Smoked Meats

smoked products made of pickled meat, prepared for immediate consumption; a variety of sausage products.

Smoked meats are manufactured primarily from pork, although beef and mutton are also used. Smoked pork products are made in the form of hams, loaves, and briskets. Beef is used for loaves and briskets; mutton may be prepared as legs, loaves, and briskets. Smoked meats may be in raw, boiled, or baked form. Meat products made from the same raw materials as smoked foods that have not undergone smoking are also classified as smoked meats (such as boiled hams and loaves). More than 50 items comprise the assortment of smoked meats.

Cuts from well-fed, predominantly lean young animals with tender muscle tissue are used for smoked meats. Smoked meats provide high taste qualities and nutritional value because they retain the meat’s natural combination of proteins with moisture and fat.

In the manufacture of smoked meats the carcass is divided into parts, which are pickled, stockpiled and cured, steeped to remove excess salt, and washed with warm water (43°–45°C). The prepared meat cuts are then smoked and dried for raw products and smoked and boiled for boiled smoked products. Smoking imparts a specific flavor and aroma to the foods. Baked smoked products are baked and smoked simultaneously. All forms of smoked meats are chilled after cooking. The length of each operation in the processing depends on the product.

The maximum storage time for smoked meats is as follows: 15 days at 12°C, one month at 0°–4°C, and four months at -7° to -9°C for raw products; five to six days at 8°-10°C for boiled and baked products; and three days at 4°C for boiled products.