Teach me about smoking meat

[tradtusker]

iv always been keen on the idea of smoking meat or fish.

what do i need to know?
what equipment do i need?
what preparation is required for the meat?
do some spice/marinade or use ingredients on the meat?
please explain the process from start to finish.

im mainly interested in trout or salmon but also would like to smoke venison and sausages, fowl etc..

any help would be appreciated.  

thanks Andy

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Damn that's alot of requested info...    LOL

  Here is a link that has alot of information on it...

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/

 I like my Electric Bradley Smoker but it doesnt work during a power outage. That is my only complaint. LOL

[Missing Impossible]

Look here for all your answers  http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/  .  I have the Weber Smoky Mountain and love it!

[Todd Robbins]

I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker.  It's not too costly to get started with.  I really like mine and have had good luck with it.  Some folks have had problems with the controller, but mine works like a champ.  Got it at Bass Pro.  

The book "Charcuterie" has a wealth of information about smoking and curing all sorts of stuff.

Todd

[tradtusker]

thanks for the info and links guys there sure is a lot of information.
i was thinking more along the lines of dry/ cold smoking meat for curing didn't realize so much is more BBQ smoking. i looks like it could be quite addictive

thanks Andy

[Bowferd]

Smoking and BBQ. 2 completely different subjects.
Both beginning to make my mouth water.
Smoking to preserve, BBQ to enhance.
Smoke 1st
BBQ 2nd
Canned 3rd
In order of tenderness, please reverse the above order.

[Bowferd]

Ok, skipped a bit of info on the previous post, but try this one.
#1 1 large beef brisket marked down to "Reduced for Quick Sale". (lil brown around the edges will show what brown can do for you)
#2 1 large sweet onion sliced or chopped (please no brown on this one)
#3 1 large fresh garlic (not one of those lil flowerettes)
#4 1 pkg deer jerky seasoning (your choice)

Remove 90% of the fat covering from brisket and slice diagonally in 1/4" to 1/2" strips

Slice or chop both the sweet and the garlic

Layer in glass or plastic container in any order desired.
1 layer onion, garlic
Add 1 layer meat
Sprinkle w seasoning
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
until container is full and set in refrigerator for 24 hrs.
Flip container upside down and wait another 24 hrs.
Now figure out what day of the week you can make the finest jerky you've ever eaten and repeat the above process until due day.
My preference is smoking with wood or coal, but to each his own.
By the way you will know when it's done because you already done tested it 10 times,
Now is not a good time to tell you this but leave the lid on.

[bawana bowman]

Andy,

Smoking is not that difficult, but you are right there is a big difference between BBQ smoking and curing (cold smoking).
To begin with if you want bbq smoking buy yourself a small charcoal, gas, or electric smoker. There are many different styles available, dome shaped, square, drum with side fire box. They all work. The important thing is to keep the temperature as close to 225 degrees (that's Fahrenheit not Celsius)and cook slow. I do ribs (pork) for 3-4 hours, and pork shoulders for 12 hours, when done I can pull the bones out with no effort and they come out clean.
Any of the smokers you buy will have lots of recipes and instructions.
Cold smoking or curing is an altogether different animal and requires knowledge which has been pretty much lost to most modern civilized people.
It is not a difficult process if you just do a little research or can find someone locally that is willing to teach you. I have done a considerable amount of curing over the years, and it's not easy to teach someone this process over the internet.
My suggestion would be to purchase the book "Cold-Smoking & Salt-Curing Meat, Fish, & Game" By A. D. Livingston, this book instructs you on the proper method of curing and building a variety of smokers and there use. It is an excellent reference book and inexpensive ( Under $20 ).      

[tradtusker]

thanks    Harold
i have been looking at some smokers i quite like the webber smoky mountain it looks like a good charcoal smoker, i was interested only in the cold smocking process but am quite interested in the proper BBQ stile now that iv looked into that, so i will give that a go.

i found a copy of the book you recommended at amazon for $9 so hopefully i learn some cold smoking from that

thanks    

[bawana bowman]

Andy,

Good luck with your smoking, Let us know how things turn out for you.

Hal

[Horney Toad]

I like to wrap the meat with bacon while smoking. It keeps the outside of the meat from burning. I also add wood chips on top of the charcoal that have been soaked in water. I have found that bark makes a lot of good smoke. Big chunks of bark from a locust tree soaked in water makes a lot of smoke. Good luck.

[Missing Impossible]

IMHO, I would not advise using Locust wood or bark.  Good smoking woods come primarially from fruit or nut bearing trees like hickory, pecan, apple, cherry, etc.  The object isn't just to make smoke, each above mentioned wood imparts a particular and distinct flavor to the meat.  If you want to experiment with this, use mesquite on anything other than beef.

[J-dog]

ordered the book suggested as I am interested in cold smoking myself. I do the BBQ thing now with just a little eletric smoker I have, I smoke salmon in it as well.

Lived in Russia for awhile and learned a bit, specially bout salt curing fish as they love that over there. Not to hijack tuskers thread but anyone cold smoking deer?

Jason

[bawana bowman]

Andy and Jason,

There's a section in the book which shows how to make a cold smoker out of a ground pit, small ditch, and a box. I did this as a science project with my son about 9 years ago. We did 4 whole mullet and a small ham, they turned out great.
Since doing that I've used the idea at the hunting camp in Alabama, when we stay there long enough.

[J-dog]

LOL A cold smoked mullet. We have enough of them round here the crews are on the beach with tractors, boats, and nets now. I wonder what other salt fish can be smoked?

Can't wait to get the book, I will have to try that idea out! Thanks

Jason

[Al Dente]

www.barbecuenews.com

[Slasher]

Cold smoke curing is a lost art... My yankee uncles used to have an outhouse sized smoke house for smoking meat for preservation... not real sure, but think that curing salt is always part of the equation.... the smoking is to impart flavor and aid in drying the meat out...

Fish and fowl must be brined overnight, prior to smoking... the fish can keep for a while (not too long...) but the fowl was always eaten rather quickly, so I am unsure of how long it'll keep..

Now, being from the south, I am a hot smoking fool as bar-b-cue never lasts for more than over night, I am unsure how it'f work for preservation... A 4-6 hr smoke on some ribs that were dryrubbed the night before will cause fistfights if one doesn't properly prepare enough... and the men can get even meaner!!!  

[Dave Bulla]

Gonna have to check that book out myself.  Back in PA where I grew up, we used to take our hind quarters from deer to a local guy who brined them and smoked them.  

It took weeks, but MAN!!! were they good!!!!  Don't know exactly how he did it but it was a sugar/salt brine cure and we'd give him whole deboned quarters and I think I recall hearing they were soaked for about 1 week.  Not sure how long they were smoked, but they were smoked clear through, not just on the outsides.  The meat was almost black outside and a dark redish/brown all the way through.  Strong smokey/salty flavor similar to but different from jerky.  Almost zero moisture left to it but slices were flexible.  

If you've ever had "chipped beef" or SOS, that's prett much how it was.  Do they still sell that stuff?  My mom worked at a local market with a butcher shop and we'd take it down there and she'd slice it paper thin and bag it up like lunch meat. It actually made a real good sandwitch.  Really shined with cheese, crackers or pretzels and a beer....

[Brian Krebs]

[Brian Krebs]