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Smoke Liquid


Cookwithlove

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Hi! I am new to smoke liquid. Upon probing by couple of friends that smoked liquid is used in BBq meat. Can anyone elightens me on this stuff, its scientific name and how does it help in the aroma of BBQ meat. I understand it's difficult to get(I know it's a control item)?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

主泡一杯邀西方. 馥郁幽香而湧.三焦回转沁心房

"Inhale the aroma before tasting and drinking, savour the goodness from the heart "

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If you're referring to liquid smoke, it's usually used as a shortcut to make meat cooked in an oven taste like it was cooked over a heap of burning car tires. If you're talking about something called smoke liquid, I've got no idea what that is.

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Thanks Uncle Dave for your prompt reply. It's in liquid form. I know this stuff is rather hard to get, probable from reputable and large meat supply company. Once smoked liquid is apply, the meat after BBQ the surface of the meat is shiny, aromatic, tasty and succulent inside. I did a check and its scientific name came out as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons- pah. I need to double to make it very sure. Please correct if i am wrong.

Edited by Cookwithlove (log)

主泡一杯邀西方. 馥郁幽香而湧.三焦回转沁心房

"Inhale the aroma before tasting and drinking, savour the goodness from the heart "

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"Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons" isn't a formula like "carbon dioxide" or "sodium chloride" so much as a descriptor for a whole group of compounds that are formed when wood (and a few other things) are burned. It's like saying "it's a salt" or "that's a sugar." It tells you something about the molecular makeup, but not a lot about a specific compound. For example, sodium chloride is a salt, and is also known as table salt; but no salts except sodium chloride are table salt, and many other salts are poisonous. That's not to discourage you but to point out that a broad description is not necessarily helpful.

I think that what Melkor is describing is this, or something like it; most of them are made by the same process. Note that this process would undoubtedly create polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (as would smoking jalapenos to make chipotles or pimentos to make pimenton de la Vera). I think this is what you're after, but I have to say that -- not to doubt your experience -- I suspect that at least some of the qualities you're ascribing to smoke liquid are due as much to a cooking process as to the use of the product you're looking for.

I agree with Melkor that it can be a nasty additive -- like many (truffle oil, anyone?) -- if not used with discretion. As someone heavily invested in the traditional smoking process, I also have to say that I don't think that either liquid smoke or smoke liquid can be used as a wholesale substitute for real smoking. However, judicious use can make for tasty results. Get some and try it out.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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True BBQ is a very very long process of cooking over fire with added wood chips or pieces.

Some times people just grilling small cuts of meat would like that added flavor and might just brush on liquid smoke or as was mentioned above if you want baked or roasted meat to taste like BBQ you can add liquid smoke

here is how to make BBQ low and slow

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25900

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

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Thanks Uncle Dave for your prompt reply. It's in liquid form. I know this stuff is rather hard to get, probable from reputable and large meat supply company. Once smoked liquid is apply, the meat after BBQ  the surface of the meat is shiny, aromatic, tasty  and succulent inside. I did a check and its scientific name came out as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons- pah. I need to double to make it very sure. Please correct if i am wrong.

It's not a rare commodity. Our local grocery stores carry a couple different brands.

Here's a sample of brands:

Liquid Smoke on Amazon.com

Liquid smoke adds a smokey flavor but it doesn't make meat "succulent". It's the cooking process (as others have posted) that makes the meat succulent.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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I WILL confess that when I was a gas-grill owner, I did use that stuff to impart more flavor to the meat, but the day the gas grill gave up the ghost, I bought a charcoal grill/smoker, bought me a couple bags of wood chunks, and never looked back. Now I mostly use the smoke flavoring in cheese balls or barbecue sauce, not on the actual meat, unless I'm recreating my Mom's crock-pot brisket (no, you don't want the recipe - cook the brisket the way nature intended!).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“A favorite dish in Kansas is creamed corn on a stick.”

-Jeff Harms, actor, comedian.

>Enjoying every bite, because I don't know any better...

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I WILL confess that when I was a gas-grill owner, I did use that stuff to impart more flavor to the meat, but the day the gas grill gave up the ghost, I bought a charcoal grill/smoker, bought me a couple bags of wood chunks, and never looked back. Now I mostly use the smoke flavoring in cheese balls or barbecue sauce, not on the actual meat, unless I'm recreating my Mom's crock-pot brisket (no, you don't want the recipe - cook the brisket the way nature intended!).

I wouldn't think it would be intended for something you're going to put on the grill anyway. It makes more sense to use it to add that smokey flavor to something that you've put in the oven or braised on the stove or cooked in the crockpot, instances where you can't really get a smokey flavor otherwise (indoor smokers aside).

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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  • 1 year later...

I use liquid smoke and I like it.

I stay away from processed groceries as much as possible, but there's a place for liquid smoke in my fridge because it can save a whole lot of time and energy. In fact, I'm using Haddon Hose Hickory on a bunch of turkey drumsticks for dinner tonight.

The label says there are only three ingredients in this product: water, condensed smoke, and a common food emulsifier (polysorbate 80). My understanding is that it is no more or less dangerous than regular smoke from a health point of view.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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Or try using Spanish pimenton in your marinades.

Is that similar to smoked paprika?

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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In fact, I'm using Haddon Hose Hickory on a bunch of turkey drumsticks for dinner tonight.

Six drums marinaded for an hour in sesame oil, white vinegar, garlic salt, salsa, sugar and liquid smoke. Roasted at 325F for two hours, served with basmati and steamed asparagus:

gallery_42214_6390_39843.jpg

gallery_42214_6390_114528.jpg

gallery_42214_6390_34755.jpg

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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I don't use it as a meat marinade but will use a small amount in Chili con Carne to add another flavour note.

As the original in many cases was cooked over open-wood fires, I tend to think of it as a nod to authenticity that cannot be achieved otherwise in a typical domestic kitchen.

Nick Reynolds, aka "nickrey"

"The Internet is full of false information." Plato
My eG Foodblog

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I saw ted allen explaining what liquid smoke is on the food network. it is exactly what the name suggests. it is not made from artificial compounds but rather smoke that has been changed to liquid form. If i remember right, he actually made some by burning some wood and let the smoke go through water. i do know it is really pungent and if you use too much, it will make your food taste like a campfire.

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I've been reading about chefs at high end restaurants like Alinea making their own versions of liquid smoke ... doing things like smoking water (doing it in a way that I trust results in something tastier than bong water) and incorporating it into sauces or braising liquid.

They like the control this process gives, and the way it allows the smoke flavors to be used subtly.

Another option is to use smoked ingredients. Dried chilis like anchos, chipotles, and guajillos are a popular option. I served roasted lamb recently that was dry rubbed with lapsang souchong tea, and I used the same tea as an herb in the sauce. This tea is dried over pine smoke and has a deep, layered smokiness. This process let me get those layers of flavor into the dish, but as a subtle accent, rather than an overwhelming smokiness.

I suspect options like these will all taste better, in their own ways, than any over the counter product.

Notes from the underbelly

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Another option is to use smoked ingredients.

That's why I buy small amounts of smoked herring or mackerel -- as an addition to other things like chowder. I don't think I could sit down and eat a bunch of smoked fish as is, it's over-the-top smoky.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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