Advice/discussion on liquid smoke vs. powdered smoke

[grumpyoldman]

i have tried them both and find that the powdered smoke to be far better than the liquid smoke , in my opinion the liquid smoke has a slightly off taste to it when compared to the powdered smoke ,
in fact no one can tell the difference in taste no matter if i smoke meat on the smoker or if i use the powdered smoke . powdered smoke is harder to find than the liquid i have to order it from Amazon while most stores have the liquid smoke on hand . what do you think ?

 

[blissful]

I've never heard of powdered smoke for cooking. Do you apply it before or during or after cooking the meat?

 

[grumpyoldman]

before cooking , but i warn anyone that wants to try it , it is very strong

 

[pictonguy]

Liquid smoke works in a pinch quite well actually depending on what your smoking. The only time I used liquid smoke was with tomatoes, I ran short and needed to give it a try and it was acceptable, but haven't used it since.

 

[grumpyoldman]

Hickory Powdered Smoke

 

[thymeless]

I use powdered smoke more and then. Keeps well. Has its uses

 

[caseydog]

I've also never heard of powdered smoke, either. I do imagine it would be easy to over apply it. I have used liquid smoke, but it was many years ago, and don't recall the flavor.

CD

 

[jennyema]

I’ve only used powdered smoke in Penzey’s blends. Not a fan. And I think Liquid Smoke is pretty awful.

 

[grumpyoldman]

i use it whenever i just don't feel like fooling with the smoker or i'm doing a small piece of meat that to small to waste time and effort firing up the smoker , to me the powdered smoke is quick ,easy and no one knows the difference

 

[dragnlaw]

I've used liquid smoke and think it's great! Trouble is people use far too much and are then disgusted with the taste. It is far, far, too strong. A drop is all that is necessary. (depending on the target of course)

I believe it is just smoke filtered thru water was my understanding. To my way of thinking - and I could be waay off base - smoke from wood contains over 100 different compounds (just looked it up quick like)
But...
How It's Made
Liquid smoke is created by burning hardwood chips, capturing the smoke, and condensing it into a liquid through cooling. The resulting liquid is filtered and aged to remove impurities. Because it is a natural product, it is considered a safe alternative to traditional smoking, and the filtration process removes most harmful compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

At any rate... it is, as I said, pretty much just smoke! LOL
How much you use of the concentrate is up to you.

I also should think that the powder is even stronger/condensed. With the water being removed, no?

 

[blissful]

Both the liquid and powder are mentioned in this video. Smoked herring and smoked salmon are far worse for you than either of the smoke products, from the studies in this video.

Is Liquid-Smoke Flavoring Carcinogenic? | NutritionFacts.org

Different brands of liquid smoke flavorings have been tested for DNA-damaging potential, p53 activation, and levels of known carcinogens. Smoked foods such as ham, turkey, barbequed chicken, herring, and salmon were also tested.

nutritionfacts.org

 

[grumpyoldman]

i will need a really tall ladder to watch that video

 

[jennyema]

no one knows the difference

With the dry smoke I’ve used, I can absolutely tell the difference.

I can tell the difference with liquid smoke too.

This is the Penzey’s seasoning that I’ve used. It was a favorite of my mother’s, so she gave me a lifetime supply…

Chicago Steak Seasoning

Our #1 Selling Seasoning for Grilling - the perfect summer blend for pretty much everything you're cooking!

www.penzeys.com

 

[grumpyoldman]

thats not a pure smoke powder , so i don't think your comparing apples to apples

 

[pictonguy]

i will need a really tall ladder to watch that video

The website "NutritionFacts.org" is openly in favor of vegan‑advocacy. Heavily biased, yes, no doubt about that but it's main purpose is to extract a fact that is confirmed in the sceintific literature and not fabricated but is then very selective to fit their advocacy, so basically the risk is real in theory, but small in practice.

Basically liquid smoke contains some PAH's but far less that traditional smoked foods and some do show mutagenicity in lab tests but the regulatory agencies allow it because levels are below safety thresholds and smoked food like salmon, bacon etc generally contain more PAH's than liquid smoke which all meet safety thresholds otherwise these foods would be considered health hazard's and all of this just means the messaging is aligned with discouraging consumption of smoked fish, smoked meats, etc. But that doesn’t automatically invalidate the science, it just means the interpretation is shaped by their mission.

All cooking creates chemical byproducts but smoking creates a specific class that gets extra attention and his creates a higher concentration of PAHs compared to most other cooking methods but higher doesn't mean deadly, it just means it's more measurable. It's mostly just a case of ******** baffles brains but if your ideology (dogma) happens to align with meat is bad, it's then seen as gospel. Again my opinion travelling the highway of scientific discovery.

 

[grumpyoldman]

piconguy@ i knew i could count on you to put it in simple easy to understand language that anyone could understand

 

[dragnlaw]

mutagenicity

Well said pictonguy! I only had to look up one word!
and even then I made a good first guess.

 

[pictonguy]

Well said pictonguy! I only had to look up one word!
and even then I made a good first guess.

Yeah, it's a word that is quite common if your into nutrition and it basically means something that can effect our DNA. Beside those evil PAH's there's another compound called "Acrylamide" which is from frying or baking starchy foods, but I would guess NutritionFacts.org will never utter those "Facts".

 

[jennyema]

thats not a pure smoke powder , so i don't think your comparing apples to apples

No. Like I said, it’s a blend. But the smoke taste is very weird in it.

 

[caseydog]

The website "NutritionFacts.org" is openly in favor of vegan‑advocacy. Heavily biased, yes, no doubt about that but it's main purpose is to extract a fact that is confirmed in the sceintific literature and not fabricated but is then very selective to fit their advocacy, so basically the risk is real in theory, but small in practice.

Basically liquid smoke contains some PAH's but far less that traditional smoked foods and some do show mutagenicity in lab tests but the regulatory agencies allow it because levels are below safety thresholds and smoked food like salmon, bacon etc generally contain more PAH's than liquid smoke which all meet safety thresholds otherwise these foods would be considered health hazard's and all of this just means the messaging is aligned with discouraging consumption of smoked fish, smoked meats, etc. But that doesn’t automatically invalidate the science, it just means the interpretation is shaped by their mission.

All cooking creates chemical byproducts but smoking creates a specific class that gets extra attention and his creates a higher concentration of PAHs compared to most other cooking methods but higher doesn't mean deadly, it just means it's more measurable. It's mostly just a case of ******** baffles brains but if your ideology (dogma) happens to align with meat is bad, it's then seen as gospel. Again my opinion travelling the highway of scientific discovery.

I noticed that NutritionFacts.org seemed a lot like a lobbying website for Veganism.

I've known for years that smoked foods can increase your risk of cancer, but so can a lot of other foods. I've had cancer, and if I gave up every food that could increase my risk for cancer again, I'd have to give up a lot of things I like to eat, like smoked meats. I could become a Vegan, and then get killed in a car accident... unless I also gave up driving, which is more dangerous than eating smoked meats.

I don't eat smoked meats every day, or even every week... maybe once or twice a month, depending on the season. Moderation.

CD