Accidentally Made Liquid Smoke this Weekend

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Bumppo

Meat Mopper
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Jun 22, 2021
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So I set up my little harbor freight shed to use as my outdoor kitchen for the winter and decided to do a chuck roast over the weekend for some chili. I keep the front of it wide open and then pull open the cover at the rear peak for a little extra exhaust spot for the smoke. I noticed the roof was sagging a little too much over the stack, so I took some twine and stretched it across the posts for support. The twine just happened to cross directly over the top of the stack.

A few hours into the cook, I was standing in the tent, staring at my new smoke stain on the ceiling and noticed it was damp. and then I looked over and saw some dripping coming from the lower end of the twine. I probably stood there and stared at it with a blank look on my face for five good minutes before it finally clicked what was going on. I ran into the house and set the glass on the ground and started collecting!

I don't use liquid smoke very often, but there is definitely a time and place for it. This had a really nice scent to it, and even had a touch of the rub that I used on the chucky.

Before you say anything, the heat coming out of that stack isn't even close to being hot enough to melt anything.
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Alton Brown has an episode where he collects the smoke . Uses a foil pie pan over the stack that allows the smoke to change state back into a solid , and drips into a second pan .
I'll have to check that out and try it again on purpose. No reason to just let good smoke go to waste.
 
As far as I understand , that's how it's made . Some of his videos are hard to come by anymore .
At least for free . I get the original series on Discovery plus . I'll have to look for it .
 
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Thanks. If you find it, please let me know. I'd like to learn more about that method.

Especially since my wife just informed me that she refuses to eat anything I cook with this, since it basically rolled off a dirty tent ceiling and into a glass in the mud.
 
From what I can find it looks like it was Season 9 Episode 3 of Good Eats, that is using google search not actually watching the episode.
 
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Thanks. If you find it, please let me know. I'd like to learn more about that method.

Especially since my wife just informed me that she refuses to eat anything I cook with this, since it basically rolled off a dirty tent ceiling and into a glass in the mud.
Now that's flavor!! I'd try it
 
If you find it, please let me know. I'd like to learn more about that method.
Did some looking through episodes . Didn't find it , but didn't go through them all yet .

No luck on searching for his video , but found some of guys using his method , improved . They give him credit for the method . Some of his older stuff has been re done , by him , or improved on by others . Some things he did early on are subject to " guidelines " .

Anyway , that being said . Using a smoker with a stack , they put a cake pan for an angel food cake or a bundt cake on the stack . Open side up .
Then they lay something across that pan to hold a smaller inverted SS bowl centered over the opening in the cake pan . The smoke moves through the hole in the center of the cake pan , collects on the smaller inverted bowl , and drips back into the cake pan .
Some lay a bag of ice on the upper bowl to help the change of state , but I would think in colder temps you wouldn't need that .
 
If that is galvanized pipe I would be afraid to use it, maybe its aluminum hard to tell from here.
 
Did some looking through episodes . Didn't find it , but didn't go through them all yet .

No luck on searching for his video , but found some of guys using his method , improved . They give him credit for the method . Some of his older stuff has been re done , by him , or improved on by others . Some things he did early on are subject to " guidelines " .

Anyway , that being said . Using a smoker with a stack , they put a cake pan for an angel food cake or a bundt cake on the stack . Open side up .
Then they lay something across that pan to hold a smaller inverted SS bowl centered over the opening in the cake pan . The smoke moves through the hole in the center of the cake pan , collects on the smaller inverted bowl , and drips back into the cake pan .
Some lay a bag of ice on the upper bowl to help the change of state , but I would think in colder temps you wouldn't need that .
Thanks for looking into it.

I have a good idea on how to set something up. But I'm feeling it might be tough to recreate the conditions, anyway. It was low 30s, but really humid.
 
If that is galvanized pipe I would be afraid to use it, maybe its aluminum hard to tell from here.
It's galvanized, but that doesn't concern me at all, in this case. I've never run this smoker in over 30 degree temps, and the galvanized section of pipe is cool enough that I can wrap my hand around it and not be uncomfortable. It's still never been burned off.

And that's coming from someone who has learned the hard way about that poisoning in the past. I'll never make that mistake again.
 
It's galvanized, but that doesn't concern me at all, in this case
There's no concern there . Like you said , it will never get hot enough .
And that's coming from someone who has learned the hard way about that poisoning in the past. I'll never make that mistake again.
I got it from welding zinc slide clips on a commercial building . Bad news .
 
I got it from welding zinc slide clips on a commercial building . Bad news .
I had to improvise a stove pipe coupling at deer camp, and it was the only parts I had left. Had the windows wide open with fans running while I tried to burn it off.

Felt fine until the effects hit me the next night. I felt so awful, I honestly didn't know if I'd make it through the night.
 
I honestly didn't know if I'd make it through the night.
I get it . Drink milk my ass . Nasty orange and green flame that comes off that stuff .
I didn't want to build scaffold to weld 10 clips , so I went up on the roof and layed over the edge .
Damn smoke rolled up in my hood . I'd felt better if I would have fallen over the side .
 
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