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Homemade Liquid Smoke?

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Grub Blogger
Grub Blogger Posts: 48
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Not looking to start up the debate on the use of liquid smoke (I like a touch in bbq sauce made from scratch), but I am curious if anyone has tried to make their own. My gut says a pan of water with maybe just hickory burning low at 200 degrees for hours.
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  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
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    Liquid smoke is made by washing the smoke off a glass flue, but the claim is that they control the burn to maximize the good flavors and minimize the bad (bitter).

    I have made it indirectly. Cold smoking bacon, with the small BGE as the fire chamber connected to the large BGE ( the smoke box) with a corrugated metal dryer vent .

    Quite a bit of condensation in the dryer hose and so I captured it for shizznit and giggles. it was horribly bitter.

    Better to spend the 89 cents on a bottle of the premade stuff. FWIW, people tend to think it's artificial flavoring. It ain't. It is truly liquid smoke

    You won't capture much with a pan of water, not much surface area and then you'd still only have a lot of water and very little smoke. Better to smoke the pan dry and then wash off the smoke. Or maybe a lot if sheets of foil or something. Surface area. But even then, no guarantee
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  • Grub Blogger
    Grub Blogger Posts: 48
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    Thanks for the reply. Figured it'd be a pain with sketchy results. Cool to know how it done, though.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    Here's how AB does it. It's near the end, about 9:00. Looks like WAY too much trouble!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJfuVl0BBlA

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • reccitron
    reccitron Posts: 176
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    Carolina Q wrote:
    Here's how AB does it. It's near the end, about 9:00. Looks like WAY too much trouble!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJfuVl0BBlA

    Yeah I saw Alton do it and thought that was cool but not worth the trouble since you can buy it for around a $1
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  • ceramicgrills
    ceramicgrills Posts: 1
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    Cook's Illustrated did a little article on liquid smoke in their grilling issue this year. They made some, by condensing the moist smoke of smoldering wood chips, and the time and effort only produced a small amount. The final verdict from them is to just buy the stuff.
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