Smokin': Recipes for Smoking Ribs, Salmon, Chicken, Mozzarella, and More with Your Stovetop Smoker [Paperback]

Christopher Styler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

Get that great taste of wood-smoked food using the top of your kitchen stove.

Contains everything you need to know about smoking foods at home, using a stovetop smoker.

Chris serves up 36 master recipes for smoking everything from whole chickens to shrimp, plus 95 recipes for soups, salads, and sides that use smoked ingredients. There's Tea-Smoked Duck; Smoked Eggplant Soup; and Fettuccine with Smoky Salmon, Peas, and Leeks to name just a few. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your love for smoky flavor. With Chris Styler's tips, techniques, and pointers, smoking food is simple, fast, and the taste speaks for itself. Smokin' -- it's well, smokin'.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Move over George Foreman. In the unique tradition of cookbooks constructed for a specific kitchen gadget, Chef Styler (formerly of the Black Dog Tavern in Martha's Vineyard) weighs in with 95 recipes for the CMI Stovetop Smoker, a contraption that requires just a handful of wood chips and heat from any kitchen stove. Often, the simplest of the book's dishes put the salivary glands into overdrive. Corn on the Cob and Garlic Mashed Potatoes speak for themselves. Smoked Corn Chips take 10 minutes to become warm and flavorful, thus enhancing the Smoky-Spicy Salsa, with smoked tomatoes, in which they're dipped. In-Flight Almonds combine sugar, salt, a bit of cayenne pepper and the scent of hickory for the classic savory snack, with no seatbelts required. Beef Jerky employs strips of bottom round, which are tossed in salt and brown sugar and smoked in mesquite or hickory, then oven-dried at low heat for four hours. Most of the recipes involve a finishing off, or some pre-cooking, in the oven or on the stovetop, since the Smoker favors complexity of taste over high heat. Styler doesn't overlook soups and seafood, uniting the two in Smoky Mussel Chowder with plenty of cream and butter offsetting the mollusks' intensity. Among the more complex offerings, Pulled Pork stands a chance of tasting fine given its dry rub and 45 minutes of smoke. And in a nifty variation, Tea-Smoked Duck with Asian Slaw replaces the wood with jasmine tea leaves.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Christopher Styler is the author of Primi Piatti, and his articles have appeared in Family Circle, Redbook, Woman's Day, and New York magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060548150
• ISBN-13: 978-0060548155
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Outdoor Cooking > Barbecuing & Grilling

More About the Author

Christopher Styler, experienced chef, teacher, culinary producer, and author has over 30 years of experience in the food world. Chris' love for food has taken him to the test kitchens of CUISINE and Food & Wine magazines, restaurants in Italy for study, and all across North and South America for consultation, menu design, and food preparation.

Chris was the chef of Metro C.C. in Manhattan and The Black Dog Tavern on Martha's Vineyard. He was also the chef/owner of Blue Collar Food, a Manhattan based catering company. In addition, he assisted Brendan Walsh in the opening of Arizona 206 in New York City and was responsible for the recipe development and opening of Winners, an American restaurant in Bogota, Columbia. Most recently, he served as the menu and recipe consultant for Lidia's Kansas City and Lidia's Pittsburgh, both operated by Lidia and Joseph Bastianich.

Author of Smokin', Primi Piatti, a cookbook of Italian first courses, and Working the Plate, Chris is the co author of four books, Sylvia's Soul Food with Sylvia Woods; Blue Collar Food with Bill Hodge; Vegetable Love with Barbara Kafka (winner of a 2005 IACP book award); and The Desperate Housewives Cookbook with Scott S. Tobis. Other recent publishing projects include: editing Mom's Secret Recipe File: More than 125 Treasured Recipes From the Mothers of Our Great Chefs; collaborating on Rosa's New Mexican Table with Roberto Santibanez; Daisy Cooks! by Daisy Martinez (Sept 2005; nominated for an IACP award), Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, by Lidia Maticchio Bastianich (recipient of a 2003 IACP award) and The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook, written by Amy Farges. Additionally,

Chris has served as Culinary Producer for eight PBS and Food Network television series: Viva Daisy! and Daisy Cooks! with Daisy Martinez, Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian American Kitchen with Lidia Bastianich; Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home; Savor the Southwest with Barbara Fenzl, and, America's Test Kitchen. On the other side of the camera, Chris has had numerous appearances on IVillage Live, Good Morning America, Today, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Good Day New York, The Home Show, and Lidia's Italian American Kitchen. An episode of Sara's Secrets with Chris as featured guest aired on the Food Network in August 2004.

Chris is also at home giving cooking classes or demonstrations--from large to small. He has taught in intimate settings like Sur La Table and the Kings Cookingstudio chain. As Special Project Chef for Gourmet magazine, Chris demonstrated cooking techniques for groups as large as 500 people.

In 1996, Chris started Freelance Food, LLC, a restaurant and food consulting service that specializes in recipe development for corporate clients, restaurants, and publications. He graduated cum laude from the Culinary Division of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. He is currently at work on two cookbooks as well as keeping active in television production. His website is www.chrisstyler.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smokin', September 17, 2005

By 

Spyce - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Smokin': Recipes for Smoking Ribs, Salmon, Chicken, Mozzarella, and More with Your Stovetop Smoker (Paperback)

I really like this cookbook. If you are new to indoor smoking and using the stovetop smoker, it is a very useful guide that covers tips on using the smoker, pairing woodchips with a variety of foods, and plenty of tasty recipes. It also includes the author's personal experiences with using the smoker. This is a definite plus that shows up in the recipes and indicates that the author is familiar with them and didn't just collect a bunch of untried recipes to fill up the book. One comment that caught my attention was the turkey wings, the author mentions that he doesn't smoke them to eat as a main dish because they can be tough. I used to bake turkey wings portions in the oven at a low temperature and they always turned out great. Now I smoke them first and then finish them in the oven. Now they are even better! I soak them in a brine overnight:

1 onion, quartered
4-5 cloves garlic
1 or 2 stalks of celery, quartered
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons dried herbs (optional), I usually use parsley
8 cups water

2 packs turkey wing portions, joint pieces, not the whole wings.

Place all of the ingredients, except the 8 cups of water and wings, in a blender. Add 1 cup of water. Process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Add remaining 7 cups of water. Stir to combine. Add wings. Let sit overnight. Pour off brine, rinse wings, pat dry with paper towel, and sprinkle skin with paprika. Rub it in. Prepare smoker as directed (I use about 2 tablespoons of oak or hickory). Place wings in smoker skin side up. Let wings smoke on top of stove for about 30 minutes. Place in a 325 degree oven and let them cook until tender about 45 minutes.

This is really a great book if you just got your smoker and don't know what to do with it or if you have had it awhile and are looking for new things to try like the Smoked Mozzarella served with roasted red peppers, fresh basil leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Book With a Cameron Smoker, January 19, 2007

By 

N. Leffingwell (Richwood, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smokin': Recipes for Smoking Ribs, Salmon, Chicken, Mozzarella, and More with Your Stovetop Smoker (Paperback)

Along with the Cameron Smoker I bought my husband for Christmas, I also purchased this book. Great ideas for smoking foods and some yummy recipes. It's easy to understand and the recipes we've tried have been delicious.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy & Tasty Year Around Cooking, September 20, 2006

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smokin': Recipes for Smoking Ribs, Salmon, Chicken, Mozzarella, and More with Your Stovetop Smoker (Paperback)

This is style that is not that hard and due to stovetop adaptation, one can have the healthy benefits as well as unique smokin' flavor. This aid and recipe collection will aid that immensely.

Styler was on FoodNetwork showing this off, caught my eye and appetite. He has great recipe breath here: even scrambled eggs and soups and salads, to what one typically associates with smoking: ribs, sausage, chicken, fish, etc. Favorites thus far include: Smoked Salmon Pate; Phyllo Pastry Tartletts with Smoked Shrimp and Spinach Filling; Turkey-Mushroom Barley Soup; Tea-Smoked Duck with Asian Slaw; Tea-Smoked Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry.

Only way to make this even more exceptional and useful would be "sources" listing and color photos. The latter would certainly heighten the price.