As this high-risk, high-reward technique involves your food remaining raw during the “cook”, bacterial inhibition is 100% your biggest priority. First, cure the meat by dehydrating it (salt works wonders for this, imagine that). Next, hang the meat among good airflow for 1–12 hours, which helps develops a pellicle (the dry, sticky coat on the meat that vacuums up delicious smoke flavoring). Once the meat graduates from Pellicle Academy with full honors, it needs to be smoked — below 90 degrees Fahrenheit, in a cold smoker designed to keep the meat away from the fire (which otherwise sort of defeats the purpose). Note that anything but the smallest cuts will likely take days to cold smoke. This won’t be done in a single afternoon in a chair with a bucket of ice-cold beers, though we certainly recommend that for passing the time.