PolyScience Smoking Gun Handheld Food Smoker Review

If you are a fan of the smoky taste in food, (and really, who isn’t?!) here is a food appliance which gives you that smoked taste, virtually any time you want it, and in any type of food you want it in. It’s called the PolyScience Smoking Gun Handheld Food Smoker and this unique little smoker is one of the neatest gadgets to have in your kitchen. Your guests will be wowed by what you turn out with it.

The Smoking Gun Smoker allows you to transform virtually any organic burnable substance into a smoky taste for your food. You can use it to impart that grilled flavor to sous vide foods. For example, you can use wood chips, dried herbs, spices, flower petals, hay, tree bark, or tea leaves. Simply fill the chamber with the burnable of your choice, light it and push the button on the gun. It will effectively dispense cold smoke onto your food. For a more intense flavor, wrap your food with plastic wrap, and with the included hose, shoot the smoke under the wrap.

You can also seal the food in a ziploc bag with just a small enough opening to push the gun’s pipe through. Another way to do it, if you have a whole dish or steak to smoke, use a food dome to cover the dish and push the pipe under it. Allow the food to sit for a minute or two, uncover and enjoy. There are numerous other applications – you can use the smoker in a blender or food processor to impart the smoky flavor to your salsas and soups before processing or blending them.

Although it is called a gun, it actually looks more like a hand-held torch and functions much the same way, except that there is no flame. The loading chamber is small, so a little bit of a combustible substance goes a long way.

Get the Smoking Gun by PolyScience from Amazon.

Now, don’t expect to be smoking a full sized ham, a turkey or a fillet of salmon. It can’t handle that type of smoking chore which is better relegated to a backyard smoker. But if you cut off a few pieces of cooked ham, turkey or salmon, place them in a covered bowl and inject smoke beneath the cover, you will get a nice smoky taste to any of those foods.

It is very easy to use, all you’ll need are 4-AA batteries and a match or a lighter. It’s light and portable, has its own stand to rest on, and the motor that pumps out the smoke is very quiet and unobtrusive. The best part is that it is a unique design, unlike anything else, allowing you to add a touch of smoky flavor to virtually any different food.

 

Design and Features of the PolyScience Smoking Gun Handheld Food Smoker

The body is made of heavy duty plastic with a thick acrylic stand. It is durable, lightweight at less than a pound, and it is ergonomically made to fit comfortably in your hand.

 

It stands about 7 inches tall and will easily store in a cabinet or drawer until it’s time to use again.

 

There is no gas cylinder, no refueling, no flint or a wick. Just fill the chamber and light it. The motor will blow air over the smouldering material, propelling cold smoke either out of the nozzle or through an included nozzle extender hose that is 18 inch long. The hose can easily be guided beneath closed lids, into food processors, bottles, or beneath wrapping on cups, bowls or other containers. That type of versatility lets you flavor such things as sauces, salads, mixed drinks and even chocolate or ice cream.

 

You get two wood chip samples of 5-ounces each. One is a light flavor smoke of apple and the other is a strong flavor of hickory wood. You can buy other types from PolyScience too and these are perfectly sized to fit the small chamber of the gun. However, they are a bit expensive, so we recommend a cheaper Stovetop Smoker variety set of 8 that contains 1 pint of each flavor.

 
 
 

For Best Results

Experimentation is the key here. Try the classic smoke flavors that you get with the gun first and go from there. You can blow smoke directly over any food for a light smoked flavor, or blow smoke into a sealed container and let it “marinate.” Generally 1 or 2 minutes will suffice, but the longer you leave the smoke contacting the food, the greater the smoke taste you’ll get.

Once you get the hang of it, use different and unique flavors. Smoked garlic is a favorite over spaghetti, blowing oak chip smoke over whiskey on the rocks is a favorite, and using rose petal smoke on vanilla ice cream gives it a flavor all of its own.

But that’s just the beginning. Virtually anything that can be smoked can be used for flavor, and if there one thing that would make for a great party, it’s the Smoking Gun, grilled kabobs and several bottles of spices. Let your guests have fun creating a flavor that can’t be beat.

 

 

Pros

• The Smoking Gun is nearly unbreakable, and it will hold up to years of use.
• It’s easy to use to give a smoky flavor to virtually any kind of food or drink imaginable.
• There is no limit to the flavors that can be gotten by smoking whatever you can load into the chamber.
• A little goes a long way.
• Because of its small size, you’ll always be able to find a place where it fits.
• Easy to hold, easy to grip and easy to activate the blower motor.
• Virtually no cleaning involved. Just empty the chamber when finished, and add new material when you want to smoke again.
• No cord, plug or any other electrical hook-up. It is all self contained, and if you don’t want to buy batteries on a regular basis, get rechargeables.

 

Cons

• It smokes! You are always going to get some smoke in your home, so if you have sensitive smoke detectors or a sensitive nose, either do this outside or do it near a ventilation fan.
• You must use an actual lighter or a match to activate the combustion process. If kids are going to be involved, they need adult supervision at all times.
• If you don’t use rechargeable batteries, or you don’t have an extra set of alkalines laying around, you are going to be out of luck.

 

To Sum it Up

There is really nothing else like this that can give you, literally, instant smoked flavor at the touch of a button. It’s so easy to use that you’ll be looking for things to use as a smoke flavoring, or foods to use that you can flavor. This may be the most fun kitchen gadget that you’ve ever used!

To see a top chef use the gun and give you tips on how to use it, check out the videos below.