Curing & Smoking Made at Home (Dick Strawbridge, James Strawbridge)

This exciting series comes from the father-and-son team Dick and James Strawbridge, who live "the good life" on their small acreage. In Made At Home they share the knowledge and experience gained over years of producing an abundance of good things to eat and drink: organic fruits and vegetables eaten, juiced, fermented and preserved; pigs smoked for ham, sausages, salamis and bacon; a mixed flock of birds used for eggs and eating; and bees for honey, to name a few. It's an enviable lifestyle driven by a desire to eat well every day.

Made At Home contains numerous adaptations to urban and suburban life. Plants are grown in small lots and pots, chickens are kept in backyard pens, and meat items, such as sausages, are smoked in the backyard. Proof positive that anyone can live the good life.

Of all the Made At Home titles, perhaps this one speaks loudest to the popularity of home-grown foods. The smoked bacon, salamis and heady cheeses we love are prime candidates for handcrafted taste. Curing and Smoking demonstrates how simple it is to use the magic of smoke to create wonderfully aromatic foods with distinctive flavors.

The book follows the curing and smoking processes beginning to end, from creating a purpose-made pantry to storage. Topics include drying, curing, hot smoking, cold smoking, indoor smoking, drying and wrapping, and vacuum packing. Foods are not limited to meats and cheeses, but include fruits and vegetables, fish, ciders, seafood. Even eggs can be smoked or cured. Original and delicious recipes offer up such delights as jams and jellies, hot-smoked oysters, and fresh tomato salsa. Curing and Smoking is ideal for adventurous cooks, modern pioneers, and all food crafters.