A Note on Home Smoking

For smoking chicken, turkey, or fish we use a box-type electric smoker equipped with two shelves, a hanging bar with hooks, and a drip pan. It also has an electric element over which sits a small pan to hold the wood that produces the flavorful smoke. You can use hickory or any other hardwood such as oak, applewood, or sassafras—or you can use corncobs. Hickory chunks, chips, or sawdust are sold in bags where smokers are sold.

Don’t try to use a box smoker indoors, even under a strongly vented range hood or in a fireplace, unless you want your premises to be redolent of hardwood smoke for a long time. Instead, smoke outdoors, in a spot sheltered from chilling winds. Plan to check the rate at which the fuel is burning about every hour, until you learn how fast your smoker consumes a panful of chunks, chips, or sawdust. (Sawdust burns the fastest.)