Choose smoking wood, compare hot and cold smoking equipment, and learn practical techniques for fish, meat and cheese.
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Far more than fish and bacon. Here is a beginner's list of foods to smoke at home, grouped by type, with whether to hot or cold smoke each one, which woods suit it and how tricky it is.
Bitter, ashy smoked food usually comes from heavy, dirty smoke. This troubleshooting guide covers the common home smoking problems, from generators going out to sweating cheese, with clear fixes for each.
Salt is what turns a fillet into smoked fish. Here is how to brine or dry cure mackerel, trout and salmon, how long to leave them, and how to dry them properly before they meet the smoke.
A week-by-week plan for home smoking at Christmas, from smoked salt gifts in late November to hot-smoked mackerel for pâté on the 23rd, with the food-safety basics that matter.
Alder gives a very light, delicate, slightly sweet smoke and is the traditional wood for salmon on North America's Pacific coast. What it suits and which grade to buy.
Apple wood gives a mild, sweet, fruity smoke that suits fish, chicken, pork and cheese. Which grade to use and how it compares with cherry and hickory.
Beech gives a mild, clean, slightly nutty smoke, long used in European smokehouses for fish, ham and sausages. What it suits and which grade to buy.
Which smoking wood suits which fish: oak for mackerel and kippers, alder, apple or beech for salmon and trout, and the strong woods to keep away from delicate fillets.
Cherry gives a mild, slightly sweet, fruity smoke and a rich reddish colour. What it suits, which grade to buy and how it compares with apple.
Hickory gives a strong, savoury, bacon-like smoke that suits pork, ribs, beef and sausages. How much to use, when to blend it and why it can overpower fish.
Maple gives a mild, subtly sweet smoke that suits poultry, pork, cheese and vegetables. Which grade to buy and how it compares with apple.
Mesquite gives the strongest, earthiest smoke of the common woods and is a Texan barbecue classic for beef. How much to use and what to avoid.
Oak gives a medium, balanced smoke and is the traditional British smokehouse wood for kippers and smoked salmon. What it suits, which grade to buy, and bourbon-soaked oak.
Understand cold-smoking equipment and the safety limits before preparing salmon at home. Cold smoke does not cook fish, and this overview is not a validated curing recipe.
Hot-smoke mackerel, salmon or trout at home with a stovetop smoker or barbecue: preparation, wood choice, temperature and a simple doneness check.
Turn a gas or charcoal barbecue into a simple smoker: where to place the box, how many chips to use and how to get clean smoke without soaking everything.
A practical guide to filling, lighting and positioning a cold smoke generator, keeping it alight and controlling temperature for cheese, salmon and bacon.
Cold-smoking cheese needs controlled handling, suitable equipment and refrigeration. Smoke is a flavouring step, not a reason to extend the cheese's use-by date.
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