How to Smoke Food in a Henny Penny Oven

Restaurant ovens can be used to smoke foods.

Smoking food, as a preservative and flavoring technique, is a centuries-old practice. It can be done outdoors over a smoky fire, but usually it's preferable to use a standalone smoker or even a large-scale smokehouse, where the conditions can be controlled more readily for a consistent result. In restaurants a smoker isn't always available, so chefs use the equipment they've got. An ordinary range oven works, but microprocessor-controlled ovens including the Henny Penny line give the chef better control. Does this Spark an idea?

Print this article

Preparing the Food
- Before any food can be smoked, it needs to undergo a certain amount of preparation. Usually this involves salting it lightly with dry salt or a brine of salt and water, usually also including sugar and other flavoring ingredients. Small items such as a duck breast or fillet of fish need only an hour or two, while turkeys or hams might need days. Once brined, the food is left to dry for several hours. This forms a skin called a "pellicle" over the exposed surfaces, which helps the smoke adhere.
Preparing to Smoke
- Spread a layer of wood chips in a hotel pan lined with aluminum foil. Some chefs soak the chips in water first, but it's not necessary. For an Asian flavor, use loose tea leaves instead of the wood chips. Cover the hotel pan with a perforated steamer insert. Place a wire rack inside the perforated insert and arrange the food on this rack, leaving ample room for the smoke to surround the food. Cover the food with a lid or a layer of aluminum foil.
Preparing the Oven
- Henny Penny ovens are among a sophisticated class of cooking appliances known as "combi-ovens" for their ability to work as a convection oven, a steamer or both. In this instance, convection mode is the proper choice. On a Henny Penny oven, the correct button has an icon of three wavy lines. It's located on the upper keypad. Press the CR button, on the lower keypad, to start the oven. Set the roasting temperature on the same keypad, usually 275 F to 300 F for oven-smoking.
Smoking the Food
- Select the Probe Cooking button on the lower keypad. It shows a thermometer attached to a T-shaped probe. Set the internal temperature needed for your food. A slab of bacon should be smoked to an internal temperature of 150 F, for example, while a duck breast requires 165 F. Insert the probe into your food, and replace the lid. Open the door and slide the improvised smoker into the oven. The smoke will circulate in the pan and smoke the food. Once it reaches the correct internal temperature, open the door slightly and wait for smoke and steam to dissipate before removing the smoking pan.