Tips, Tricks & Techniques
Spray the Liquid Smoke
CB’s EZ way to great smoke flavor on grilled food.
If you love the smoky taste that comes with outdoor grilling on an open fire – but never have the time to either use a charcoal grill or the new Char-Broil infrared grills that allow you to place wood chips directly on the grill grates beneath the meat – then you may have considered using liquid smoke. A good idea – but one that can go so very VERY wrong.
There are several brands on the market, I prefer Wright’s Liquid Smoke because it’s made from real hard wood smoke and purified water. And I use it on occasions when I want a flavoring of smoke but haven’t one of the other options mentioned above. For me the lesson learned is using a diluted amount of the liquid smoke and spraying it on, rather than full strength and/or brushing it on. If you’ve tried liquid smoke and found the right combination that works for you. Great. If you haven’t tried it or maybe had a disappointing experience, then here’s a trick I use that you may want to consider.
Pour an amount of full strength liquid smoke into a bottle – I use a glass bottle that is easy to handle and which also allows me to visually see the mixture to judge it’s strength as well as know when I’m getting low. I recommend you start with about 1:5 ratio of liquid smoke-to-water and then adjust on subsequent uses to get the flavor you prefer.
Add a handy spray top that fits securely and spray on meat or vegetables during the course of grilling. I even use this spray on the rare times when I’m cooking indoors. I like to spray the smoke mixture on during cooking, rather than after because it seems to mix better with the meat juices and integrates into the flavor. When applied on cooked meat it seems to be a strong single flavor and that’s not my desire.
By the way, you can also add an amount of hot sauce like Tabasco to the mixture to give things a zing – or just create your own separate hot-sauce spray. This will also work with some infused water solutions of herbs or dark tea, even coffee – so get creative with your own home-made flavor enhancers!
Happy Grilling!
I sorry but I wouldn’t use that stuff on shoe leather if I were in a pinch. There’s no substitute for the real thing.
V – thanks for your comment. I figure it’s always a question of taste. As I said, this is not “smoking” only ‘flavoring” and that means it’s just spraying on the smoke particulates with water rather than having them randomly attach with hot air.
For true ’smoking’ that penetrates the meat – I agree with the idea of low & slow barbeque and good wood smoke.
But to your point – Wright’s is the ‘real thing’ just not the familiar process. Not trying to convince you to change your mind or your ways – just stating it for the record!
You sure about the ’shoe leather’ comment? I think it could maybe make it a bit more palatable.
– CB
I’ve been using this for years but in a different formula and sometimes as a injection liquid. My formula with Wright’s is 1 part Wright’s, 1 part olive oil, 2 parts water. I think the olive oil smooths out the sometimes harsh flavor of liquid smoke. JMO
Danny – great idea! I think I’ll try it sometime soon! – CB
Sorry, but I couldn’t bring myself to try liquid smoke. I’ll stick with my smoker.
Folks, I think CB makes a valuable contribution.
Many of the smoked meats i have been served taste like they were rescued from a house fire.
Control is the issue. Authentically oversmoked meat is no treat.
(with this liquid smoke) CB has control, authentic or not.
Lighten up traditionaiists, I have done authentic Q for most of the last 50 years and can usually do it faster and better with other methods.
dick
Smokin’! Have any of you tried smoking with wood chips from Rosemary? I’m thinking of trying it with a chicken but haven’t the slightest idea about what it might taste like. BC
Bill, it’s great. You can actually strip away the rosemary leaves and use them in recipes, like mashed potatoes. Then use the woody sticks as skewers or, as you suggest, at the end of your grilling place them on the grates (cross-wise) and let them smoke up the food – pork, beef, chicken, goose, potatoes, etc. with the smoke flavor. It’s not officially smoking – just flavoring with smoke. And it’s a great way to use other clippings from your yard – fruit trees etc. Take a pix and let us know! – CB