SUHO Meso! Cold smoke question? Venison?

[Subhematoma]

I want to cold smoke venison. Suho Meso style. Now i have the will, tools, meat, humidifier de humidifier, inkbird temp and hygrow meters. Following questions needing answers friends,……. What is the max and min temperature I should be playing smoke the beef in? Also humidity, is it 80 to start, slowly lowering as time goes on? How long will it take? 40% moisture loss were done? Cold smoke 5 hours a day enough? I await your words of wisdom! Lastly if anyone has done cold smoke with venison, what parts of the deer works best? Loins? I live in Michigan, that lower end temp it would seem i need to know?

[PitRow]

Welcome to the forum. I've never heard of Suho Meso, had to look it up, but it sounds good. I'm certainly no expert, but I'll take a swing at your questions.

What is the max and min temperature I should be playing smoke the beef in?
I'm not sure if you're asking about ambient temperature or the temperature in the smoke chamber? For the smoke chamber I'd aim to keep it somewhere between 70 and 85 (F). The outside temperature shouldn't make too much of a difference as long as your smoking technique keeps the inside of the chamber in the right range, but in reality I'd say as long as it's above freezing inside the chamber your fine.

Cold smoke 5 hours a day enough?
This is a totally subjective thing, depending on how much smoke flavor you want. I would think 5 hours a day for a couple or 3 days would be a good starting point to try. The one recipe I did see online for this the guy smoked it for 10 days, though he didn't say how long each day.

Also humidity, is it 80 to start, slowly lowering as time goes on?
I believe you keep it at 80% the entire time, but I don't really have any experience with doing it that way

How long will it take?
This one is impossible to tell you, since it's highly dependent on several factors like the size and moisture content of the cut of meat you're drying. I would expect at least a month, but possibly a year or longer for huge cuts.

40% moisture loss were done?
I believe most people aim for 35-40% moisture loss for most charcuterie, so that should be fine. Again it's a person taste kind of thing. The last bresaola I did went to 44% loss and it was a little too dry for me.

I have no words of wisdom on your venison question, I've never had access to any venison.

Finally, since your meat is going spend so much time in "the danger zone" please make sure you're using the proper amounts of Cure #2 and curing the cut for the appropriate amount of time before doing anything.

Good luck!

[Richtee]

One thing... You are talking wild game. And that comes with another set of rules as far as safety. Altho- here in MI the deer are pretty healthy, there are still additional risks. And I’d say a cure is a must.

[Subhematoma]

Yes, always about curing with salt kosher and #2. Fantastic answers from both I appreciate the time and the welcome aboard! The temperature inside chamber. Its Cold here in Michigan so thinking I will be okay not to be above 80 but my smoker is not insulated, so was going to hook my Ink bird to flip on a hot plate to hover around 45 degrees, allowing ambient temp to lower. The humidity might be a little trickier but that will be fun enough to figure out, dont want to get casing!

I thought about the question How long before its done, figured I answered it myself with 40% moisture loss via weight. Thanks for confirmation.

Richtee, have you ever had Suho Meso before? PitRow, you get this meat at Bosnian markets. Perhaps you have one nearby in a big city? I know Grand Rapids Mi. Does Richtee. Anyhow, its just cold smoked beef, plain simple from what I can tell. Internet lacks information on that specific name. Not sure what else to google besides steaks??? Which is what the suho is, I just want to smoke using venison. Tired of summer sausage and jerky. Suho is very very good and everyone snitches the stuff I buy at store. Thought, heck make my own! Just got to figure which muscle group to use.

Could use support answer to PitRows humidity answer of 80% the entire process or lower it as time goes on? I know for Lomo and or Lonzino, lowering it weekly is a thing. Any extra input appreciated!

Could always use new ideas on what to do with venison besides Jerky, summer sausage or meat sticks. Got them covered ready to step out. Suho Meso will be a wonderful addition. If nobody has ever tried it, cooler section Bosnian or even international stores. Looks like a one inch thick brick vacuum sealed tight tight. In different sizes. Not cheap but you can buy different sizes. Give it a try. Thanks guys.

[nickelmore]

Sounds similar to bilitong. I am kind of curious how the smoke will take to something hanging out at 80 percent humidity. Please post pictures of the of the process.

[Subhematoma]

Sounds similar to bilitong. I am kind of curious how the smoke will take to something hanging out at 80 percent humidity. Please post pictures of the of the process.

Biltong is not cold smoked. In fact it is not smoked at all. It is just dry beef (I use eye of round cheap and effective). I hang mine in a box, 100 degrees with a shielded light bulb. I use airflow via a computer fan. Usually a week and its plenty dry. Be sure to dry roast the coriander seeds before you grind them onto the biltong. Coriander is the one ingredient that makes biltong, well biltong. Dry fry em in an egg pan until you smell the fragrance coming off. Wonderful smell. Then pop in grinder.

I always wondered what was the beef on tv that John Wayne would unwrap from his saddle bag and slice with his boe knife and eat slivers of. So I set out to find what that was as it needs no refrigeration. Blows my mind. Shelf life is months in cool place. Paper bag works. Tough to naw on but if you let your saliva moisture soften it for a few it breaks right down into like jerky snuff. Been awhile since I made that. But venison is too gamey, I prefer the beef.