The choice of sawdust for tasty and aromatic smoking is a process no less important than the correct purchase of fresh and suitable food for this process. Indeed, in these small chips lies the strength that can give an exquisite, piquant accompaniment to any, sometimes even the most ordinary raw material.
Instructions
Step 1
Traditionally, it is believed that the best for proper and aromatic smoking is a chip of the following plant species - juniper and alder, the following tree species are slightly less popular, such as fragrant hazel, birch, maple and apple, ash, oak, pear, plum and other fruit culture. Moreover, it is believed that here preference should be given to branches obtained as a result of tree pruning in the spring. In this case, smoking mixtures will also be appropriate. Usually, the best are the combinations of apple, pear and plum, as well as hazel and oak, but there are no strict rules, so you can navigate, agreeing only with your own tastes.
Step 2
If you don't trust store chips, just love to cook yourself or have the necessary material that you want to use for home smoking, there are some important rules to follow. For example, it is necessary to use wood, and not tree bark, since it is the first one that can give the smoked meats that amazing aroma. Even more, the bark of some tree species can harm the food being cooked. So the birch "skin" will give the smoked meats absolutely unnecessary bitterness.
Step 3
It is highly not recommended to use conifers for smoking. They will give all their aroma to the air, but only that unnecessary bitterness will go into the product. By the way, in France, where cooking is not just a hobby of housewives, but a real art, only chestnut, willow and fruit trees are used for smoking. But even here there are small exceptions, for example, in the French region of Savoy, only a mixture of pine needles and spruce cones is considered suitable for the preparation of local traditional sausages. To prevent bitterness from passing on to smoked meats, they are wrapped in a very dense layer of gauze, which absorbs everything unnecessary.
Step 4
The type of wood and wood chips affects not only the taste and aroma of the product, but also the color of the smoked meats. For example, mahogany can give a golden color to a product, while alder and oak give a brownish color. In turn, beech, maple and linden, which are often used when smoking fish, give it a very appetizing golden hue. Hornbeam shavings also give a very unusual color.
