What is smoking? Check out our tips on smoked meats!

"Smoke is also an ingredient." A strong, yet necessary, statement. Smoking can add very genuine flavors to meat. Flavors that make all the difference to many palates. Are you familiar with the different smoking techniques and their history? Today's post is dedicated to smoked meat admirers!

The origin of smoking

Many different methods were used by humanity before refrigerators and cold chambers, and certainly the idea of exposing meat to the smoke from the incomplete combustion of wood was revolutionary in meat preservation from very ancient times.

Smoke retards the oxidation of meat fats, in addition to inhibiting microbial growth, which gives meats a much longer shelf life. The addition of condiments, such as salt, further favors its preservation, in addition to giving the meat a very particular flavor.

Even after the development of other techniques, smoking remained very popular and still accounts for a part of the culinary interest of grill masters.

How smoking works

The penetration of smoke into the meat is slow and gradual, and in smoking, it is done only through the partial burning of wood, that is, there are more propitious stages of wood burning in smoking, so those who like to smoke in the traditional style will have to sweat a bit alongside the meats to maintain the quality standard.

There is no single smoking standard; we can divide them by technique and by smoking point:

Traditional smoking points

In traditional smoking, which refers to the most classic techniques, the meat is exposed at a certain distance from the embers. We can list at least three different temperatures during this type of process:

Cold

With an average temperature between 20 and 25oC, the meat is exposed for hours and even days. It is used for preservation and flavor addition, lightly dehydrating the meat and adding bactericidal components.

Hot

Here the temperature varies between 50 and 57oC and offers more flavor penetration, giving the meat more cooking and slightly modifying its properties, being very common in the processing of cured meats, such as bacon and pork loin.

Superhot

above 90oC, up to a level of 120oC or even more, the meat enters a state of complete cooking, preparing it for consumption and adding flavor in a very short time, a technique that has gained much popularity in steakhouses and food trucks.

There are other interesting methods for smoking meat, with the use of liquid smoke, which offers an approximate smoking flavor in an extremely practical way and does not offer any potentially harmful properties.

The height of the meat, the intensity of the embers, and the type of wood make all the difference in the acquired flavor and texture.

The most common woods and meats for smoking

The most common woods used in Brazil are hard, non-resinous ones, especially fruit or nut trees. Here we especially have applewood and pecan wood, which offer a sweeter and milder flavor that doesn't compete with other traditional condiments that accompany barbecue.

Among meats, those with a more neutral flavor, at least for preservation and processing, are the most chosen, especially pork, but also chicken; bacon, loin, ear, paio (a type of sausage), and trotters are favorites. Fish with thicker flesh also fall into this category, such as salmon and haddock, but vegetables, eggs, and even milk can also be smoked.

As for beef, most of the time it is prepared directly for cooking and consumption. There are many different cuts, such as in the traditional "fogo de chão gaúcho" (gaucho pit fire), where the ribs spend good hours cooking and absorbing the smoke, or in Argentine "parrillas," with their thick steaks, which drip fat onto the embers, increasing the flavor and reducing the average preparation time.

But all over the world, a trend that has caught on is brisket, prepared with accessible, tougher chest cuts, which have their fat broken down until they become tender and ideal to be served with bread and various other accompaniments.

Thus, they offer a series of opportunities for experimentation in preparation, which created the culture of pitmasters, who make the most irreverent smoked dishes, pushing the traditional North American technique to its creative limits!

Enjoyed the smoking techniques? You can make your own brisket at home; smokers have arrived and are very successful here. Just combine it with a good barbecue kit and get ready for a lot of sweat and flavor!

Here at Cutelaria CIMO we have several publications about blades and the world of barbecue, in addition to offering the best barbecue and sports items in our store with special conditions!