[Sca-cooks] period smoke houses?

[Terry Decker]

I'm trusting the USDA and a couple of other sources for the temperatures.  I
haven't had an opportunity to run any tests with thermal probes to see if
they know what they are talking about.  I also haven't checked to see if
there is an accurate description of how Smithfield hams are prepared.  It
may be the speed with which the meat reaches 160 degrees has something to do
with the texture.

As I understand the process, prosciutto isn't just air dried.  The major
veins in the ham are opened and it is massaged to remove all of the blood.
Then it is packed in salt for several weeks, which dehydrates the meat and
forms a crust (where have I heard that before).  The ham is then loaded into
a drying cabinet for an extended period to continue air drying.

Bear



>Also sprach Decker, Terry D.:
>>I've never encountered an operating smoke house that was anywhere near 55
>>degrees.
>>
>>Smoke houses are designed for "cold smoking."  The temperature of the heat
>>source is normally around 180-200 degrees F and the meat is left to smoke
>>until it reaches an internal termperature of around 160 degrees F.  The
>>smoke coats the meat rather than is absorbed by the meat.  Heat kills the
>>bacteria, cooks and dehydrates the meat (especially the outer layer).
Smoke
>>builds a crust.
>
>Huh. You sure about that? One of the reasons you couldn't, until
>recently, import real prosciutto di Parma into the U.S. was that it
>was raw. Same for (I think it is) Westphalian ham and a number of
>others. Serrano, etc.; I don't recall if the laws have changed or if
>the stuff is irradiated now. I can't see Smithfield ham having the
>soft translucency it has if it is cooked...
>
>I do think surface dehydration is an issue, though. Hams like
>prosciutto are air-dried in the curing process, but the aging they go
>through is sufficient to, after the moisture has more or less
>equalized throughout the joint (if you can call a boned ham a joint)
>to give it that slightly waxy texture throughout.
>
>>The back yard smoker is for "hot smoking."  The heat source is 225-300
>>degrees F.  The meat, depending of type, is brought to standard internal
>>temperatures of 145-180 degrees F.  In hot smoking, the meat is not
>>adequately smoked for preservation and needs to be refrigerated.
>>
>>In either case, the air temperature by the meat must be at or above the
>>internal temperature of the meat.
>
>Well, yeah, otherwise the meat is heating the air, and not vice
>versa. I'm reminded of the old joke (my Dad was of an age to have
>witnessed vaudeville firsthand, and it tends to color my speech,
>more's the pity) about the young wife who tried to boil water by
>putting the pan in the oven set for 212.
>
>Badda boom, badda bing!
>
>Adamantius