Smoked-boiled pork shoulder: recipes for hot and cold smoking

Content

1 Principles and methods of smoking pork shoulder
2 Meat selection and preparation
- 2.1 Marinating and salting
3 Hot smoking pork shoulder
4 Cold smoked shoulder recipe
5 Boiled-smoked cold-smoked shoulder
6 Storage rules
7 Conclusion

Pork shoulder is a universal cut of meat and is used quite often in cooking. This is explained by the fact that it contains a small amount of rough muscles and connective tissue. It is also suitable for smoking. This product can often be seen on sale, but it is better to prepare it yourself. It can be boiled-smoked pork shoulder, as well as hot and cold smoked.

Homemade smoked meats look very appetizing

Principles and methods of smoking pork shoulder

You can smoke the blade hot or cold. In addition, there are options for preparing boiled-smoked and smoked-boiled delicacies.

The easiest way is to practice hot smoking yourself. This method has many advantages: complete heat treatment, simple technology, quick preparation. During hot smoking, meat is treated with smoke at a temperature of 80-120 degrees. Processing time ranges from 2 to 6 hours depending on the size of the pork pieces. Readiness is determined using a knife: you need to make a puncture in the meat and evaluate the juice that has been released - it should be light and transparent.Otherwise, the smoking process must be continued immediately - if you resume processing the cooled meat, it will be tough.

A hot smoked smokehouse is a simple design consisting of a container with a tray, a grate for food and a tight lid. It can be of any size and shape. Smoke is produced when wood chips smolder. For pork, apple, plum, beech, oak, apricot, peach, and pear are most often used. Additionally, it is recommended to add juniper branches. After smoking, the meat is hung to dry and dry for several hours. You can cook this way not only outside on a fire, but also in an apartment on a gas stove.

Cold smoking is a long and technologically complex process. The full cooking cycle can take from 2 days to 3-4 weeks. The smokehouse can be ready-made or homemade. It is a chamber for products with rods for hanging and a hole for a pipe through which smoke flows from a combustion chamber located at a distance of 1.5 m. With this method, meat is treated with cold smoke at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. The easiest way to purchase a smoke generator for household smoking is a compact device for generating smoke with a compartment for wood chips, an ash pan, pipes for smoke outlet, a supply hose, and a compressor.

Meat selection and preparation

When purchasing a smoking blade, you need to pay attention to the quality of the pork. The color should not be bright, reddish, but not too light or dark. The fat layers are soft and white. Very dark meat is a sign that it came from an old animal. The meat should be firm and moist when cut, but in no case sticky or slippery.

It is best to smoke the shoulder blade in parts of 0.5 to 1.5 kg. If desired, you can trim off excess fat. Before sending meat to the smokehouse, regardless of the cooking method, it must be salted or marinated. If you plan to cook boiled-smoked shoulder, then the salting process can be omitted.

A fresh spatula should have a rich color and slight shine

Marinating and salting

The wet method of marinating a smoking blade has a number of advantages over the dry method:

The meat will be evenly salted.
The finished product is softer and juicier.

For a universal marinade that is suitable for both hot and cold smoking of pork shoulder, you will need the following ingredients:

water – 3 l;
salt – 250 g;
sugar – 50 g;
garlic – 1 head;
bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
black peppercorns – 10 pcs.

Method for preparing brine:

Peel the head of garlic, cut the cloves into slices.
Pour 3 liters of water into a saucepan, add salt, sugar, bay leaf.
Put on fire, bring to a boil, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from stove, cool.

This amount of brine will require approximately 4 kg of pork.

Marinating process:

Place the meat in a container suitable for salting. Add garlic.
Pour the cooled marinade over the pork shoulder.
Keep the meat in brine in the refrigerator for 3 days for hot smoking, 5-6 days for cold smoking.

To prepare the shoulder blade, you can use marinades with additives, such as soy sauce.

You can salt the shoulder using the dry method, but in this case the meat will be tougher and more dry, since salt dehydrates it. This method can be used for both hot and cold smoking. Dry salting is the simplest method of preparing meat.To do this, you need to mix dry spices and rub the pieces of pork with them. Then place them in a container, press down with a weight and put them in the refrigerator for 7 days. During this time, turn the pieces over. After a week, drain the resulting juice and put it in the refrigerator for another 3-4 days. This option is more suitable for fatty meat.

There is another method of marinating - combined. First, parts of the meat are rubbed with dry spices, then kept under pressure in a cold place for 3-4 days. After this, pour brine and continue to marinate for 1-3 weeks. Next, the pork parts are washed or soaked and dried for 3 days.

Attention! For pork shoulder, wet and combined marinating methods are best suited.

Hot smoking pork shoulder

What you will need:

pork shoulder – 5 kg;
water for brine – 5 l;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
rye flour – 125 g;
salt – 750 g;
allspice peas – 7 pcs.;
black peppercorns – 5 pcs.

Cooking method:

Prepare dishes for salting. Place parts of the shoulder blade mixed with bay leaves and black peppercorns.
Pour 5 liters of water into a saucepan and put on fire. Once it boils, add allspice and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and cool completely.
Pour the brine into the container with the pork and place a weight on top. Keep the meat under pressure for one day at room temperature. Then put it in the refrigerator for 4 days.
After the salting time has passed, remove the pieces of shoulder from the brine, tie them with twine and hang them to dry in a dry and fairly warm room for 6 hours.
Sprinkle the pieces with rye flour.
Pour apple wood chips into a hot smoked smokehouse, install a grate, place pieces of the shoulder blade on it, and place a sheet of foil on them.
Cover the chamber with a lid and put it on the fire - a fire or barbecue. When smoke comes out of the pipe, you need to open the smokehouse to let it out. The first smoke is bitter, so it is recommended to release it.
Then close and smoke for about 1.5 hours, then test for doneness. The time depends on the size of the piece and the smoking temperature. A sign of cooked meat is a reddish-brown crust.
After smoking, hang the meat for several hours to ventilate and ripen.

Meat in the smokehouse can be placed on the grill or hung on hooks

Cold smoked shoulder recipe

For 1 kg of pork shoulder you will need the following ingredients:

coarse salt – 15 g;
nitrite salt – 10 g;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
coarse black pepper – 1 tsp;
black peppercorns – 5 pcs.;
water – 150 ml;
dried basil – 1 tsp.

Preparation procedure:

Divide a piece of pork shoulder into 2 equal parts - approximately 500 g each.
Mix the dry marinade ingredients.
Place the meat in a plastic bag, add the prepared mixture and pour in water.
Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal it using an iron through paper.
Place in the refrigerator for 5 days. It is necessary to turn the bag over daily so that the marinade is better distributed.
After 5 days, remove the marinated pork from the refrigerator and wipe the pieces with a towel to remove excess moisture and spices. You can rinse with water first and then dry.
Hang the shoulder blade pieces to dry for three days. The optimal temperature is about 15 degrees.There should be no drafts, otherwise a dry crust will form on the pork, which will prevent the meat from drying out and will not allow smoke to penetrate inside.
Then you can start cold smoking using a smoke generator. Cook for two days, 8 hours a day. After the first smoking, hang the pieces to air and dry overnight. The next day, resume the process. Smoke for another 8 hours, then hang to dry for 2-3 days.

The cold smoked delicacy has high taste characteristics

Boiled-smoked cold-smoked shoulder

Pre-cooking significantly speeds up the cold smoking process. You will need to prepare the following ingredients:

pork shoulder – 2 kg;
water – 2 l;
regular salt – 45 g;
nitrite salt – 45 g;
sugar – 5 g;
black peppercorns.

Cooking method:

Pour regular and nitrite salts into water and dissolve. Add pepper and other spices to taste.
Place the pan on the fire and bring to a boil.
Place the prepared meat in the boiling marinade, bring to a boil again and cook for 40 minutes.
Remove the shoulder blade pieces from the brine and hang them to dry on hooks in the smoking chamber for several hours.
Then start cold smoking using a smoke generator. Cooking time for the boiled-smoked pork shoulder delicacy is 4-6 hours.

Boiled smoked pork is good for slicing

Storage rules

Smoked pork shoulder should be stored in the refrigerator. A hot-cooked product will last no longer than 1-3 days. Cold smoked meat can be stored for up to 4-7 days.

By placing delicacies in the freezer, you can significantly increase the shelf life to several months.To do this, you need to put the product in vacuum packaging.

Important! You need to defrost smoked pork shoulder gradually and only naturally. The optimal temperature for this is 12 degrees.

Conclusion

Boiled-smoked pork shoulder is an excellent delicacy for slicing and sandwiches. It can be served with fresh herbs and vegetables, as well as mustard, horseradish and various hot sauces.