How to Preserve Food by Smoking

Smoking can be used to preserve meats while infusing it with smoky flavor. There are two methods--hot and cold smoking. Cold smoking takes a longer time while hot smoking takes merely a few hours. All types of meat may be prepared by this technique including seafood and fish. The smoking process removes a large amount of the water that undesirable micro-organisms require to live and breed.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Meat of choice
• Marinade of choice
• Sharp knife
• Airtight container for storage

1. Select the meat that you will use for the smoking process. It will yield better results to choose lean meats. A bit of marbling of the meat for pork and beef will add flavor during the smoking but it also runs the risk of going rancid.
2. Wash the meat thoroughly. This will reduce any chance that the meat will spoil. Pat it dry with a paper towel.
3. Slice the meat into slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. They will smoke faster at this thickness, but if you are going for a ham or other meat that is better in a large piece, just trim the fat as much as possible.
4. Place the meat in a marinade to add flavor. The marinade also has the effect of chemically cooking the meat some before it is smoked.
5. Allow the meat to marinade in the refrigerator for at least a few hours if not overnight. The longer the marinade is working, the more flavorful the meat will be.
6. Remove the meat from the marinade, pat dry with a paper towel, and load the smoker tray. The more marinade you leave on the meat the longer it will take to smoke. Remember that the smoking process dries up most of the water in the meat.
7. Allow the meat to smoke between 12 and 24 hours for most meats. Longer times will be required for large pieces like hams. Remove the meat from the smoker and freeze if it is not going to be used within a few weeks; otherwise package in an air tight container.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wash your hands and cutting board and knives often. It avoids cross-contamination.
• Always deal with one kind of meat at a time.
• Hot smoking will preserve meat for about 2 to 3 days but more commonly it is desired to keep the meat for longer. Cold smoking keeps much better, but if you need to keep it even longer, consider freezing the meat after smoking.
• Never reuse marinade. In the marination process, juices from the meat become part of the marinade and will provide for bacteria growth, which could lead to food poisoning.