With any luck, by the time you read this things will have warmed up a bit. As I write this, however, it’s 17 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind-chill factor of three below zero. I can see our grill collection outside, covered with snow and ice, sitting forlornly among the tangle of branches that fell during the storm. We had to put up with a lot and do without a lot after the storm: four days without heat, light, or water. Just as our days without power after this year’s tornadoes did, this outage certainly made us aware of modern conveniences and gave us an appreciation for what life must have been like in earlier times.
One thing we didn’t have to do without was the smoky flavors those grills give us in warmer months. That’s because of a special pan that’s become one of my family’s most valued kitchen tools, the Camerons Stovetop Smoker.
I first heard about the Stovetop Smoker several years ago. A friend introduced me to the chef of Mountain Jack’s Restaurant, saying, “He’s doing some good stuff — he even smokes his own fish and seafood.”
“That’s great!” I said. “Do you have a special smoking unit?”
“Naw,” replied the chef, a large man with a booming voice. “I’ve just got this Cameron Stovetop thing.”
Unfortunately, only a few days after our conversation, a fire swept through Mountain Jack’s, and it never reopened. I never saw the chef again, and I don’t remember his name. I’ll always be grateful to him, though, for the introduction to the Stovetop Smoker.
Not long after, we acquired our first smoker. We used it a couple of times, and then it got put on the shelf. I don’t remember why — maybe it was one of those crazy busy times. If so, it was a shame, because the Stovetop Smoker is great for a quick and easy meal. Whatever the reason we initially put it aside, a couple of years later we tried it again, and it’s been in use at least once a week since.
It’s possible to jury-rig a stovetop smoker with a regular pan or pot, a rack, and a foil tent. It’s also messy and fraught with potential culinary disaster. The rack has to fit well inside the pan, and smoke stains can be difficult if not impossible to remove. Unless your pan is sturdy, it can easily overheat and be ruined.
The Camerons Stovetop Smoker, on the other hand, is perfectly designed for its purpose. It consists of a heavy rectangular pan with a ridged bottom and hinged handles that bend along the pan’s sides for storage. About 2 tablespoons of wood chips (actually more like sawdust) is placed on the bottom. A drip tray that fits inside the pan goes on top of that, and then a nonstick rack inside that. The lid slides onto the pan and seals it shut. I like to put a heavy skillet on top to ensure the seal. Because it’s sealed, the kitchen smells pleasantly of smoke but not overpoweringly so. The inside will darken with use, but because it’s specifically made for smoking, it’s OK to just let it age, much as you would good iron skillet. Rather than put the wood chips directly onto the pan, I like to sandwich them in a piece of folded aluminum foil. Once that’s been done and the drip pan line with foil, the only thing that needs cleaning is the nonstick rack.
The best thing about the Camerons Stovetop Smoker is that, because it’s sealed, it smokes food with moist heat. This makes it especially good for delicate foods that may dry with grilling or conventional smoking. Unless they’re poached, things such as vegetables, fish, and seafood almost always need some kind of fat brushed on, regardless of whether they’re being grilled, sautéed, roasted, or smoked. Because the Stovetop Smoker cooks food in a sealed environment, no additional fat is needed except for flavor. For this reason, it’s ideal if you want to compensate for holiday indulgences or just keep an eye on calories.
There’s certainly no sacrifice of flavor: The smoked trout and salmon I’ve made are as good as — if not better — than those I’ve purchased for high prices in specialty-food shops. Shrimp smoked in the Stovetop Smoker are fantastic, and I often make them for an appetizer that always is quickly devoured. However, they’re so easy that, paired with a salad, they’ve also become one of our everyday quick light meals, one that I use the Stovetop Smoker to prepare no matter what the weather.
The Stovetop Smoker isn’t just for fish and seafood. I’ve smoked vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, and garlic, as well as chicken, pork chops, sausages, beef, and lamb. Do be aware that the smoker is not a grill: it doesn’t provide grill marks or the browning/caramelization that comes with sautéing or grilling. It’s easy enough, however, to quickly brown meats once they’ve been smoked.
I’ve given Camerons Stovetop Smokers to my kids, my sister-in-law, friends, and neighbors. The smoker is available at such cooking-supply stores as Sur La Table (www.surlatable.com) and Chefs Catalog (www.chefscatalog.com), but it’s also available (at a lower price) directly from the company (www.cameronscookware.com, 888-563-0227). The company’s price is $49.50 for the full-size smoker (which includes instructions, recipes, and four types of chips — alder, oak, hickory, and cherry) and $29.50 for a smaller version that includes the recipes and instructions, as well as hickory and cherry chips. The company also offers other cooking/barbecue items and 10 varieties of wood chips, the aforementioned varieties plus bourbon oak, mesquite, apple, corncob, maple, and pecan.
Try a Stovetop Smoker, and see how much fun you can have smoking indoors without breaking the law!
Send questions and comments to Julianne Glatz at realcuisine@insightbb.com.
This article appears in Dec 14-20, 2006.
