Chapter 5

1. Chapter 5 Cured and Smoked Foods

2. Chapter 5 Objectives • Understand the history and purpose of cured and smoked foods • Identify the crucial ingredients for preserving foods • Explain the function of salt in osmosis, dehydration, and fermentation • Describe the role of curing salts in preserving foods • Discuss seasoning and flavoring options for cured and smoked foods

3. Chapter 5 Objectives • Compare the effects of dry cures and brines • Describe the evolution of brining from a preservation technique to a flavoring technique • Evaluate cold smoking and hot smoking alternatives • Explain the technique of air-drying • Describe the method of preservation in fat

4. Preservation Techniques in Chapter 5 • Curing and brining • Smoking • Drying • Preserving in fat

5. Ingredients for Preserving Foods • Salt is the basic ingredient used in preserving food • Basic processes in which salt plays an important role: • Osmosis • Dehydration • Fermentation • Denaturing proteins

6. Osmosis • A simple definition states that osmosis is the movement of a solvent (typically water) through a semipermeable membrane (the cell walls) in order to equalize the concentration of a solute (typically salt) on both sides of the membrane • Getting the salt inside the cell, where it can kill off harmful pathogens, is the essence of salt-curing foods

7. Dehydration • Applying salt to foods can dry them effectively, since the salt tends to attract the free water, making it unavailable to microbes • Exposure to air or heat for controlled periods allows the water to evaporate, reducing the overall volume and weight of the food

8. Fermentation • Enzymes ferment the food by breaking down the compounds in these foods into gases and organic compounds • By increasing the acid levels in the food, enzymes also help to preserve foods, since most harmful pathogens can only thrive when the levels of acids are within a specific pH range • Salt is important to act as a control on this process, since it affects how much water is available to the enzymes

9. Denaturing Proteins • Changing the structure of the proteins found in food • The strands that make up the protein are encouraged to lengthen or coil, open or close, recombine or dissolve in such a way that foods that were once soft may become firm, smooth foods may become grainy, translucent foods may become cloudy, etc.

10. Curing Salts: Nitrates and Nitrites • Compounds already present in unrefined salts: • Nitrates (NO3) take longer to break down in cured foods than nitrites • Nitrites(NO2) break down faster, making them appropriate for use in any cured item that will later be fully cooked

11. Nitrosamine • When nitrates and nitrites break down in the presence of extreme heat (specifically, when bacon is cooked), potentially dangerous substances known as nitrosamines may form in the food • Discovered to be carcinogenic in 1956 • The use of nitrates and nitrites is closely regulated

12. Tinted Cure Mix, Pink Cure, and Prague Powder I • TCM (or Insta-cure #1): • 94% sodium chloride (salt) and 6% sodium nitrite • Tinted pink for identification reasons • Recommended ratio: • 4 oz of TCM to each 100 lb of meat

13. Prague Powder II • Prague Powder II (Insta-cure #2) contains: • Salt • Sodium nitrite • Sodium nitrate • Pink coloring • Used to make dry and dry-fermented products

14. Cure Accelerators: Sodium Erythorbate and Ascorbate • Work together with nitrites to enhance color development and flavor retention in cured foods • Have some of the same reddening effects of nitrates and nitrites but is temporary • Cannot be used to substitute for nitrates or nitrites

15. Sugar (sweeteners): Dextrose Corn syrup Sugar Honey Maple syrup Spices and Herbs: Cinnamon Allspice Nutmeg Mace Cardamom Dried or fresh chilies Infusions or essences Wines Fruit juices Vinegars Seasoning and Flavoring Ingredients

16. Cures and Brines • Curing is the generic term used to indicate brines, pickling or corning solutions, or dry cures • When salt, in the form of a dry cure or brine, is applied to a food, the food is referred to as cured, brined, pickled, or corned • Salt brines may also be known as pickles; this is true whether or not vinegar is added to the brine

17. Dry Cures • Can be as simple as salt alone • More often is a mixture of salt, a sweetener, flavorings, and a curing blend • Mixture is packed and rubbed over the surface of the food • Keeping the foods in direct contact with the cure helps to ensure an evenly preserved product

18. Dry Cure Times for Meats

19. Brines • When a dry cure is dissolved in water, it is known as a wet cure, or a brine • Technique used primarily to retain moisture • Two brining techniques: 1. Brine-soaking – submerging food in brine (smaller items) 2. Injecting brine – ensures the brine penetrates completely and evenly (larger items); brine is the equivalent of 10% of item’s weight

20. Formula for moisture and flavor: 1 lb. sugar 1 lb. salt 4 gallons of water 1 gallon of ice Heat 1 gallon of water, add the salt, sugar, and flavorings. Dissolve the salt and sugar. Add 3 gallons of cold water and 1 gallon of ice to chill the brine. Brines

21. Brining Time for Meats

22. Smoke • Basic features of smokers: • Smoke source • Smoke chamber where food is exposed • Circulation • Ventilation

23. Woods for smoking: Hickory Oak Cherry Walnut Chestnut Apple Alder Mesquite Wood from citrus trees Other sources: Teas Herb stems Whole spices Grapevine clippings Corn husks Fruit peels Peanut shells Smoke

24. Smoke: The Pellicle • Before cured foods are smoked, they should be allowed to air-dry long enough to form a tacky skin, known as a pellicle • It acts as a kind of protective barrier for the food, and also plays an important role in capturing the smoke’s flavor and color • Most foods can be properly dried by placing them on racks or by hanging them on hooks or sticks where air is flowing around all sides

25. Cold Smoking • Criteria for cold-smoked items: • Type of cure • Duration of cure • Whether or not the food will be air-dried after smoking • Foods that will be cooked by another means after smoking

26. Cold Smoking • Temperature for cold smoking: Below 100°F • In this temperature range, foods take on a rich smoky flavor, develop a deep mahogany color, and tend to retain a relatively moist texture • They are not cooked as a result of the smoking process and proteins do not denature

27. Hot Smoking • Temperature for hot smoking: 165 – 185°F • Food exposed to smoke and heat in a controlled environment • Foods are fully cooked, moist, and flavorful • Safe to eat without further cooking

28. Smoke-Roasting • Any process that has the attributes of both smoking and roasting • Sometimes referred to as barbecuing or spit-roasting • Equipment that can be used: • Smoke-roaster • Closed wood-fire oven • Barbecue pit • Any smoker that can reach above 250°F • Conventional oven

29. Pan-Smoking • Smoking without using a smoker or smokehouse • Gives smoke-enhanced flavor • Items needed: • 2 disposable aluminum pans • Rack • Sawdust • Drawback: hard to control smoke and flavor may be too intense or bitter

30. Drying • Some items need to be air-dried in lieu of or in addition to smoking • Requires careful balance of temperature and humidity control • Items that are preserved by drying: • Serrano ham (cured and cold-smoked first) • Smithfield hams (cured and cold-smoked first) • Prosciutto crudo di Parma (cured and cold-smoked first) • Roman-Style Air-Dried Beef • Bresealo • Beef jerky

31. Process for confits: Cured Simmered in rendered fat Placed in crocks and completely covered in fat Meats age in fat for 1 week Process for rillettes: Stew boned meats in fat or broth with vegetables and aromatics Cooked meat is blended with fat to make a paste Stored in crocks or pots, covered with a layer of fat to act as a seal Preserving in Fat: Confits and Rillettes Classic methods of preserving food