Smoked-Foods Cookbook, The: How to Flavor, Cure and Prepare Savory Meats, Game, Fish, Nuts, and Cheese [Hardcover]

Lue and Ed Park (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1992

Smoked turkey, pheasant, salmon, pâté: these expensive delicacies can be make at home for surprisingly low cost. Wild game and domestic meats are prepared in any of dozens of marinades and brines, then set in a smoke cooker to absorb the flavor of hickory, apple wood, mesquite, chestnut, or maple smoke. The smoke cookers - which cost no more then a quality barbecue grill - are readily available from a variety of sources, all listed in the book.

Included are recipes for beef, pork, lamb, venison, chicken, turkey, duck, fish, shellfish, jerky, sausage, nuts, cheese, and even pasta. Complete menus provide guidelines for satisfying meals featuring smoked foods.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811701166
• ISBN-13: 978-0811701167
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Outdoor Cooking

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

241 of 244 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent variety of smoke cooking recipes., September 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Smoked-Foods Cookbook, The: How to Flavor, Cure and Prepare Savory Meats, Game, Fish, Nuts, and Cheese (Hardcover)

A complete and interesting compendium of recipes and smoke cooking methods. The advanced smoke cooker will enjoy this book and find some new ideas within. The section on sausages and pemican, two of the advanced smoke cooking skills, are expecially helpful. The beginer may be disapointed in the results of applying the recipes due to one major oversight.

The heart and soul of good smoked food is the cure. Smoke goes on the food last. This book although mentioning cures of many types fails to make this point clear and to provide the first time smoke cook with a simple first time recipe. In fact, the cure recipes provided do not have anywhere near enough sugar in them. Having smoked foods for 20 years I have found that the taste for sugar is strong and if not enough sugar is used the complaint of smoked food is that there is too much salt. First timers should use the cure on page 39 but substitute 4 parts sugar to 1 part salt. And don't leave the sugar out of meat cures like the author does.

Curing time is not covered adequately either. Lean meat absorbs salt while fat absorbs sugar (more or less), and time in the cure makes a huge difference in the saltiness of the food. The longer in the brine, the saltier the food will taste. The leaner the meat, the saltier the food will taste. Never leave your meat in the cure longer than the recipe states, or you will have salty meat.

Buy this book to improve your smoke cooking skills, but not to learn how to smoke cook if you have never done so before.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Recipes are inaccurate, July 5, 2005

By 

M. Smith (TX Hill Country) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smoked-Foods Cookbook, The: How to Flavor, Cure and Prepare Savory Meats, Game, Fish, Nuts, and Cheese (Hardcover)

First as another reviewer stated the salt to sugar ratios are off. Secondly the book tells you to smoke a brisket at 350 for about 1 hour per pound. I'm not an expert at smoking by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that brisket needs to be smoked low and slow, otherwise tough brisket and a ruined meal. I also have a problem with adding liquid smoke to recipes as a couple in this book have, it seems to have a chemical aftertaste. The game recipes are scant with only one for venison. I do like the tables in the back for brining and smoking times. If you want a book that gives a little information on everything with some interesting recipes go ahead and buy it. If you want a book that teaches you the art of smoking this one isn't for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just a bunch of recipes, November 16, 2008

By 

D. Green (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smoked-Foods Cookbook, The: How to Flavor, Cure and Prepare Savory Meats, Game, Fish, Nuts, and Cheese (Hardcover)

The title of the book is misleading. I'm new to smoking and wanted a book that gave me some insight into the overall process and various methods. There are a handful of pages on such topics, then the rest of the book is just recipe after recipe. Now, if that's what you are looking for, then the book is great - it does have lots of interesting ideas. But, there is precious little "how to" in this how to book.