Local Food Heroes Blog

Tuesday, 22 12 09 - 18:09

Christmas is Coming!

A spell of bed-rest put me somewhat behind in the preparations for Christmas so it was 'all engines on full speed' last week to get some ham and bacon done so that it would be ready for the 25th. Hence the lack of posts.

I took the bacon out of cure today with the intention of quickly drying it and then smoking one piece, however Pauline has saved me the trouble by saying that we need it all unsmoked. I've popped a couple of Camembert and a piece of Edam in the smoker instead. Camembert and Edam I hear you say, that's not local, nor is Edam any good for anything other than rubbing out spelling mistakes; well apparently it's a different beast altogether when it's smoked. I find it hard to believe, but I'll let you know.

In all hobbies you accumulate a lot of 'kit' and I've written before about all the paraphernalia that a keen curer and sausage-maker acquires; I think my favourite has got to be my Pro Q Cold Smoke Generator. This simple but cleverly designed piece of kit will produce smoke for 10 hours unattended using just 100g of wood-dust. Maybe not earth shattering; I guess you've got to have been outside in the dark, cold and wet conditions that always accompany smoking sessions to appreciate it.

Comments

marc - Sunday, 11 04 10 - 18:08 - :

just wondering if your still happy with the pro q? Just finished "trying" to cold smoke some salmon that at some point overnight in the process became "Hot" smoked. Very frustrating. If the pro q works then it will be well worth the investment.

Phil (URL) - Sunday, 11 04 10 - 18:46 - :

Yes, very much so. Fill it, light it, and then forget about it for 10 hours or so. It's superb.

If you're anywhere near Kettering you can also buy the dust in bulk at a great cost saving.

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