Is Smoked Meat Cooked or Raw

Q: Dear Jeff, Could you please tell me if the food we smoke is raw or cooked? We have a debate going with friends that the heat of the smoke cooks the meat over a long period of time.Is this correct? Could you please tell me how the smoked meat is cooked?Is it by actual heat or just the heat of the smoke? Our friends feel that any meat, smoked, is raw. Can we feel safe eating this smoked meat, especially pork? Also, why does the meat appear pink when it is smoked? Thanks, Annie

A: There are 2 main types of smoking.. cold smoking and hot smoking. I do not delve into cold smoking for the most part, however I do know that it is smoking at a temperature of 90 degrees or less over a long period of time.

Hot smoking is the type of smoking that I deal with.. it is smoking meat at a temperature of 225 degrees.

The meat is fully cooked to the recommended safe USDA temperature.

The pink look of smoked meat comes from the pigments in the meat being affected chemically by the smoke which keeps the meat from turning to it's cooked color as it normally would.

Hot smoked meats are fully cooked just as they would be in any convection oven or even a crock pot. The only difference is the addition of smoke which flavors the meat based on the type of wood you are using.

Hope this helps settle the debate with your friends.


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