic and ground pepper, and filled with brine (this should be done carefully so as not to wash off the rubbed spices). Marinates for 3 days.

Next, the bird is taken out and doused with boiling water so that the skin does not harden during smoking. After the water has completely drained, place the chicken in the smoking cabinet for an hour, maintaining a temperature of 60 degrees, but only without smoke. Then you should smoke for 3 hours at 90 degrees. After which it is important to leave the bird in the cold for 1 day.

How to smoke lard

Prepare 1 kg of lard, ground sweet paprika, garlic. Lard should be cut into rectangular pieces, rolled in salt and placed in a jar for 3 weeks. Then you need to rinse it, remove the salt and dry it. Next, you should start smoking - you need to do this until a golden crust forms.

Smoked seafood

Before the main stage, mussels and shrimp are soaked in brine for a day. You can use lemon juice and soy sauce as a marinade. Dried seafood is smoked until golden brown. After which both shrimp and mussels are poured with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs. The sauce, seasoned with cilantro and white wine, is the perfect complement to a romantic dinner.

Smoked vegetables as an ideal snack

Professional chefs know that smoked vegetables add a unique taste to any dish. They don't smoke for long - about half an hour. But first they should still be soaked in the marinade for 12 hours. Its ingredients: lemon juice, soy sauce, salt, ground pepper.