Smoking in combi oven: another useful function of the equipment

15.09.2014

Smoking in a combi oven - another useful feature of equipment

Combi steamer is fit for many culinary applications, including baking, roasting and cooking. Smoking is its another useful function. This is the topic of the following article.

Most leading manufacturers of professional equipment for the kitchen (in particular, Rational and Angelo Po) produce combi steamers with the function of smoking. With the help of these machines meat, fish and vegetables can be hot and cold smoked thereby expanding the menu of catering establishments. Smoking in the combi steamer requires minimal efforts of the operator and provides high quality of smoked product.

Function of smoking

Combi steamer is equipped with smokehouse – capacity of compact size, made of stainless steel with heating elements. Wood chips are to be placed into this capacity, then the device is connected to controller and placed into the upper pan of the working chamber or outside on the top of equipment. The operator can adjust the temperature and the intensity of the product heating, thereby determining the degree of cooked dish with smoke flavor saturation.

How smoke effects the food

Wood chips that are used for meat and fish smoking, effect the taste of the product on the final stages of cooking. Wood smoke surrounds and permeates the product, regardless of whether it is placed in any shell or not. Different types of wood effect the flavor of the cooked dish differently.

The peculiarities of fish smoking

Alder, plum, viburnum, pear-tree, apple-tree, red currants, raspberries, gooseberry and blackberry wood chips are usually used for fish smoking. These types of wood when heated emit the least amount of resin, and, accordingly, do not affect the product. All of these types, especially alder, acacia and rowan, have antibacterial properties. In addition, they enrich the fish flavor range and give the product a lasting aroma.

Freshly cut and dry wood can be used for smoking. First one makes the smell of fish more tart, and the color more bright. The last one makes flavour more tender and color light golden. The core has to be on the branches that are used for smoking.

Hot smoked fish quality parameters

Parameter	Characteristics and standards
Doneness	The product is cooked. Meat can be easily separated from the spine, the blood completely clotted.
Appearance	The top is clean, not wet or slightly moistened; spices on the top of the fish if it was cooked by "spicy" salting method.
	Subcutaneous yellowings that are not associated with the oxidation of fat.
	Acceptable: small swellings of the skin; minor protein and fat incrustations on the surface or minor burns; prints of mesh or bars on the surface of the fish.
External damages	The fish is without external damages
	Acceptable: punctures, cuts, breakdowns of the skin; abdomen bursting; broken head; no more that 3 damages on each fish no more than 2% of the fish (in a row) for dace and sculpin; 20% of the fish (in a row) for capelin; 10% of the fish (in a row) - for the rest within each package.
	Damage of the gill covers and fins.
Color of fish skin	Uniform, from golden light to brown.
Color of fish skin	Acceptable: small light spots caused by contact with the grid; bright spots that were not covered by smoke.
Splitting	In accordance with the requirements of 2.2
Consistency	From soft to tight, juicy.
Consistency	Acceptable: Dryish, slightly crumbly
	Inherent for this type of product.
Taste and aroma	Ill-defined oozy or iodide aroma, as well as specific sour taste that are typical for some types of ocean fish.
Fraction of total mass of salt, %:	1,5-3,0
for scad oceanic “Aromatic”	2,5-4,0
Fraction of total mass of fat in fish, %:
for oily capelin	4,5
for mackerel Kuril	12,0

Food additives

Oak, eucalyptus and hornbeam branches can be used in small amounts as additives. In this case, alder wood chips should be used as the main type of wood, giving the dish a classic smoked taste.

Oily fish smoking

Branches of young acacia ought to be added while cooking oily fishes such as herring, halibut, mackerel, horse mackerel, mullet etc. They give oily fish great taste and piquancy.

Recommended temperature and time for fish smoking

Fish species	Temperature inside the product	Time of cooking	Indicators of product doneness
Trout	74°С	35-50 minutes	- bright golden color of the fish; - delicious taste and smell of smoking; - dry and shiny surface of the product; - juicy and tender texture of fish; - 60-70 % of moisture; - fraction of total mass of salt up to 4 %; - 68-74 °С temperature inside the product (depending on the species of fish)
Carp	74°С	30-40 minutes
Pike	74°С	30-35 minutes
Grouper	74°С	30-40 minutes
Whitefish	74°С	25-35 minutes
Fillet of red perch	74°С	25-45 minutes
Mackerel	74°С	35 minutes
Herring	74°С	35 minutes
Salmon	68°С	35-50 minutes
Eel (depending on the size)	74°С	до 50 minutes

Size of wood chips

All pieces of wood chips must have the same dimensions, because otherwise twigs and shavings will smolder when the temperature is high. The product, which was smoked properly, has a steady golden-bronze or light brown color without traces of soot.

The peculiarities of meat smoking

The best wood for meat smoking is alder wood chips. Alternatively, you may use also apple-tree, birch, chestnut, hazel, maple, poplar, beech, oak, pear and ash wood chips. But pine and other conifers are not recommended because they do not burn, but create smoke or burn to ashes. The smoke makes the meat taste bitter. If, however, pine wood chips are used, it is recommended to wrap the meat in a double layer of gauze fabric.

Hot smoked meat quality parameters

Parameter	Ham	Ham	Roll	Loin	Brisket	Bacon
Cross-sectional view	Muscular tissue has pale pink color, no gray areas, the color of bacon is white with a pinkish hue
Cross-sectional view					Adipose tissue with muscle tissue inter-layers	Specific for bacon, with alternating layers of muscle tissue
Taste and aroma	The aroma of smoked, aromatic ham; salty flavor
The thickness of the subcutaneous layer of bacon, sm, not more than	3,0	2,0	2,0	2,5	2,5	2,0
Fraction of total mass of salt, %:	2,5	2,5	2,5	2,5	2,5	2,5
Fraction of total mass of nitrite, %: not more than	0,003	0,003	0,003	0,003	0,003	0,003

How different types of wood effect the flavor and color of the meat

Different types of wood effect aroma and color of the product differently. For example, redwood gives meat golden hue. Oak and alder wood chips make a dish of dark yellow or brown color. Deciduous trees, such as beech, linden and maple, give meat golden-yellow hue.

Recommended temperature and time of meat smoking

Product	Temperature inside a chamber	Time of cooking	Indicators of meat doneness
Chicken (1,2 kg)	120°С 110°С	first 15 minutes 2-2,5 hours	- tender texture of crust; - lasting fragrance; - Fraction of total mass of salt 2,5-3,5 %; - temperature inside the product (poultry - 82-90°С; pork - 73-75°С; lamb - 54-55°С; beef - 55-65°С)
Chicken legs	110°С	60-80 minutes
Pork (1-1,5 kg)	110°С	2,5-3 hours
Pork ribs	110°С	60-80 minutes
Pork leg bone	120°С	2,5-3 hours
Mutton ham	110-120°С	2,5-3 hours
Meat rolls	120-130°С	60-80 minutes
Sausages	80-100°С	20 minutes

The peculiarities of other products smoking

Rabbit meat is recommended to smoke using alder wood chips. For lamb and poultry smoking beech wood chips are suitable. For making the taste of the dish more intense and rich, you can add a small amount of raspberry branches, eucalyptus, blackberry or black currant and mint, almond shells, rosemary, sage and bay leaf.

So, combi steamer is a perfect machine for smoking with minimum efforts. You will be able to get new clients and consequently more profit by including smoked meat and fish into the menu of your catering establishment.

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