Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm about to order my 1st bottle(s) of liquid smoke, but I'm unsure which to get...Mesquite or Hickory? It's for a bacon-y taste for tempeh/eggplant. So which one would deliver on taste?

I thought I'd ask my fellow Uk PPK-ers before I order.

i've only had the hickory, but i'm sure the mesquite is good too.

oh? where are you ordering that? (so they don't sell it in uk?)

You can get it on Amazon; it's just expensive enough to be off-putting for something I can live without.

I've had both, and a couple of other flavours I can't remember. I've never done a side by side comparison taste test but I don't really notice any difference between them.

I hear you. But I'm "smoke-curious", and i wonder if my life would be just that tiny bit more wonderful if I dabbled.

It would.

Then you can get a stovetop smoker and it would be heaps more wonderful.

Well, I guess i'll try one of each. There's enough liquid smoke recipes in Celine and Joni's and Isa and Terri's recipe books for me to get the taste I'm after.

I missed this post...Wow, a stovetop, now you're talking. But i guess baby steps for now.

I didn't know there were other flavours...Time to google.

Dunno if you've ordered yet, but I think the "classic" flavor that you find just about everywhere in the U.S. shops is Colgin brand Hickory. I've never actually tried any other variety, and it suits my smokey needs nicely. I just looked at their website and apparently they also have apple and pecan varieties? Madness!

ETA: I'm pretty sure that meat bacon is often hickory-smoked?

would you say liquid smoke is stronger than using M&S smoked seasalt?

I've only had Maldon smoked salt, but yes, liquid smoke is definitely stronger. You'd need to add a lot of salt to get the same smokiness. You may be better off substituting smoked paprika or chipotle in some recipes. I have occasionally smoked things by putting a piece of kitchen foil with hickory chips in the bottom of a pot and sticking a steaming rack in there. Obviously you need something with a lid that seals fairly well.

You mean your super-awesome wheat-gluten ordering local health store doesn't stock it?!

You can buy it quite easily in Glasgow and Edinburgh for £2.something. I'm pretty sure I've also seen it in the Giffnock Wholefoods. The Amazon price + postage is just ridic tho.

Yeah... they none of their stockists had it. They had Clif bars for a while, but at like £2 each for the boring non-peanut butter ones...

I tried making a stovetop smoker before using an internet tutorial and it was the smelliest thing ever.

Lupe Pinto's also sells the mesquite variety on their website. Delivery is also expensive but maybe if you're getting a few bottles at once it's worth it. Here

There's an american shop in my town that sells it, but I still have the stuff from when I went to Texas 2 years ago. One is unopened and the other i've used about a tablespoon of in 2 years!

I have both mesquite and hickory since I'm lucky enough to live 5 minutes from Lupe Pintos. The hickory is the standard liquid smoke I think. I can't actually taste the mesquite that much which was dissapointing but it's still tasty and makes it's way in to more of my cooking than is probably necessary!

I remember I saw one more flavour last time I was in Lupe Pintos but I can't remember what it was now. Hmmm.

Phew. I thought this was going to be an announcement of the un-veganness of it. I hovered over the thread for ages before clicking it, in a 'if I don't open the thread, then I won't know it's not vegan' move. That would be a sad day. I have it on [almost] everything.