When the weather starts to get cold, the days to shorten… but why not embark on a technique of cooking still never apprehend: cold smoking.
For those who love smoking or cold smoking, the technique is already there, but for others it is time to get out of his comfort zone in barbecue cooking and to tackle this new technique that allows you to discover an infinite possibility of flavors.
You’re on the verge of making your own smoked salmon for the holidays or smoke your duck for a gourmet meal! Using the best wood for smoking salmon is also key, since the smoke taste should not be bitter at all.
Table of Contents
What is smoking?
The principle of smoking a food is simply the action of subjecting it to a large amount of smoke to give it a taste and very particular aromas. This technique was used a long time ago to preserve food.
But what is the difference between hot smoking and cold smoking?
Hot smoking cooks and smokes food while cold smoking will simply smoke food thanks to its low temperature that diffuses into a barbecue or smoking room via sawdust for smoking.
- Cold smoking: 15-25° C, for a mild smoke used for foods that you do not want to expose to high temperatures. It is often used to store food as smoke penetrates deeper than hot smoking. Cold smoking can be used for salami, bacon, parma ham, salmon.
- Hot smoking: 45-80° C, is used only to add flavor, as seasoning. A higher temperature will give the food a drying effect due to heat. Hot smoking is used in sausage making and it is usually the type of smoking that we know through the barbecue.
What are the steps of cold smoking?
It is not only in the Nordic countries that they smoke fish. For centuries, people around the world have used smoke to make their food healthy to eat and to keep it. Many of the most famous smoking traditions have emerged in the harshest climates, where people have long relied on smoked fish and meat to survive during the winter months.
● Salting
Salting allows the food to lose water and thus promote the concentration of flavors during the diffusion of smoke flavors. This step is the key to a good cold smoking. It takes approximately 24 hours rest time after brining.
It is possible to brine or salt the food in two ways: either by burying food or by keeping food under vacuum. The second is more economical in terms of ingredients used.
● How to choose the right wood?
Smoking sawdust is an essential fuel for cold smoking, not hot smoking. It can come from different types of wood.
Hardwood sawdust
This type of smoking wood is recommended for smoking meat and fish without altering their natural taste. There are several species, here are a few:
- Beech sawdust
Beech sawdust is usually used to smoke salmon, but is also suitable for cold smoking of meats, sausages and cheeses according to your needs. It is consumed slowly to give food a subtle smoky taste.
- Oak sawdust
This sawdust is ideal for cold smoking meat and venison. It gives food a dark brown color and a stronger smoky aroma. Like beech sawdust, it can also be placed in a cold smoke generator or a barbecue smoker.
- Other species
In addition to beech sawdust, you can also opt for orange or cherry sawdust, mesquite or hickory depending on the flavor you want to add to your food.
Softwood sawdust
Among the species of coniferous trees, sawdust is frequently used to smoke delicatessen products. Indeed, these smoking woods bring a bitter flavor to food and are therefore not suitable for “naked” meats and fish.
Sawdust to be avoided
Some sawdust is not recommended for smoking food, including:
- Sawdust for smoking from a freshly felled tree: wet wood promotes the appearance of carbon compounds. Prefer therefore a very dry sawdust with a humidity rate of 10 to 12% maximum.
- Sawdust from moldy, rotten or that comes from demolition materials. Varnished or painted sawdust can cause food poisoning.
● Cold smoking
To coldly smoke your piece of meat, just have a smoking room for cold smoking. This device that you can have on a gas or charcoal barbecue can contain sawdust (for a beech scent for example).
It is best to use 100% natural sawdust. Of course the raw material is very important, so prefer fresh products to vacuum products trade. In order to properly smoke your room, it will not under any circumstances clutter your barbecue or smoking room to let the smoke circulate freely and thus permeate your food.
The smoke flavor will of course depend on the time. The more you want a smoked taste more it will be necessary to leave the food in contact with the smoke.
