How to Use Liquid Smoke for Various Dishes and Even Drinks

Our guide on how to use liquid smoke shows its different applications, including some unusual ones.
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Last updated: August 09, 2023
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Everyone loves the smoky and grilled flavor of a barbecue dish. But the question is how will you get the smoky flavor without even using wood or charcoal? Here comes the Liquid smoke which gives you the deep grilled flavor in a few drops.

Liquid smoke is made from the condensation of smoke produced by burning wood. Using a few drops can enhance the flavor of your dish. Whether you are making a meat steak, roasted vegetables, cocktail, or a BBQ sauce, put a few drops of liquid smoke and make it tastier.

Liquid smoke is an easy and effective way to add up grilled flavor to your recipe. It will help to reduce the cooking time because you do not have to fire up the lump woods and wait for hours. Now, you do not have to have an outdoor smoker and you can enjoy the smoky flavor inside your regular kitchen.

How liquid smoke is made?

Liquid smoke is not something that is made artificially. It is made by condensing real smoke and collecting it as a liquid.

When wood is burnt, smoke and water are produced as a result. Smoke is passed through a cold tube and all the waste material like ash and methane is filtered out. The remaining product is a black color liquid which is  liquid smoke Trusted Source Liquid Smoke Throughout history, smoking has been used to add flavor as well as preserve meat. Today, meat is still naturally smoked, but there is also another type of smoke available, liquid smoke. meatscience.org .

Cooking with liquid smoke

When meat or vegetable are grilled on fire, they sometimes get a stinky flavor of metal in them. Also, it is painful in summer to stand in front of burning woods and wait for hours to cook your meat steak. So, using liquid smoke can solve this problem and you can enjoy a better smoky flavor using smoke.

You might have been thinking about how to use liquid smoke in cooking to build up the taste of your recipe. Liquid smoke can be used to marinate, apply a layer on meat or burgers, mix it with a sauce, and add a few drops to your dessert recipe.

Some people think that liquid smoke can only be used in meat recipes. However, that is not the case and you can use it in a variety of different ways.

Meat

How to Use Liquid Smoke for Various Dishes and Even Drinks
Using liquid smoke on meats is probably the most expected application that always pays off.

What if you don’t have enough space for a smoker then how will you enjoy the grilled taste of meat? Using liquid smoke in your meat recipe will add a smoky taste to your meat.

Get ready with your electric meat grinders to get the best grinded meat and make a smoky recipe out of it.

How to use liquid smoke on ribs?

Before cooking the ribs, you can dip the meat in the marinade Trusted Source What Is a Proper Marinade and Why Is It Used? A marinade is a liquid solution that you soak raw foods in before cooking to provide flavor, tenderness, and to protect the food from intense heat. www.thespruceeats.com . Mix a tablespoon of liquid smoke in your marinade sauce and mix with ribs pieces. Now, place the ribs in the refrigerator so they can absorb all the flavor. After that, cook it in an air fryer or on a grill to taste the mouth-watering smoky flavor of the meat.

How to use liquid smoke on pork?

Add liquid smoke to water in a ratio of 1:3 and apply it to the surface of pork meat before cooking. You can also fill a spray bottle with this mixture and spray it on every side of the meat while cooking. It will help the pork meat to suck the smoky flavor completely.

How to use liquid smoke on chicken?

There are many ways to give a smoky flavor to your chicken recipe. You can either marinate using liquid smoke or apply it to the meat during grilling.

Mix a few drops of liquid smoke with other spices while making the marinade. Now put the chicken pieces in a dish and pour marinade on these pieces. Cover it and leave for a few hours to absorb the marinade. You can cook it on a smoker or a ceramic frying pan to get the best smoky taste.

Smoked salmon with liquid smoke

If you crave smoked salmon Trusted Source How to Smoke Salmon - Smoked Salmon Recipe | Hank Shaw Step by step instructions on how to smoke salmon at home. This is a hot smoked salmon recipe. Use king, silver, sockeye, pink, chum or Atlantic salmon. honest-food.net and want to eat it at home, you can cook it with liquid smoke. Marinate the salmon in soy sauce, liquid smoke, and paprika for around 2 hours, and then cook it. It will give you smoked salmon at home cheaper than at a restaurant.

Vegetables

Liquid smoke is not only for meat or sauces. It can also be used while cooking vegetables. A non-vegan can enjoy the smoky taste of a vegetarian dish.

Here comes a question in your mind how to use liquid smoke on vegetables and make them taste like grilled meat? You can give a smoky taste to every vegetable from potatoes to mushrooms. Mix up a tablespoon of Wright’s Natural Hickory Seasoning liquid smoke in the marinade and apply it to vegetables before cooking. Even if you are a meat lover, you are going to enjoy that smoky vegetable recipe.

Other main dishes

How to Use Liquid Smoke for Various Dishes and Even Drinks
Liquid smoke is perfect for such dishes as oven-smoked brisket.

Oven smoked brisket is one of the main barbecue dishes. If you have cut the best size meat pieces with your brisket knives, you need to cook it in a better way. Try liquid smoke in the marinade made to apply on brisket pieces. Let the liquid soak deep into the meat before baking it in the oven. That’s how you use liquid smoke on the brisket to have a delicious smoky taste.

Now, wrap an around the briskets and place it in the oven for slow baking. It might take several hours to completely get cooked. But once you start eating, you can’t stop yourself from overeating because it will have a great smoky flavor.

Side dishes

Liquid smoke can be used in other dishes like smoky cheeseburgers, grilled hamburgers, smoky vegan bacon, Andouille Sausage Soup, Brown Sugar-Glazed Meatballs, and many others. All these dishes taste delicious when liquid smoke is mixed into the recipe.

Sauces

Though liquid smoke is used in a small quantity, it can double the taste of sauces and marinades. These sauces, when applied to meat or vegetable surface, will give a yummy smoky taste to them.

You can use Colgin Gourmet liquid smoke in barbecue sauce to make it smokier than ever. Just a few drops in the sauce will boost the taste.

Desserts

Your taste buds will have a new experience when you mix liquid smoke in your regular desserts’ recipe. Whether you are making pudding, chocolate chip cookies, or sweet caramel candies at your home, try using a few liquid drops of liquid smoke. You will never forget the sweet smokiness in your mouth.

Cocktails

How to Use Liquid Smoke for Various Dishes and Even Drinks
Liquid smoke will give your cocktails a unique flavor.

Just imagine you can have a smoky flavor in your drink. Yes, you can also mix liquid smoke with your drinks. Some famous drinks are BBQ smoked margarita and smoky martini. However, you must add a few drops of liquid smoke carefully otherwise drink will get bitter.

How can Liquid smoke be replaced?

If you don’t have liquid smoke in your hands, you can try other ways to get the smoky flavor. Some are smoke guns, charcoal, smoked paprika, and smoked meats.

Smoked meats

You can use smoked meats available in the market as an alternative to liquid smoke. This is a convenient way to add smoky flavor to your food. However, sometimes these smoked meats can add some unsuitable taste to your meal. Choose the best-smoked meat brand to have a good smoky flavor without using liquid smoke.

Smoke gun

A smoke gun can give you the freedom to use it in any recipe if you don’t want to use extra flavors. Wood is burnt and smoke is transferred through a pipe to mix with the meal. It can be used to add smoky flavor to vegetables, meat, cocktails, and even desserts. A good quality smoking gun can easily be used in your home kitchen and restaurants.

Charcoal

Charcoal is the best replacement for liquid smoke. A burning piece of charcoal can easily add up a smoky flavor to your food.

Burn a lump of coal on the stove. When smoke starts to come out, place the charcoal piece in a bowl or wrap it in aluminum foil. Then place the cooking utensil and cover it tightly. Just wait for some time and let the smoke do its work. You will get the smoky taste in a few minutes. Like a smoking gun, it is also an easy way to use as an alternative to liquid smoke.

Smoked Paprika

It is a spice that is made after grinding peppers. Peppers are dried on burning oak wood for weeks and then converted into a powder to make smoked pepper. It is also a good substitute to use instead of liquid smoke. However, it is hotter and spicier. If you like this kind of taste, select smoked pepper for giving smoky flavors to your food.

It can only be used in meat, vegetables, and slices of bacon. You can’t use it in deserts and cocktails.

Conclusion

Liquid smoke can seem like a niche product that can be used when cooking some meats and sauces. Moreover, there’s a number of myths surrounding it, especially when it comes to questions of how it’s produced and how it affects the flavor of the dish. Fortunately, things are much simpler, and liquid smoke is, in our opinion, a must-have for every kitchen, that can be used in a variety of different dishes, including desserts and cocktails.

References

1.
Liquid Smoke
Throughout history, smoking has been used to add flavor as well as preserve meat. Today, meat is still naturally smoked, but there is also another type of smoke available, liquid smoke.
2.
What Is a Proper Marinade and Why Is It Used?
A marinade is a liquid solution that you soak raw foods in before cooking to provide flavor, tenderness, and to protect the food from intense heat.
3.
How to Smoke Salmon - Smoked Salmon Recipe | Hank Shaw
Step by step instructions on how to smoke salmon at home. This is a hot smoked salmon recipe. Use king, silver, sockeye, pink, chum or Atlantic salmon.

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