Translating Cooking Techniques

It’s the best of both worlds. “You get moistness, tenderness and the realistic smoke ring in the meat,” says Kelly, and the throughput and yield are a lot higher than you typically would get from slow-smoking alone. A marinade and/or seasoning rub adds desired flavors, and could contain an agent to minimize oxidized, or “warmed-over,” flavor that occurs over time, he notes.

In addition to higher throughput, better consistency is a key reason to use smoke flavor rather than live-fire smoking, according to Bosch. “It’s very difficult to keep a consistent amount of smoke in the cooker,” he says. “Products can change in smoke flavor from batch to batch. Wood changes from batch to batch. But adding smoke flavor gives the same result every time.”

When Stephen Giunta, CMC, culinary director, Cargill Meat Solutions Culinary Innovation Center, Wichita, KS, and his culinary team develop an item like braised short ribs of beef for a national restaurant chain or retail customer, they create the gold standard in the classic French way, by first browning the meat and then cooking it with aromatic vegetables, wine and stock in a covered vessel for 2½ or 3 hours at 325 to 350°F. Then they move onto the common manufacturing process of slowly cooking the product in vacuum-sealed bags on racks in a massive steam-heated oven at an average temperature of 190°F. “It’s a lot lower temperature than one would use in the kitchen, and the cooking time is longer,” he says. “But there are important benefits—the products shrink less and turn out very tender.”

Alternatively, the bags are immersed in large temperature-controlled cooking baths. “Water is also very accurate and stable as a cooking environment,” says Giunta, who notes that some of that cooking is done at even lower temperatures, around 158 to 162°F, likewise producing extremely tender results.

Of course, meat cooked either way lacks the savory flavors and mahogany crust of an item a chef has seared and braised in the kitchen. Desired flavor and appearance characteristics are achieved in a couple of ways. One is by browning the meat after it is fully cooked in the bag, not before. Flavors also come into play. “We work with reaction flavors, which deliver roasted or grilled notes and pan-dripping flavors,” says Giunta. “They really make a huge difference.”