SMOKE HOUSE
SMOKING MEATS -- NOMENCLATURE -- SOAKING -- SMOKING -- GAS SMOKING
-- TEMPERATURES -- TREATMENT AFTER SMOKING -- TROLLEY SYSTEM --
CANVASED MEATS -- SHRINKAGE -- WRAPPING -- WHITE WASH -- DRIED BEEF
-- PACKAGES -- SKIPPER FLY.
=Smoking Meats.=--The smoking of meats is an ancient method of
preserving for future use. In the smoking process which drys the meat
and to some extent impregnates it, a preservative result is brought
about, and meats which are smoked can be carried for quite a long
period of time without becoming unfit for food. Notably a Virginia ham.
The old style developed in Virginia was to smoke the ham for a month or
six weeks. The ham, dried to about 75 per cent of its original weight
and in this form hung in a moderately dry place, would be edible at the
end of twelve months.
=Nomenclature.=--The naming of meats has grown up among the trade
and it is understood that the prefix, “bacon,” as applied to meats
indicated the same to be dry salted, when smoked. Whereas, when used
as a suffix it indicates a sweet pickled cure. For example, “Bacon
Bellies” means dry salted, smoked bellies; while “Breakfast Bacon”
means sweet pickle cured, smoked meats.
=Soaking Meats.=--Before meats are placed in the smoke house, they are
soaked in fresh water. This is done to remove the surplus salt, making
the meat more palatable; and to give it a better appearance. If it is
not properly soaked the salt forms a white crust on the surface. Meat
over-soaked becomes “water-logged” and often becomes water-sour when
exposed to the heat for smoking, also moulds quickly after smoking,
hence it is essential that this part of the work receives careful
attention.
The best results from soaking are obtained by using soaking water at
a temperature of 65° F. A soaking schedule that will be found to give
excellent results is as follows:
THE TIME REQUIRED TO SOAK MEATS.
Hams at full cured age 2 hrs. (3 min. for each day older)
Bellies, 8-10 lbs., 20 days 1¹⁄₂ hrs. (3 min. for each day older)
Bellies, 10-12 lbs., 25 days 1¹⁄₂ hrs. (3 min. for each day older)
Bellies, 12-16 lbs., 30 days 1¹⁄₂ hrs. (3 min. for each day older)
Dry salt meats ¹⁄₂ hrs. (except bellies, two hours)
If meats still show salt after smoking change water once, as the fresh
water will take up salt rapidly. It will be found better to change
water than to soak longer. Mildly cured bacon is washed to remove salt
on surface, and not soaked. Thorough washing of all meats with a stiff
brush is done before hanging. “Bacon” or dry salted meat is not soaked.
=Smoking.=--After the meats are washed and hung in the smoke house,
they should be allowed to dry about three hours, or until they stop
dripping, for if the smoke is applied while the meats are still
dripping, wherever one piece of meat is subjected to the dripping of
another, the smoke fails to take effect, giving the meats a striped and
discolored appearance. The meat, thoroughly dry, fire should be built
in the smoke house with either hickory, maple or oak wood (partially
green being preferred) and the temperature brought up from 112° to 118°
F., and maintained until the surface of the meat has become thoroughly
dried and has a partially glazed appearance. As soon as this effect is
noticed, which will be in five to eight hours, hardwood sawdust should
be added, which will form a dense, penetrating smoke. At the same time
the temperature should be gradually increased in the smoke house, or
brought up to from 115° to 120° F.
A pile of sawdust, quantity depending upon the size of the smoke
house used, should be raised in the center of the house and a few
burning brands of wood laid around it. These will cause the sawdust to
ignite and a small fire, producing a great deal of smoke, will result
therefrom. If the sawdust is put on a fire already burning much of the
sawdust will go up through the house in the form of a light ash, which
is deposited upon the meat, injuring its appearance.
A house of sweet-pickle meats should be smoked for about twenty-four
to thirty hours, to get good results, and be allowed to stand for
twelve hours with the ventilators open, to give the meat a chance to
thoroughly cool off before discharging.
=Gas Smoking.=--The growing scarcity and consequent increased cost of
wood is forcing many packers to use gas and sawdust for smoking. With
this system the use of sawdust and gas is made in combination, the
gas being burned by slow delivery through a perforated pipe, and the
sawdust banked nearby to burn with a creeping fire. The use of steam
coils for heating the house is a valuable assistance particularly if
exhaust steam is available for use.
=Temperatures.=--The following temperatures will be found to give very
satisfactory results in smoking and while it will be found impossible
to adhere to them absolutely, it is advisable to do so as closely as
possible during the smoking period:
3 hours in smoke 107° F.
6 hours in smoke 114° F.
9 hours in smoke 116° F.
12 hours in smoke 118° F.
15 hours in smoke 119° F.
18 hours in smoke 118° F.
21 hours in smoke 120° F.
24 hours in smoke 118° F.
27 hours in smoke 119° F.
30 hours in smoke 115° F.
It should be the aim to have the house at a temperature of 118° F.
after twelve hours, and it should be held at that if possible. Meats
thus handled will be found to have a light amber color which indicates
a light smoke, whereas a dark amber would indicate a heavy smoke. The
color of the meats should be regulated by the requirements of the
trade. Lighter meats, such as fancy bacon, should be hung on the upper
floors with the hams nearer the fire.
=Treatment After Smoking.=--When meats are finished smoking the fire
should be put out, the house opened up, giving it a free circulation
of air, and the meats allowed to thoroughly dry and cool before being
removed. Smoked meats should be handled as little as possible, for
every time they are handled or piled on trucks, it detracts from their
appearance. They become greasy and soon lose their bright, attractive
appearance. After being cooled, the meat should not be handled until
inspected and packed for shipment, thereby preserving a very desirable
appearance, as well as reducing the cost of labor in operation.
=Trolley System.=--Originally meats were hung from nails in beams or
from cross sticks suspended from beams, the smoke house being an open
shaft. Many devices have been originated for saving time in taking
meats in and out of smoke, and various forms of racks operated on
overhead rails have been devised. Some sort of arrangement of this kind
is a necessity.
A trolley storage space is usually arranged near to the packing
space and meats packed direct from the trolley. It is usual to make
a complete inspection out of smoke and pass the hams to the storage
trolley, graded, wiped and ready for packing.
=Canvased Meats from Weight.=--Canvased meats are usually sold on
packed weight, cloth included. The gain in weight usually pays for all
cost involved and somewhat better, as the test below indicates:
CANVASING 1,031 HAMS.
325 yards sheeting at 4⁷⁄₈c $15.84
3³⁄₄ yards Andover twine at 30c 1.12
274 yards paper at 1³⁄₄c 4.32
One man three hours at 17¹⁄₂c per hour .52
Sewing at $1.10 11.34
------
Cost of canvasing $33.14
445 pounds wash at 2.1c $ 9.34
1,031 labels at $1 per 1,000 1.03
Eight men two hours twenty-eight min., seven men
thirty-five min. 4.11 $14.48
---------------
Total actual cost $47.62
Weight before canvasing 10,550 lbs.
Weight after canvasing 11,041 lbs.
Weight after washing 11,486 lbs.
It will be noted from the previous test that there was a gain of 936
pounds in canvasing these hams, at a cost of $5.09 per 100 pounds. As
hams always sell at a much higher price than this, the difference would
represent the profit in this operation.
=Shrinkage.=--Shrinkage of smoked meats is a matter tangible in dollars
and cents. Meats for prompt consumption, such as those smoked and
distributed from a branch house, can be smoked for less than meats
smoked at the parent house for shipment via carload or local freight.
The aim is to smoke out the meat as near green weights as possible, the
amount of shrinkage depending largely upon the requirements at points
to which meats are to be shipped and the conditions to which they are
to be subjected. For instance, hams and shoulders which are to be used
for immediate consumption should smoke out 98¹⁄₂ to 100 per cent green
weight, whereas meats which are to be held for some length of time
after being smoked, or which are intended for a warmer climate, will
smoke out from 95 to 97 per cent of the green weight.
Meats, which are to be consumed immediately and not shipped to a warm
climate, may carry more moisture and hence show less shrinkage. At
the same time they have a much finer and more attractive appearance.
This is a matter to which an owner or manager of a smoke house must
necessarily give minute and close attention in order to obtain the best
results. Perhaps as important a point as any, is when the condition of
the meats as to dryness is concerned. Meats should be shipped promptly
when in condition and not allowed to remain in the smoke house awaiting
disposition.
The following table shows the result of tests on 1,136 pounds of meat
hung in smoke house for seven consecutive days, temperature of smoke
house about 90° F.
Lbs.
Weight when fully smoked 1,136
24 hours later 1,129
24 hours later 1,121
24 hours later 1,114
24 hours later 1,108
24 hours later 1,105
24 hours later 1,100
Thirty-six pounds shrinkage in seven days’ hanging.
=Wrapping Smoked Meats.=--Fancy meats, now almost entirely distributed
in wrappers of paper or cloth, should be well cooled before wrapping.
A piece of cheese cloth is wrapped over the butt, and absorptive paper
folded next, usually doubled at the butt, with an outer covering of
parchment paper. The neatness and appearance of the package must be
considered and naturally the package should be kept clean.
For some trade, meats are sewn in burlap. Others are covered with
whitewash solution, or yellow wash. Meats put out in such manner are
usually intended for distant shipment and should be harder smoked.
Canvassed or white-washed meats are paper wrapped, same as fancy meats,
before covering with the outer bag.
=White-Wash.=--The following recipe can be used for making white-wash:
1,200 pounds floated barytes.
90 pounds flour.
140 pounds water.
63 pounds white ham wash glue.
1 teaspoon blueing.
The glue should be cooked and strained through a piece of cloth before
being added to the solution, as there is liable to be more or less
sediment in the glue, which should be removed, after which mix with the
flour; let stand about twelve hours, then add the barytes, using hot
water in mixing. After it is mixed add the blueing.
This material should be put in a tub, held at a temperature of 90°
to 100° F., into which the canvassed meats are to be immersed. After
being dipped they are hung up over the tub while an attendant rubs his
hand over them, taking off the surplus material which has adhered to
the package, and at the same time forcing the wash into the openings
of the cloth. They should next be brushed over with a heavy paint
brush, smoothing off the surface, and then hung in a dry-room to dry.
After being allowed to hang for eight to ten hours, until the wash is
thoroughly dry and has hardened, they are ready for shipment.
=Yellow Wash for Meat Canvas.=--This is practically the same as white
wash, except that a chrome yellow color is used, and the mixture will
have a yellow instead of a white shade when finished. Handle same as
white wash for meats. A formula for yellow wash is given as follows:
1,200 pounds floated barytes.
210 pounds whiting.
195 pounds water.
114 pounds lemon yellow.
35 pounds joiner’s glue.
This is used at a temperature of from 90° to 100° F. As all meats
canvassed are sold gross weight, the barytes is added to give an
additional weight to the meats which are canvassed.
A dry room in which meats can be dried by forced draft from fan is a
valuable adjunct for quick deliveries.
=Smoking Dried Beef.=--Dried beef is an article which has to be smoked
heavier, dried more, than pork hams, and unless the moisture is well
evaporated the time it may be kept will be short. An approved method
for handling dried beef is as follows:
Steam coils should be placed at the top and also at the bottom of
the smoke house. The steam should be turned on until the temperature
of house is between 130° and 140° F. After the meat has hung in this
temperature about thirty hours, a light fire should be started, by
using two or three sticks of wood, and plenty of hard wood sawdust
scattered close to the fire, so as to form a dense smoke. It is very
essential that dried beef should have a strong smoked flavor. Steam
should be kept on the house all the time the beef is being smoked and
it will require eighty to ninety hours under these conditions to bring
the beef out in the best condition.
Beef can be smoked in a regular house, but it takes much longer and it
cannot be handled as satisfactorily as with steam heat in connection
with the smoking process.
After the meat is sufficiently smoked the house should be allowed to
cool off, and the meat to hang for about twenty-four hours before being
handled. It is then ready for packing and shipping. Dried beef thus
handled will shrink about 38 to 33 per cent from the cured weight to
the smoked weight.
The following test will show the shrinkage on 100 pieces of dried beef
hams, also the shrinkage each twenty-four hours after:
SHRINKAGE ON DRIED BEEF.
100 pieces, cellar weight 1,184 lbs.
After smoking 85 hours 812 lbs.
24 hours later 806 lbs.
24 hours later 793 lbs.
24 hours later 781 lbs.
24 hours later 762 lbs.
24 hours later 755 lbs.
24 hours later 750 lbs.
=Packages.=--The packing of meats for shipment is best done in open
type barrels or crates. Fancy meats should not be packed to exceed one
hundred pounds per box so as not to injure the shape.
=Skipper Fly.=--The skipper, the larvae in the life cycle of a fly is
the one pest needing close watching in a smoke house. This fly does not
attack either green or salted meats, but will select a piece of pork
ham in preference to a beef ham. The fly lays an egg which hatches to
a larvae, and this is the disgusting form in which it is the enemy of
sweet-smoked meats.
The preventive seems to be such as windows and doors finely screened,
regular “gassing” with sulphur fumes and ample light. It is claimed
by some that if smoke houses are well lighted, for instance as a show
room, the skipper fly will not frequent them since it prefers darkness
for the egg laying period.
There is no known chemical agent that can be used without conflicting
with pure food laws that will destroy the egg once deposited. A fly
lays upward of thirty eggs during the life cycle of about two weeks,
consequently it multiplies rapidly.