Storing cured produce

[Richierich]

I have now joined the club and have actually smoked something, I also, a la ptarmigan have a lovely yellow stain on one of my digits, I wiped the condensed oily residue off the side of the smoker to have a sniff (!). I have read around and it seems the bacon now needs a couple of days to rest after smoking to allow the flavour to develop, how should it be stored, only the sister-in-law is moaning that the Rhubarb crumble that she has just had with elevensies has a distinctly smokey edge. The bacon was just wrapped in greaseproof. Its surprising how the colour has changed overnight, and the edges have gone quite firm, can't wait to try, how long does it have to wait really????

[saucisson]

the longer you leave it the more the flavour will intensify, eventually you will end up with a pancetta-like product, but it is unlikely to last that long Sounds like it might be ready to try. A well smoked product is likely to "contaminate" more delicate things in the fridge, extra layers of greaseproof may help but you don't want it hermetically sealed.

Dave

[Richierich]

I doubt it will last too long, I just threw the last half kilo I had left from the last batch in the smoker, got another 2kg going in the cure tomorrow, its drying out a little at present. Will look to smoke some of that next Sunday/Monday weather dependent.

Is there a rule of thumb for the length of time to smoke for?

[Richierich]

Damnit! I couldn't wait...........

Only had one slice, very nice (poetry eh!), I think 3 hours in the smoke was just enough to give it a very light smokey taste, not too overpowering but lingers on after the swallow.

Next thing, salmon - Don't suppose anyone has a great recipe they are willing to share (Dave?)?

[jpj]

bury salmon sides in salt overnight, take out, wash & dry to form a pellicle (tacky surface), cold smoke until it looks ready (2-3 nights)

is the most basic of recipes . . .

[saucisson]

20g salt, 10ml honey, 50ml whisky per kilo of salmon.

rub the salt mostly onto the flesh of the fish, in a ziplock bag, then rub in the honey, add 15ml of the whisky and seal the bag up in the fridge overnight. Drink the other 35ml of whisky at your leisure to check it was suitable for the cure . This latter quantity may be adjusted according to your own tastes. Next day rinse briefly, pat dry and smoke. I tend to let it form the pellicle in the smoker while it's smoking.

Dave

[jenny_haddow]

I can recommend Dave's recipe, especially the 35ml test on the whiskey!

Jen

[jpj]

gin or pastis (pernod/ricard) or tequila are also interesting spirits to apply

[Richierich]

20g salt, 10ml honey, 50ml whisky per kilo of salmon.

rub the salt mostly onto the flesh of the fish, in a ziplock bag, then rub in the honey, add 15ml of the whisky and seal the bag up in the fridge overnight. Drink the other 35ml of whisky at your leisure to check it was suitable for the cure . This latter quantity may be adjusted according to your own tastes. Next day rinse briefly, pat dry and smoke. I tend to let it form the pellicle in the smoker while it's smoking.

Dave

Sounds great, I like the QC check!! How long would you smoke for?

[wheels]

Hi
Smoked bacon certainly stinks the fridge out. So does smoked cheese. Cheese, I wrap in greaseproof and then put in a sealed container - it's good about a week later. Bacon, I slice and vac pack.
Maybe not ideal but it's the only way to keep the peace!

Salmon, I can't comment on - maybe it would be better as a fresh topic - makes it easier to find when 'searching' later.

Phil

[saucisson]

Phil, as far as smells are concerned I keep a separate fridge at 10 deg C for all my curing, maturing etc now. The family call it the stinky fridge

Rich, for salmon I generally smoke to colour, when the skin starts to look golden, it's totally dependent on how well the bean can operates though, so it's not an exact science. Last smoke I did was with my new iron rammed sideways into a pile of chippings in my grannies old enamelled pie dish and it smoked for 9 hours solid Obviously I need to repeat this before it means anything

Jpj, I might have to taste a few of those before applying them to salmon though

But this is getting off topic from storage, so if anyone wants to start a new thread about salmon please do, or just keep it here.

On topic, I have taken delivery of a huge collection of lock and lock storage containers, with intergral vacuum sealing valves which may be an answer to smells and humidity regulation, I'll let you know,

Dave

[Ptarmigan]

a la ptarmigan have a lovely yellow stain on one of my digits, I wiped the condensed oily residue off the side of the smoker to have a sniff (!).

Welcome to the Yellow Hand Gang !

>the bacon now needs a couple of days to rest after smoking to allow the flavour to develop,

and to allow the heavily smoked outer layer to disperse its load of flavours into the insides.
a bit like the baconising cure salts need time to go from rubbing on the outside to get transported to the inside ofthe meat

>Rhubarb crumble that she has just had with elevensies has a distinctly smokey edge.

lol! shhh, dont let the TV chefs hear of this, it could start a whole new "Nouvell Cuisine" trend lol !

I favour the his&hers fridges solution
It also helps to reduce the domestic staff earache upon discovering the fish bait in the fridge !

[saucisson]

Alas mine is on a landing so when I open it the cold air goes down the stairs and everyone knows I just opened it

Dave

[welsh wizard]

Hi Dave

20g of salt per Kg of salt seems not much at all. Do you hot or cold smoke the end result?

Do you know how much weight you lose with this form of dry cure? The fish that is

Cheers WW

[Richierich]

Thanks for all the responses, very enthusiastic of you all, 10 out of 10!!

I think I might have to get my old fridge back in that case, although I will get some tupperware or something, I was looking to keep cheese in the fridge, I don't want all the cheese to be smokey.

Will let you know how the salmon goes.

Richard