Cao's smoked elbow is a traditional delicacy in Pingyao. It was made by Cao Deguang, a famous chef in the late Qing Dynasty, based on the experience of previous generations of braised elbows, combined with the Chinese way of health preservation that medicine and food are of the same origin, using cypress leaf buds as the main ingredients, and baking and fumigating. In the old days, at the end of the year, every bank and manager from Pingyao would return to their hometown, and every household would use Cao's smoked elbow and cabbage to make a dish, named "Cypress Elbow and Cabbage", which means "a hundred trips and a hundred fortunes", expressing the blessings and praise of their hometown people for their success. The production process of Cao's smoked elbow can be summarized in seven words: "Appearance", "Slaughter", "Pick", "Repair", "Pick", "F", and "Smoke". "Xiang" means to select the source of pigs with great care, observe the pigs, and select strictly. Only sick, disabled, and calf pigs are selected; "Slaughter" refers to the accurate grasp of the meat of the pig elbow during the slaughter process. It should not be too big, otherwise it will be fat, and it should not be too small, otherwise it will lose the precious parts; "Picking" refers to removing the hair and bones of the pig elbow; "Repairing" refers to the repair of raw elbow meat; "Pickling" is to pickle the elbow meat with salt and special formula according to a certain time and temperature; "F" is to add seasoning to the elbow meat and cook it according to a certain process; "Smoking" is to use special smoking materials such as cypress leaf buds to disinfect, enhance fragrance, and preserve freshness through incomplete combustion. After several generations of innovation and development, the varieties of Cao's smoked elbows have been continuously enriched. According to different parts and different process methods, the "Cao's Banquet" series of varieties have been formed, including hometown smoked pig's trotters, old-style smoked pig's face, palace smoked crispy ears, palace smoked fragrant tripe, kung fu smoked lips, and Hutong smoked fragrant liver. The processing technology of Cao's smoked elbow is permeated with local cultural consciousness and cultural psychology in a series of links such as raw material selection, processing and production technology, product research and development, etc., reflecting the people's living habits and ingenuity. It has cultural elements that inherit the professionalism and integrity tradition of Shanxi merchants in many aspects, showing people the traditional culture of Chinese cuisine, and has important research value.