Do-it-yourself wood chips for smoking

Cooking delicious smoked meats at home does not require the purchase of wood chips. The material can be easily made by yourself. The fuel is natural and of high quality if the preparation and manufacturing processes are carried out correctly. It is possible to choose a special type of wood, which will make the dish even tastier and more aromatic.

DIY smoked chips are almost perfect. The smoker can make fuel that meets all the requirements. So the result of smoking will always be predictable, and this is quite important. High-quality wood chips for the smokehouse will surprise everyone with a delicious and aromatic dish.

There is always a risk when buying fuel from a store. The manufacturer may be unfair and indicate a different type of wood on the label. It is possible that the material was pretreated with some kind of chemical composition. With self-production, there is simply no such risk.

Wherein quality fuel for a smokehouse has an impressive cost. If you make chips yourself, then you can choose the optimal size and breed. In this case, the material that remains after wood processing is suitable. Even branches are suitable, which are usually just cut and not used at all.

By the way, the latter option has its advantages. Moist wood chips make food more flavorful and juicy. If made from branches that have time to dry out, then as a result you can get a golden crust.

Experienced smokers use hardwoods for meat, fish and cheese. Alder, oak, aspen, or maple wood are suitable. Chips from fruit trees add spice to the finished dish. You can make it from apple, pear, plum and cherry. There is a little resin in such a tree, so the taste is very pleasant.

Availability should also be considered when choosing a breed. For example, making wood chips from alder is easier than from oak. It's just a lot easier to get the material. Usually alder, apple and cherry are mixed. Some smokers use a pear.

If firewood is used, then they must first be cut into slices. It is convenient to work with plates about 1 cm thick. By the way, you can put something under the wood, additionally getting sawdust. It is much easier to work with dry logs.

It is important to choose good quality wood. If there is mold or mildew on the branches, then you cannot make chips. Exceptionally healthy wood is suitable for smoking. Bad chips will greatly spoil the taste of the finished dish.

There are several ways to make fuel at home. To implement any of them, different tools and skills are required. Each smoker chooses the best option for himself. There is a professional wood chipper that is very easy to use.

Any amount of wood chips can be prepared. Under the right conditions, it can be stored well. However, the chips need to be cooked before being sent to the smoker. The material is soaked in clean water for 4 hours, and then dried to the desired moisture level. Dry wood chips are rarely used.

They contain a lot of resin. It will saturate the dish, which will have a bad effect on the taste and aroma.

The amount of chips depends on how long the product is processed and which device is used. It is impossible to predict, everything comes with experience. If a conventional apparatus without a water seal and heating is used, then the recommendations of experienced smokers can be followed.

• Cold smoking. For 10-20 kg of product, when processing within 5-15 days, 3-6 liters of chips should be prepared.
• Hot smoking. Usually processing takes from 1 hour to 2 days. So, for 2-4 kg of product, you will need about 40-60 cm3 of chips. This is a roughly full male palm.
• Fast smoking. Processing time takes 0.5-1.5 hours. To prepare 2-4 kg of fish or other product, you will need 100-160 cm3 of material.

When using a device with a water seal, the amount of fuel is reduced by 1.5-2 times. Just for quick smoking, you will need the same amount of chips as in a conventional device. There are smokehouses with gas or electric heating. Used for hot or cold smoking. If the heating temperature is up to 200 ° C, then the amount of chips can be reduced by 1.2-1.5 times.

There is a wide range of machines on sale. The shredder allows you to quickly prepare large quantities of chips. It is important to understand that the shape and size of the fuel may not even be the same. It is only important that the pieces are not too large. Any type of shredder can be used.

Usually, large-scale production at home is not carried out. However, if the smoker is large, then a chopper will be the best option. Models can work with branches or wood. The method of application is indicated in the instructions from the manufacturer.

It happens that the material is represented by thick trunks and branches. After preparatory cutting into layers no more than 5 cm thick, they can be easily turned into high-quality chips. A regular saw or chainsaw is used for cutting.

The method is suitable for processing medium sized twigs. In this case, the material should be pre-adjusted with an electric plane, jigsaw or circular. When using the latter, you should carefully lay the branch on the table and press it down. This is the only way to dissolve the material into pieces of the desired thickness.

The result is small kegs. Later, they should be split into two parts, and then each piece is not chips. It is recommended to prick along the wood fiber. This makes the work easier and faster. It is easy to get chips of the same size if you prick parallel to the first line.

However, this process will take longer. Not to say that this is a necessary measure. You can whip up chips, because the difference in size does not matter when used. Just the same elements will have a better look and feel. In this way, you can prepare a fairly large amount of wood chips yourself.

It is possible to make chips in this way from thin branches with a thickness of no more than 2 cm. A simple ax in this case becomes an alternative to a shredder. You must first sharpen the ax, and take a large deck. It is absolutely impossible to use a blunt instrument. In this case, the ax will crush the chips, which will affect its quality.

The preparation process will be much faster if the ax is turned about 15 ° in relation to the branch. As a result, the chip will be oval in shape with varying thickness. If you place the ax at a right angle with an inclination of about 30 °, you will get a more uniform size. A great way to chop up a piece of wood about 1 to 2 cm thick.

A slightly different way should be done with branches up to 5 cm in diameter. The ax is positioned at right angles to the raw material, tilted at 30-45 °.Cutting a branch at once will not work. It will take longer to prepare fuel for the smoker.

The size of the chips depends on the distance between the two blows of the ax. The workpiece is usually quite fragile. If necessary, it will be possible to reduce the chips manually. After such processing, soaking and drying, the fuel will be ideal for home smoking.

If the thickness of the branch exceeds 5 cm, then you should work more carefully. The material is laid on the deck, beaten with an ax at an angle of 10-20 °. The metal should deepen by 1 cm, after which pieces of wood should be broken off. As a result, chopping will be much easier.

Large pieces should be additionally chopped or chopped simply by hand. When using an ax, follow the safety instructions. It is imperative to protect your eyes from accidental contact with pieces of wood.

Smoking at home, even with the use of homemade wood chips, always turns out to be successful. The smoker has complete control over the process and can influence the quality of the final product. The most important thing is to choose the right type of wood. The compatibility of a specific product with a specific raw material is taken into account. This is important because smoke affects not only the aroma but also the taste.

Some breeds are almost universal. They go well with most foods. However, all the same, the material has its own characteristics, which can not triple everyone. Here are some tips from experienced smokers.

• Fruit chips have a specific pleasant smell and affect the taste. Moreover, the properties are manifested not only during smoking, but also with any method of cooking. Chips are often made from peach, currant, pear, apricot, apple, cherry and plum. Fruit chips improve the palatability of meats and cheeses.

• Alder is widely used. The smoke is practically free of carcinogens, which makes it possible to cook even for children. As a result of smoking, a brown-gold crust appears on the products. Has a characteristic, slightly perceptible taste.

• Beech wood chips can also be used for a variety of purposes. It is attractive because it is tasteless and odorless. Additives are introduced into the chips to compensate for this feature. In its pure form, beech is good for smoking fish. It allows you to fully preserve all the properties of the product.

• Ash and apple have a specific sweetish taste. It is good to use these chips for cooking poultry.

• Hazel will allow you to emphasize the natural properties of red meat and fish products.

• Some specialists carry out smoking of fruits. Cherry, peach and cherry chips should be used.

• You can put some rosemary in the chip. The smoke will be saturated with it. The finished dish will get more piquancy.

• Juniper makes smoke in the smoker more flavorful. However, you should use it prudently. The amount of juniper supplement depends on the type of product. This wood can be used with berries to smoke fish. The branch should be laid at the very end of the process.

• Fruit trees best for preparing lard.

• Professionals recommend using aspen, beech and alder in hot smoking technology. For cold, such breeds should be discarded.

Quite often, chips of not one breed are used, but a mixture of several types. This allows you to enjoy different properties in one product. Some smokers add twigs along with the berries. Elements of grapes, currants, blackberries and eucalyptus are well suited. It is important to add such a component towards the end of smoking.

How to make wood chips for smoking with your own hands, see the video.