Smoky flavours add a whole new dimension to food – imagine Eisbein, sticky ribs or smoked snoek without their smoky taste and it’s clear to see how adding this element can transform a dish from the ordinary to the sublime in a woody smoke-filled instant. While smoked food has been around for millennia, it’s enjoying another trendy moment and great smoke joints, especially those specialising in sticky ribs are everywhere – the Smokehouse and Grill in Johannesburg and Lefty’s in Cape Town immediately spring to mind.
If you’re a huge fan of smoked food, but don’t always want to dine out for your fix, the good news is that you can smoke food relatively easily at home. There are two kinds of smoking methods: hot and cold. With hot smoking you flavour and cook the food at the same time, while with cold smoking it’s more a case of flavouring the meat or fish as opposed to cooking it. Obviously, the temperatures vary greatly between the two methods, but the other big difference is that hot smoked food is smoked in the same container as the burning wood or sawdust while cold smoked food typically has the smoke pumped into the container from an external fire.
Because hot smoking all happens in the same pot and requires less equipment, it proves to be the easier method of the two to do at home. All you’ll need is your food of choice, lots of coarse salt, a sturdy pot with a tight-fitting lid, tinfoil, preferred sawdust and a wire cooling rack or steam insert. Preparation always begins with salt – spread a thick layer of coarse salt on a plate, place the meat or Halaal fish that you’ve chosen on top and cover with another layer of salt. How long you leave the food depends on what it is – if you’ve opted to smoke fish then it may only need five minutes to cure, but if you’ve chosen a thick juicy steak it may need 15 minutes. When the necessary time has elapsed, rinse the item well and then dry it off. Layer the bottom of your pot with tinfoil, drop in a few tablespoons of sawdust, top with another layer of tinfoil and then place your wire cooling rack or steam insert on top of that. Place your meat or fish on the rack, close the pot and place on a high heat for about five minutes or until the sawdust starts smoking, then lower the heat to medium-low.
According to Saveur, you’ll need about 10-15 minutes for small cuts like chicken or fish, and between 30-40 minutes for thicker cuts like steaks or pork shoulders which may need finishing in the oven. Once it’s reached the desired level of doneness, turn the heat off and let the food sit in the smoker for another 10 minutes to ensure maximum smoke infusion. If your mouth is watering, you’re not alone. This may very well be the weekend for sawdust shopping and home smoking – just be sure to open all your windows before you begin. Enjoy!
