Lovers of personally prepared smoked meats will certainly appreciate such a household kitchen appliance as a crock-pot with the function of smoking. This unit is truly unique, because in addition to the usual modes for every housewife (cooking, stewing, frying, baking, steaming, cooking yoghurts, etc.), it is equipped with a set of special devices that allow you to smoke various products at home.
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Main advantages and disadvantages
The smoking process is the heat treatment of meat, lard, vegetables, cheeses or fish with smoke. Products acquire a specific taste, and partial loss of moisture significantly prolongs their shelf life. The traditional smokehouse resembles a rather voluminous cabinet consisting of three parts: space for smoking objects, wood chips, and a fire source. You can’t install such a unit in an ordinary city apartment.
The unit, outwardly resembling an ordinary multicooker, has a bowl, a container for placing wood chips, a grill for laying out products, a special silicone ring that does not allow a specific smell to spread inside the apartment, and also guarantees the tightness of the lid. The bowl has a heating element, which in relation to it can be located below, side or top.
Advantages of the device:
- multifunctionality (performance of functions characteristic of a conventional multicooker, plus smoking);
- speed of smoking products;
- simplicity and ease of the cooking process;
- minimal smoking control;
- excellent quality of products received;
- lack of unpleasant odors;
- more compact sizes in comparison with traditional smokehouses.
Disadvantages:
- you can cook a small amount of food at a time;
- lack of the usual pronounced crust.
Smoking methods
Cold smoking eliminates the use of high temperatures. The process is delayed for a sufficiently long period of time, since the processing of products takes place at a low temperature (about 35 degrees). Smoldering wood chips gives meat, fish, cheese or vegetables a special aroma. This mode does not require water. It is enough to fill up several teaspoons of wood chips in a special compartment, and then turn on the device. This method requires the use of partially cooked and pre-marinated products. The warm smoke in which the products are located gives them a specific smell. Shelf life of cold smoked dishes is quite large.
The peculiarity of hot smoking is the effect on products stacked in a bowl of hot steam and smoke coming from smoldering sawdust. Meat or fish does not need preliminary marinating. Since the hot method involves heat treatment, in order to avoid burning, a certain amount of water is poured into the device, the evaporation of which allows preserving the saturation of tastes, maximum volume and juices in the products.
Fans of interesting and extraordinary dishes will certainly appreciate the combined method of smoking, which involves the combination of both types of processing products. The multicooker market is represented by devices that can smoke products using this method.
Features of smoking in a multicooker
The temperature setting is automatic after selecting a specific mode. The smoking speed in this wonderful machine, due to the injection of high pressure inside the pan, is higher than in ordinary smokehouses.The choice of smoking method depends on the desire of the person, as well as on the properties of the products themselves. For example, for processing shrimp, it is better to use the cold smoking regime, since high temperature will simply destroy the integrity of the shrimp.
The multicooker-pressure cooker, which performs cold processing, emits a smell of smoked meats. The function of hot smoking does not contribute to the spread of peculiar aromas in the apartment. However, it is only necessary to open the pan, as the room instantly filled with delicious smells. This feature must be considered when processing products. The included hood will help to cope with this problem.
Smoking involves the use of smoke emitted from wood chips. Some models go on sale with a half-kilogram package of sawdust. The consumption of wood chips is small: two to three tablespoons are enough for one smoking. A slow cooker with a 5-liter bowl can cook no more than 2 kg of food. This is a little, but quite enough for an ordinary family.
The ideal taste of smoked meats can be achieved using the right sawdust. So that the dishes do not have a bitter taste, it is recommended to use chips of cherry, apple, pear, apricot, peach. Sawdust of birch, oak and alder will also be able to share their aroma with ready-made smoked meats. But it is better to forget about wastes of coniferous wood, as they can only spoil the unique taste of the finished product.
Smoke cooker overview
The smoking function is considered relatively new, therefore, it is not available in all units.
Model UnitUSP-1200S The Austrian manufacturer with a power of 1100 watts is the most popular. The device is equipped with 12 different programs, involving cooking, frying, steaming, heating products, maintaining heat. Additional functions - performing cold, hot, combined processing.
Multicooker package: two bowls with non-stick ceramic coating, a pair of silicone sealants of various colors, four grates, a sawdust container, a standard set of chips. One of the bowls is used for cooking main dishes, the second - for cooking smoked meats. Lattices can be installed at different levels simultaneously.
Pressure cooker UnitUSP-1210S - This is an improved version of the previous model. This multifunctional device cooks, stews, fries, bakes, has a heating mode, multi-mode, delayed start program, memory and temperature maintenance. The duration of hot, cold, combined processing lasts from a minute to two hours.
Characteristic features of the model Brand 6060 - power 1000 W, five basic cooking programs, the ability to perform cold, hot and combined smoking products. The delay and heat maintenance modes are limited to 99 minutes. The main disadvantage of this multicooker is the presence of a single six-liter bowl with a heating element on the body. The advantage of the unit is an affordable price.
Slow cooker Vitesse VS-3005 - This is a unit with a capacity of 1000 W, performing the functions of a pressure cooker, smokehouse and directly a multicooker. This model has ten cooking modes, two programs that allow you to smoke products. The set includes two removable bowls with a non-stick coating of six liters.
Compact model Polaris PMC 0529ADS 860 W is equipped with 24 automatic programs. The volume of the bowl is 5 liters. A feature of this multicooker is the presence of a special set of accessories for smoking products, consisting of a nozzle, a sealing cover and a set of smoking grates.
Manufacturers of kitchen appliances do not cease to amaze modern consumers. The devices they offer can not only cook the usual food, but also perform more specific functions. Fans of flavorful smoked meats will certainly appreciate crock-pots with smoking functions.Preferring this device, anyone can cook pork ribs in 50 minutes, for a whole chicken you need 45, drumsticks - 30, chicken wings - 25 minutes, the fish will be ready even faster, in 10-15 minutes.
