[expand]
Properly smoked meat required proper storage to maintain preservation, the smoke-house work being wasted if post-smoking storage was inadequate.
The storage location needed to be cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated. Damp conditions encouraged mold growth despite smoking. Excessive heat could cause fat rancidity. Light exposure degraded smoke compounds. Poor ventilation allowed moisture accumulation. The ideal storage was cellar or dedicated shed maintaining stable cool temperatures, with air circulation preventing moisture buildup, protected from rodents and insects that would consume stored foods given opportunity.
Hanging storage was common for large pieces—hams, bacon slabs, whole fish. The meat hung from ceiling beams or dedicated racks, air circulating around all surfaces, preventing contact points where moisture could accumulate and mold could grow. The hanging meat was checked periodically, any developing problems caught early, the occasional piece showing mold being trimmed or re-smoked rather than discarded entirely unless decay was too advanced.
The usage followed strategic pattern. The meat requiring shortest storage—pieces that were less heavily smoked, smaller items that dried less thoroughly—was consumed first. The heavily smoked pieces with longest storage potential were reserved for late winter when other food sources were most scarce, for emergency supplies if regular provisions ran low, for famine insurance against the possibility that fresh food would become unavailable.
Re-smoking was sometimes performed mid-storage, particularly for meats intended for extended keeping. After months of storage, the smoke compounds on surface would have degraded, the antimicrobial protection would have diminished, the meat would benefit from renewed smoke exposure. The re-smoking was brief compared to original treatment, just sufficient to refresh protective surface coating, to extend storage life another few months, to ensure that meat would remain edible until spring brought fresh food sources.
[/expand]