Where there’s smoke, there’s flavor

In one of the teaser’s for the Netflix series The Final Table, you can catch a glimpse of one of the judges lifting up a glass cloche as a small billow of smoke is released. The world’s top chefs have long used smoke in various ways to add flavor to dishes, whether indirectly through a smoking process or by using smoked spices, or directly through vapors (as in the Netflix teaser shot) that are released for an aroma shot right before diving in to the dish. The website Flavor and the Menu explains ways that chefs include smoke flavors in their cooking.  

There are many ways to use smoke in cooking and beyond. Ingenious mixologists are adding it to cocktail rims, chefs use it in presentation effects, and you can find smoke flavoring in sauces and condiments. And of course you can smoke a variety of foods, meats being the most obvious but far from the only items that can get a boost from smoke flavor. 

If you would like to add the deep, earthy flavors that smoke provides, the article gives you ideas on ingredients that incorporate the flavors (such as smoked salts), and items that you might not thinkg about that can benefit from the addition of smoke (aioli, for one). An obvious choice is using smoked paprika, which is readily available. Going beyond ingredients, you can find a number of devices that can add smoke flavor to your cooking without investing a lot of money or building a large fireplace in your kitchen. 

There are several small electric smoke generators on Amazon, including the Gramercy Kitchen Co. Portable Smoke Infuser for under $40. If you want to replicate the effect you see on many cooking shows, you can purchase the Crafthouse by Fortessa Cocktail Smoking Cloche for just under $200 at Williams-Sonoma or another version of this Cloche on Amazon. For the DIY-er, there are many YouTube videos that explain how to rig up a temporary smoking device to use on the stovetop or in the oven (which methods may or may not be safe – exercise caution). 

Photo of How to cold smoke cheese from Great British Chefs – Blog Recipes