Smoked meat
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Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic Era.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Smoking adds flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and when combined with curing it preserves the meat.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> When meat is cured then cold-smoked, the smoke adds phenols and other chemicals that have an antimicrobial effect on the meat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hot smoking has less impact on preservation and is primarily used for taste and to slow-cook the meat.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> Interest in barbecue and smoking is on the rise worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Smoking with wood
Generally meat is smoked using hardwood or wood pellets made from hardwood; softwood is not recommended due to the resin producing a larger quantity of PAHs.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wood smoke adds flavor, aroma, and helps with preservation.<ref name=":4" /> There are two types of smoking: cold smoking generally occurs below Template:Convert and has more preservative value. Hot smoking generally occurs above Template:Convert.<ref name=":22" /> Most woods are seasoned and not used green.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are many types of wood used for smoking; a partial list includes:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Woods with a mild flavor: Alder, apple, apricot, ash, birch, cherry, maple, peach, pear.
- Woods with a medium flavor: Almond, hickory, pecan, post oak, pasania.
- Woods with a strong flavor: Acacia, black walnut, chokecherry, grapevine, mesquite.
- Other woods and organic matter: Avocado, bay, beech, butternut, carrotwood, camphor, castanopsis, chestnut, citrus woods, cottonwood, crabapple, fig, guava, gum, hackberry, kiawe, lilac, madrone, mulberry, olive, peat, plum, persimmon, pimento, tea, and willow.
Types
African fish smoking
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Close to 80% of all fish caught in most African nations is smoked.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite journal</ref> Traditionally the processing and smoking of fish has been done by women.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The primary method of smoking is hot smoking, the flavor from hot smoking preferred by local consumers.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9">Template:Cite journal</ref> Traditional smoking methods include using bamboo racks over smoky fires, mud ovens and placing the fish directly on smoldering woods and grasses.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /> Modern methods of smoking include using re-purposed oil drums, brick ovens, and Chorkor ovens.<ref name=":8" />
American barbecue (smoked)
Template:MainAmerican barbecue's roots start with the Native Americans who smoked fish and game to preserve food for leaner times.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> When Europeans first came to North America, they brought with them smoking techniques from Europe and Central Asia and combined those with the Native American techniques.<ref name=":22" /> American barbecue has distinct regional differences: North Carolina Piedmont style is pork shoulder with a vinegar & ketchup-based sauce; Eastern style is the whole hog with vinegar & pepper-based sauce; South Carolina is whole hog or shoulder with a mustard-based sauce; Western Tennessee and Memphis are famous for its dry rub ribs, but wet is also available; Kentucky is known for their mutton, pork shoulder and whole hog are also very popular; Kansas City barbecue is more about the sauce, often used with smoked pork, lamb, chicken, beef and turkey. Beef ribs, smoked sausage, brisket are the prevalent meats in Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bacon
Template:MainBacon originated with petaso, a Roman version of what is now called bacon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The etymology of the word bacon has four possibilities; the Franceis word bacon, the Althochdeutsch word bahho, the Old Low Franconian word baken, and the Common Germanic word bakkon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> John Harris of Calne, England, was the first to commercialize production of bacon in the 1770s.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Bacon is primarily pork, depending on the type; it can come from the belly, back, loin or side.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The preparation of bacon varies by type, but most involve curing and smoking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the types of bacon include American (Template:A.k.a. side bacon or streaky bacon), buckboard (shoulder bacon), Canadian (back bacon), British and Irish (rasher), Australian (middle bacon), Italian (pancetta), Hungarian (szalonna), German (speck), Japanese (beikon), and Slovakian (oravská).<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bacon can also be produced from beef, lamb, and wild game.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Country ham
Country ham is a popular ham originally developed by American Colonists who took traditional Native American fish smoking practices and used them for pork.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Country hams traditionally were made in the American Southeast from Virginia to Missouri.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> Most country hams are trimmed, wrapped, cured in salt, sugar, pepper and various spices. In modern times, some preparations add nitrates for food safety.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After curing the hams are smoked for at least 12 hours, then hung to dry for 9 to 12 months. Some traditional processes can take years from curing to being ready to consume.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Finnan haddie
Template:MainFinnan haddie is a cold smoked haddock that originated in medieval times in the Scottish village of Findon.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref> Traditionally the haddock is smoked with green wood and peat.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> Smoked finnan haddie is the colour of straw, newer commercial methods of drying without smoke produce a gold or yellow colour.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> Until the 1800s when regular rail service was established, finnan haddie remained a local dish, now it can be found in markets worldwide.<ref name=":6" />
Katsuobushi
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Template:MainKatsuobushi is a key umami ingredient in Japanese cuisine, with bonito flakes among its many applications.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Katsuobushi is made from skipjack tuna that is washed, quartered smoked with oak, pasania, or castanopsis wood, and cooled repeatedly for a month.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:CbignoreTemplate:Dead YouTube link</ref> Some producers will spray the fish with Aspergillus glaucus to promote further drying.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After one to 24 months the fish will be katsu (hard) and ready for use. To make bonito flakes it is shaved very thinly using a Katsuobushi grater box.
Montreal-style smoked meat
Template:Main A type of kosher-style deli meat product made by salting and curing beef brisket with spices. The brisket is allowed to absorb the flavours over a week, is then hot smoked to cook through, and finally is steamed to completion. The preparation method may be similar to New York pastrami, but Montreal smoked meat is cured in seasoning with more cracked peppercorns and savoury flavourings, such as coriander, garlic, and mustard seeds, and significantly less sugar.<ref name="mtlblog.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
Pastrami
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Template:MainPastrami is most often made with beef brisket; it can be made with other cuts of beef.<ref name=":03">Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref> The meat is cured in a brine (most often dry), after drying, it is coated in spices and smoked.<ref name=":12" /> Smoking can be done by either cold smoking or hot smoking.<ref name=":12" /> Pastrami evolved from the Turkish Huns who would tenderize and dry meat under their saddles.Template:Citation needed Armenians saw what the Huns had done and created basturma that was spiced and air-dried meat.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite journal</ref> Romanians first started brining, spicing, and smoking the beef and created what is now called pastrami.<ref name=":22" /> When Romanian Jews immigrated to the United States, Canada, and Great Britain in the late 1800s, they carried that tradition of pastrami with them.<ref name=":22" /> The Romanians that immigrated to the United States, mostly settled in New York City area and developed the classic New York Pastrami.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Those that immigrated to Canada mostly settled in Montreal used a different brining technique and spices and called it smoked meat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Pastrami is still produced in Southwest Asia and the Middle East and is called Pastirma, basterma or basturma.<ref name=":03" /> While customarily made with beef, in other regions it can be made with lamb, goat, buffalo, and camel.<ref name=":03" /> Corned or salt beef uses a similar brine and spices, but is not smoked.<ref name=":12" />
Zhangcha duck
Template:MainZhangcha duck is a dish from Sichuan Province in southwestern China made from the Chengdu Ma duck.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The duck is marinated in a pickling liquid then smoked with camphor and tea leaves.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> After smoking, the duck is deep fried, boned and served over rice.<ref name=":2" />
Health concerns
One study has shown an association between the frequency of consumption of smoked foods and intestinal cancer.<ref name="Fritz">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, the study was restricted to a small Slovenian population in Hungary, where the local smoke curing process produces levels of contaminants roughly eight times as high as standard processes elsewhere.<ref name="Fritz" /> The use of soft woods is discouraged, as the resins in softwood increases the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are known carcinogens.<ref name=":7" />
See also
- African longfin eel
- Atlantic mackerel
- Beef jerky
- Black Forest ham
- Brési
- Cod
- Cecina
- Charcuterie
- Deli meat
- Gammon
- Herring
- List of smoked foods
- Salmon
- Suho meso
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