Preparing your own smoked meats in the backyard of your house is becoming an increasingly popular solution among enthusiasts of the distinctive taste of smoked food. Most often, our go-to foodstuffs as far as garden smokehouses are concerned are various meats, cold cuts, but also cheeses, fish and even fruit and vegetables. Here, the quality of the smoked ingredients themselves plays a key role, as well as the selection of the proper garden smokehouse to ensure an optimal smoking process.
Garden smokehouse – take your pick
A wood, brick or steel one? When choosing a smokehouse for our garden, we are more often than not faced with such a dilemma. For the most part, wood smokehouses are our solution of choice, mainly due to their relatively affordable price and the fact that they can be installed single-handedly. They are most frequently built of pine, spruce or alder and must be equipped with an additional hearth. These types of smokehouses require constant temperature control (unless they come with an electric insert); they are also not as durable as brick and metal ones. Wood is not moisture-resistant and even a treated smokehouse requires to be inspected and protected against pests and damage to the wood on a regular basis.
Brick garden smokehouses are among the most effective solutions you can go for. They can look great in any garden; however, not only do they require sufficient masonry skills but also they consume a fair amount of money. If you choose to smoke with a metal smokehouse equipped with a stainless steel insert, you can count on a solid product for years to come. Stainless steel is fully resistant to adverse atmospheric conditions, moisture and mechanical loss. In addition, it has a definite advantage over other units in that it is very easy to keep clean.
Electric smokehouses – a convenient solution for your garden!
Gros has as many as 3 types of electric garden smokehouses on offer; these are great for private use, but also for businesses and anyone who wishes to enjoy their own backyard smokehouse. Why is the Small Smoker 1, 2 or 3 best suited to any garden? The greatest advantage of this type of smokehouses is the complete control over the smoking process. You can control the temperature accurately at any time without having to worry about the food burning, overcooking or undercooking. Adjust the density of the smoke, as well as the temperature sensor in the product, to make sure that you will pull out the finished smoked meats when the time is right. Electric garden smokhouses also offer far more options than traditional solutions. The available cold smoking, hot smoking, roasting, drying and pasteurising functions will allow you to keep it strictly professional even when smoking for your personal use.
The range of products sold by Gros includes both all-metal smokehouses and the Small Smoker 1 model, made of water-resistant hardwood plywood, along with an acid-resistant stainless steel insert. This is the simplest and ideal solution for a backyard smokehouse.
Smoked meats of superior quality
Both wooden and metal units which come with a steel insert and the electric control of the smoking process will provide you with great options for preparing excellent smoked products. Smoking lends a unique, distinctive flavour to even simple products, such as various types of cheese, meat, sausages or fish and more. The possibilities are enormous – even as you choose the smoking technique itself, you can opt for one of the options: cold or hot smoking.
Cold smoking
Depending on the product and its preparation, the process lasts from several hours to as many as 14 days and takes place at a temperature between 18 and 28°C. Air humidity is also very important and should be between 90% and 95%. Cold-smoked foodstuffs gain a distinctive flavour and aroma, and are also well-preserved.
Hot smoking
The smoking time is considerably shorter than in the instance of cold smoking. Hot smoking takes place at temperatures of 28 to 80°C and above. In this case, the aim is also to prolong the shelf life of the product, as well as to preserve its taste, colour or aroma. However, more weight loss may occur here.
