Curing and Smoking

Another successful Curing and Smoking Day thanks to Marc. Great group, good banter and some excellent filleting skills on show.

Marc started the day with fish. There were some mackerel for practicing filleting and then a couple of whole salmon which were filleted and cut into portions. Everybody made up some gravadlax cure for their portion with the instructions to take it home and leave in the fridge for 5 days. In true Blue Peter fashion, Marc produced a piece of gravadlax that he had made earlier and everybody had a taste which was delicious. I am convinced that none of the group will ever buy shop cured salmon again. Curing salmon is so easy and you can experiment with all sorts of cures.

Next on the agenda was meat - a piece of belly pork and loin were dry cured for bacon, and a leg of pork was boned and jointed into two pieces that were also dry cured. A piece of beef was cured to make bresaola.

And then to smoking. We have a Bradley smoker, so first thing I popped a brined chicken in the smoker (hot smoked) for lunch. Brining a chicken keeps the meat succulent and enhances the flavour and the hot smoke treatment cooks it perfectly. Marc hot smoked the mackerel in our small hob-top Cameron smoker. During the afternoon the group went outside to build some cold smokers from cardboard boxe, bamboo canes and empty cans!

To read a very entertaining account of the day I strongly recommend that you read the blog written by Jonny http://boozeandbresaola.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
Its a cracking read and hopefully give you a flavour of the day. I am sure Jonny won't mind me mentioning that he runs the Gowlett Pub in Peckham www.thegowlett.com