Читать книгу Charcuterie For Dummies - Mark LaFay - Страница 15

A great smokehouse is a great thing! Have you ever had barbeque that made you groan with contentment? Or, how about bacon that kept you coming back for another strip? Have you ever wept when the last piece of bacon was eaten? Asking for a friend.

There are several ways to smoke, and there are several outcomes that you can have. The most important quality in a smoker is whether or not you can run it and make tasty food that is safe to eat. For the purposes of this book, I focus on hot smoking, which is smoking at temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The goal is to cook your product to a temperature that kills off any potentially harmful bacteria, while applying a smoke flavor to the meat. Following is a list of smokers you can buy.

 Electric smoker: Electric smokers (see Figure 1-9) are a delightful creation because they offer automated digital temperature control. Electric smokers also smolder wood chips using an electric heating element which requires no lighting or maintaining. You can acquire an electric smoker for your home at a reasonable price, and aside from the periodic requirement to reload it with wood chips, it will be largely “set and forget.”The Sausage MakerFIGURE 1-9: Electric smoker.

 Pellet smoker: Pellet smokers are fully automated electric smokers. These smokers use compressed hardwood sawdust that is held together with paraffin to generate heat and smoke. Did I mention that they are fully automated? The smoke is never as heavy as you’ll get with an electric wood chip smoker, but you do get a whole lot of convenience.

 Gas-burning smoker: Gas-burning smokers (see Figure 1-10) are more like a traditional grill in that they use a propane burner to generate heat and smolder the wood in order to generate smoke. Gas burners require frequent monitoring to ensure that you are getting a steady heat output. The benefit is that you can smolder larger pieces of wood, which some enthusiasts would argue gives you a better smoke flavor.

The Sausage Maker

FIGURE 1-10: Gas-burning smoker.