What Happens When You Smoke Meat?

On the one hand, smoking meat serves the taste – on the other hand, the process should make the food more durable by drying it. Smoke, which is produced by burning up certain substances such as wood shavings or sawdust, is used as a means of doing this. The smoking material is placed on glowing coals or another heated surface. In addition to the longer shelf life, smoking gives the meat products a special aroma. You can also smoke meat with herbs to intensify it and give it new nuances.

Smoke meat yourself at home: which wood?

The wood is decisive for the aroma of smoked meat. Because different varieties bring different nuances and therefore have an intense influence on the taste of the meat. Basically, softwoods, especially those of fruit trees, go well with poultry. Medium variants such as walnut or oak harmonize with beef, pork, and game, while mesquite, for example, goes well with red meat such as lamb and beef because of its intensity, but not with every dish and is therefore often smoked mixed with other woods. Here you can read about the aromas that characterize some of the most well-known incense woods:

• Beech brings a relatively mild aroma when you smoke meat in a smoker, for example.
• Oak gives a slightly tart taste and therefore goes well with red meat.
• Mesquite brings a strong flavor all of its own. Because of the intense smoked aroma, you should only use it very sparingly.
• Meat smoked with hickory tastes similarly intense as with oak, but a little stronger. It also gives the meat sweet and salty flavors.
• Acacia makes the aroma of smoked meat sweeter. The smoke flavor is mild and slightly nutty.
• The smoke from almond wood also gives the meat a slightly sweet, nutty note.
• With alder, smoked meat only tastes mildly smoky. Therefore, it goes particularly well with poultry.

Smoking meat: preserving it by removing water

The smoking process removes between 10 and 60 percent of the water from the food to be smoked, thereby reducing the so-called aw value. This is a unit of measurement to define the proportion of unbound or loosely bound water in food. The aw value ranges from 0 for completely dry food to 1 for pure water. Most fresh food has a value between 0.98 and 0.99 – ideal conditions for the growth of microorganisms. When smoking, the water content is reduced, which means that these foods spoil much more slowly. In addition, substances penetrate the meat during smoking, which also kills bacteria, yeast, and mold. They additionally preserve smoked meat, for example, smoked meat.

Smoking and curing meat: longer shelf life

In order to further increase the shelf life, the meat can be cured or treated with salt before smoking. In this way, so much water can be extracted that many bacteria and germs can no longer find a basis for life on the meat. Kassler also takes advantage of this process. Read our expert knowledge to find out exactly how Kassler is made. We will also tell you the answer to the question: “How is ham made?”

Smoking meat – for how long and at what temperature

There are mainly two different smoking methods: cold smoking and hot or warm smoking. The latter takes place at temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees Celsius. At temperatures between 26 and 40 degrees Celsius, on the other hand, one speaks of warm smoking. Cooked ham, sausages, and hunting sausage, for example, are hot-smoked.

When you cold smoke meat, the temperatures are between 15 and 26 degrees Celsius – and hardwood, in particular, is burned up. The process can take up to several days and is divided into smoking and fresh air phases. Due to the significantly longer preservation process, cold smoking is particularly suitable for meat products that are to be preserved for a particularly long time. For example, raw ham, raw sausage, cervelat sausage, and mettwurst are cold-smoked. In theory, you can eat cold-smoked meat right after the process. However, it is still advisable to wait. The reason: This is the only way for the aromas to unfold properly and the smoked taste achieved is optimal.

Smoke meat: brief instructions for the gas grill

Not everyone owns a smoker. You can also use the gas grill to smoke meat. Temperatures inside should be around 120 degrees. There are also two heat zones: one preheated and one non-heated. Incense boxes help you place the incense chips correctly. In addition, the smoke escapes in a targeted and controlled manner from specially integrated slots. As soon as you notice it, turn the temperature down and put the meat on the non-preheated side of the gas grill to smoke.