Home Smoking and Curing of Meat, Fish and Game

Book excerpt: Make the tastiest bacon, most delicious smoked fish, or perfectly cured salami without the need for high-tech equipment or expensive ingredients. Smoking and curing originated as ways to preserve food before the advent of tin cans, freezers and vacuum packs. Nowadays, these ancient skills are enjoying a comeback as many of us look towards a more self-sufficient and rewarding way of preparing, storing and eating our food. In this book, author Joanna Farrow explains how with some basic ingredients and equipment, you can soon be salting, curing, air-drying, and smoking a whole range of seasonal and year-round produce. With clear instructions and advice to help you get started, plus twenty-five original recipes for meat, game, and shellfish, this book will give you the confidence and know-how to begin your own experiments. What could be more delicious than home-cured bacon, subtle smoked salmon, or air-dried ham? With guides to setting up your own smoker, preparing salt and brine cures, drying, and preserving, Self-Sufficiency: Home Smoking and Curing is the perfect introduction to making the most of meat, fish, game and poultry.