Is Smoked Meat Cooked or Raw? (All The Facts!)

Is Smoked Meat Cooked or Raw

So you’re considering smoking your meat or about to bite into some smoked meat and you’re wondering whether the meat is considered cooked or raw?

Thankfully most smoked meat is considered cooked and is safe to eat but there are some cases where the smoked meat can still be considered uncooked.

Smoked meat is considered cooked if heat is also used while smoking. For example, brisket or ribs smoked at 225°F are being cooked with heat and smoke. However, cold smoking is a preservation technique and does not use heat so cold smoked meat is not considered cooked but is also not considered raw.

Now let’s cover the differences between hot smoked and cold smoked meats and when you might come across either one. There is also liquid smoked meat but that’s an artificial flavoring we’ll briefly cover later.

In both cases of hot and cold smoking, when smoked correctly, the smoked meat will be safe to eat and have the added bonus of that delicious smoky flavor.

What Is Hot Smoking Meat?

Hot smoking is the most common and well-known method of smoking meat.

Whenever you think of smoked brisket or ribs… you’re thinking of hot smoked meat.

Generally in hot smoking, also known as barbecue, the meat is exposed to both smoke and heat in the 180ºF to 300ºF range in order to cook the meat.

Texas BBQ Pit

Hot smoking adds flavor to the meat in three ways:

  1. Slowly cooking the meat making it tender
  2. Adding a smoky flavor
  3. Creating a crunchy exterior bark

Hot smoking is generally what folks think of when it comes to smoking or barbecue since hot smoking can refer to:

  1. BBQ Pits (as seen in photo)
  2. Charcoal, Wood, and Propane Smokers
  3. Pellet Grills

Hot smoking is how most meats are smoked in order to create those fall-off-the-bone ribs or juicy brisket.

Generally, when people think of BBQ from a restaurant, they think of hot smoking.

What Is Cold Smoking Meat?

Cold smoking is mainly used for preservation and adding flavor. The food is exposed to low-temperature smoke ranging from 60ºF to 120ºF with the heat being far away from the food.

Cold Smoking Fish

Since cold smoking does not cook meat, the meat is cured before or throughout the cold smoking process.

Cold smoking is done over a long period (12 to 24 hours).

Therefore, the meat has to be cured, salted, or fermented to prevent microbial growth.

Cold smoking is also used for cheeses in order to create a smoky flavor on the cheese such as smoked gouda.

You may also come across cold-smoked sausages that are safe to consume since the meat has been preserved through a curing process.

Once again the theme with cold smoking is using just the smoke to create flavor and not the heat to cook the food.

What is Liquid Smoking?

Generally, liquid smoke is a flavor additive that comes in a bottle that can be added as the food cooks. Similar to adding BBQ sauce to ribs, liquid smoke can be added to meat before or while being cooked.

Although liquid smoke does create a smoky flavor, the smoke flavor can sometimes be described as artificial.

Not to mention liquid smoke does not create the distinct texture that can be created from slow-smoking meat.

So liquid smoke is really just a flavoring that gets added as food is cooked.

Is Smoked Meat Considered Cooked?

Hot smoked meat is considered cooked since both smoke and heat are used when smoking meat. Examples of hot smoked meats are barbecue ribs, brisket, and pulled pork.

However, cold smoked meat is not considered cooked but is considered preserved. Cold smoking salmon or cheeses usually adds a flavor and may also help dehydrate the food to help with preservation.

Cold smoking or liquid smoking bacon will help add a smoky flavor and extend the lifespan of bacon. However, most smoked bacon is still raw and should not be eaten directly from the package.

Similar to how beef jerky can last a long time since the meat has been dehydrated and preserved, cold smoking is a great technique for preserving food.

So hot smoked meat is considered cooked whereas cold smoked and liquid smoked meat is not considered cooked.

What Is The Point To Smoking Meat?

The 3 main reasons why we smoke meat is to add flavor, texture, and to tenderize the meat.

Generally, cuts of meat that are best for smoking are tough cuts. For example, brisket is a very tough cut of meat that needs to be slowly cooked in order to break down the tough tendons.

Now let’s dive into the 3 main reasons why we smoke meat.

1. Smoke Flavor

The first and main reason why we smoke meat is to add a nice smoky flavor.

When meat is exposed to wood smoke, the meat will start to develop smoke rings that can be seen when slicing the smoked meat open.

Additionally, smoking meat allows you to add different wood flavors to your meat. If you use mesquite wood you will get a heavier smoke flavor whereas if you use cherry or apple woods you will get a lighter and sweeter smoke flavor.

So smoking meat allows you to add different types of smoke flavor to your meat.

See this guide for the best wood flavors to use when smoking different cuts of meat.

2. Texture

The second reason for smoking meat is to add additional texture to the meat.

You can cook meat in an oven using the exact same temperature as a smoker and the meat will cook in the same amount of time. For example, a brisket that gets cooked on a smoker at 225°F for 10 hours will cook in an oven at 225°F for 10 hours as well.

The difference is that a smoker will add a nice bark to the outside of the meat when smoked with wood smoke. So the brisket will have a nice crunchy exterior called a bark that adds a pleasant texture to the juicy inside.

A brisket or meat cooked in a regular oven will not create a bark since there isn’t any wood smoke when cooking in a regular kitchen oven.

3. Tenderize The Meat

The third reason for smoking meat is to tenderize the meat and break down the tough tendons.

Generally, meat that is smoked ‘low and slow’ on a smoker are tough cuts of meat. Usually, you’re not smoking a ribeye steak or pork chops since those cuts of meat are already tender.

However, a brisket, rack of ribs, or pork shoulder are all cuts of meat that are very tough. So smoking or cooking these tough cuts of meat over a long period of time will help tenderize the meat.

Even more special is that when you cook these tough cuts of meat over a long period of time, the meat will become juicy and literally melt in your mouth when done right. So the meat transforms from being a tough hunk of meat to juicy-fall-of-the-bone goodness.

Final Thoughts

Smoking meat is a way of cooking or preserving meat depending on the temperatures and methods used when smoking the meat.

When hot smoking meat, the meat is placed over or near a fire so that both the heat and smoke are used to cook the food. Once the meat is done cooking via hot smoking, the meat is considered cooked.

When cold-smoking meat, the meat is placed away from the fire so that mostly the smoke and very little heat are used to dehydrate and preserve the meat. For example, when cold-smoking salmon, the salmon is placed far away from the heat so that the warm smoke is what dehydrates and preserves the salmon.

So when someone asks if smoking meat is considered cooked or raw we now know the following:

Most barbecued meat is smoked using hot smoke and is considered cooked. Hot smoking is where both heat and smoke are used to cook the food. Meat that is cold smoked is considered preserved since the cold smoke is what dehydrates the meat.

The easiest way to distinguish between hot smoking and cold smoking is the following:

  • Hot smoking is where both heat and smoke are used to cook the food like in most barbecue food.
  • Cold smoking is where only smoke is used to preserve the food like with smoked salmon or smoked cheeses.

Either way, when done correctly, both hot smoked and cold smoked meat are safe to consume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Smoked Meat Considered Raw?

Hot smoked meat is considered cooked since both heat and smoke are used to smoke the meat.

Cold smoked meat is considered preserved since the food has been dehydrated and cured using smoke.

So smoked meat is not considered raw since the smoked meat will either be cooked or preserved.

Is Smoked Salmon Cooked or Raw?

Hot smoked salmon is considered cooked since both heat and smoke are used to smoke the salmon.

Cold smoked salmon is considered preserved since the salmon has been dehydrated and cured using smoke.

So the smoked salmon may be considered cooked or preserved depending on whether the salmon was smoked with heat or with only smoke.

Either way, both hot and cold smoked salmon are considered safe to eat when smoked correctly.

Is cold smoking meat considered cooked?

Cold smoked meat is not considered cooked but the cold-smoked meat is preserved.

Cold smoking involves using smoke to dehydrate and preserve the cold-smoked meat. Similar to beef jerky, cold smoked meat will be shelf-stable, which will extend the lifespan of the cold smoked meat.

Steven

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