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Cooking encyclopedia Techniques

Smoking

Also called hot-smoking; cold-smoking

Flavouring and, in hot-smoking, cooking food in the smoke of smouldering wood.

90โ€“135 ยฐC (194โ€“275 ยฐF)

What it is

Hot-smoking cooks โ€” typically 90โ€“135 ยฐC โ€” while cold-smoking flavours without cooking and keeps the food below about 30 ยฐC. They are different processes with different safety rules.

Why it works

Smoke carries hundreds of aromatic compounds from the thermal breakdown of wood; phenols give the smoky note, carbonyls help colour the surface. Clean, thin smoke from wood burning well tastes sweet; thick white smoke from smouldering wood tastes acrid.

When to use it

Pork shoulder, brisket, ribs, whole birds, fish, cheese, salt, chillies, nuts.

What goes wrong

Too much wood, giving a bitter, sooty result; letting the fire choke; opening the chamber constantly; trusting time rather than internal temperature.

More on this shelf

  • Blanching Brief cooking in heavily boiling water, usually followed by cooling.
  • Blooming spices Heating spices briefly in fat or a dry pan to release their aroma before they meet anything else.
  • Braising Browning, then cooking slowly in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.
  • Deep-frying Cooking fully submerged in hot fat, usually 160โ€“190 ยฐC.
  • Deglazing Dissolving the browned residue in a pan with liquid, to turn it into sauce.
  • Emulsifying Dispersing fat and water into each other so they behave as one smooth sauce.
  • Grilling Cooking over or under direct radiant heat, close to the source.
  • Poaching Cooking submerged in liquid held below a simmer, around 70โ€“85 ยฐC.
  • Reducing Simmering a liquid uncovered to evaporate water and concentrate what is left.
  • Resting meat Leaving cooked meat off the heat before cutting it.
  • Roasting Cooking in dry oven heat, uncovered, so the surface browns while the inside cooks.
  • Sautรฉing Cooking small or thin pieces quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat, moving them often.