There was recently a birthday here at the Confluent Kitchen. I will give you one hint.. It was mine. See, that was a good hint, right? Right?!
I got some pretty rad gifts, one of them being a stove top smoker. I’ve been talking for ages and ages about fiddling with charcuterie more. NOW IS THE TIME! Well.. last night was anyway.
I managed to make use of some the birthday items (or what I bought with a gift certificate) in a remarkable (for a Friday after work) meal.
I started with some fresh coho salmon. Not that frozen bullshit.
1) I patted it dry, and placed it on the smoking rack of my stove top smoker.
2) I put about a tablespoon and a half of alder in the bottom, added the drip tray, put the rack in, and put that on the stove top on medium heat.
3) When I saw the first wisp of smoke, I slid the smoker lid on and waited 20 minutes. In hindsight, it should have been 15, but I blame the instructions.
4) I de-lidded the smoker carefully – cause it was HOTTT.
5) I sprinkled the salmon lightly with a bit of Sel Gris Noirmoutier (grey salt from the island Noirmoutier off the coast of France – which was apart of a finishing salt kit that I received as a gift as well. More on that later.)
6) I then made a quick sauce with 1 tbsp dijon, 1 tbsp dill, and 1/2 cup milk. I seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.
7) I zested one lemon (thanks for my new zester, Sur La Table).. chopped some fresh dill.. and voila!
After this, I hickory smoked mushroom caps. They were a little TOO smoky for my tastes, so I won’t post the recipe until I perfect it.
All in all, a great meal, and it took about 25 minutes. Stay tuned for further stove top smoking exploits.
PS: My apartment smells of camp fire now. It’s an added benefit, provided no one thinks my apartment is on fire and calls the cops.. 🙂
The Confluent Kitchen 
I’ve asked for one of these for the holidays. I cant wait!
You should be excited! It’s a quick and easy way to smoke things without having to buy a crazy contraption. Secretly, I desperately want one, but I don’t have space for it. This is a great alternative. I was concerned it wouldn’t work well, but the alder REALLY came through.