How to smoke food at home? Not only is it possible to smoke both fish and meat, but the results are surprising and delicious. Let's see how to do it.

what is smoked

Food smoking is a food treatment technique that originated, like many others, for its preservation. It consists of exposing the food to a current of smoke that is usually generated with the partial combustion of wood chips .

Smoking was done in the past not only because it imparts flavor and aroma , but fundamentally because by partially drying out the surface of the food, it helps to preserve it better. Also, many substances present in smoke are preservatives.

Now, thanks to refrigerators, we don't need to smoke strictly to preserve but because the flavor that smoking gives is peculiar and wonderful . Because we really like it.

Types of smoked

There are two smoking techniques depending on the temperature used:

• Cold smoked : the food is subjected to a current of smoke for 24 to 48 hours at a temperature not exceeding 30ºC . It is the technique with which the commercial smoked salmon that we all know is prepared . The food in this warm smoke stream undergoes changes, but is not cooked in the traditional meaning of the term (protein denaturation and coagulation) ; its consistency still somewhat resembles that of raw food. The long period of exposure to smoke allows it to penetrate the entire food, aromatizing it entirely.
• Hot smoking: as in cold smoking, the food is kept in a current of smoke, but at a temperature greater than 60ºC, so the food is cooked , but in addition to that it acquires a delicious smoked aroma. By smoking at a higher temperature, the process is much shorter than cold smoking and the flavoring of the piece is more superficial.

cold smokers

They consist of a chamber where the wood chips are burned , connected to another chamber where the food is placed . The latter is far enough from the former so that the smoke cools along the way to the right temperature for cold smoking.

In our store we currently do not have any model of cold smoker, but if you are interested you can contact us because we can order it. De Buyer has a fantastic cold smoker for both professionals and cooks who want to explore this technique.

De Buyer Cold Smoker

hot smokers

As they do not need a lot of space between the combustion chamber and the food, the most common hot smokers are in the form of a pot with a lid, with an interior grid where to place the food and a bottom in which we put the wood chips and some liquid, if necessary.

There are excellent smokers that allow you to smoke on the stove top. The Zwilling smoker , made entirely of stainless steel, is a tool for life, versatile and resistant, suitable for induction, it has the plus that the base pan can be used independently, even for roasting in the oven. The Nordic Ware smoker , although simpler, has a thermometer to control the internal temperature.

Nordic Ware Smoker and Zwilling Stainless Steel Smoker

Likewise, all barbecues with a lid such as Weber barbecues are used for smoking . In addition, Weber offers an accessory to conveniently place wood chips (a must for gas barbecues and convenient for charcoal) and turn any barbecue into an excellent smoker.

If you are truly passionate about smoking at home, the Weber brand also has the Smoky Mountain , a piece of equipment exclusively for smoking. If you are interested, you can request a quote.

What foods are suitable for smoking at home?

There are many foods that can be smoked beyond the classic smoked salmon (which is very tasty, we have nothing against it), which is perhaps the most popular smoked food in our country, but it is possible to smoke:

• Meat and sausages
• all kinds of fish
• seasonings like salt

Smoked duck breast recipe

On the blog we have two wonderful recipes for hot- smoked duck breast and hot - smoked salmon with the Nordic Ware smoker, or the delicious recipe for smoked pork loin that you will find here . In all of them you can consult the instructions on how to smoke hot ; You will see that there is no difficulty.

As for flavoring, you can play with the use of chips from different woods , which provide different nuances, as well as with marinating or prior curing of the food to introduce additional flavors with spices and various condiments.

In summary, smoking is one more technique that we can add to our cooking skills, which can be exercised with uncomplicated utensils, which is not difficult and which brings variety and interest to our usual cuisine. And to our diet, of course.