The original liquid smoke controversy (it's fine, btw)

[irongolem]

"I'd bet that if I worked on that recipe some more and kind of replicated the heating environment of a hot smoker, I could produce some liquid smoke barbecue that would fool a blindfolded purist." You know what you have to do, now.

[victormillen]

Of all the bottled flavorings you could get these days, liquid smoke being literally smoke in a liquid is quite a surprise to me.

[DualKeys]

My husband's Japanese aunt is famous for her chocolate muffins. She brings them to every family gathering, and they are always a hit. This past Christmas, however, my sister-in-law took a bite of one and found it so nasty she had to spit it out. Everyone else surreptitiously tasted the muffins and all agreed that something was horribly, horribly wrong with them. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that she must have mistakenly used liquid smoke instead of vanilla extract. Her husband was barbecuing at the time, which is probably why she didn't notice. We never had the heart to tell her, but the story of those chocolate liquid smoke muffins will go down in family history.

[AlexE]

They probably don’t advertise how few carcinogens are in the product for the same reason Hershey’s doesn’t advertise how few bugs are in their product. Better for the consumer to just not think about it. But if you stamp “50% less carcinogens!” On the bottle now most consumers go “whoa, I didn’t know this had carcinogens in it”

[CoxTH]

I think one of the reasons liquid smoke gets a bad rep is because the stuff you get in bottles is actually super highly concentrated. So if you put it directly onto your meat or food, it overpowers everything else and gives an "artificial" taste. It's meant to be diluted first (like in the marinade for those chicken legs).

[jayteegamble]

This is why Adam Ragusea's channel is so great. I had been avoiding liquid smoke for health reasons because that was just conventional wisdom. Now we just need some liquid smoke recipes.

[ZaDussault]

To me, it feels like an argument I had with a friend. They told me that "cow milk is mislabeled, because in fact, it's cow's boob juice with pus and fat." And yeah, they're right, but... that's what milk is, this is why there's a word for it

[Chris-uteq]

I only wish there was a carcinogenic test or standard for liquid smoke. And it seems like a good marketing message to me as well "Meets or exceeds USDA <insert standard name here>"

[davidotoole]

I live in the UK. No culture of barbque like in America. Even I, by mememic osmosis, was wary of buying liquid smoke until this video. Thanks Adam.

[WorkshopGreg]

I've made liquid smoke before using that method. It's great - much prefer it over the bottled stuff, but that's because I can control what species of wood to use and thus can create a custom liquid smoke that suits the dishes I'm making. Bonus: A hint of liquid smoke frozen into an ice cube and placed in a bourbon drink is heaven on earth.

[DiamondAxolotl]

The real wonder of this video is the fact that, at some point in time, the US government actually gave a shit about false advertising.

[aidanwarren]

As a southern vegetarian, liquid smoke is an amazingly useful ingredient for replicating the flavor of southern vegetable dishes without using smoked meats! Southern-style collard greens, and any kind of bean dish, are usually prepared with smoked ham or bacon. A dash of liquid smoke gets me most of the way there, without the ham.

[mnemonik]

As an apartment dweller Liquid Smoke (the one from Texas) has been a game changer for me for like 20 years! I thought everybody knew that it's a concentrated liquid and you only need a little bit to add that 'smoked' flavor. It's a great addition to BBQ beans as well. 😋

[bzkdmtu]

Saw some people asking for the bbq recipe because apparently Adam wasn't specific enough. Can't find the comments now but I don't want my work to go to waste.

​ Literally just do what he does in the video. Brine some chicken leg quarters with liquid smoke added to the brine (enough water to cover, then like 2% salt by weight, a splash of liquid smoke).

Put them in any metal vessel and cover tightly with foil. 325 °F, pull them at like 45 minutes, test with a fork if they're done yet. If they aren't, recover and check again every 15 minutes. If you're fancy you can use a probe thermometer, target like 175 °F internal. They'll get hotter during phase 2.

Once they're cooked remove the foil, bump the oven to like 400 °F, baste with barbecue sauce.

If you don't like your results try again next week.

[spcraft]

My grandma has been adding liquid smoke to her venison jerky recipe for years. It makes it taste like it was smoked rather than just thrown in a dehydrator.

[pratikpramanik]

Low key the most shocking thing about this video is learning the existence of car wash subscriptions.

[Eyerleth]

Funny that you made this video. About a year ago, I got curious about what liquid smoke could be, because it just...sounded fake? So I went and looked it up, and lo, discovered that it's exactly what it says on the tin.

[TheWindseed]

I enjoyed reading the judgement, so clear and well reasoned. As someone from outside of the US I think one of the biggest reasons for your success in the 20th century was how well the law functioned in the US compared to other countries.

[fernandomorales]

I can't believe this video just posted. I just finished opening and using a bottle of liquid smoke that I have had for like a year because I wondered about the carcinogens!

[fjordojustice]

I'm so used to learning that products like this secretly aren't what they claim to be. Kind of a nice surprise to learn the opposite for once - I always assumed liquid smoke was some sort of weird artificial flavouring, but it turns out that it's exactly what it says on the tin.