SMOKING

Smoking Meat

Smoking meat is exactly what the name implies: flavouring meat with smoke. Using any kind of improvised device will do the job as long as the smokehouse is made from environmentally safe material. As long as smoke contacts the meat surface it will impart its flavor to the meat. The strength of the flavor depends mainly on the time and density of the smoke. Smoked meats are usually eaten cold at a later date. Many great recipes require that smoked products hang for a designated time to lose more weight to become drier. It is only then that they are ready for consumption.

Smoking reasons

Smoking offers many improvements for meat. Besides enhancing the taste and look, it also increases its longevity, and helps preserve the meat by slowing down the spoilage of fat and growth of bacteria. Smoking meat longer leads to more water loss, and results in a saltier and drier product, which naturally increases its shelf life.Man discovered that in addition to salting and curing meat with nitrates, smoking was a very effective tool in preserving meats.

The advantages of smoking meat are numerous. Smoking:

Kills certain bacteria and slows down the growth of others.

Prevents fats from developing a rancid taste.

Prevents mold from forming on fermented sausages.

Extends shelf life of the product.

Improves the taste and flavor.

Changes the colour; smoked meats shine and simply look better.

Smoked fish develops a beautiful golden colour. The meat on the outside becomes a light brown, red, or almost black depending on the type of wood used, heating temperatures, and total time smoking.

The smell in an ethnic meat store specialising in smoked products can be overwhelming. This experience is not shared with our supermarkets since their products are rarely properly smoked and they are vacuum-sealed to prolong shelf life. Certain classical sausages are smoked for up to 3 days and in today’s era it is hard to imagine a manufacturer that will do that. To survive the frantic pace of today’s market, water is pumped into the meat, chemicals are added for aesthetic and preservation reasons, and smoking is virtually eliminated by adding liquid smoke. As long as the ingredients are not on the list of chemicals that present danger to us, the Food and Drug Administration does not care what goes into the meat. Taste plays a secondary role, as long as the price is good people will buy the product and supermarkets will keep renewing orders. Smoking to preserve meat’s keeping qualities is of less importance today because we can keep the product in a refrigerator or almost indefinitely in a freezer. Originally, curing and smoking was used solely for preservation purposes; today it’s done for the love of its flavor.

Smoking may or may not be followed by cooking. Generally we may say that smoking consists of two steps:

Smoking. Meats are usually cured before they are submitted to smoking.

Cooking. This step determines the design and quality of your smokehouse as it needs temperature controls, a reliable heat supply and good insulation to hold the temperature when the weather gets cold. If cooking is performed outside the smokehouse, the unit can be incredibly simple, for example an empty cardboard box.

After smoking is done we increase the temperature to about 170° F (76° C) to start cooking. The smoked meats must be cooked to 154° F (68° C) internal temperature and here the quality and insulation of the smoker plays an important role. Nevertheless, the main smoking process is performed below 160° F (71° C).

We know now that the smoked meat must be cooked, but does that mean that it must be cooked inside of the smokehouse? Don’t we have wonderfully designed and factory built electrical or gas stoves inside every kitchen? They are insulated, have built-in temperature controls and are almost begging for these smoked sausages to be baked inside. How about putting your smoked meats into a pot full of hot water and cooking these products on top of the stove?

Traditionally smoked meats come almost always from cured parts of pork. The most popular large cuts used for smoking are ham, bacon, butt, loin, back fat and smaller parts such as hocks and jowls. Ribs are normally barbecued. Due to their large size those popular cuts require longer curing times although those times can be somewhat shortened when needle pumping precedes the common wet curing method. Hams can be dry or wet cured, butts and loins are normally wet cured and bacon and back fat are commonly dry cured. Trimmings end up for making sausages.

Smoking Without Nitrates

For those who smoke meats without cures, it will be advisable to smoke them at temperatures well above the danger zone (>160° F, 72° C). Such a product will not be pink but will exhibit a typical grayish colour of cooked meat. Adding cure to meats that will be smoked brings many benefits (explained later), one of them is preventing the danger of contracting food poisoning, known as botulism. Barbecued meats are smoked at much higher temperatures which eliminates the danger of Clostridium botulinum producing toxins.

Those who insist on smoking meats without nitrates, should be aware that the internal meat temperature trails the temperature of the smokehouse by about 25° F and to be on the outside of the danger zone, the smoking must be performed at temperatures higher than 170° F (77° C) which in our opinion becomes cooking with smoke. Clostridium botulinum bacteria need moisture, warm temperatures and the absence of oxygen. These are prevalent conditions in a small self contained smoker, where incoming air is kept at minimum in order for the sawdust to smoulder and not to burst into the flames. A large outside smokehouse with a separate fire pit is at a smaller risk as there is an ample flow of fresh air that enters smoking chamber together with the smoke. Using dry wood increases safety as less moisture will be created.

Smoking Temperatures

Smoking temperature is one of the most important factors in deciding quality. There is no steadfast rule that dictates exact temperature ranges for different types of smoking. A few degrees one way or the other should not create any problem as long as the hot smoking upper temperature limit is not crossed. Crossing this limit will significantly affect the look and the taste of the product. When smoking, the inside temperature of the smoker cannot exceed 170° F (78° C) for any extended time. At this temperature, fat starts to melt quickly. Once it melts, the sausage inside will be a mass of bread crumbs, have a greasy outside, will lose its shine, and will have an inferior taste. If the internal temperature of the sausage was too high during smoking or cooking, your sausage:

Is greasy on the outside.

Contains spots of grease under the sausage.

Is too shriveled and wrinkled.

Has lost its shine and looks opaque.

Is crumbly inside with little empty pockets.

The fats start to melt at very low temperatures and we don’t want them to boil and leak through the casings. When faced with excessive temperatures, fats begin to melt and there is no way to undo the damage.

Smoke Deposition

The amount of smoke deposited on a product is influenced by:

Smoke density - the thicker the smoke, the faster the rate of smoke deposition.

Smokehouse relative humidity - high humidity flavors smoke deposition but inhibits colour development.

The surface condition of the product - moist surface flavors smoke but limits colour development.

Smokehouse temperature - higher temperature flavors smoke deposition rate.

Air draft - sufficient air velocity is needed to bring smoke inside. Too fast air might reduce smoke density, not enough air speed and product may be over smoked. Usually a compromise is reached.

How Long to Smoke?

There isn’t one universal time, use your own judgement and keep records. When cold smoking, the times are very long, days or even weeks as the purpose of cold smoking is to preserve the product for future use by removing moisture. There are not many people today that will have the time or patience to smoke products in this manner but those that will try it will be richly rewarded by creating products of different texture and flavor. When hot smoking, the times are short as we smoke and then cook the product trying to achieve the best flavor. The diameter of the meat piece or sausage will be a deciding factor here but you can estimate smoking time by checking the colour of the smoked piece as well. Sausages have a small diameter so the times are relatively short. For example, Kabanosy meat stick is stuffed into 24-26 mm sheep casings and 1 hour smoking time is plenty. Polish Smoked sausage stuffed in 36 mm hog casings will need about 1-2 hours. If the colour of the sausage is yellow it is lightly smoked, if it is light brown the sausage is nicely smoked, if the colour becomes dark brown the sausage is heavily smoked.

Manufacturing Process

The process of making smoked products basically follows the steps below:

meat selection

curing

conditioning/drying

smoking

cooking

cooling

storing

Cold Smoking

Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.

You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.

In XVIII century brick built smokehouses a fire was started every morning. It smouldered as long as it could and if it stopped, it would be restarted again the following morning.

Cold smoked meats prevent or slow down the spoilage of fats, which increases their shelf life. The product is drier and saltier with a more pronounced smoky flavor and very long shelf life. The colour varies from yellow to dark brown on the surface and dark red inside. Cold smoked products are not submitted to the cooking process. If you want to cold smoke your meats, bear in mind that with the exception of people living in areas with a cold climate like Alaska, it will have to be done in the winter months just as it was done 500 years ago.

Using dry wood is of utmost importance when cold smoking. It is recommended to keep wood chips in a well defined single pile as they will have less contact with air, thus will smoke better without creating unnecessary flames and heat. By following these rules we achieve 75-85% humidity, creating the best conditions for moisture removal. Once the moisture content drops low enough, the salt present in the meat will further inhibit the development of bacteria and the products can hang in the air for months losing more moisture as time goes by.

Lox (smoked salmon) is smoked with cold smoke for an extended period of time. Applying hotter smoke (over 84° F, 28° C) will just cook the fish, the flavor will change and we will not be able to slice it so thin anymore. Cold smoking is a slow process and the hams, which lend themselves perfectly to this type of smoking, can be smoked from 2 to even 6 weeks. During smoking they will slowly be acquiring a golden colour along with a smoky flavor.

Cold smoking allows us total smoke penetration inside of the meat. Very little hardening of the outside surface of the meat or casing occurs and smoke penetrates the meat easily.

Hot smoking dries out the surface of the meat creating a barrier for smoke penetration.

Hot Smoking

Hot smoking is the most common method of smoking. Continuous smoking at 105-140° F (41-60° C), 0.5-2 hours, 5-12% weight loss, heavy smoke. This is not recommended for large pieces of meat that are expected to be stored for a long time. Although it is the fastest method, there is not enough time for adequate smoke penetration. This results in higher moisture content, reducing the product’s shelf life. Hot smoking can be divided into three separate phases:

Drying out the surface of the meat for 10-40 min at 112-130° F (45-55° C), some very light smoke is acceptable, although not necessary. Besides drying out the surface of the meat, the temperature speeds up nitrite curing. Keep in mind that the draft controls must be fully opened to eliminate any moisture residing inside of the smoker. Applying smoke at temperatures higher than 130-140° F (54-60° C) will prematurely dry out the casings on the surface of the meat and will create a barrier to smoke penetration.

This is the proper smoking stage at 112-140° F (45-60° C) for 30-90 min, using medium to heavy smoke. The colour becomes a light yellow to dark brown with a shade of red. In this state, the natural casings become strong and fit snugly on the sausages.

Baking the sausage at 140-176° F (60-80° C) for about 10-20 min. Temperatures as high as 194° F (90° C) are permitted for a short period of time. Proteins are denatured in the outside layers of the product, but the inside remains raw with temperatures reaching only 104° F (40° C). Natural casings fit very snugly, become shiny, and develop a few wrinkles. This is a welcomed scenario; lots of smoked products are subsequently poached. Acting like a barrier, the drier and stronger casings prevent the loss of juices. This type of cooking (poaching) is more economical to baking (less weight loss).

If a smoker is used, the temperature in the last stages of the hot smoking process is increased to 167-194° F (75-90° C) until the inside of the meat reaches 154° F (68° C). This is the fastest and most common method of smoking. Because of a relatively short smoking time, hot smoked products should be kept in a refrigerator and consumed relatively quickly.

The above smoking times apply to a regular size sausage (32-26 mm) and smoking times for a thin meat stick or a large diameter sausage, have to be accordingly readjusted.

Warm Smoking

Continuous smoking at 73-104° F (23-40° C), from 4-48 hours depending on the diameter of the meat, humidity 80%, and medium smoke. The weight loss varies between 2-10%, with the difference being largely dependent on the time spent smoking. The surface of the product becomes quite dry but the inside remains raw. Because of the warm smoke, the product receives more smoke in its outside layers. This dry second skin helps increase shelf life, as well as prevent the loss of its natural juices. The color ranges from yellow to brown and has a little shine due to some fat moving outwards.

Warm smoke temperatures lie within the The Danger Zone (40-140° F, 5-60° C), which is the range of temperatures where all bacteria grow very fast. We may say that most bacteria love temperatures close to our body temperature, which is 36.6° C (98.6° F). Optimum growing conditions for infamous Clostridium botulinum are 78-95° F, (26-35° C) but it will still grow at 45° C (113° F). At those temperatures the only protection we have is the sodium nitrite (Cure #1 or 2) which should be added to smoked meats. As explained later in the book, the reason for using cures (nitrite) is not only to eliminate the risk of food poisoning (Clostridium botulinum) but to obtain the desired colour, achieve better flavor and prevent the rancidity of fats.

Wet Smoking

Smoked meats lose around 10% moisture during the smoking process. This depends on temperature, the length of smoking and humidity in the smokehouse. Eliminating moisture was important when the products were cold smoked for preservation purposes. Nowadays, the importance of preserving meats by dehydration plays the secondary role as losing moisture means decreasing weight that in turn leads to decreased profits. To prevent this loss, commercial manufacturers pump meats with water and recirculate moist air through the smokehouse. Ready made charcoal briquettes or electric heating elements produce no moisture and placing a water filled pan inside of the smoker is of some help. This method is very common when barbecuing or smoking meats in commercially produced little smokers. These are enclosed units that don’t receive a steady supply of air.

Fresh air contains moisture which cools sausage casings or the surface of the meat. When smoking with an open fire, lots of fresh air enters the smoker and keeps the meat from drying out. No matter how pretty a small factory unit may be, it will not be able to perform the same duty without a little help from a water pan. As water boils at sea level at the constant temperature of 212° F (100° C), placing a water filled pan inside of a small smoker will also help regulate temperature inside. Bear in mind that this is too high a temperature for smoking quality meats and sausages. In short, wet smoking is the type of smoking that employs a water dish placed inside of the smoker to increase humidity levels. Dampening wood chips into water one hour before smoking will produce a similar effect using any kind of smoker.

When using wood, it always has at least 20% moisture, even when perfectly dried on the outside. During the first stage of combustion this wood dries out and any remaining moisture evaporates with the smoke into the chamber. Once the wood has burned out, the remaining charcoal has no water left, and the only moisture the smokehouse gets is brought by the outside air. In dry climates known for little humidity the smoked product will benefit from extra moisture. Keep in mind that the surface of smoked meats or sausages must not be wet during the smoking process.

Summary of smoking methods

The longer the smoking time, the bigger the loss of moisture, resulting in a higher proportion of salt. The product becomes drier and saltier, but achieves much longer shelf keeping qualities.

A supply of fresh air is needed during smoking, which normally is controlled with a damper. Exiting smoke also needs a damper control otherwise tar and other unburned wood particles may start to accumulate, affecting the look and the taste of the product.

The higher the smoke temperature the shorter the smoking time and the shorter its shelf life.

The lower the smoke temperature, the better the smoke diffusion and the longest time of smoking.This directly leads to better taste and longer shelf life.

There is no steadfast rule that dictates exact temperature ranges for different types of smoking. Different books mention slightly different temperatures. A few degrees one way or the other should not create any problem as long as the hot smoking upper temperature limit is not crossed. Crossing this limit will significantly affect the look and the taste of the meat.

Meat Smoking and Humidity Control

Meat weight loss (moisture) is directly linked to the temperature and humidity and it is of great importance that we learn how to manipulate those two factors when smoking meats. Regulating humidity in a home made smokehouse can be done indirectly, and is relatively simple and cost free. When smoking in a home made smokehouse the humidity can be controlled by:

Choosing the time of smoking.

Placing a water filled pan inside the smoker.

Using moist wood chips or sawdust.

The amount of needed humidity is dictated by:

Type of a product - hot smoked sausage, cold smoked sausage, smoked and air-dried ham, or just air-dried ham.

The smoking method that will be employed.

There is more humidity in areas containing many lakes, rivers or being close to the sea shore. Arid areas such as deserts or mountains have less water and subsequently less humidity. As you cannot change the physical location of the smokehouse, you have to learn how to go around it and how to choose the time of smoking to your maximum advantage. The most important rule to remember is that when the temperature goes up, the humidity goes down. When the temperature goes down, the humidity goes up (night). When the clouds come in and it starts to drizzle, the humidity will go up immediately.

In a home refrigerator the humidity remains at about 45% at 40° F (4° C) and in a freezer it is about 70% at 0° F (-18° C). In an air-conditioned room the humidity remains at 40-45%. Different smoking methods require different humidity levels: in dry climates like New Mexico or Arizona the relative humidity stays low at 15-20% during the day and it will not be advisable to smoke meats at such conditions. The remedy will be to place a water pan inside of the smoker and to use moist wood chips. The best solution is to smoke at night time when the temperature will drop and the humidity will increase.

When smoking meats in a smokehouse, or preparing sausages in the kitchen, we should know how to control humidity. When making dry sausages the salting and moisture removal are two main methods of meat preservation. We must eliminate as much moisture as possible since the moisture is the main culprit that spoils the meat. We can employ fans blowing hot air at the sausages, but this will immediately harden the surface area of the meat and will create a barrier that will trap moisture inside. The sausage will be dry on the outside but raw and moist inside. Cold smoked or air dried sausages are processed at the beginning at very high humidity levels and low temperatures. Low temperatures prevent bacteria growth and high humidity allows for slow moisture removal without hardening the surface of the sausage. By controlling humidity (moisture in the air) we can create proper conditions for drying and smoking products at different temperatures. When cutting meats we don't want moisture to condense on knives, stainless steel tables or even walls as this will help bacteria to multiply and will shorten the useful life of the product.

Humidity or better said the "relative humidity" defines how much water (vapour) is present in the air at a particular temperature. In technical terms the relative humidity is the percentage of moisture air is holding compared to the maximum moisture it can hold. The air almost always contains some water vapour and although we don't see it, it is there and it has a certain mass (weight). This amount of moisture will greatly depend on a climate in which a person lives. There is always more humidity in areas rich with bodies of water, like lakes, rivers or the sea shore. Arid areas like deserts or mountains have less rivers and lakes and subsequently less humidity. In hot weather when humidity is also high, we feel even hotter than it is. The reason being that by perspiring, (removing moisture) our body cools us and provides a relief. If the humidity is high outside our perspiration has nowhere to go and we sweat even in the shade.

The air at certain temperatures is capable of holding a fixed amount of moisture in it. The higher the temperature the more water can be held by air and vice versa. As the amount of moisture in the air is fixed for at least some time (the clouds can bring moisture and rain), raising the temperature lowers the relative humidity. There is a point for each temperature reading when the air can hold the maximum possible amount of water and we call it a saturation or a dew point. At this point the relative humidity is 100%. If the dew point is below freezing, it is called the frost point and the water vapour will form the frost or the snow. Air with a relative humidity of 50% contains half of the maximum moisture it could hold. If the room is at 100% humidity and we spilled a bucket of water on the floor, this water will never evaporate as the air can not absorb it anymore. The only solution is to wipe it off or raise the temperature of the room what will lower the relative humidity and the air will be able to hold more moisture. Keep in mind that in a confined room we can adjust relative humidity by increasing/decreasing temperatures, nevertheless, the mass/weight of moisture remains the same.In order to change this amount of water we will have to either remove some of it using dehumidifier or bring more of it into the room (humidifier, placing a water dish on a heater, boiling a kettle etc). Note that a reading of 100% relative humidity means that the air is totally saturated with moisture, creating a chance of rain. This does not mean that we only get the rain when humidity on the ground is 100%. To get the rain the relative humidity must be 100%where the clouds are forming, but the relative humidity near the ground could be much less.

You can see in the following table how much water vapour can be held by air at different temperatures:

Air with a temperature of 30° C ( can hold more than three times as much moisture as air at 10° C (50° F).

In the same room at 100% relative humidity, if we suddenly lower the temperature, the air can now hold less moisture and the droplets of water will start condensing on smooth surfaces like mirrors, knives, or even meat itself. You may say that the water is coming out of the air and it is almost like raining. This phenomenon can easily be observed in hot climates for example in Florida. In the early morning (6 AM) when the temperature is low, there is so much humidity that there is water all over the car: tthe mirrors, the glass and all over the body. The roof of the house is so wet that the water is dripping down. It is impossible to cut the wet grass as the mower will keep on stalling. We are at 100% relative humidity, the saturation. Then the sun gets up, the temperature starts to raise and the moisture goes back into the air. After a few hours everything is dry again and the grass can now be cut with the machine.

Smoke Generation

Smoke can be generated by:

Burning wood. Due to the danger of flames this method is limited to smokers with a separate fire pit.

Heating wood chips or sawdust with an electrical hot plate or a (barbecue starter). Once started they will keep on smouldering and the hot plater is not needed anymore.

Heating wood chips or sawdust over a gas flame.

Placing wood chips over hot coals.

The preferred method to handle wood chips or sawdust is to place them in a stainless steel pan, about 8 -10” in diameter and leaving it on a hot plate, hot coals, gas burner or barbecue starter until sawdust starts to smoke. An additional amount of sawdust or wood chips should be added once in a while to maintain smoke generation.

Hot plate

Barbecue starter

Gas burner

If smoking stops, the barbecue starter or hot plate is reconnected again. If the sawdust bursts into flames, any common spray bottle can bring it under control. The wood chips should be kept together in a conical pile so that they will smoulder and not burn. The moment they spread, they make contact with more air and are more inclined to burn. The same applies when adding wood chips directly on hot coals or ashes, keep them in a pile and if the flames start to grow bigger, add more wood chips to cut off the supply of fresh air. After a while a natural rhythm of adding sawdust will be established and the whole process will go on smoothly.

All small and medium size factory made smokers use these methods to generate smoke. The bigger models employ a free standing smoke generation unit that is connected with the smoker by a short pipe. Draft control plays no role here since an electrical blower blows the smoke into the smoker. Industrial smokehouses choose still different methods of smoke generation but that does not necessarily mean that the quality is better. One method involves pressing blocks of pressed sawdust against rotating wheels. That resistance creates high temperatures and the block of wood starts to smoke. It’s like cutting a piece of wood with a dull saw blade; it starts to smoke because of the heat generated.

Wood for Smoking

The wood used for smoking should be relatively new and kept in a well ventilated but covered area. A freshly cut tree contains 50% moisture, the dried wood about 25%. That level of dryness requires about 6–9 months of drying. Wet wood can be recognised immediately because of the hissing sound it creates when burned. This is escaping vapour and boiling particles of water. To achieve moisture contents of < 20%, the wood must be oven dried.

Any hardwood is fine, but evergreen trees like fir, spruce, pine, or others cause problems. They contain too much resin and the finished product has a turpentine flavor to it. It also develops a black colour due to the extra soot from the smoke, which in turn makes the smoker dirtier, too. This wood will burn quickly and cleanly, but will not be suitable for smoking. However, there is a region in Germany called Bavaria where they have been using evergreen for centuries. They have acquired this taste in childhood and they are very fond of it even though most people don’t like it. And of course you cannot use any wood that was previously pressure treated, painted, or commercially manufactured.

The type of wood used is responsible for the final colour of the smoked product and it can also influence its taste but only to a small degree. All fruit and citrus trees have a light to medium sweet flavor and are excellent with poultry and ham. Many say that cherry wood is the best. Oak, available all over the world, is probably the most commonly used wood for smoking. It produces a brown colour. If hickory is used, the colour will have a more vivid red tint in it.

Wood types can be mixed to create custom flavors. For instance, walnut, which has a heavy smoke flavor, can be mixed with apple wood to create a milder version. For practical reasons a home sausage maker will probably use oak or hickory most of the time. Some sausages like German or Polish Hunter Sausages develop their characteristic flavors and aromas by adding juniper branches or berries to the fire. Juniper is the main ingredient for making gin, so we know it has to be a fine element.

Powdered bark of some trees have been used for medicinal purposes: (willow tree-aspirin, cinchona tree - source of quinine to fight malaria or to make tonic water) and they all taste bitter. Bark of the birch tree produces a lot of soot when it burns. Thus we can draw a conclusion that it will be much safer to remove the bark.

The following woods are great for smoking:

Acacia - the same family as mesquite, though not as heavy. A very hot burning wood. Smoked colour: yellow, lemon type

Alder - light flavor that works well with fish and poultry. Contains a hint of sweetness, good with poultry and light – meat game birds. Traditionally used for smoking salmon. Northwest.

Almond - a nutty, sweet flavor

Apple - mild, fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good for poultry, pork. Northwest.

Apricot - mild, sweet flavor. Good on fish, poultry, pork

Birch - medium hard wood, flavor similar to maple. Good with poultry, pork,

Black Walnut - heavy flavor, can impart bitter taste if not monitored carefully

Cherry - mild, fruity. Good with poultry, pork, beef.

Citrus - lemon, grapefruit, orange, nectarine – light fruity flavor, good with fish, poultry, pork and beef.

Fruit trees - apple, cherry, apricot – sweet mild flavor

Hickory - strong flavor, good with beef and lamb. Smoked products develop reddish colour. Southern regions.

Maple - like fruit, sweet flavor. Northeast.

Mulberry - sweet, similar to apple

Mesquite - very strong flavor, burns hot and fast. Good for hot short smoking, better for grilling.

Oak - probably best all around wood for meat smoking. Strong but not overpowering, good for sausages, beef or lamb. Smoked products develop light brown to brown colour, depending on the length of smoking.

Peach - mild, sweet flavor. Good on fish, poultry, pork

Pear - light and sweet, smoked colour dark – red. Excellent with poultry and pork.

Pecan - milder version of hickory. Burns cool. Southwest region.

Plum - mild, sweet flavor. Good on fish, poultry, pork

Walnut - heavy smoke flavor. Can impart bitter taste if not monitored. Good with red meats and game.

To simplify the matter:

fish and poultry - alder and fruit trees

meats - oak and hickory

Dry or Wet Wood

Here is another question that never seems to go out of fashion: “what’s better, wet or dry”. Wet chips or sawdust, seem to produce more smoke but this is not true. The extra amount of smoke is nothing else but water vapour (steam) mixed with smoke. This does make a difference when hot smoking at 105-140° F (40-60° C) and the smoke times are rather short. That extra moisture prevents the sausage casings from drying out during smoking. Besides, wet chips are not going to be wet for very long; the heat will dry them out anyhow. Wood chips produce good smoke when wet and they decrease temperature, but the moment they become dry, they burst into flames and the temperature shoots up. The grease from the sausage drops down on the little flames, the temperature goes up, and the once little flames are now big flames. In one minute we may have a raging fire inside the smoker.

When a smoker has a separate standing fire pit, large pieces of wood can be burned as the resulting flames will never make it inside the smoker. As you already know, we don’t use wet wood for cold smoking because we want to eliminate moisture, not bring it in. Cold smoke warms the surface of the meat up very finely, just enough to allow the moisture to evaporate. Creating cold smoke for two days with wet wood will never dry out the meat. When hot smoking, the smoke along with the air is drying out the casings, which develops a harder surface. The surface of the meat will become drier, too. By using wet wood when hot smoking, we moisten the surface of the product, aiding the smoking.

Wood Pieces, Wood Chips or Sawdust

The type of wood used will largely depend on the smoker used, and the location of the fire pit. If the smoker is connected with a fire pit by a pipe or a trench, it makes absolutely no difference what type of wood is burned as this design can take a lot of abuse and still provides efficient and comfortable smoke generation. Most people that use these types of smokers don’t even bother with chips or sawdust and burn solid wood logs instead. Burning wood inside of small one-unit smokers creates the danger of a fire erupting.

We have to use wood chips or sawdust with a safety baffle above to prevent flames from reaching upwards. This would also prevent fat from dripping down on the wood chips and starting a big fire. When preparing sawdust, do not throw it into water, but place it in a bucket and then moisten it using a spray bottle. Mix sawdust by hand until it feels moist. This sawdust will burn longer and at lower temperatures than other woods and will be the material of choice for smoke generation in small electrical smokers.

When smoking in a home made barrel smoker with a fire pit in the bottom part of the drum, it is much easier to control the smoking process by using dry chips. These smoulder and burn in a more predictable manner. Wet chips are just soaked in water on the outside, even when placed in a bucket overnight. The only way to make them really wet is to cover them with boiling water and leave them in it. Hot water penetrates wood all the way through.