【Smoking (Cooking)】
Smoking is a technique used to preserve and flavor food. Liquid smoke and pickling liquid are used to enhance flavor, while also increasing preservation.
Generally, there are three ways of smoking foods: smoke roasting, hot smoking, and cold smoking. Smoke roasting requires smoking in high temperature, usually above 80°C. This process is used for spare ribs and such. Hot smoking is done at approximately 60°C and is used for products such as ham. Cold smoking is used for products like prosciutto or unprocessed fresh ham, and the smoking is done below 30°C. The unique flavors of smoked products are determined by the salt concentration of the pickling and smoke liquid used. Depending on the salt concentration of the liquid, the condition of the meat (tenderness, color) changes.
【Ham】
Commonly pork or boar meat is brined and processed. The English word “ham” refers to products made from pork thigh meat, however, in Japan, it does not necessarily mean the ham was made from pork or from thigh meat. Although most ham is smoked, there are types of ham which are not smoked. The process of smoking a ham involves shaping the meat, salting, seasoning, submerging in brine solution, smoking, and then boiling. The amount of salt used during brining determines the final flavor and texture of the ham.
【Sausage】
Sausage is generally made from salted and seasoned ground pork. The prepared sausage is either boiled or smoked as the final preservation process. Sausage is generally stuffed into casings, such as sheep intestines. However, some sausages, like American breakfast sausage, are prepared without being stuffed into casings. The right amount of salt in the ground pork is an important factor for determining the flavor.
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