Interactive lesson

Cold smoking, step by step

Interactive lesson: from salted meat to dry sausage, bacon and ham, with preparing, hanging, the rhythm of smoke, drying and the scale.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Cold-smoking meat module. Already bought? Unlock

This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. Cold smoke, cold meat

Cold smoking is one winter's work: a little smoke every day, for many days.

  1. Cold outside — Ideal outside is 0–10 °C (32–50 °F), dry, with a light to moderate wind. Don't smoke in mild damp weather, rain or days of fog.
  2. Cold at the meat — At the meat 10–18 °C (50–64 °F) is best, 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) at most. The meat must never be warm to the touch.
  3. Smoke with a rest — Smoke 4–8 hours a day, with a rest, not day and night. The rest of the time the smokehouse has no fire, with the outlet slightly open.
  4. Thin, bluish smoke — Good smoke is thin and bluish. Thick, white, yellow or black smoke is bad.

Why: Each day the smoke brings a little colour and smell and dries the surface a little. Between two smokings the meat rests: moisture from the centre moves towards the surface, and the salt evens out. If you smoke day and night and hard, the surface seals and the centre stays wet.

  • Frost: at −5 °C (23 °F) and below the meat can freeze. Smoke only by day and for shorter periods, and close the smokehouse at night to hold the warmth.
  • Mild spells: when it warms above 12–15 °C (54–59 °F) outside, the fire goes out. The meat just hangs, and the smokehouse is aired at night when it's coldest. In Britain and Ireland such spells come every winter; plan for them.

2. Preparing meat for smoke

Meat straight from the salt or brine isn't ready for smoke: first it's rinsed, equalised and dried.

  1. Rinsing — Bacon is washed with lukewarm water and a brush; loin and dried beef are rinsed. Sausages aren't washed; just prick any air bubbles.
  2. Equalise and wipe — The meat is equalised at 2–6 °C (36–43 °F) and wiped with a clean cloth. Dust the loin with pepper or paprika.
  3. Loop of twine — Loops are cotton string or butcher's twine, undyed. Sausages hang in a loop over a rod or one by one.
  4. Draining — Sausages drain 12–24 h below 10 °C (50 °F), bacon 1–2 days, loin 1 day. They go into the smoke when the surface is matt.

Why: Smoke bonds to a dry, slightly tacky surface. On a wet one it condenses into dark, bitter drops, and the colour is patchy.

  • If the smokehouse is damp, on the first day fire it briefly and gently, with the outlet open, so the surface dries without smoke.
  • Only salted meat goes into the smoke. Pork and game only with a negative Trichinella result.

3. Hanging and layout · Locked

Buy the Cold-smoking meat module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

4. One day of smoke · Locked

Buy the Cold-smoking meat module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

5. Product by product · Locked

Buy the Cold-smoking meat module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

6. Drying and the scale · Locked

Buy the Cold-smoking meat module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.