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Smoking Meat for Long-Term Storage – Smoking Secrets

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Smoking Meat for Long-Term Storage – Smoking Secrets - Ever since I can remember, my family has been smoking meat both as a hobby and as a long lasting food preservation method. If you have a good meat source that provides you with all the meat your family requires, learning a few smoking secrets will come in handy.

Ever since I can remember, my family has been smoking meat both as a hobby and as a long lasting food preservation method. If you have a good meat source that provides you with all the meat your family requires, learning a few smoking secrets will come in handy.

If you need to preserve your meat supplies for a long time and if you don’t want to try canning or freezing then smoking would be the right choice. Our ancestors used to preserve meat using smoke long before the invention of the refrigerator and this food preservation technique works even today.

The smoking process creates two actions: it dries the meat and emits acids that cover the meat, forming a protective layer. This acid helps to preserve the meat by slowing down the growth of bacteria and preventing mold from forming. There are basically two main techniques for smoking meat: cold smoking (also known as hard smoking) and hot smoking which is the most used method.

Cold smoking has some inherent risks since the temperature is kept at or below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This range is known to be favorable for microbial growth, therefore it’s much safer to use the hot smoking method.

Hot smoking requires curing the meat in order to preserve the color and taste, but you can also enhance the flavor by adding various herbs and spices. You can opt for a dry cure or a wet cure (brine) for smoking meat and you should never use a metal container for your cure.

Read more about the smoking secrets in the article below:

Smoking Meat for Long-Term Storage – Smoking Secrets