For smoking, sawdust and chips: what to choose

It is difficult to find someone who does not like smoked meat, fat, fish or chicken. After all, these products differ from others with their unique taste and, of course, flavor. And almost everyone at least once thought about whether to smoke a piece of meat. It begins with the construction of the corresponding structure. Only in properly made smokehouse products are delicious. But that's not all. The main question remains. Which are the best used for smoking sawdust?

Size matters

Too large logs for smoking are not recommended. Raw materials must be ground. Suitable for smoking are sawdust, chips, shavings, thin twigs. It does not matter how wood is crushed. More importantly, what kind of smoke it will give. A light flame is permissible only when the weather is damp and cloudy. At other times, wood should not burn. If you properly choose the size of raw materials and maintain the necessary time, you can eventually get a delicious product of a yellow-brown color and with a pleasant aroma. In addition, the finished dish will have a dry and shiny surface. This all indicates that the products are fumigated and can be eaten.

Which wood is better: raw or dry

The quality of the finished product, its flavor, color and, of course, the taste qualities depend on the type of sawdust used for cold smoking . It is worth noting that the smoke that forms during the burning of a certain type of wood, can affect the shelf life of meat or fish.

According to specialists, it is necessary to use sawdust of hard rocks for smoking. Some recommend using raw wood, while others recommend dry wood. Wet sawdust is only suitable for camping smokers.

Of course, both ways are good in their own way and have certain characteristics. It all depends on what kind of wood you have at hand. It should be noted that the taste and aroma of the finished products may differ slightly. Raw wood is able to give the fish a tart smell and juicy bright color, and dry, on the contrary, make it more tender and give a golden hue. If you doubt the choice of sawdust, then it is better to use hardwoods. They are universal and suitable for everything: for meat, fish and for chicken.

Birch chips

Very often for smoking use birch firewood. However, such sawdust requires caution. Birch is able to give the products a light aroma of tar. Not everyone will like this taste. Specialists recommend the use of birch sawdust in combination with twigs of other plants for smoking. It is best to use juniper. Sprigs should be taken by those that have berries. Also, the birch is perfectly combined with the cherry leaves. Such firewood will make any smoked dish more pleasant. The products will have an incomparable aroma. In addition, professionals do not recommend using birch bark. Juniper is usually used to give products an unusual taste.

Choosing raw materials

To prepare a delicious product, you should consider some features of certain types of wood. For example, the best sawdust for smoking meat and fish is aspen. They give the products a subtle, barely perceptible flavor. The most interesting thing is that aspen twigs, when burned in a furnace, quickly crack. In the smokehouse, such material smoldering gradually and evenly, forming with this persistent aroma and deep smoke. For the preparation of all products you can use oak chips.

What to use is not worth it

If you want to get a delicious and fragrant product, then it is worth to give up raw materials from coniferous species. In such filings there is a lot of resin. It pollutes the products and gives them an unpleasant, specific taste. In addition, on the walls of the smokehouse, when smoldering such a raw material, a layer of soot is formed.

As for the ready-made dish, it will be very bitter. Often such products are persistent in the throat. It is for this reason that it is not recommended to use such firewood.

Taste Additives

Chips for smoking can be made of wood of several breeds. Professional smokers add to it also a variety of flavors. Do not worry, it's not spices and spices. These are twigs and leaves of other plants, which give the ready dish a more vivid and unique taste. For example, for fish it is better to use twigs of fruit trees and shrubs. When heated, this raw material emits a small amount of resin and is not able to spoil the taste of the finished product. The fish is very fragrant and delicate.

Smoked alder is ideal for smoking meat. It gives a classic taste and aroma. Over the years, gourmets are trying to create their original raw materials. If there is no way to get a certain kind of wood, then it is replaced with willow, scorched or poplar. It should be noted that when using such sawdust, a tasteless and unleavened product is obtained. Therefore, for cooking, for example, fish should use a large number of spices.

Rowan and acacia

Often in the smoking process, professionals use mountain ash and acacia. These wood species have bactericidal properties. For a better smoking of sea fatty fish in a special smokehouse it is necessary to use not only the appropriate sawdust, but also add to them a few young twigs of acacia. This will give the prepared dish a certain sharpness. In addition, as horseradish additives you can use hornbeam twigs, as well as eucalyptus leaves.

The main rule

To smoke fat, meat, fish and chicken, you should use the same size firewood. This is the most important rule. Similar requirements are imposed not only on chips, but also on chips and sawdust. Disregard of this rule can lead to the fact that during the smoking process at the maximum temperature of heating the raw material of too small sizes begins to more actively smolder, and when the cover is removed it can flare up. This is not very good, as the products begin to burn and gradually become covered with a layer of soot. Correctly cooked dish should not have traces of soot.

In conclusion

Chips for smoking should be selected according to personal preferences. In addition, the choice of raw materials depends on which product you will be cooking. In home smoking it is quite difficult to achieve the optimal combination of all the necessary substances that are present in the smoke. However, in your power to choose good wood, and also to track the temperature and humidity. Only this way you can cook a delicious and fragrant product. The main thing is not to forget one of the basic rules of smoking: the higher the temperature and the lower the moisture level, the more acids and phenols enter the product. And this, in turn, dehydrates and dries the dish.