SC - Re: smoked meats and sausages

[Shayne & Trudi Lynch]

>Mark Harris wrote:

>> I don=D5t think you have quite answered my last question although I do
>> appreciate the detailed answer on this question and the others. My
>> question may be better stated as: =D2Since the primary purpose of smoki=
>ng
>> the meat or sausage is to preserve it, how long do I need to smoke it
>> before I know it will keep and be safe to eat sometime in the future?=D3=
>> Yes, I know meat is often smoked for taste, but I want to know how long=
>> I need to smoke it to preserve it.
>> Thanks.
>>   Stefan li Rous
>>   markh at risc.sps.mot.com

>I hate to seem evasive, but there is no simple answer to the question,
>so far as I know. Food smoked long enough to preserve it (coated with
>smoke tar [creosote?] primarily to drive off insects, and semi-dried,
>since even smoke-houses are a bit warmer than the surrounding air, even
>without active flames) is considered by many to be inedible. Sir Hugh
>Plat's recipe for Polonian Sawsedges says, in his tactful way, that they
>will make one "relish a cup of wine". I don't think the modern sense of
>taste, used to eating food that's been refrigerated instead of being
>smoked fully, is ready for that sort of thing.

>Your best bet would be to keep the food in a smoker for flavor
>(approximately 2-6 hours) and then finish curing/drying the food in the
>smoker without additional wood chips. Or you could use a food
>dehydrator.

>Smoked hams that are actually treated for storage without (much)
>refrigeration are generally cured with the smoke going for only part of
>the process, until the hams have lost about half of their original
>weight. This "rule" varies according to the ratio of weight to surface
>area, the presence of bones, fat, etc. I'm not sure there's any really
>effective way to smoke-preserve a liver sausage for, say, Pennsic
>conditions, for any significant length of time, and have it still be
>edible. I suspect it would rather resemble a rubber eraser.

>Your best bet is probably to get a book on charcuterie. My favorite is
>Jane Grigson's "The Art of Making Sausages, Pates, and Other
>Charcuterie". Another good choice is Jocasta Innes' "The Country
>Kitchen", which is an overall book on "putting food up". =

>Adamantius


Thank-you you've answered this question much better than I ever could
have.

Aelfthrythe of Saxony
journeyman to Master Charles of the Park
Shayne Lynch   &      Trudi Lynch              
[AKA]  Francois Henri Guyon   &   "He's like a giant boulder:    
       AElfthrythe of Saxony  I   too thick to think and
lynchs at macquarie.matra.com.au I   too heavy to move" (anon.)