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Liquid smoke, Anyone?

A

AlaskaGent

Guest
Hello, All,
I'm new to the Brethren and this is my first post. Actually I went to the recipes section and learned I had to post a few times before I can get access. I'm living in Northern Thailand where pork and chicken are plentiful, cheap and good. Beef, not so much IMHO. Anyway, I splurged on a Weber 22 1/2 " kettle and so far that's my only cooking apparatus. Wood chips are generally available (alder, mesquite and hickory). Not sure about cherry. I just had a friend bring back from the States a bottle of commercial liquid smoke. Won't mention the brand name for fear of violating some term and condition that I swore I read and accepted. What Do you guys think of liquid smoke as an additive to BBQ sauce or as a marinade? And please tell me I'm not banned as a heretic! Thanks for any and all replies. AlaskaGent
 
Welcome !!!

if you have access to wood chips to use in the kettle, liquid smoke is not necessary. Your meat will already be properly smoked using the chips, so to make the sauce/marinade with smoke would be unnecessary.

warning - liquid smoke is the equivalent of using goat urine here.. or using lighter fluid to start
your fire.

Be gentle guys - he's new.. and it was a gift to him !!
 
Welcome



Liquid smoke it a no-go. You have so much beautiful food over there, I can see the attraction to BBQ and I would love to take note of your recipes plus some of the things you come up with to cook.

Again,welcome to the Brethren please pull up a chair and stay a while.
 
Welcome
Did you sign in at Cattle Call? That would be the first thing to do.

Yeah here Liquid Smoke isn't even a thought. I think you will find that the majority here will tell you not to use it. In fact your comment about marinating is actually a running joke here. When someone asks how to make great BBQ someone will come in and say "marinate in liquid smoke". Then the laughter ensues. We have at least one member in the philipines and he talks about great woods. Even think he referred to coffee wood recently in a thread.
 
Welcome! When I make bbq at home I like to serve sauce at the table and not one to drown a bunch of good meat in it and toss, yuk. I do like sauce though and I make some pretty good, ketchup, vinegar based bbq sauce that includes some liguid smoke. Also if I need to make a big pan of baked beans or brunswick stew and am not going to be able to use the smoker for cooking em, I'll include a lil liguid smoke. I guess I'm just not up on the "do not use" stuff like everyone else - I gotta read more. As far a using in some sort of marinade, your cooker and wood will take care of the smoke in the meat.
 
Welcome.
Adding a *small* amount to a vinegar/tomato based sauce is the *only* thing liquid smoke should ever be used for. I'm talking maybe a teaspoon in a half gallon. Otherwise liquid smoke is only good for pranks possibly.
 
I like to use liquid smoke to freshen my toilets and garbage disposal unit. It also makes a great potpourri scent!
 
I ruined a Turkey about 20 years ago with that nasty stuff ...Sell it... or chuck it but dont use it.
 
I agree that liquid smoke is not true smoking. BUT it is true smoke, at least the stuff made by Wrights is. For the folks here on BBQB that claim their cookers work better with some 'seasoning' - that brand of liquid smoke is merely the same thing, diluted into water. Real smoke in suspension.

So - for sauces or other indoor uses, it's a flavor enhancement - like using bottled ketchup instead of making your own, but not at all the real thing.
 
Don't let anyone scare you away from something you like.
Cook the way you want; to get the taste you like best.

I have found that sometimes people don't like some foods, just because
they heard someone else say they don't like it.
Such as Sushi, or Anchovies....but; anybody that eats a Ceasar Salad,
is eating Anchovies.

In Thailand; you commonly use spices and ingredients that are not well
known in America and the West.

Here in America we have been taught to over cook food; and eat it
without much flavor. But; this group here has learned that rubbing
meat, with spices and then Smoking it will give it a great flavor that
other people don't understand until they try it for themselves.

So...cook the way you like; with the ingredients you like, and you
will have the best food ever.
 
I am not a fan of liquid smoke (I am pretty sure it is a violation of the terms of use) and I do find that in most commercial sauces and marinades, I can taste it. It is too strong and acrid as most folks use it. If I am cooking something over fire, I rely on the smoke from the fire to provide that flavor profile.
 
Being new I know I may be on the road to damnation with this but this is what I do with it....I'm willing to admit I will put like 2 drops of it in a big pot of chili. But I've never tried to cook chili in the smoker yet. (But I want too.) I smoked some sauce for some grilled pizzas this spring and honestly it was a waste of my charcoal and smoking wood, one drop of liquid smoke would have done it. If that's how you use it it isn't a bad deal just as long as you aren't making fake barbecue using it I think. In other words a drop in a quart of table sauce, chili, stew, salad dressing no more. IMO thats how you use it I've had the same 1 ounce bottle for 4 years it's not even half gone, a little goes a very very long ways.
 
I agree with grillman. Go with what you know you like, then make small changes to see if you can make it better. I do not use the liquid smoke myself, but remember mom using it to marinate jerky before it went into the dehydrator.
 
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