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 smoking

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 shavings .

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

Now, thanks to refrigerators, we do not need to smoke strictly to preserve but because the flavor that smoking gives is peculiar and wonderful . Because we like it, in short.

types of smoking

There are two smoking techniques depending on the temperature used:

  • Cold smoking : the food is subjected for 24 to 48 hours to a current of smoke at a temperature that does not exceed 30ºC . It is the technique with which commercial smoked salmon is prepared that we all know . The food in this stream of warm smoke undergoes changes, but is not cooked according to the traditional meaning of the term (denaturation and coagulation of proteins) ; its consistency still somewhat resembles that of raw food. The long period of exposure to smoke allows it to penetrate the entire food, flavoring it entirely.
  • Hot smoking : as in cold smoking, the food is kept in a stream of smoke, but at a temperature greater than 60ºC, so the food is cooked , but also acquires a delicious smoky aroma. When 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 for the smoke to cool down to the proper temperature for cold smoking along the way.

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 request it. De Buyer has a fantastic cold smoker for both professionals and cooks who want to explore this technique.

cold smoke

De Buyer Cold Smoker

hot smokers

As they do not require a lot of space between the combustion chamber and the food, the most common hot smokers are shaped like a casserole with a lid, with an interior rack where to place the food and a bottom in which we put the wood shavings and some liquid, if necessary.

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

cold smokers

Nordic Ware Smoker and Zwilling Stainless Steel Smoker

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

If you are true fans of 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 magret recipe

Smoked duck magret recipe

On the blog we have two wonderful recipes for hot-smoked duck magret 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 the flavoring, you can play with the use of shavings from different woods , which provide different nuances, as well as with previous marinating or curing of the food to introduce additional flavors with various spices and condiments.

In short, smoking is one more technique that we can add to our cooking skills, which can be practiced with uncomplicated utensils, which is not difficult and which adds variety and interest to our regular cooking. And to our diet, of course.

Claudia Ferrer

Comments

Daniel said:

buena idea la de ahumar…pero un detalle…creo que debe utilizarse maderas sin resina (no pino, pinotea, por ejemplo)…me agradaría la aclaración al respecto…

Daniel said:

En ninguna parte del post explican cómo es que vamos a ahumar los alimentos en casa, digo no explican a detalle: que utensilios debo usar, en el horno de mi cocina o en algún otro sitio?? Ahí hablan solo si se tiene un ahumador (sea en frío o en caliente) yo quería saber cómo puedo (si es que puedo) ahumar con los utensilios básicos de cocina, horno de gas, estufa convencional o cualquier otra cosa que se pueda utilizar y como utilizarlo, si lo saben agradecería mucho su ayuda!!! Saludos!!

alfredo lomanto said:

estoy interesado en comprar humador, para ahumar en casa,y que no se quede olor a humo, de los dos que muestran se podría ampliar información?sería una desventaja de uno al no tener termometro, podríana darme información sobre smoky mountain?

Claudia said:

Hola Silvia, depende de lo qué quieras ahumar: carnes, pescados, vegetales… Si miras en la página de producto de las virutas de madera verás información y consejo al respecto. Saludos!!

_WSETESTDATA said:

_WSETESTAREADATA

Silvia Cubells said:

Me parece excelente su informacion , se que el mejor ahumado se hace mezclando al menos 2 tipos de madera cual aconsejan ustedes para mejor sabor.?

Leave a comment