Smoking technique and recipes by Masanti Stefano

In an age when cooking is moving ever closer to science and the hearth to the laboratory, smoking is one of the few techniques that retains something of the mysterious. Deeply evocative, the taste and aroma of smoke recall a more atavistic connection to food, even when employed with great discretion.
Need a cabin or at least a fireplace? Not necessarily. Stefano Masanti shows that there is more than one way to smoke (cold, semi-hot, hot) and examines a range of tools for doing so. From basic methods that employ ordinary kitchen equipment to semi-professional methods that use dedicated tools, the chef has scouted out something for every level of expertise and budget.
He offers advice on the woods and foods best suited for smoking and the delicate relationship between times and temperatures. It reveals the science behind various techniques, addresses controversies over the healthiness of smoked foods, and discusses preparatory steps (salting, brining, marinating, rub) that enhance flavors and combat the drying effect of smoke. In the end, he describes several ingenious ways to combine cold smoking with traditional and modern cooking techniques to achieve surprising results.
Through recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts, the chef demonstrates how the most ethereal and elusive substance can present layered and complex yet, somehow, deeply familiar organoleptic sensations to the palate.