Liquid smoke is a powerful and flavorful cooking ingredient that you can add to meats and other foods to give them a smoky barbecue flavor. It is possible to make your own liquid smoke at home, but you do need a chimenea, smoker, or grill that has a chimney on it. The process is very simple, but it does take quite a bit of time. The trick is to capture the smoky condensation that’s released when you smoke wood chips on the grill, smoker, or fire.

Liquid smoke really is made from smoke. Chips or sawdust from hardwoods such as hickory or mesquite are burned at high temperatures, and particles of the smoke are collected in condensers. The resulting liquid is concentrated down to a stronger flavor.