"Think of smoked meats and all those wonderful, rich flavors of a summer barbecue might come to mind, from smoked ribs to brisket. But there's a whole other category of smoked goods traditionally made during winter by a process known as cold smoking. As the name suggests, cold smoking adds a unique aroma and flavor to meats without the use of high heat. It's a preservation method that's been used for thousands of years and was essential for storing food before the invention of refrigeration."
"Unlike hot smoking, which cooks food as it adds flavor, cold-smoked meats aren't cooked at all. As such, they need to first go through a curing process, most often using salt, which makes cold-smoked meats safe to eat. This draws moisture out of the meat or fish, making it too dry for bacteria to survive. When followed by the wood smoke, which contains antimicrobial compounds, the resulting smoked meat is preserved and can last for months on end."
"but if you're just starting out, you can put together a DIY smoker using your barbecue grill and a tray of ice. Since the food isn't cooked in the process, it works particularly well for meats and fish with delicate textures. Cold smoking is what differentiates smoked salmon from lox, and it's also used for whole fish, such as trout."
Cold smoking imparts aroma and flavor without cooking by keeping temperatures below 90°F and exposing cured meats and fish to wood smoke. The process depends on an initial curing step, most often with salt, to draw moisture out of the product and inhibit bacterial growth. Wood smoke adds antimicrobial compounds that further preserve the protein and can extend shelf life for months. Cold smoking is slower than hot smoking and can take several days, so cooler conditions such as winter help maintain safe temperatures. Cold smoking suits delicate-textured foods like salmon, trout, bacon, hams, salami, speck, and chorizo, and small-scale setups can be improvised using grills and ice.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]