Using a classic cooking pot to make succulent, smoky deliciousness
It’s peak grilling season.
I stand motionless, staring out my apartment window as the smoke of a thousand grills rises above the city. The air is perfumed with the savory aroma of searing proteins and aromatic herbs that trigger deep-rooted memories of stone-ringed campfires and suburban kettle smokers doomed to rust in the back yard once the first frost strikes.
I stare unblinkingly at the skyline, recalling the halcyon days when I was a member of this holy congregation. But now I am a prisoner of my own practicality, having surrendered the freedom to bathe my food in Hestia’s divine smoke in exchange for a sweet apartment with off-street parking.
The sacrifice seems too great at times like these, when the piquant scent of smoked comestibles is at its most seductive, and I am at my most vulnerable. So I plot, I scheme, and I Google, searching for a soothing balm to ease the pain of living in a one-bedroom apartment run by anti-flavor smokeristas.
Wood-burning smokers are a fire hazard when used in an apartment building and you could go to jail if you are caught using one—at least that’s what I’ve been informed by the authorities. I’ve also been instructed that installing a smoker on my balcony is verboten and under no circumstances would I be allowed to dig a hole in the common area to cook a whole pig, Peruvian pachamanca-style.
It’s as if I was being punished by Prometheus himself, denying me the divine right to build a fire in an enclosed space and smoke food over it. It’s an outrage that I must endure, however, should I want to remain in my sweet apartment and in the good graces of local law enforcement.
After several spectacularly failed attempts at a solution to my tortured, smokerless existence, I realized that the answer was hiding in plain sight. I have a wok. It has a lid. I have a stove. Let’s do this. A pox upon those freedom hating, smoker-phobic building managers and their minions—I will not be denied!
If you’re unfamiliar with the wonders of wok-smoking, the process is astoundingly simple. Line a heavy-bottomed wok with heavy-duty foil, add your smoking ingredients, place a rack above them (or make a lattice with four chopsticks to support a plate if you’re rackless), add food, cover and heat until the smoking ingredients begin to smoke and your desired smoke flavor is achieved.
This wonderful workaround has its limitations, however. Wok-smoking is perfect for adding light to medium smoke flavor to foods like chicken, fish, vegetables and small cuts of meat, but this is not the place to smoke a beef ribs or a brisket. When dealing with large cuts of meat, apartment dwellers will have to resort to covert operations that I cannot discuss in a public setting.
Although it has limitations, this method has tremendous advantages over wood-fueled behemoths built for long, slow cooking over smoke – namely, the endless variety of smoking ingredients.
If you’re a traditionalist, you can stick to using thin wood chips to create familiar smoke flavors. But the lower temperatures used for wok-smoking mean that a wider variety of smoking ingredients (and thus, flavors) are available. I recommend tea and spices.
Before you turn away and dismiss me with a syrupy sweet, “Bless his heart,” put a few leaves of lapsang souchong tea in a metal spoon, hold it over a burner, and prepare to be hypnotized by the sublime aromas and smoky flavors that will enchant your nose and excite your palate.
Once you recover from the initial euphoria, you can begin to try other teas mixed with aromatic herbs, spices, sugar, and rice (for stability) until mesquite and hickory become quaint memories of a simpler time.
Try smoking salmon with straight lapsang souchong, or mix in orange rind, cinnamon, rice, and a pinch of sugar to smoke your next batch of chicken wings before broiling. Green tea, star anise, coriander seeds, rice, and a pinch of sugar add an alluring smoked flavor to duck breasts and ginger, cloves, sichuan peppercorns, rice and a pinch of sugar lends an extraordinary smoked flavor to pork.
For an unexpectedly familiar take on smoked gouda, grab some dried oak leaves from the yard and smoke a chunk of aged gouda.
I swear on Odin’s beard that none shall want for smoky goodness again. Never. Again.
Important note: Wok-smoking temperatures aren’t high enough to actually cook food, so most wok-smoked foods will need some cooking before or after being smoked.
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan currently living abroad who has trained chefs, owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits