Have you ever wanted the flavor of a grilled hamburger or steak so badly that you stood in three feet of snow in 40 degrees below, tending your grill? Or did you buy one of those tiny Hibachi’s that fit on the fire escape of your apartment building, but rusted out from all the rain? Well now, as long as you have an oven, you can grill, smoke-free in your own kitchen!
Someone in Finland invented this heavy-duty, large foil pouch that you place meat, fish and vegetables in and put in the oven, on top of a grill or even on a campfire. The foil pouch has two heavy layers: one that the food is in, and one layer that is permeated with natural Hickory chip essence, hardwood syrup and natural sugars. The pouch is placed in a 450 degree oven or over hot coals, and the essence smokes and seeps into the pouch with the food. No smoke comes out of the bag, no smoke can be smelled in the room, but your food has just the right amount of it to satisfy that grilled flavor craving.
The bag is really large so you can fit enough turkey, fish, chicken, hamburgers, steaks, chops (probably even hot dogs and corn on the cob) into this bag for four or more people. Put all the food in one layer and then fold the opening closed. Put this on a large cookie sheet on the bottom rack setting of your oven and follow the timing directions.
If you want to brown your meat, ten minutes before the cooking time is done, cut a small small hole in the foil to release the moisture and browning will occur. Open the end of the bag, or cut the foil on the top and smell the just right smokiness that you get from a grill: all the flavor and none of the charr or the work!
We know it’s hard to believe that you can smoke food inside and not have the fire department and the neighbors beating down your door, but its true. You’ll love the flavor that this gives to food, how easy it is to do, and all the tips and recipes that are included on the inside of the slender box that holds that foil bag.
We cooked hamburgers, meatballs and a steak in this bag and all of us were absolutely amazed at the flavor, the ease of cleanup and the lack of smoky smell in the kitchen. Fold up the bag and toss it, put the cookie sheet away, and store the leftovers in the refrigerator: no smoke, no mess. If you doubt though, you can always do a test on a grill…but just remember when the snow flies that you can do this in your oven and get grill-like results.
