GIFT: Smoking Gun – Smoke Gun – Smoke Infuser For Food & Drinks
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The term “smoking gun” is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act. But there’s no crime in purchasing a smoking gun—a.k.a. smoke gun—for cold-smoke cooking. Creative cooks will love this kitchen gadget. We purchased one after paying $20 a pop for smoking cocktails at one of our favorite restaurants. When we realized how easy it was to recreate a smoked cocktail at home, we purchased a smoke gun: this Homia Smoking Gun Wood Smoke Infuser Kit on Amazon, which included all the accessories and wood chips so we could immediately get to work. You can buy a smoke gun for as little as $20, but you also need wood chips. We’ll share a smoked cocktail recipe below, but first, all the things you can do with a smoke gun. The smoke not only excites the nose, but it adds a delightful depth of flavor. While a smoke gun is a great addition to the kitchen, first note that a smoke gun doesn’t smoke food in the manner of a backyard smoker, over many hours of cooking. It is cold-smoking, not hot-smoking: It gives a 30-second infusion of smoke flavor to cooked food or a drink, or to ingredients you’ll use to make a recipe. Like a kitchen torch (and of a similar size), a smoke gun is a small tool that delivers big flavor. You add wood chips or other flavor agent (there’s a list below), and the gun converts the chips, cinnamon, herbs, etc. to smoke. The gun blows the smoke into your food or drink, infusing it with smoke flavor. Far from being exotic, it is easy to use with your everyday foods. You can: Depending on what you’re infusing:
When the smoking cocktail is brought to the table (photo #1) and the waiter (or you) removes the dome that’s keeping the smoke inside (photo #2), the whole table gets to enjoy the aroma. To make it at home, you need a glass dome (or wide-mouth vase, to hold in the smoke), a smoke gun, a smoking agent (e.g. wood chips), and ideally, a jumbo ice cube (it works better than regular cubes). Instead of a dome, you can use the hose of the smoke gun to blow smoke directly into the cocktail. This is also how you infuse smoke onto cooked food. Ingredients Per Cocktail |
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For The Rosemary Simple Syrup You can also use this syrup in iced tea, hot tea or lemonade, on fruit salad, as pound cake glaze and sorbet topping, and of course, to flavor sophisticated snow-cones. 1. MAKE the simple syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high, whisking occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Then simmer for a few more minutes until liquid is completely clear. Remove the saucepan from the heat. 2. ADD the rosemary and let it infuse in the simple syrup for 30 to 60 minutes, until the mixture is thick and syrupy. 3. REMOVE the rosemary from the pan and pour the syrup into a glass jar. Refrigerate, tightly capped. It will keep for at two weeks (twice as long for unflavored simple syrup). 1. SHAKE all the ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a jumbo ice cube. Garnish with rosemary. 2. SMOKE with hickory wood with a smoke gun under a glass dome. 3. BRING to the table still covered. Remove the dome in front of the guest (or yourself) so everyone can enjoy the aroma. Here are videos specific to cocktails.
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