Food and drink smokers

The smoker in this category burns a pinch of wood dust and pushes cold smoke. It flavours food that is already cooked, or food that is not meant to be cooked at all.

The Smoking Gun is the usual tool: a small chamber, a fan, and a hose. You cover the bowl, the jug or the cocktail glass, fill it with smoke, and let it sit. Salt, butter, cream, finished steak and a drink all take smoke this way. The food does not get hotter in any useful sense. Raw chicken stays raw.

Use it where the smoke can leave. A kitchen alarm will sound if you run it under a closed ceiling. A window or a balcony is the practical place. The dust keeps burning for a short time after you stop the fan. Set the tool down on something that will not scorch, and empty the chamber when it is cold.

Wood dust is not wood chips from a barbecue bag. Chips are too big for the chamber and can clog it. A little dust goes a long way. A chamber packed full tastes bitter and can flare.

Smoke is a flavour, not a preservative. Smoked cream still goes off on the same timetable as plain cream. Put a date on the tub.

Actual cooking of meat still happens on a grill or in an oven.