I began food smoking about 20 years ago, and my first 15 years of food smoking were done in Japan. Because of that, many Japanese from various walks of life have contributed, in some way, to this book. As a way of saying thanks to all the Japanese who were so helpful, I would like to give a few examples:
The butcher in the grocery store next to my English school provided me with much of the raw material for my smoking. Since selling meat was his business, he was happy to make the sales. However, most of the time I did not want to buy the items he had in the display case; I wanted the meat cut in a special way, or I wanted something that is normally not sold in Japanese butcher shops such as pork liver or beef heart. In every case, he provided me with the items I needed at a reasonable price. In many cases, he had to make special arrangements with the slaughterhouse to have the item prepared. One unforgettable day, he loaned me a butcher’s apron and a butcher’s hat, and invited me to help him butcher a whole side of beef. In those few hours, he taught me a great deal about the different cuts of beef.
The fishmonger in the same grocery store gradually learned that when I came to buy seafood, I would invariably ask some esoteric questions about finfish and other ocean creatures—and he, invariably, was able to answer those questions. Few people in this world know more about seafood than a Japanese fishmonger.
At my request, the pharmacist down the street from my English school made a special order for a 500-gram jar of sodium nitrite for me to use in my curing formulas. However, because he sold it to me, he felt that he was personally responsible to make sure that I was using it correctly; he wanted to be absolutely sure that my products would be safe and wholesome. He borrowed copies of my basic curing formulations and spent over an hour by long-distance telephone (at his expense) talking to an expert in the Japanese government ministry in Tokyo that regulates food additives. To the great relief of the pharmacist, my formulations were pronounced safe and wholesome.
Because I taught English as a foreign language, I often taught English to university professors, scientists, researchers, and the like. Many of these men and women were specialists in areas related to animal husbandry, food, or food technology. I would teach English to them, and they would offer food-related information to me. Sometimes I felt more like a student than a teacher. These people, too, have made a contribution to this book, and I am indebted to them.
I have several American friends whom I met while teaching English in Japan, and most of them are still there: Bob Norris, Bill Cornet, Wes Injerd, and Richard Evanoff. Each of these men gave me great support and encouragement in the writing of this book. They instilled in me the determination to see the book through to completion. Two of them— Bob and Richard—are published authors.
My family, relatives, and friends here in the United States have also been very supportive and encouraging. Many of them have had to endure sampling the same smoked product over and over again until I was satisfied with the result. These people are too numerous to list by name, but I do want to mention my big sister, Patricia Brady. Patricia was the person who got me interested in food smoking; she brought some home-smoked steelhead with her when she came to visit us in Japan in 1985.
Warren R. Anderson
Aloha, Oregon
May 10, 2005