Kitchen Essential

Barbeque Chicken

There are various bits of chicken that can be cooked over the fire varying from whole chickens to kebabs. The greatest danger with chicken is over-cooking, resulting in dry, stringy meat, or burning the outside while the meat is underdone closer to the bone. To avoid this, cook it fairly slowly over a moderate fire. Prepare a marinade for the chicken and baste it frequently while barbeque. A whole chicken cooks in roughly 45 minutes, chicken pieces in 20 minutes and kebabs in 10-15 minutes. When you suspect that the chicken is cooked, prod it with a fork or knife; if the juices that flow out are clear, your job is done. Continue Reading »

Dry salting and other methods

In addition to the strong brines which I favour for use in most of my own smoking and curing operations, and the sweet pickle brine already described for use during other processes, I will also outline alternative brining methods and seasoning techniques, and dry salting methods for fish curing which you may prefer since dry salting removes more water from the fish during the curing process than does brining. The smoking process can then be shortened, as the fish only needs to make half the total required weight loss during actual smoking as the other half has already been lost during dry salting. Continue Reading »

Strong and weak brines

My own preference is for a fairly strong brine (80 - 90%) in which the fish, fowl or flesh is left for a matter of hours rather than days, but there is an alternative method, involving the use of weaker brines, plus sugar and in some cases other ingredients. The material is left in these weaker brines often for a period of several days, and though it is not usual to brine fish in this manner, the method has a definite place in the curing of certain meats and fowl which, owing to their age or species, are likely to be very tough.

Salt has a hardening effect upon the muscular tissue of mammalian and avian flesh, but sugar tenderizes, so a tough bird such an aged goose, pheasant or turkey could benefit from treatment in sugar-added brine. Continue Reading »

As I have already mentioned, the addition of salt to the raw material is an essential part of the smoke curing process. The product is either completely covered in dry salt for a period, or soaked in brine of varying strengths according to what is being processed.

Dry salting is favoured by the commercial fish smoking concerns, particularly in the case of salmon, as the dry salt attracts moisture from the tissues of the fish, causing a weight loss of up to 9% during this part of the process. It follows, therefore, that the time the fish will need in the smoking kiln will be much reduced, as about half the weight loss required in the finished product will already have taken place. So the whole process can be speeded up, and of course in any commercial enterprise time means money. To home smokers, speeding the process is not important, as in any case they will be conducting the operation partly as a hobby. I have no hesitation, therefore, in recommending the use of brine as opposed to dry salt (but see ‘Dry Salting and other methods’). Continue Reading »

Fish

There is a completely erroneous belief in some quarters that stale fish can be used for smoking, as the smoking process will impart its own flavour to the fish and thus mask any defects in quality. Certainly it is just possible to ’save the life’ of stale fish approaching putrefaction, by smoking, so that it is just edible; but, at the best, only a very inferior product both in keeping quality and flavour can result.

Fish which is to be smoked must be completely fresh to obtain the best results, although this is a good point at which to dispel the belief that frozen goods are not suitable for smoking. This is completely untrue. All deep frozen fish, game, meat and poultry can be employed, and first-class results obtained. Continue Reading »

The traditional cold smoker

Cold smoking, at temperatures of around 80^° F, is an essential operation for the production of smoked salmon, which is eaten raw, of other smoked fish, such as kippers, finnan haddocks, cod and haddock fillets and cod roes, and fillets of beef. Cold smoking is also an essential part of the initial processing of all other products which are ultimately hot smoked.

In the commercial fish smoking industry, the traditional cold smoking kiln is simply a large chimney with ventilators placed up the shaft at intervals, so that draughts can be controlled. The fire is lit in a large hearth either at the foot of the kiln or in a fire pit a few feet away, the smoke being conducted along an underground flue to the kiln by natural draught. Continue Reading »

Salmon farming in Scotland has become a new industry. Farmed salmon are excellent to eat but muscle tone is flaccid compared to wild fish, which continually exercise their bodies in the normal course of their existence. Farmed salmon may tear under their own weight when hung, so it is recommended that the fillets are smoked flat on wire racks.

The ribs can either be left intact until the sides are smoked, or can be removed at this stage by taking them out along with a thin layer of flesh. I favour the former course in the case of frozen salmon, as I believe the less the sides are disturbed before smoking the better, to avoid damage. Continue Reading »

There are three varieties of salmon with which we who live in the western hemisphere should concern ourselves. Reputedly king of them all is the Atlantic salmon, the fish which runs up the rivers to spawn in Norway, Finland, Great Britain and Ireland and the rivers on the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada. This is the fish which is famous the world over as a sporting and culinary proposition and is commonly associated with social prestige and affluence. There is no question that the Atlantic salmon is a very fine fish but perhaps his illustrious connections give him a somewhat unfair advantage over his Pacific cousins. Continue Reading »

The herring, which of course is what the kipper is before it is processed, is seldom the quarry of the sea angler in Britain. The Swedes and the Norwegians traditionally fish for herrings with hand lines from small boats at the mouths of their fjords, often making good catches, particularly when night fishing. Nevertheless, although as a British home smoker you are unlikely to catch your own herrings, if you live close to a port where these fish are landed, you may well decide to smoke your own kippers. If so, you will be able to make certain that you only obtain the freshest of fish. Continue Reading »

Shrimps can either be cold smoked whole or as peeled meats. For the former method, the shrimps should have the heads removed and are then washed and drained for 30 minutes. They are then brined for 30 - 60 minutes (according to preference) in 40% brine (1 lb 3 oz salt to 1 gallon water), then boiled in the brine or in plain water, again according to taste, for 30 minutes. The shrimps are then allowed to air dry on racks for 2 hours.

Smoking

The shrimps are then placed in the kiln and smoking is carried out for 1 - 1¹/2 hours at a temperature of 80^° F. The yield of smoked meats after shelling is approximately 36% of the whole raw shrimp weight. Continue Reading »

The Scottish town of Arbroath is famous for two things: the Declaration of Arbroath, when the King of the Scots and hissubjects told the King of England exactly what he could do with himself, and Arbroath smokies. These are manufactured from small haddock or whiting which have had their heads removed and their guts pulled out along with the head, the bellies being left intact. They are tied together in pairs by their tails and can thus be suspended over rods for smoking.

Traditionally, smokies were smoked in barrels set over fires and the final product had a dark, tarry appearance which cannot be achieved in modern mechanical kilns. Continue Reading »

There are three varieties of trout which might concern the smoker. Commonest of all is the rainbow. This fish is the mainstay of the commercial trout farm, reproducing easily and growing well under reasonable conditions. It is an ideal fish for stocking lakes and reservoirs, but will not normally stay put in rivers. It is an excellent sporting and eating fish with a delicate flavour and is delicious when hot smoked.

Some trout farms have the American brook trout. This fish is wider across the back than the rainbow, but shallower in the body. Its flesh is particularly firm and somewhat rubbery, and as such is a particularly good subject for the smoker as it does not easily suffer damage during handling. Continue Reading »

Cold smoked trout

Many anglers fish lakes and reservoirs for large trout, usually rainbows. These fish are sometimes less than prime specimens. I am no expert on marine biology but under some conditions it would appear that the fish wish to spawn but are unable to do so. They produce normal quantities of spawn and milt, which as it is not utilized is absorbed into the system again. The fish turn an unpleasant colour and the actual flesh tends to turn pale, so the best possible destination for this type is the inside of a cold smoking kiln. Needless to say, prime fish, as always, will produce a superior finished product, particularly in appearance but this is still the best method to utilize poorer quality trout. Continue Reading »