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Smoking beaver hot and cold is a great opportunity to prepare an exquisite delicacy. The product turns out to be truly tasty, aromatic and of high quality. In relation to pork, goose and turkey meat, beaver meat does not lose at all. It is appreciated for its low calorie content and dieteticity, which is especially important for people watching their figure and health. To smoke a beaver at home, you need to familiarize yourself in more detail with the intricacies of its preparation, pickling, salting, and basic recipes.
The benefits and calorie content of smoked beaver
Despite the small size of beavers, they have quite healthy meat on their bones. In terms of taste, it can be safely compared with rabbit, chicken. These animals have a musky gland, in which many vitamins and complex compounds accumulate over the entire winter period, including:
- riboflavin;
- thiamine;
- a nicotinic acid;
- vitamin C;
- alanine;
- histidine;
- glycine;
- lysine;
- valine;
- protein;
- fat.
The most popular among lovers of exotic dishes are young specimens with a delicate structure of meat. To taste, such carcasses are similar to a goose. In the process of cooking beaver meat, it is important not to overexpose it on fire, otherwise long heat treatment will provoke the stiffness of the fibers, the fat will simply flow out. Unlike hot, cold smoking method is more successful, the delicacy turns out to be tender.
There are 146 kcal per 100 g of beaver meat. For this amount, the indicators of fats are 7 g, proteins - 35 g, carbohydrates - 0 g.
Due to the content of antioxidants in beaver, the following positive changes are observed in the human body:
- there is a process of rejuvenation at the cellular level;
- aging slows down;
- oxygen delivery is normalized;
- the general condition of the skin and nails improves;
- the immune system is supported in the fight against eczema, psoriasis.
With regular consumption of beaver meat, you can effectively take preventive measures against kidney diseases, as well as normalize the activity of internal organs. As a result, the central nervous system, cardiovascular, optic nerves become stronger, and the clarity of vision improves. In addition, it will be possible to normalize metabolic processes in the human body, to establish a water-salt balance.
Smoked beaver meat is a dietary and very tasty delicacy that can be cooked in a smokehouse by hot or cold smoking
It is not recommended to use beaver meat all the time for persons suffering from serious chronic diseases of the heart, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys. Protein breakdown with such ailments is extremely difficult, unnecessarily loading the body.
Considering that the main diet of rodents is plant food, their meat does not contain any pathogens. It is possible to cook a beaver both hot and cold.Thanks to the smoke, you can get rid of the peculiar smell of beaver meat and make the fat layers more tender.
Principles and methods of smoking beaver
There are many recipes on how to smoke a beaver using hot or cold smoking. But everyone has basic principles of how to do it correctly, which is important to consider in order to obtain the desired result.
How long does it take to smoke a beaver
If the meat is cooked by hot smoking, then the duration of the procedure is 2-3 hours. The optimum temperature is 100 degrees. If it is cold smoking, the first 8 hours must be cooked without interruption, during this period of time the product is canned. If mistakes are made, the meat can deteriorate, rot. Then breaks are possible. The readiness of the delicacy is determined by the color on the cut; there should be no bright red spots. The fibers will turn brown.
How to cut and prepare a carcass
The final result depends on how correctly the meat is prepared for smoking. To do this correctly, you need to know the features of cutting and preparing the carcass. The technology is as follows:
- Cut off the head, legs and tail of the animal.
- Remove the skin.
- Slit open the abdomen and take out the insides.
- Cut into several pieces if the beaver is large. So the meat will be better marinated, nourished with spices and will become much tastier.
After the carcass must be rinsed under running water, dried with paper towels. It is obligatory to carry out its salting, where either a marinade or a dry salting is used.
How to pickle a beaver for smoking
Not a single marinade is complete without a set of the following spices:
- Bay leaf;
- cloves;
- garlic;
- ginger;
- pepper.
These spices go well with meat. If it is necessary to marinate the beaver's tail for hot smoking, then add more:
- lemon;
- wine;
- onion peel;
- cognac.
You can marinate beaver meat for smoking according to the following, the most common recipe:
- Pour water into a suitable container.
- Add garlic (4 cloves), hot pepper (5 g), mustard (20 g), sweet peas (3 pieces), bay leaf (2 pieces), spices (20 g), salt ( 40 g).
- Boil the marinade for 10 minutes and let cool to room temperature.
- Place pieces of meat in a container with marinade and send to the refrigerator. Withstand the workpiece for 3 days.
In order for beaver meat to have a soft fiber structure during cold smoking, it is either boiled in advance, but not until completely cooked, or vinegar is added to the marinade.
How to salt a beaver for smoking
To preserve the originality of the taste of the beaver meat, experienced chefs recommend keeping it in salt, adhering to the following algorithm of actions:
- Combine coarse salt and ground pepper in a deep bowl.
- Dip each piece of meat in the resulting mixture.
- Wrap in parchment or put in a bag and refrigerate for 48 hours.
There are no specific proportions of salt and pepper here, fatty meat will absorb the amount of salt it needs, the excess will be removed through the marinade. With the cold method of smoking, beaver meat must be dried, otherwise it will simply boil under the influence of elevated temperatures, or the risk of developing pathogenic microflora will increase.
How to smoke a beaver
There are different recipes for how to cook a beaver using the hot smoking method, both cold and semi-cold. Each of them has its own subtleties, which should be taken into account so that the delicacy is a success.
How to smoke a beaver in a hot smoked smokehouse
The time of preparation of beaver meat by the method of hot smoking is only 2-3 hours, as a result, the product acquires a pronounced aroma, rich taste. The principle of smoking at home is as follows:
- Place chips from fruit trees in the combustion chamber.
- Install the drip tray.If this is not done, then drops falling on the sawdust will provoke the appearance of a bitter taste.
- Place pieces of marinated meat on the wire rack. If they are large, then it is better to tie them with a rope.
- Cover with a lid, put on fire. The optimum processing temperature is 100 ° C. After that, the meat needs to be aired.
Cold smoking beaver
Cold smoked beaver meat has a rich taste and sufficient elasticity. The temperature range varies between 25-30 ° C. If the indicators are higher, then the product will be baked, and if lower, then the canning process will not take place in full.
You can make a cold smoked smokehouse with your own hands from a 200 l barrel
Smoking in specialized devices takes place when the temperature is set in the desired range using the mode regulator. If the smokehouse is home, then this moment can be corrected by changing the length of the chimney. Cooking time 72 hours, where the first 8 hours cannot be opened.
Semi-cold smoking of beaver meat
This smoking method involves processing meat with smoke, the temperature of which varies between 40-60 ° C. Alder chips are loaded into the combustion chamber. The product is cooked much faster, the meat is very soft and juicy.
The preparation time for the beaver using the semi-cold smoking method is one day.
How to smoke a beaver tail
In general, the process of smoking fat tails from meat is no different. They also need to be prepared and treated with hot smoke.
Cleaning and cutting
First, the tail must be cleaned, scalded with boiling water. Then divide into 2 parts, making 2 cuts on the top and 1 on the bottom.
How to pickle a beaver tail for smoking
There are several ways to pickle your tail:
- Dry ambassador... Using medium-ground salt and pepper, basil, you need to process the workpiece on each side. In a bowl or bag, put onions cut into rings, a prepared tail, and place in a cool place for 12 hours.
- Wet ambassador... Sprinkle the tail with a mixture of salt and pepper, place in a suitable container, add bay leaves, peppercorns. Prepare a brine from salt and vinegar, cool it and pour over the workpiece. Marinating time 12 hours.
Very tasty tails are obtained if you use the marinade for smoking beaver from:
- water (200 ml);
- salt (1 tbsp. l.);
- dry wine (150 g);
- cognac (100 g);
- chopped lemon (1 pc.).
Sprinkle the workpiece on top with chopped onion rings, and leave for pickling for 12 hours.
Hot smoking beaver tail
Recipe on how to smoke a beaver tail:
- Make a fire on the grill.
- Place alder chips on the bottom of the smokehouse.
- Place the workpieces on the wire rack, having previously installed a drip tray for collecting fat. Put the smokehouse on fire.
- Cooking time 20-30 minutes from the moment the white smoke appears.
Storage rules
In order for smoked meat to be well stored in the refrigerator, freezer, it must first be grated with fat, wrapped in parchment. You can also put the beaver meat in foil, then in plastic and a container. Depending on the temperature regime, the storage periods are as follows:
- 24-36 hours at rates of + 0-5 ° С;
- 12-15 hours at a temperature of + 5-7 ° С;
- 48-72 hours at a temperature of -3 to 0 ° C.
It is believed that smoked meat in the refrigerator loses its taste. It is best to store it for no more than 3 days.
A video on how to smoke a beaver in a cold way will help you get acquainted with all the nuances.
Conclusion
Smoking beaver hot, as well as cold and semi-cold, makes it possible to enjoy an exquisite delicacy at home. The main thing is to make the marinade correctly, to withstand a specific time, and not to overdo it with the temperature.
