Itโs already February and your first New Yearโs resolution remains a work in progress:
To smoke way more.
No, weโre not just talking about Cohibas.
We mean smoking foods. And drinks. And everything else, like cocktails, cheese, and dessert.
The great part? You wonโt need a Traeger, caja de china, or grillbound smoker box to achieve luscious smoky flavors in all of your kitchen creations.
The only thing youโll need is a smoking gun. Itโs a handheld, versatile little machine made by multiple different companies that fits into your palm and imbues smoky essence into your edibles with the press of a button. And significantly less mess, labor, or escaping smoke.
In the front of the โgunโ is a small chamber that youโll fill with tiny splinters of different woods that are sold separately. You trap the item of your eventual consumption into an enclosed vessel, as airtight as possible, and press a button.
The machine turns on, igniting the wood at a fast setting, before you switch it to slow, burning the wood evenly and easing the ensuing smoke through a silicone hose that leads into the vessel holding your food.
And thatโs really all there is to it. After smoking for just a few minutes, your food and drink will be infused with smoky flavor reminiscent of sticking it into a smoker for hours on end. And the best part: while you canโt put an Old Fashioned or ice cream into a smoker, you can here.
Letโs learn how.
The Victual: A classic, icy Old Fashioned that just needs a little more depth of flavor.
Which Wood? Hickory and oak offer a robust, pronounced smokiness that compliments the cocktails essence with rich overnotes of smoke and wood but wonโt dominate it.
The Method: Take a traditional glass Scotch tumbler and add the sugar, bitters, rye or bourbon, and water. Place that inside of a pot and snake your smoking hose into the pot before sealing it tightly with plastic wrap. Press โonโ and let the pot fill with smoke for about two minutes, allowing your drink adequate time to get โsmoked.โ Alternatively, weโve had great success building the cocktail in a mason jar and putting the hose straight in and sealing that, before pressing on for a couple of minutes and drinking straight from the jar.
The Victual: Cheese, which will take on an extra savory element of smoke, regardless of the wedge youโre working with.
Which Wood? You want a wood that will lend delicate smoke but that wonโt overwhelm your cheese, whether its flavor is light or legendarily rich. We recommend maple wood, or a fruit tree wood like cherry or apple, as those flavors will impart a gentler smokiness and faint sweetness without detracting from the main attraction.
The Method: A glass dome works well, but if youโre short on those, you can use a wide glass bowl, placing your cheese inside, inserting the hose, and sealing them in together under plastic wrap before letting the machine rip for one-to-three minutes and serving.
The Victual: Meat and poultry, two broad categories that know a thing or two about being smoked. Well, if they were sentient, they would.
Which Wood? Heavier red meats like steak and lamb will require the big, bad, smoky power of mesquite (the wood worldโs most intense player) for a traditional Texas barbecue flavor. The milder flavor of pork goes great with chips from the wood of nut-producing trees like chestnut, pecan, and maple, splitting the difference between bold and nuanced through their nuttier aspects. Woods like apple, peach, and cherry provide perfect complements to seafood and poultry, imbuing these juicy morsels with light undertones of fruit, although really, anything works with chicken.
The Method: Prepare and cook your meat first, unless youโre making a raw dish with seafood or steak. Once itโs done grilling or broiling, youโll let it rest in a sheet pan. Place the gunโs silicone hose inside, cover it all with plastic wrap, and give everything a light smoking from one to two minutes, making sure not to touch the meat with the hose, lest it warps from the heat.
The Victual: Ice cream, to help open a whole world of creative ideas for various things you can smoke with your gun, including guacamole, salsa, and onion dip; coffee beans and your cup of morning Joe; eggs, oysters, and even the very spices you cook with.
Which Wood? This is another one where a wisp of lighter wood smoke is better than a major blast of mesquite. So weโll again refer you to those milder fruit and nut trees, which will boost the flavor with delicate sweetness without overshadowing your scoops.
The Method: You can smoke your toppings like fudge and nuts, too, should you want a little less overt smoke flavor than through the method of sealing up your scooped ice cream and shrouding it with smoke for a few minutes. But either technique will work.
After all, youโre smoking ice cream in a way that will make even Earth's most legendary pitmasters wail in envy through their spoonfuls of melted ice cream soup.
