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Add Smoke Flavor to Sauces

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Like always, there's more than one way to do anything. What methods do brethren prefer for adding a touch of smoke flavor to BBQ and other sauces?

- Liquid Smoke is one of easier ways of going about it.
- Another approach seem to be performing a 1 - 2 hr cold smoke using an Amaz 'n Tube since sauce doesn't absorb much smoke at higher temps.

The goal is to add a hint of smoked flavor to the sauce.

Ex. Smoked Applewood Maple BBQ Sauce.

You don't want to brew a batch with such a strong wood flavor that you'll have beavers crowding your lawn begging for handouts.
 
Smoke your vegetables used in the sauces..

You can also smoke your spices, like paprika and salt, these can be used in rubs and in the sauce where both can add a hint of smoke flavor
 
I know that liquid smoke is a big no-no for most people, but what about hickory powder?
 
A tad bit aside, but why all the smoke flavors in sauce? The reason I ask this is because we've done now 3 full blown sauce taste testing parties with our BBQ. Our Q is cooked using hickory and frankly has enough smoke in/on it. We dont need sauces with additional smoke flavorings.

To the point, every time we've done sauce tests, the ones with the smoke flavorings in them consistently score at the bottom of the list, because the smoke combined with the smoke on the meat is either overpowering or the smoke flavors conflict with one another.

For us, we've found that the better sauces had no smoke flavorings. The ONLY sauce that I use with smoke flavorings is Head Country, and I only use it in my Brunswick Stew; never on BBQ.
 
If your food's smoked then I don't see why you'd add smoke flavour to sauce. That being said I do use hickory powder around the kitchen for giving ketchup and beans a kick
 
I normally put it in a SS bowl and park it on the back of the pit & let it chuckle away fro a few hrs almost every sauce recipe says to simmer it for a few hrs. I hate Liquid Smoke and Im' to lazy to cook it twice.
 
When I was trying to add smoke flavor to my sauce I put about 2 cups in a SS bowl like Mr. Dawg but I would then mix that into 2 cups not smoked. It only took about 2 hours to put the flavor in. I found that the smoke in the sauce would compete with that of the meat - plus the fact that I have really devloped a taste for BBQ without sauce.
 
I didnt mean to kill the thread, it was an honest question based upon my experience and "findings" from all the sauce tasting we've done with our BBQ.

And, BTW, we've tested now some 50+ sauces using my 12 folks, some CBJ's, some just plain BBQ eaters. The sauces that do the best on my/our pork and beef have no smoke flavorings in them at all... The ones with it in them, tank. Mind you, along the way I did find the one I like best in my Brunswick Stew... :) They go great on hotdogs, and sometimes on a hamburger, and I guess if you're making crock-pot pork and adding sauce...
 
Bludawg said:
I normally put it in a SS bowl and park it on the back of the pit & let it chuckle away fro a few hrs almost every sauce recipe says to simmer it for a few hrs. I hate Liquid Smoke and Im' to lazy to cook it twice.
Click to expand...

For this reason (a positive use of it), we no longer put the ribs back on the smoker after applying sauce, as they already have enough smoke flavor. We found that sauce itself REALLY absorbs smoke flavors straight off the smoker....
 
IamMadMan said:
Smoke your vegetables used in the sauces..

You can also smoke your spices, like paprika and salt, these can be used in rubs and in the sauce where both can add a hint of smoke flavor
Click to expand...
There ya go! In addition to the above I will also use some chipotle peppers, (smoked jalapenos) finely diced, just got to be careful with those things when feeding kids and old folks. I also make my own chili powder by smoking and drying poblano peppers and then grinding them in a coffee grinder. I smoke them with mesquite and they turn out pretty good and pungent, adding a lot of flavor to a rub or a sauce.
 
+1 on adobo jalapeño peppers in sauce.

Smoke Liquide- absolutely never. Never ever.
 
I've found that smoking components used in a sauce (like spices, peppers and onions already mentioned above) will give a sauce a more subtle smoky back-flavor than putting a container of sauce in my pit, or adding liquid smoke to an existing sauce.... it seems that the last two options give the entire sauce a smoky flavor, not a hint of smoky flavor to a sauce that has other flavors in it that I want to taste.

That said, it's possible to attack the solution from another angle. Try adding some liquid smoke to ketchup. Or try putting a pan with ketchup on the pit to soak up smoke. Either way you now have a single component that has a smokey flavor.... the ketchup, and trust me ketchup takes smoke well (both natural and liquid) :thumb: Then, when building your sauce, use the smokey ketchup to add a hint of smoke flavor. You will still be able to distinguish onion, garlic or fruity flavors within the sauce, but will get a light smokey back flavor.

Plus the smokey ketchup is great by itself on fries or onion rings.
 
thirdeye said:
That said, it's possible to attack the solution from another angle. Try adding some liquid smoke to ketchup. Or try putting a pan with ketchup on the pit to soak up smoke. Either way you now have a single component that has a smokey flavor.... the ketchup, and trust me ketchup takes smoke well (both natural and liquid) :thumb: Then, when building your sauce, use the smokey ketchup to add a hint of smoke flavor. You will still be able to distinguish onion, garlic or fruity flavors within the sauce, but will get a light smokey back flavor.

Plus the smokey ketchup is great by itself on fries or onion rings.
Click to expand...

That's a brilliant idea. I'll have to try that one.
 
I keep the trim from previous smokes in the freezer. I use this trim to build stocks for all kinds of uses, but, BBQ sauce and BBQ dip are two of those uses. After I cook the aromatics down, I add a few bits of cut-off to the water and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. That pulls the smoke into the stock beautifully.

I learned this from the BBQ shops in the East Bay, they all had great sauce, and what they did was keep a live stock going, full of water, and the cut off edges and fat from the meat they sold. This stock was used to create the sauces.
 
That's the funny thing is see so many recipes using liquid smoke on all of these sites. The only time I've added any smoke flavour is cold smoking mops for 400 F hot and fast cooks.

Recently I've switch to throwing the firebox divider and using the Amaz'N'tube smoker to cold smoke the meat under indirect heat for a reverse searing. I find cold smoking and reverse searing offers better results vs. adding smoke to sauces.
 
Before anyone goes ballistic - YES, I know liquid smoke is a mortal sin.

However, it is possible to add LHS, very sparingly, and simply add to the complexity of your sauce (in a good way).
If you add enough that your taste buds can detect it's in there, you added too much.

So, there. I said it. Let the religious war begin.
Who wants to talk about foil?
 
Hal4UK said:
Before anyone goes ballistic - YES, I know liquid smoke is a mortal sin.

However, it is possible to add LHS, very sparingly, and simply add to the complexity of your sauce (in a good way).
If you add enough that your taste buds can detect it's in there, you added too much.

So, there. I said it. Let the religious war begin.
Who wants to talk about foil?
Click to expand...

Foil? We don't need no stinkin foil....

IMG_1234aaa.jpg
 
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