The Smoked it is a Culinary technique considered by many an art and which consists of Play with the aromatic woods and the temperature to generate a smoke to whom to submit the Food hours to imbue them with that colour, taste and characteristic colour.
Furthermore, it is a technique very versatile since with it A wide variety of foods can be smoked from meats and fish to cheeses, butters and even chocolates, and that also allows develop multiple recipes with which to surprise and delight our palate and that of our diners.
The list of foods that can be smoked would surprise you as Practically all ingredients, both solid and liquid, can be smoked.ribs, chicken, lamb, sausages, salami, cheeses, sauces, salmon, tuna, squid, peppers, asparagus and many other vegetables, wines, oils, salts. Everything can be smoked.
And the best thing is that the smoking no great knowledge is required and their technique is quite simple. Nevertheless, you need to have some basic notions for the result to be as expected and for nothing to go wrong during the process. That's why, from Jumaco Ovens, barbecue manufacturers and Smokers, we want to share with you all the keys to prepare the best smoked meats.
Types of smoking
Before we start talking about how to prepare smoked foods, it's important to mention that there are two types of smoking: hot and cold. hot smoked and the cold-smoked.
The main difference between both types lies in the temperaturewhile in hot smoking the temperature must be above 25oC (between 60 and 100)oC) in cold smoking, the temperature never exceeds 25°CoC.
This is because cold smoking is used for foods that cannot withstand high temperatures as they could melt, such as cheese, butter or chocolate. In other words, cold smoking only imparts a smoky flavour to products but does not cook them.
While the hot smoked, generally used for meats and fish, yes cooks the food while smoking it.
Furthermore, the instruments used are different. For cold smoking, spiral smokers or cold smoking boxes are used. And hot smoking can be achieved with different kitchen systems grilled like barbecues and Fumatori, as long as they have lids to contain the smoke.
Nevertheless, in this article we will focus only in hot smoking.
Hot smoking: everything you need to know
As we were discussing, for hot smoking we need achieve a temperature of between 60 and 100oC. Once we achieve the necessary temperature, we will simply have to ensure that keep it for hours adding Wet aromatic woods on the embers. Since upon coming into contact with the fire, these are what generate the smoke that will cook and flavour the food at the same time.
But how much wood do we need for smoking? The amount of wood it's going to depend of the smoking time we need and the degree of smokiness we want to achieve. The longer the smoking time and the greater the intensity, the greater the proportion of wood.
How to smoke food on the barbecue
Barbecuing is very simple:
- The first step is prepare our barbecue until it reaches a high temperature but below 100oC.
- Afterwards, with the embers placed in an indirect system and alone on one side barbecue, we will move on to introduce the wet aromatic wood chips on the embersand we will put the Tapas.
- Lastly, we put the food that we want to smoke in the opposite side from the embers and let it cook and flavour slowly.
It is very important that, for the smoke to properly infuse the food, we place the lid on the barbecue with the Flue or flue outlet right in the area in which are found the Food.
How to smoke food in the smoker or Smoker?
In the case of the smokers and Smokers one must take into account that there are two types of Smokershorizontal and vertical ones. As the steps to follow vary from one model to another.
If you Smoker It is shaped like vertical cylinder you'll see that it has a Container inside it that fills of water and is responsible for controlling the temperature and preventing the products we are going to smoke from drying out. It is also important that you know it works with Charcoal briquettes and the temperature of the embers cannot exceed 100 in any caseoc. Once the embers are ready, the aromatic woods are added and the food is placed.
If, on the contrary, you Smoker is horizontal you'll have to put the coals and the Aromatic wood in the lower chamber and in the upper chamber, the food whatever you wish to smoke. Both chambers are connected, and this way, the smoke passes from the lower chamber to the chamber where the products are to be flavour-infused. The smoking process can last up to 24 hours, ..., but the wait is worth it as it allows for low-temperature cooking and smoking with exceptional results.
In Jumaco Maestro Ovens we have a wide range of barbecues and Smokers. Furthermore, we can also manufacture them to your exact specifications to perfectly suit your needs. Please do not hesitate contact us now. Our specialists will help you choose the best barbecue or the best Smoker so you can prepare the most exquisite smoked dishes.
Source:
Benayas, J. M., Celada, E., & Hernández, A. (2018). Among burning embers: the secrets of fire cooking. Planet.
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