Smoking in different session over time

[JohnsMyName]

I see a lot of old timers smoking over a period of time and not all at once. Something like smoke for 8-12 hours, then wait a week and smoke again, then wait a week and smoke again.

The only thing I can think this accomplishes is allowing the smoke time to penetrate. If the outside gets too much smoke at one time maybe it doesn't absorb it as deeply? Is there any validity to this? Doesn't make much sense to me.

Thoughts? Experiences?

P.S. If any mods are wondering why this is in curing, it's because this is for cold smoking and no heat is used. This method would only pertain to cured meats.

 

[daveomak]

I'm gonna take a guess here.... Over the last 1,000 years or so, folks figured out smoke on, smoke off, made the smoked foods last longer... Start the fire in the morning, let it go out and restart later... I'm also gonna guess they had figured out, once the meat was cooked, it spoiled really fast...
Just like some salt deposits, when curing meats, the folks that ate meat from those deposits didn't die.. They had no idea about nitrate in the deposits of salt... They didn't have refrigeration so salt was the method of preservation...

 

[JohnsMyName]

Thanks Dave, but what about smoking slowly. Am I doing the same thing smoking for 18 hrs straight vs x3 6 hr session days apart?

 

[daveomak]

I don't know.... All I know is the older folks, and those that have died and passed on their knowledge to the next generation, I don't need to prove it... The wheel rolls... no need to reinvent it...
Some will say they smoke their bacon for 12-24 or 36 hours continuous... It tastes fine... BUT, have they tried 3 12 hours periods... or 6, 6 hour periods... NAH... to much work....

Bricans Maple bacon he sells TONS of....
https://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?p=33341&sid=fd2c9af9a88a0111ae332084322fc8a8#33341

 

[JohnsMyName]

I like your style Dave.

 

[SonnyE]

I always smoked to done. Then refrigerated or froze for keeping.
In my opinion, starting, stopping, starting again is looking for bad Ju-Ju to come knocking.
So I've always finished what I started.
You probably know something I don't.
But I do do a bit of cold smoking, I even modified the crap out of my new smoker to make it work my way. My MES goes from Ambient (cold) to full 275° (+).
When cold smoking, I doit at night. ;)

 

[chopsaw]

Several formulas on len polis site that call for multiple smoke sessions . I know a lot of guys that do it like that . Ask why and the answer is that's the way dad and grampa did it .

 

[JohnsMyName]

Several formulas on len polis site that call for multiple smoke sessions . I know a lot of guys that do it like that . Ask why and the answer is that's the way dad and grampa did it .

Yeah totally my point. It’s funny that you’ll usually find some science behind why these things were done a certain way weather the folks knew it or not at the time. Seems like more work, I’d bet if that how old timers did it, it was figured out as better after generations of trial and error. I’m trying to figure out if that’s the case and why.

 

[chopsaw]

All I can say is the guys I know that do it that way make some of the best , if not the best deer sausage I have ever had.
It's a group thing . They do 100's of pounds of sausage . Hung in a barn to cure ( cure 2 ) with the fire going in a steel drum and a piece of sheet steel on top .