Customer Reviews

Meat Smoking And Smokehouse Design

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had recently the pleasant plessure of reading a new book. Meat Smoking and Ssmokehouse Design by Stanley Marianski, impressed me before I was halfway trough the book. The information is written in a clear to understand and follow language. The information is firstclass and accurate. There are so many books on the market about meat processing, making sausages and many other meat related subjects that it is a real pleasure to see once in a great while a book of this sort actually worth reading and gaining knowledge from it.

As a certified Master Butcher I have no hesitation to recommend this superbly written and illustrated book to anyone interested in making sausages, curing and smoking meats. Regardless if you are beginner or a professional, this book should be on your bookshelf. In fact I would venture to say that this book should be required reading material on butcher trade schools too.

Signed
Othmar Vohringer
Master Butcher, B.C. Canada

This book does a masterful job of explaining grilling, BBQing and smoking. There is extensive discussion of curing as well as the particulars about smoking sausages, meat, fish and poultry...this is not a book of recipes but a scholarly treatment of the hows and whys of smoking.. Especially liked the theory on combustion as it applies to smoking. This is a book that will take some careful thought and study. Most books on smoking just give some elementary information and then are filled with with recipes; this text is the reverse, scholarly information and theory as it applies to smokeing meats and a few recipes that will get you started. The sections on smokehouse design include many construction diagrams and photos that cover most known methods: masonry, portable, wood, concrete, Kamado, and drum smokers, etc. There are 18 pages on combustion theory, pit design, baffle positions and wood fuel that provide insight to smoker efficiency. I strongly recommed this book to the serious smoker as well as the beginner.

A wonderfully written tutorial on the art of smoking meats and sausages. I have been smoking meats for many years, and wish this book had been published earlier. All the details are presented in a clear yet comprehensive manner. A truly enlightening experience for the reader covering all aspects of curing and cooking meats. The second part of the book covers many types of smokers that can be economically built at home. The numerous drawings, coupled with detailed instructions make this task embarrassingly simple. A must read for anyone interested in smoking.

WOW!

BUY THIS BOOK if you want to learn from a true "MASTER" of smoking.

I have been smoking my own meat for 26 years, and recently
purchased this book written by the Marianski family just to compare notes with my methods. I WAS SHOCKED at the depth of
information the authors offered in this SPLENDID BOOK. I must admit, I learned more about meat smoking reading this book from cover to cover in 3 days than in my 26 years of hands on experience had taught me, just blew me away that a book written on a subject I thought I knew like the back of my hand TAUGHT ME TECHNIQUES ON SMOKING MEAT THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYWHERE ELSE!
This covers every possible aspect of Smoking Meat from preperation to building a first class Smoker with over 50 photos and very detailed diagrams that cover ALL the bases.

Buy this book, you cannot afford not to!

OK, before I get killed here for a negative review, let me first say that this book is VERY in depth! Almost to a point of being like a chemistry textbook! While I learned a little about the principles of smoking meats, I can't say I am any wiser as to HOW it's done, or that I've gained any insight into building a smokehouse... I guess it's a good read for those who want an extensive knowledge on the subject, but for an amateur, it's not much help. As for the design section, it leaves a lot to be desired. It covers both extremes from a cardboard box smoker to a permanent structure costing several hundreds or even thousands to construct. However, there is not much in the middle for us wanting a small, beginner type of smokehouse...

Smoking temperatures, cooking temperatures and all rules and tips are presented here without one waisted word. Very practical, straight to the point approach.

Second part of the book about building smokers is really magnificent and the information on fire pit design and the ways to control temperatures when burning wood is simply outstanding.

If your a rookie like myself or someone with some smoking/curing experierience this is a must have book. Everything you need to know about all aspects of smoking/curing. From how to build a hasty smoker or (low budget) in emergency situations to some state of the art smokers. With several illustrations on how to build. The good thing about the book was if you were still in a confused state after reading you could go to the website and read through some of other recipies, then it becomes more clear how to get things done.

This is a great book on making quality smoked products. Even though a lot of technical knowledge is covered here, I still found it easy to follow when I was starting out (especially because the text is well written and supported with numerous illustrations). Smoking and cooking temperatures, as well as all rules and tips are presented and explained without a single wasted word; a very practical, "straight to the point" approach. I particularly like the excellent chapter on cures, nitrates and making brines using tables; it contains frequent references to the US standards for nitrate limits, cooking temperatures and recommended strengths of different brines in degrees, which is incredibly useful.

The second part of the book about building smokers is also outstanding, and the information on fire pit designs, baffles and smokehouse burners is simply magnificent.

Overall, this book strives to instill the confidence to take curing and meat smoking processes into your own hands and not have to rely on random recipes from the internet. In this, it thoroughly succeeds.

Links to internet sites for suppliers at the end of the book were particularly helpfull. All were current links.

Any serious cook interested in smoking meats will find Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design an outstanding survey of cooking and smoking meats according to US Government standards. From making brines and building barbecues to creating recipes without chemicals and designing a smokehouse, this is technical enough to satisfy even professional chefs, and is a top pick not so much for casual collections but for avid culinary neo-pro libraries.