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  • Smoked Meat


    Big Island style smoked meat (pork), served with the must-have accompaniment, Poi

    Any of you into smoked meat?

    Local wild pig hunters will usually smoke their catch, using a variety of flavoring methods, from dry rubs, to what I call "Big Island style", which is a marinade typically made-up of shoyu, sugar, ginger, garlic and Hawaiian Chili Pepper, done to taste. Some like it more sweet, some like it more spicy, etc.. Some also have their own "secret ingrediments", from Honey, to Mirin, to Sake, to Oyster Sauce.

    Reason asking, is I'm searching for "insider" tips from you HT folks on smoking Tako (which is a meat of course). I recently smoked two Tako (Hawaiian He'e Octopus) for the very first time, and it turned out pretty good, but turned out a bit too salty and smokey. I tenderized it by massaging it with Brandy, yet I'm aware of the other more common tenderizing method of boiling the Tako in beer for over an hour. I'll try that next time. I think my first batch turned out too salty because I marinaded it too long (over 48 hours) in a shoyu-based marinade.

    Kiawe has a very aggressive smoke flavor, so next time I'll try using a fruit wood like Guava or Lychee.


    Smoked Tako done in 4 styles: Big Island, Misoyaki, Hawaiian and Charsiu. Then turned into
    2 styles of Tako Poke, along with a Smoked Tako, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich,
    a.k.a. "STLT", to the tune of the classic "BLT".


    I gotta' say, the Smoked Tako Poke and "STLT" was broke da' mout' ono! The addition of mirin and sesame oil really helped to tone down the over-smoked, slightly over salty flavor of my first smoked tako batch, while pan-frying the smoked tako made it taste almost like Smoked Pork for that STLT" sammy. Try pan-fry some store-bought Smoked Tako. Winnahz!

    Any smoked meat prep' and cooking tips, as well as preferences and personal faves would be great to hear about.

    Mahalo!
    sigpic The Tasty Island

  • #2
    Re: Smoked Meat

    Pomai: Saw this posting on your blog too. I suggest a couple of things. Unlike meats, you can sorta smoke your tako on the stove. Just marinate a bit with salt (little bit or it will be too salty), liquid smoke, and maybe an ounce of booze -- any kind will do. Put the tako in a pot and do not add water or any other liquid (other than the liquid smoke and booze). Put on low heat (real low) and just let it simmer for an hour or two. This method will produce a tender tako with a smokey flavor, but more on the "wet side" -- same texture and moisture content as if you were going to just serve cooked tako with a miso sauce.

    If you want a more dry tako (like emulating dried tako), use the same methodology except put the tako in an alum pan and put the pan in your outdoor grill on the "cool" side with the burner off. Turn the burn on the "other side" on low and let it cook low and slow. The heat will slowly remove the moisture.

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    • #3
      Re: Smoked Meat

      Expat Kama'aina, excellent tips. I'll certainly take note of all you said on my next Tako smokin' session. Mahaloz!

      Originally posted by Expat Kamaaina View Post
      Pomai: Saw this posting on your blog too. I suggest a couple of things. Unlike meats, you can sorta smoke your tako on the stove. Just marinate a bit with salt (little bit or it will be too salty), liquid smoke, and maybe an ounce of booze -- any kind will do. Put the tako in a pot and do not add water or any other liquid (other than the liquid smoke and booze). Put on low heat (real low) and just let it simmer for an hour or two. This method will produce a tender tako with a smokey flavor, but more on the "wet side" -- same texture and moisture content as if you were going to just serve cooked tako with a miso sauce.

      If you want a more dry tako (like emulating dried tako), use the same methodology except put the tako in an alum pan and put the pan in your outdoor grill on the "cool" side with the burner off. Turn the burn on the "other side" on low and let it cook low and slow. The heat will slowly remove the moisture.
      sigpic The Tasty Island

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      • #4
        Re: Smoked Meat

        A superb recipe !

        Thanx for dat

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