Cold smoked meat

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 20 day

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make cold smoked meat at home? First of all, choose your meat. Pork neck or loin is perfect for smoking. In general, you can smoke any part of the carcass or bird, and it will turn out equally delicious.

2. STEP 2

   

   Large pieces of meat should be cut into smaller pieces, weighing 500-1000 grams. To ensure even brining and smoking, make the pieces approximately the same size.

3. STEP 3

   

   This time I used the dry method of salting meat. I took Adyghe salt (it already contains dry spices) mixed with regular rock salt and about 0.5 tbsp. nitrite salt (with it the finished product acquired an appetizing shade). So, carefully rub each piece of meat with salt on all sides and sprinkle with pepper. How much salt should I take? According to GOST, 2-2.3% salt is used per 1 kg of meat. I took a little more salt and made sure that all the pieces were generously sprinkled.

4. STEP 4

   

   Pour salt into the bottom of the pan, place pieces of meat tightly and press down with pressure. Place in the refrigerator and pickle for about two weeks. After a couple of days, drain the resulting liquid, swap the pieces and leave them under pressure again. After the time has passed, rinse the pork to remove salt and cover with cold water. Soak the meat for 8 to 14 hours, changing the water periodically.

5. STEP 5

   

   Place the pork on napkins and dry on all sides to remove as much moisture as possible. Rub each piece with ground paprika and allspice. You can use a little garlic powder for flavor and other favorite seasonings.

6. STEP 6

   

   Tie each piece of meat with a rope.

7. STEP 7

   

   How to properly tie pork with thread? Tie a knot on top, leaving one end of the rope long, as in the photo.

8. STEP 8

   

   Pull the long part of the rope down. Hold the thread with your index finger and pass the long end of the rope around the piece.

9. STEP 9

   

   Next, hook the end of the rope in the place where the index finger was (look at the photo).

10. STEP 10

    

    Repeat the same thing until you reach the very bottom.

11. STEP 11

    

    Turn the piece of meat over and pull the long end of the thread through the top.

12. STEP 12

    

    First pass the rope through the first horizontal thread, as in the photo.

13. STEP 13

    

    Then through the second and subsequent ones.

14. STEP 14

    

    From below, tie a knot from the short thread that was left at the beginning of the dressing, and the long thread that was used to tie the entire piece.

15. STEP 15

    

    Hang the tied pieces of meat in the shade in a well-ventilated place to dry. Make sure that insects and flies do not land on the meat. For convenience, you can use a fish dryer. Leave it this way for several hours. We left it all night.

16. STEP 16

    

    In order to smoke meat at home, you will need a smokehouse. You can purchase such a device in a store or build it yourself. We made the smokehouse ourselves. Our smoking chamber was a wooden box assembled by hand with a glass door (by the way, it was very convenient to observe the entire smoking process through the glass without opening the cabinet). Also, instead of a box, you can build a smokehouse from an iron barrel or an old refrigerator.

17. STEP 17

    

    We attached a chimney in the form of an iron pipe to the bottom of the box, which connected the smokehouse to the firebox. The chimney can be ordinary water pipes. The main point is that the length of the pipe must be at least two meters and at least 15-20 mm. in diameter. We made a chimney vent on the top side of the cabinet. This is necessary so that a draft is formed during the smoking process and the smoke passes without problems through a long pipe, through a box of meat and out.

18. STEP 18

    

    Our firebox was an iron box with a lid, which we also welded ourselves. Holes were made in the bottom of the iron box, which can be closed or opened at any time with a shutter if necessary (this is necessary in order to regulate the draft). The meaning of cold smoking is that hot smoke from the firebox, passing through a long pipe, is cooled and enters the smokehouse where the products are located.

19. STEP 19

    

    So, hang the meat at a distance in the smoking box.

20. STEP 20

    

    Light the wood in the firebox. For smoking, it is better to use fruit wood (apple, cherry, pear, grape, etc.), beech or alder. When the flame burns well, close the iron box with a lid and close the holes from below with the shutter not completely. Gradually, if necessary, add firewood to the firebox so that the smoking process is not interrupted.

21. STEP 21

    

    The smoking process lasts from 48 hours or longer, depending on the size of the pieces of meat. It is important that the smoke temperature in the smokehouse should not exceed 20-30 degrees. To accurately regulate the temperature, install a thermometer on the box. It is better not to interrupt smoking for the first 8-12 hours. Then you can pause for the night and continue in the morning. We smoked the meat for three days, pausing at night.

22. STEP 22

    

    Hang smoked meat in a dry, ventilated area (for example, in a barn) and leave it this way for 12 to 24 hours.

23. STEP 23

    

    Next, wrap the meat in parchment paper or cotton cloth and put it in the refrigerator.

24. STEP 24

    

    I advise you to take the first tasting no earlier than three days later. During this time, the pork will “ripen” and acquire a complete, unique taste!

Comments on the recipe

BLUE-EYED

14.09.2023

4.6

Pearl, hello! How I love your recipes, filmed in the local area!! So atmospheric, colorful, always detailed and intuitive. And yet, there is always a detailed description of each step and process, a lot of additional explanations and tips. The final photos are a special praise as a cook and food photographer! I'm delighted, I look at it with pleasure and just admire it!