Adding Smoky Flavour to Your Food Without Charcoal (2024)

• Burnt Food

Whether you’re whipping up a western essential such as a barbeque beef burger, or cooking an Asian staple like a kebab, one must-have element of each of these crowd favourites is that signature smoky flavour that accentuates the meat and teases diners to take a bite.

These dried and smoked jalapeño peppers are spicy, smoky and a lot of fun to use in recipes! These are available in powder form or as whole dried peppers, and are perfect for sauces, dips and meat marinades.

Just sprinkle some onto your meat and vegetables, or cook them whole with your ingredients, and you’ll have a hot, spicy and smoky dish to tempt diners with.

An easy “hack” for adding a smoky flavour to your dishes is by using smoked cheese. What’s more, the versatility of this ingredient means you can use it in a variety of ways – sprinkled on salad as a garnish, used as a key ingredient in a sandwich, or melted in a calzone for smoky and gooey goodness in every bite.

Even better, you’re not limited to using a specific cheese, as almost every type of cheese has a smoked version – from cheddar to Gouda, ricotta and mozzarella, just to name a few.

At a glance, this may seem like a pricey option, but you’ll only need a drizzle to add an alluring smoky flavour to your potatoes, veggies, meats or pastas.

This fascinating olive oil is created by infusing smoke from oak, beech and birch wood into the oil – and it tastes every bit as exotic as its manufacturing process sounds, which is why we recommend a “less is more” approach when adding smoked olive oil to dishes. This way, you’ll prevent overpowering the taste of your key ingredients.

This option is so simple, yet so effective, it should be considered cheating! Simply add a helping of Hellmann’s Smoked Chilli dressing to your smoked dish – whether it’s a pasta, stir fried vegetables, burger patty or steak – and let the sauce’s smoky aroma and flavour work its magic.

As a bonus, your diners will also enjoy an excitement of spiciness that the sauce introduces to your dish. With this in your kitchen, it’s easy to turn any of your existing dishes into smoky, spicy delights that will thrill fans of flaming cuisine.

Alternatively, if you would like to give a charred taste to your dishes without needing to burn your dishes, simply use the Hellmann’s Charred Tomato and Capers Dressing! It is not just used as a dressing, but also great as a sauce or dip. Simply drizzle some over your burgers and meats, and you can easily add the rich and complex profile to your recipes and impress your guests!

Borrowing an Indian method of adding a smoky flavour to food, burn a batch of dry red chillies over the flame from your stove. This will add a smoky aroma to the chilli. Next, crush the chillies and add them to your dishes to infuse the dishes with the chillies’ smoky flavour.

This technique delivers a dual sensory punch of spiciness and smokiness, which happens to be a flavour combination that’s well-loved by diners across Asia