Pork is a product with high fat content and calorie content. How to smoke meat, they knew in ancient times, and thus tried to extend the shelf life of this product. Some people think that after going through heat treatment (hot smoking), the delicacy may lose its beneficial properties. Chefs assure that if all the cooking rules are followed, the meat will become even more healthy.
Useful properties of pork and lard
Bacon - this excludes pork fat, pickled and salted according to an individual recipe. Salo is considered no less useful than the meat itself. Therefore, most often these products are used together. Smoking meat is a rather laborious process. It is important that the product does not lose its properties.
Properties of fat and meat
Consider the useful properties of products:
- The largest source of animal fat is bacon. Despite the fear that fat is very harmful and high in calories, its use in the cold season can significantly saturate the body with energy and warm it.
- The high content of magnesium and zinc in meat makes this product indispensable for the cardiovascular system.
- The product contains a large amount of B vitamins, as well as A, D and E. The meat can be compared with citrus or red caviar in usefulness. Due to the large amount of fat, all vitamins from it are absorbed better and faster.
- Pork is mostly made up of fat. And this is good cholesterol. The use of fat (approximately 100-150 g per week) contributes to the normalization of the heart and blood vessels, and also favorably affects the work of the brain.
- Some nutritionists recommend eating lard for weight loss. Such a product helps to cleanse the body of toxins, and due to the high calorie content and long digestion time, it helps to reduce the amount of food consumed.
- The meat contains the amino acid lysine, which is necessary for bone renewal.
- Scientists consider selenium to be an important useful microelement that can be found in pork meat. It favorably affects the body, promotes the activation of immune processes.
- Almost everyone knows that pork fat can be used to treat burns and frostbite. A folk recipe for this advises rubbing the affected area with this fatty product.
- Pork is easily digested in the human body compared to other types of meat.
The negative properties of pork
It is worth noting that due to the high fat content, smoked meat is not recommended for people with obesity, as well as with cardiovascular diseases. Limiting the intake of such a product is also necessary for that part of the population that has problems with the liver and pancreas.
You need to understand that everything is good in moderation, and fatty meat can bring the main harm only when it is consumed in excessive quantities.
Many housewives want to learn how to smoke meat at home, and what is the secret to cooking this product. There are more than 100 recipes for salting meat and its use in conjunction with other products. Meat, like lard, can be boiled, smoked and fried, salted in jars with berries and spices. Many recipes talk about how to make an original cold appetizer from such a product. The main thing in all these recipes is the beneficial properties of lard.
How to smoke meat at home?
For successful cooking, you must follow a few simple rules:
- The meat should be the freshest. It is better not to use a product that has been frozen several times. Ideal is fresh, not frozen meat.
- Before you start smoking, any meat needs to be prepared. To do this, soak and pickle it. The meat will be juicy and flavorful.
- The right method of smoking is the key to a successful dish. Here you must rely solely on your own preferences.
- The main thing in the smokehouse is not to overdry. Too long processing evaporates moisture from the product, respectively, it loses all the beneficial properties and becomes tasteless.
- The choice of meat for homemade smoking is an important stage. As a rule, the majority prefers pork - it is softer and more tender. However, you can take other varieties.
Cooking Smoked Meat
The process of preparing hot smoked delicacies does not require much effort. In addition, not so many products are required for this. However, there must be a smokehouse in the presence of a house. It can be purchased at a specialty store. You will be offered both large and roomy devices, and miniature ones. The principle of operation of home smokehouses is the same. Some make such devices on their own.
Many beginners are interested in the question of how to properly smoke meat in a home smokehouse. If you decide to cook a treat on the street, then the device is best installed on a fire. Wood at the same time does not matter and does not affect the taste. In the apartment, a meat smoking machine can be installed on both a gas and electric stove.
The main thing is that the heat from the stove or the fire is enough to heat the smokehouse to 90-110 degrees.
What is a smokehouse for cooking meat at home
Hot-smoked meat involves cooking it under the influence of steam generated inside the smoking device. That is why it is better to lay chips of fruit wood or alder on its bottom - so the dishes will get a pleasant aroma. But from conifers it is better to refuse. Otherwise, the product will acquire bitterness and a specific taste.
A special pan is installed above the sawdust, it will not allow fat and juice to get on the chips. On top of the pallet is a grill on which meat or other sausages are laid out.
Almost every experienced cook knows how to smoke meat in a smokehouse. But the time of its preparation is always individual and depends on many factors. For example, chicken can be sampled in an hour, and pork in 1.5-2 hours, beef should not be removed earlier than 3 hours after the start of the cooking process.
It should be noted that when you put the meat in the smokehouse and close the door, after 5-10 minutes a light smoke and a pleasant smoked aroma will appear. The cooking process has begun. The readiness of the meat is checked in any convenient way. Some pierce or incise, and some focus on the look.
Do not forget that cooking smoked goodies in an apartment setting will require a little more skill than in a country house. Do not forget to remove the pipe from the smokehouse to the window, so that the apartment does not accumulate smoke and the smell of smoked meat.
Cold smoked meat
Cooking such a delicacy requires skill, skill and time. Not every housewife knows how to smoke meat in a cold way. However, everyone understands that such a product is stored for a long time.
This type of smoke smoking should be continuous for the first 10 hours, and then you can take a break for the night. The bird will be ready no sooner than after 48 hours, but the pork ham can be cooked for a week.
During cold smoking, moisture from the meat evaporates gradually. At the same time, the product does not lose its juiciness and fat content.
After smoking, the meat (pork) must be well dried. To do this, it is suspended in a dark room with a temperature of no higher than 10 degrees for 20-30 days. It is necessary to ensure that insects do not sit on the meat at this time, and the room is clean.
How to keep homemade smoked meats
Hot smoked goodies must be eaten within 4 days. Some people try to extend the life of the delicacy by wrapping it with a cloth dampened in strong saline. However, this significantly affects the taste of meat. Therefore, it is better to use a freshly prepared product.
Cold smoked products are stored for up to two years. The more they salted, marinated and dried, the longer their shelf life.
Products prepared in any way are stored in the refrigerator in their own packaging (foil, burlap).
Smoked meat-free smoked meat recipe
You can cook meat at home without a smokehouse. To do this, you need to buy a ready-made solution of liquid smoke, meat (2-3 kg) spices, bay leaf and onion husks.
We boil a liter of water, adding bay leaf, onion husk (for color), spices and 6 tablespoons of liquid smoke. The meat must be placed in boiling water, then brought back to a boil and cook for 1-1.5 hours. After cooking, the product is cooled and hung out in a well-ventilated room or outside for drying. Keep refrigerated.
Now everyone knows how to smoke meat at home without a smokehouse and at little cost.