May 24 2008
Smoked capercaillie
The traditional Scottish recipe for this, the largest of the British and Scandinavian game birds, states that as soon as possible after the bird has been killed, the crop should be removed, the feet cut off and the bird then buried for a fortnight, by which time one should have forgotten where the bird has been buried. This implies that the caper is pretty ghastly fare, but this is an exaggeration, and similar defamatory statements are often made about the black grouse and its female counterpart, the grey hen, which I and many others consider excellent eating.
Certainly the crop of the caper should be removed as soon as possible after the bird has been shot. It is most likely to contain conifer sprigs which can impart a rather resinous flavour to the flesh if not removed. Certainly nothing appears to be gained from the removal of the feet.
In common with all game birds which are to be smoke cured, the caper should not be allowed to ‘hang’ for any length of time: 3 - 4 days is quite sufficient. After plucking and drawing, the caper, being a heavily fleshed bird, should be well pricked in the breast and thighs to let the pickle enter.
A hen bird should be placed in sweet pickle under refrigeration for 4 - 5 days. Cocks are considerably larger and will require 6 - 10 days in the brine, according to size and age.
After brining, the bird should be well washed and allowed to dry off in a refrigerator for 36 - 48 hours, after which it should be cold smoked at 70 - 85°F for a period of 4 - 6 days. Hot smoking should be carried out at 225° F for about 2′/2 hours if the bird is young, but an old bird is best finished off at 200° F for a period of about 4 hours, or even longer if the thigh is still tough when tested with a fork. This process should completely mask any peculiar natural flavour which the individual might find not to his taste if the bird is simply cooked in the conventional manner.
An old black grouse (blackcock) can be dealt with in an identical manner. They are very tough and normally defy conventional cooking methods but smoking will subdue the oldest.
Smoked octopus
Octopus is sometimes served as one of the courses of a gourmet meal, or occasionally as a starter to a less opulent meal. Cooked by ordinary methods it tends to be rather tough and tasteless, but it is a seafood which can be enormously improved by smoking. Unlike other seafoods, octopus is tough and rubbery and in some restaurants tends to remain so after cooking, but the following process will tenderize it.
The body should be cut open and the alimentary tract removed. The octopus should be boiled until a pointed instrument can easily pierce the flesh of the tentacle. The octopus should be allowed to cool and, if a large specimen, the dark skin should be removed as this will be too tough to eat. If the octopus is a small one, say 4 - 5 lb, this dark skin is quite edible. The tentacles should be sliced crosswise into slices about 1/2 in. thick. The body should be cut into pieces of comparable size.
The pieces are put in special octopus brine for 1 hour. After removal from the brine, allow them to drain until dry. They are then placed on oiled wire grids inside the smoker and are smoked at a temperature of 130° F until they become golden brown.
The octopus is now ready for the table but an interesting variation of the process, for those who prefer a fuller flavour, is to oil the octopus. The smoked sections of octopus are placed in a large glass jar with a screw lid, such as a sweet or pickle jar, and a quantity of olive oil is added. The jar should be rotated end over end until the pieces are all coated in oil. After a short time, the oil will be absorbed, so more oil should be added and the jar rotated again. This process should be repeated until the octopus is saturated in oil and will absorb no more.
The oiled octopus is now ready to eat and will keep under refrigeration for several days. Alternatively, it may be bottled in sealed jars.
Smoked oysters
Fresh, live oysters only must be used. The shells should be well washed to remove any traces of mud or sand and the oysters should then be steamed in a cooker for between 20 and 30 minutes. The meat is then taken out of the now opened shells and soaked in a 50% brine (1 lb 81/2 oz salt per gallon of water) for 5 minutes. It is a good idea to cut the largest oysters lengthwise before brining to assist salt penetration. The oysters should then be placed on wire racks to drain for 15 minutes before placing in the kiln, which should be preheated to 170° F.
Smoking
The oysters will only require smoking for a total period of 30 minutes and should be turned over halfway through the smoking process to give a uniform cure.
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