Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 47

Smoke Signals
SMOKY FLAVORS SPARK CREATIVITY IN FOOD AND COCKTAILS
AT RESTAURANTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
BY SARAH GLEIM

W

here there is smoke, there is
good food.
Long before there was refrigeration, smoke was the most
common way to preserve and extend the life of
food—particularly meat. But the introduction
of the refrigerator and freezer certainly didn’t
put an end to smoking. Chefs around the globe
can stand the heat. In fact, they relish it, continuing to elevate this age-old form of cooking
to an art, and experimenting with new foods
In more recent years, smoking has made
its way across lines of traditional cooking
gether more exciting. Murray’s in New York
offers a variety of seasonal smoked cheeses;
Fran’s Chocolates in Seattle has won awards
for its sumptuous smoked salt caramels; and
Williams Chase distillery in Herefordshire,
England, is offering a limited edition run of
its English oak smoked vodka.
And, when discussing smoked foods, it
would be remiss to ignore the slow-cured
bacon and ham from artisan purveyors like
Tennessee-based Benton’s, which has never
been more popular. In addition to these
handcrafted gourmet foods, chefs also have
been at the forefront of the smoking phenomenon, perhaps as a way to return to
more traditional cooking methods. “All you

The Oak Room’s Georgia barbecue tacos incorporate smoked pulled pork for a distinct flavor.

mixologists from San Francisco and New York
to Los Angeles and Vail, Colo., are smoking
ever ][