Cooking with a Stovetop Smoker

By Sherril Steele-Carlin

Smoking foods is one of the oldest ways of preserving known to man. Smoking meat in a smokehouse preserves the meat for long periods, but it also gives the meat a fantastic flavor.

Today, smoking meats is a popular form of cooking or grilling foods outdoors. Many barbecues are equipped with smoker boxes, and full-size gas, electric, and charcoal smokers are available. However, you can still experience the delectable taste of smoked food, even if you don’t have a barbecue or a full-size smoker. The stovetop smoker is a wonderful alternative that gives excellent results right in your home kitchen.

What is a Stovetop Smoker?

A stovetop smoker is a convenient way to smoke foods on top of the stove. Gone are the days of building a fire in an outdoor smoker, then keeping the fire going for hours. Stovetop smokers eliminate a lot of the time and effort it used to take to smoke food, and smoking is a healthful way to cook, because you don't need to use oils or fats to cook, and much of the fat drips away while you are cooking.

Stovetop smokers are made of stainless steel, which is durable and easy to clean. They include the smoker unit itself, a stainless steel drip tray to separate the wood chips from the food, and a stainless steel rack that holds the food. The smoker also includes a self-fitted lid that slides over the top of the smoker, sealing the unit to keep the smoke inside.

Smoking with a Stovetop Smoker

It's quite simple to get started using a stovetop smoker. All you need is the smoker, some wood chips of your choice, and a liquid to soak the wood chips. Once you soak the wood chips, you place the stainless steel drip tray over the chips, and place the rack on the tray. Heat up the smoker on your stovetop until the wood begins to smoke, and then place the food on the rack, and slide the self-fitting lid into place, and you are smoking your first meal! How long you heat the wood chips is totally up to you, and how much smoky taste you desire.

The longer you heat the wood chips before you begin to cook, the smokier the final flavor will be. The longer you cook the food, the smokier it will become, so you should also take this into account when pre-heating your wood chips. For example, if you are smoking a slab of ribs for an hour, then you will only need to pre-heat your wood chips for a few minutes, because they will continue to smoke during the cooking process. If you are only cooking your food for a short amount of time, you will want to heat the wood chips longer, so they are smoking when you add the food, and impart the smoky flavor during a quicker cooking time.

Smoker manufacturers note that using a smoker on a flat- or ceramic-topped stove may not give the optimum results, but I have one of these stoves, and I have never had a problem with my smoker. I simply place the smoker over a front and back burner, and turn both to the recommended temperature in the recipe. If you do have a problem with your flat-topped stove, you may need to increase the cooking time for the best results.

Types of Wood to Use

You can use just about any type or flavor of wood chips in your stovetop smoker, just be sure that the chips are meant for smoking. Any type of treated wood should never be used for cooking or smoking. Most supermarkets now carry a variety of wood chips for barbecues that can be used in smoking. Look in the barbecue aisle of your supermarket, or in the camping or outdoor aisle. I've found chips in both places when I shop.

These wood chips or chunks come in a variety of flavors, from apple, alder, cherry, and hickory, to mesquite and everything in between. As you learn to smoke in your smoker, you'll discover whether you prefer to use chunks or chips, and which flavors work with which foods, and which flavors you prefer. I like hickory or mesquite for beef and pork, because they produce a stronger, smokier flavor. I prefer lighter woods, such as alder or apple for seafood and chicken, because they give a lighter smoke flavor to the food. It is fun to experiment and come up with your own combinations. As you learn more about smoking, you'll find your favorite woods and cooking times for just the right smoke flavor for every dish.

The manufacturers recommend using about two tablespoons of wood per dish, but I find I use more, especially if I use finer chips, rather than larger chunks of wood. As you use your smoker, you'll come to learn how much wood and liquid you prefer with each dish. Smoking is really a lot about your personal tastes and preferences, so there really is no "right" or "wrong" way to smoke your favorite dishes, it's simply about imparting the smoky taste you personally prefer.

Types of Liquids to Use

You can use just about any type of liquid to soak your wood chips, and you'll learn the liquid also imparts a subtle flavor to the finished dish, so you can experiment with liquids combined with wood chips for a wide variety of tasty choices. You can use water to soak the chips, but I prefer to use a juice or other beverage, because of the extra flavors added. You can use your favorite wine or beer, or any type of fruit juice, such as apple, pear, or orange. Just make sure you pick a juice that will not overpower the wood chips you are using.

How much liquid you use to soak the chips, and how long you soak them, also is based on the cooking time. If you will be cooking for an hour or more, you'll need to use more liquid, and soak for a longer period of time. Shorter cooking times require less soaking, and less liquid. I simply pour the wood chips in the bottom of the smoker and add the liquid. I let the chips soak right in the smoker, and then begin to heat it when the chips have soaked enough. Some people line their smokers with foil before they add the chips, to keep the smoker cleaner, but I don't like the taste of burned foil, and so I skip this step.

Stovetop smokers are become more and more popular as people continue to watch the fat and calories in their foods. Taking care of your smoker isn't that hard if you follow a few simple steps.

Cleanup and Maintenance

Cleaning your smoker is really not that difficult. The tray, rack, and lid can go right into the dishwasher. I cover the tray with foil to make it easier to clean, and I always use a non-stick cooking spray on the rack, and on the tray. The smoker itself does tend to build up charcoal in the bottom. You'll need to scrape this out, and place it in the trash after the wood chips have thoroughly cooled.

If you dispose of the wood chips when they are still warm, they could cause a fire. If you get too much buildup of burned chips in the bottom of the smoker, you can simply place the smoker in your self-cleaning oven the next time you clean it. The wood chips will burn away, and the smoker will be as good as new. The smoker tends to discolor after smoking a few times, but this is normal, and you don't need to worry about it.

Recipe Using a Stovetop Smoker

Smoked Shrimp Quesadillas

I like to use a good quality Mexican beer to soak the chips in this recipe, and a garlic-flavored olive oil for the marinade, although a hot-pepper or cilantro flavored oil would also go quite nicely in this recipe.

1 pound large raw shrimp (21 to 24 per pound), shelled and de-veined (leave tails on)
1/2 cup lime juice fresh-squeezed
1/4 cup orange marmalade
3 cloves garlic minced and mashed to paste with 1 tsp. kosher salt
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (flavored if you prefer)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Pepper jack cheese, grated
Four burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
1 can or bottle of Mexican beer, or liquid of your choice

Whisk together the lime juice, marmalade, garlic paste, cilantro, 3 tablespoons of the oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Reserve 1/3 cup mixture in a small bowl for dipping. In a large resealable plastic bag combine the shrimp with remaining mixture and marinate, chilled, tossing occasionally to coat the shrimp, about 45 minutes. Drain shrimp and lightly pat dry between paper towels.

While shrimp is marinating, add your choice of wood chips to the bottom of your smoker. Add water, juice, wine, or beer to cover the chips, and let soak for at least 30 minutes.

Heat smoker on medium heat over two burners on stove until the wood chips just begin to smoke. Place shrimp on grate over tray in smoker, and cover with lid. Let shrimp smoke about 5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink, but not rubbery. (Cooking time will depend on the size of the shrimp you use; larger shrimp will take longer to cook. Don't let the shrimp get too smoky; too strong a smoke taste can overpower this dish.)

While shrimp are smoking, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet until hot but not smoking. Remove shrimp from smoker, let cool, and slice into bite-sized pieces. Fold each tortilla in half. Fill each tortilla with some of the shrimp, and add about a tablespoon of the dipping sauce to moisten. Top with grated cheese to taste. Fold the top half of the tortilla over the mixture, and then fry in hot olive oil until just brown on both sides. (You can also "grill" these under the broiler in your oven, carefully turning them to brown on both sides, or grill these on the grill, or in a stovetop grill pan.) Serve garnished with fresh salsa, guacamole, and/or sour cream.

Makes 16 appetizer servings.