Pictures of smoker and pan for smoking

A recipe for hot-smoked salmon
Smoking in a wok

1. The smoker

On the left is my smoker, which I got in 1988. I use it regularly, and it still functions great. Newer smokers may look different, but essentially they work in the same way.

1 – The box.
2 – The foot of the smoker where you place the burner. But you can also place the box directly on the stove..
3 – The dripping tray.
4 – The grids. In this smoker you can smoke two layers at the same time..
5 – The lid.
6 – The burner. Fuel: burning paste.
7 – The lid of the burner. Can be used as measuring spoon for the sawdust: one spoonful is enough to smoke a whole side of salmon.

Preparing the smoker

To prepare your smoker, cover the bottom of the smoker with aluminium foil, shiny side up. On this you sprinkle the sawdust (woodchips work better in a cold smoker or on the bbq). Now you put in the dripping tray, and one or both of the greased grids. The food that is to be smoked you place on the grid. Close the smoker and put it on the burner or the stove. Use a large burner on the stove. First turn the heat on high until the sawdust starts to smoke (couple of minutes), then lower the heat.

Two layers of salmon trout, cured and dried but not yet smoked.

The closed smoker on the stove.

The sawdust before smoking.

The sawdust after smoking.

2. Smoking in a pan

If you do not have a smoker and do not want to get one, you can still smoke food, using an ordinary pan.

Line a large cooking pan crosswise with two layers of aluminium foil, shiny side up. Sprinkle the sawdust on the foil. Using something to create some distance (little empty cans of tomato purée) place a plate as dripping tray. Use a fitting grid or something like bamboo skewers which have been steeped in water for half an hour. Place the food on the grid or skewers.

Cover the pan. The lid is also lined with alufoil, which is krinkled together with the overhanging foil from the pan to close it off.

A piece of smoked salmon.

The sawdust on the bottom of the pan after smoking. You can see that the sawdust has not been burned everywhere. Maybe the pan was off center.