The art of smoking - part 2

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
(Continued from Part 1)

Directions

BASTING

Meat that contains too little fat will require special treatment while it is being cooked. If a piece of meat obviously is short of fat, baste it with butter or cooking oil. Alternatively, one or two strips of fatty bacon may be laid on top of the meat. If such low-fat meat is being used for making rolled roasts, insert a strip of bacon, or some beef suet, into the roast as it is being rolled. Storage Of Smoked Meats: All cured and smoked meats++except for thoroughly dried jerky++ should be stored at 35 F or frozen. The larger the piece of meat, as a general rule, the longer it will keep in good condition.

The smaller the pieces into which the meat has been cut or minced, the more rapidly it will deteriorate. On the other hand, the larger the piece of meat, the longer it takes to cure and to smoke. With a very large cut, the full smoke flavor may not penetrate to the center. These two factors should be balanced, according to what is required in each instance. If time for curing and smoking is short, cut up the meat smaller. If there is plenty of time for processing, and long storage-life is desired, leave it in large pieces. This principle should be applied, where necessary, to modify the times for curing and smoking recommended in the following pages. Plain Smoked Meats: Many of the better, more tender cuts of meat may be smoke-roasted with no further preparation than a liberal use of Basic Seasoning. Sprinkle plenty of the seasoning on all sides of the meat.

With rolled roast, the seasoning can be applied before the meat is rolled. Beef, Lamb, Pork Roasts: Apply Basic Seasoning liberally.

Preheat the smoke oven to 200 to 225 F, insert a meat thermometer into the roast, and cook until done to taste. Steak: Preheat the oven to 200 to 225 F. Liberally apply Basic Seasoning, and cook the steaks until done to taste, turning them over about half-way through.

Steak will not take long to cook, so they will have just a subtle smoke flavor, but they will be moist and delicious. Pork Chops or Spareribs: Apply Basic Seasoning and cold-smoke at 25 to 85 F for 1-½ to 2 hours. This process should not be hurried. For a stronger flavor, cold-smoke for 2 to 4 hours. Raise the oven temperature to 250 F and cook until the meat is thoroughly done, when chops will be gray throughout, and ribs will peel apart easily. If the smoke oven cannot attain this temperature, the second stage may be done in an ordinary cookstove. Spareribs and Sauerkraut: Season and cold-smoke the spareribs as indicated in the first phase of the previous recipe.

Note that this part of the process can be done well in advance, making, if desired, enough for several meals. Under ordinary refrigeration, these cold-smoked ribs will keep for 3 to 4 weeks; frozen, they will keep 2 to 3 months. Take the sauerkraut-fresh, or a good grade of canned sauerkraut-spread it out evenly in a large, shallow baking pan, and arrange the smoked ribs on top, spreading them so that they are not piled on top of each other. Do not cover the pan. Heat the smoke oven to 250 F and cook until the ribs attain the desired crispmess. Turn the ribs two or three times during the cooking. The drippings from the ribs will give the kraut an exceptionally fine flavor. Instead of using the smoke oven, an ordinary oven can be used, its temperature regulated to 350 F. But watch the sauerkraut during cooking, and if it begins to dry out, pour some water on it, avoiding wetting the ribs. One pound per person will not be too much of this recipe! Hamburgers: Mix ground meat with Basic Seasoning, and form into patties of the desired size.

Place these on a wire mesh rack, above the drip pan, in an oven preheated to 200 to 225 F. Have plenty of smoke, since the hamburgers will only be exposed to it for about 30 minutes. Watch how the patties react to the heat. If the edges turn up, as sometimes happens, leave them alone until they are done; the slightly dished shape tends to hold melting fat, and keep the meat more succulent.

With some grades of ground meat, the patties remain flat. Then there can be no objection to turning them over about half-way through. For cheeseburgers, place the cheese slices on top of the meat patties about half-way through the cooking process. Much can be done to vary and enhance the flavor of the finished hamburger by suitable treatment of the buns. To warm the buns, first slice them in half and butter both halves, so they will be moist. Put them in a kraft paper bag with a little water, and put in the smoke oven with the meat is about half-cooked. If there is no room in the smoke oven, put them in the kitchen oven at 225 F. For cheeseburgers, a well-warmed bun helps to melt the cheese. And, for a richer flavor, expose the sliced, buttered buns directly to the smoke. Chopped or minced onion, warmed in the smoke oven, may be added to the hamburger before serving, or sliced onion may be served with other relishes-mustard, ketchup, etc. Continued in Part 3 TO ALL Submitted By DENISE LANGLOIS SUBJ HELP! - NEW SMOKER GRILL On

07-10-95

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