Liquid smoke it, if you got it

Liquid smoke feels like one of the magic tonics or potions from the crank doctors who used to advertise in Sears’ catalogs and travel via medicinal road shows. But the all-natural food additive — it’s smoke-infused water — is regaining popularity for people slow-cooking roasts inside of a crock pot instead of putting them on a grill.

The process of making liquid smoke is pretty cool to watch. It is distilled smoke, typically from mesquite or hickory wood, that’s then often aged in oak barrels. Here, the process is compared to a water bong. You can buy it in bottles or attempt to emulate the Food Network’s Alton Brown and build your own fire pit in order to harvest the liquid smoke.