Temperature of hot smoking of products in a smokehouse
Lovers of smoked meats know all the advantages of a properly prepared dish. There is aroma, taste, and a good crust... To achieve all this, you need to know some features.
The content of the article
Parameters affecting smoking quality
Hot smoking means that the product will be treated with steam and high temperature smoke. A real chef knows that to create a truly delicious masterpiece, you will need to ensure that all important recommendations are followed during preparation:
- use only fresh products;
- choose a good recipe;
- strictly follow the requirements of each stage of the entire cooking process;
- observe the temperature regime specified in the recipe;
- maintain the necessary and sufficient level of humidity inside the smokehouse;
- pay attention to the quality of the raw materials used;
- withstand the correct amount of time.
If you follow these rules, the food will turn out to be extremely tasty.
Attention! For a more subtle taste, use logs from some fruit trees, and for a lighter crust, it is better to take alder or oak.
What should be the temperature for hot smoking?
It is clear that each product will have its own correct temperature value.However, it is worth saying how hot smoking differs in general.
The main criterion here is to set it to 80°C or higher. It is this value that will allow you to smoke your favorite delicacies in your own juice and fat. In addition, if you try to cook at lower degrees, then, most likely, everything will end in global failure: the protein will not curdle, you will not get a tasty smoky smell, and in general the dish may turn out to be half-baked.
How to correctly determine the temperature regime
Masters and amateurs who have been involved in this process for many years will say simply: spray water on the smokehouse. If it just evaporates right away, then everything is fine, if it starts to hiss or shoot, then the mode is incorrect and you should make it hotter.
You can, of course, use this method, but to obtain accurate information it would be better to take a special thermometer. In addition to the temperature inside the chamber, you can also find out the number of degrees of the product itself. For this, there are special thermometers with a kind of plug or pin that you can simply stick directly into the product.
In fact, modern devices provide an additional function of sound notification when the desired state is reached. With them, you don’t have to worry about how hot the camera is.
Smoking temperature and time for different products
Each group of smoked meats has its own degree of processing! We invite you to consider the most popular dishes.
Meat (pork, beef)
Depending on the size of the piece and its fat content, the time and temperature of its cooking is determined. On average, raw meat is smoked for about three hours at 80–100°C. If, for example, it was cooked before, then you can set it to only 45–60°C.
This product can be stored for one to three weeks.
Fish
It is always necessary to remember that fish is a perishable product. Therefore, it needs to be smoked quickly and stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days. The process is carried out at 60–140°C from half an hour to two to three hours. The time depends on the volume: large cod will be ready within two hours at high temperature, bream can be ready in an hour, and herring will take less than 30 minutes.
Poultry (chicken, game)
A whole carcass cooks more slowly than individual parts (thighs, drumsticks, etc.). By the way, they can be made in just 30–40 minutes. If the bird was previously marinated, then one and a half hours at 80–130°C will be enough, if not, then 2–3 hours.
Attention! First, it’s better to set it to 100°C and hold it for a while so that a delicious golden crust forms.
Sausage
The most labor-intensive and time-consuming process. To make homemade sausage you will need two days in the smoking chamber and another three weeks outside it. Depending on the filling, the temperature setting will be determined, which can vary from 50°C to 120°C.
Now you are familiar with all the intricacies of proper hot smoking.
