Smoked Meat: Presented By: Sameh Gharib Benjamin White-Argumedo

Smoked Meat
Presented By:
Sameh Gharib
Benjamin White-Argumedo
PRESENTATION AGENDA
 History and Background
 Smoke Chemistry
 Types of Smoking
 Curing/Brining
 Smoking Processes (Hot and Cold)
 Microbiology
 Conclusion and questions
HISTORY
 Originally conducted as a method of preserving
meat.
 Archaeological evidence traces the smoking of fish
back as early as the 9th century
 People originally wanted to dry the meat, used smoke
to keep flies away
Illustration of
smoked Salmon
Fillet
HISTORY
 Eventually people discovered that smoked meat
lasted longer than non smoked meat
 The drying of the meat was mostly responsible for the
longevity
 Smoking meat practiced by people all over the
world
 Smoked Pork in China
 Smoked Fish in Medieval Europe
 Charqui (known as jerky today) in South America
HISTORY
 Modern smoking used mainly for flavouring

 Smoking for preservation no longer necessary with
ample refrigeration and good storage
Native Americans
smoking meat over a fire
SMOKE CHEMISTRY
 What’s in the smoke?
 Smoke comes from combusted wood comprised
mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
• Generally present in all wood
at a 2:1:1 ratio
• When combusted the wood
behaves solely as a mixture of
the three
• General model for smoke
composition comes from
pyrolysis of each individual
component
SMOKE CHEMISTRY
 Flavours
 Combustion of different wood types produce smokes of
different compositions
 The flavour given by each wood is a complex blend of compounds
with phenols from Lignin being the major contributor to its taste
 Colours
 Caused by ‘browning’ of the meat via carbonyl-amino
reactions.
 Intensity of meats colour increases with pH, along with
length and intensity of exposure to light, heat and oxygen.
SMOKING METHODS
 Two common methods used in smoking meat
 Hot smoking
 Cold smoking
 Both methods add flavour to the meat but leave it
in a different ‘state of readiness’
SMOKING METHODS
 Hot smoking
 Meat is indirectly exposed to heat
 Temperatures range from 90 – 120oC
 Meat is cooked and edible at the end of hot smoking
process (recooked for safety)
Hot Smoking dries the outer most layers

of the meat and only allows some
smoke penetration
SMOKING METHODS
 Cold Smoking
 Meat is completely isolated from heat
 Smoke from wood combustion is piped (and often
cooled) into separate chamber with meat
 Occurs at temperatures below 38oC
Cold smoking does not dry the outermost layers,

allowing the smoke to completely penetrate the
meat distributing the flavour throughout
CURING/BRINING
 Brine components:
 Water
 Regular Salt (rock salt, kosher salt, etc)
 Sweetening agent (molasses, honey, maple syrup – depends on region)
 Herbs
 Spices
 Cure (~5% Sodium Nitrite, sometimes has pink dye to add extra colouring)
 Brining more popular than dry curing / salting (except for fish)
 Typical pre-smoking brine is a 5% salt solution
 1 cup salt to 1 gallon water
CURING/BRINING
 Example Brining Product Hours per
Times for various pound
smoked products
 Time increases for Salmon 2
fish if bones or skin
are present (+25%
or more extra Country Ham 12
brining time)
 Times are heavily
dependent on size Side Bacon 36
of cut
CURING/BRINING
 Reasons for Curing/Brining
 Salt prolongs preservation time via microbial destruction
(osmotic pressure)
 Cure prevents C. botulinum from growing / sporulating
 Salt tenderizes meat via swelling and separation of myofibril in
muscles
COLD SMOKING PROCESS
 Smoker:
 Hardwood chips (Maple, Apple wood, Oak)
 Relatively low temperature to promote incomplete combustion and

release of volatile oils
 High temperature promotes release of ash and stabilization of volatile

oils
 Temperature Control Systems 1)Temperature sensors

2)Air inlet fans
SMOKEHOUSE
SMOKEHOUSE
Laminar Air-Flow Technology:

 Developed by Torry Research Station in Aberdeen, Scotland in
1939
 Mechanical kiln:
 Utilizes a motor-driven fan to create a forced draft across the smoke
house
 Utilizes an electric heater/cooler to control temperature of
smokehouse interior
 Results in an even distribution of smoke, temperature and moisture
 Results in greater consistency and higher quality products
MECHANICAL KILN
SMOKEHOUSE
 Control Systems
 Temperature:
 Temperature of Smoker and Smokehouse interior controlled
separately
 Smokehouse interior temperature 27°C - 38°C
 Measured by temperature sensors across the kiln
 Controlled by electric heater/cooler in kiln
 Relative Humidity:
 R.H. of 65% provides optimum balance between decreasing both
microbial growth and drying of meat
 Measured by humidity indicators and transmitters
 Controlled fan rpm and ventilation system
SMOKEHOUSE
Smoking Times for Various Smoked Meat Products
Product Time
Bacon 4 hours
Haddock (white fish) 4 hours
Salmon (oily fish) 2 days

HOT SMOKING PROCESS
 Similar smokehouse design and control systems
to cold smoking
 Differences:
 Electric heaters in mechanical kiln raise temperature of meat to
“cooking temperatures”
 For deli and home hot smokers, smoke source is usually under the
meat, in order to raise temperature of meat to “cooking temperatures”
SAUSAGE SMOKING
 Example of hot smoking process
1. Drying out meat surface for 10-40 minutes at 45-55°C
using only electric heater as a heat source.
2. Smoke for 30-90 minutes at 45-60°C using an electric

heater maintain this temperature range.
3. Bake or poached (to decrease weight loss) for 10-20

minutes at 75-90°C.
HOT DELI/HOME SMOKER
BOTULISM
Causes:
 Clostridium Botulinum
 Neurotoxins causes food poisoning
Symptoms:
 Double vision
 Dry mouth
 Muscle weakness
Clostridium Botulinum
 Muscle paralysis
 Respiratory system failure
 Death
BOTULISM
 C. botulinum contamination of
smoked meat products in a
smokehouse Condition C. botulinum Smoked meat
Temperature 26°C - 35°C 27°C - 71°C

 Smoked meat and smokehouse
provide ideal conditions for C.
botulinum growth and pH >4.6 5.4 - 7.1
sporulation
Oxygen Anaerobic High CO2, CO,
etc;
SODIUM NITRITE
 Component of the pre-smoking brine
 Reduces growth of C. botulinum
 Prevents neurotoxin formation during sporulation
 Adds characteristic taste and color
 Cheap and widely available

SODIUM NITRITE
 Possibilty of negative side-effects
 Combines with amines in meat under high temperature to form

carcinogenic nitrosamines
 Combines with amines on ingestion to form nitrosamines
 Particular concern with meat products which are cooked after

smoking
SODIUM NITRITE
 Risk of cancer only at extremely high levels
 Benefits of preventing botulism outweigh the

risks of cancer
 Usage of minimum concentration required to

inhibit growth and toxin formation (120 ppm of
sodium nitrite)
SODIUM NITRITE
Government of Canada Regulations
Product Max. Allowable Level

/ ppm
Meat 200
Pork Belly / Side Bacon 120
Fish 200
LISTERIOSIS
Causes:
 Listeria Monocytogenes
 1C-30C
 Dormant at extremely low
temperatures
Symptoms:
 Vomiting, Nausea, Cramps, Diarrhea
 Headaches and Fever
 Blood Poisoning
 Infection of brain and brain lining
LISTERIOSIS
 Smoked meat is not a direct source of listeria
contamination
 Contaminated slicing and packaging equipment

can lead to contamination of smoked meat
 Slicing and Packaging equipment must be

dismantled, cleaned and sterilized
SMOKED MEAT AND CANCER
 Low levels of air and oxygen found in smoker creates situation for
incomplete combustion
 Incomplete combustion leads to formation of Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (PAH’s)
 PAH’s are highly carcinogenic
Cancer Case Study:

 More cases of intestinal cancer reported in Slovene population in
Hungary than in rest of population
 Slovene population found to consume greater amount of smoked
meat products
 Concentration of PAH’s in Slovene home-smoked meat products
(4.16 microgram/kg) was found to be higher than that in rest of
Hungary (0.74 microgram/kg)
Methods Determined to Reduce Cancer Risk:
 Reducing smoking time to enable PAH concentration to
be at 1 ppm
 Usage of LDPE packaging to absorb PAH’s (in liquid
smoke)
 Reduce the amount of smoked meat products in diet
CONCLUSION
 Thank you for listening to our presentation
 Questions?

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Smoked Meat

 Modern smoking used mainly for flavouring

Hot Smoking dries the outer most layers

Cold smoking does not dry the outermost layers,

 Relatively low temperature to promote incomplete combustion and

 High temperature promotes release of ash and stabilization of volatile

 Temperature Control Systems 1)Temperature sensors

Laminar Air-Flow Technology:

Smoking Times for Various Smoked Meat Products

Haddock (white fish) 4 hours

Salmon (oily fish) 2 days

2. Smoke for 30-90 minutes at 45-60°C using an electric

3. Bake or poached (to decrease weight loss) for 10-20

Temperature 26°C - 35°C 27°C - 71°C

 Reduces growth of C. botulinum

 Prevents neurotoxin formation during sporulation

 Adds characteristic taste and color

 Cheap and widely available

 Combines with amines in meat under high temperature to form

 Combines with amines on ingestion to form nitrosamines

 Particular concern with meat products which are cooked after

 Benefits of preventing botulism outweigh the

 Usage of minimum concentration required to

Government of Canada Regulations

Product Max. Allowable Level

Pork Belly / Side Bacon 120

 Contaminated slicing and packaging equipment

 Slicing and Packaging equipment must be

Cancer Case Study:

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