If you need a holiday party trick or a delicious addition to your martinis or just a fantastic snack, this SMOKED OLIVES RECIPE is the one for you!
Smoked Olives Recipe
You are definitely going to love these cold smoked olives, especially if you want a delicious snack for a party, something interesting to add to your martini or a perfect appetizer.
This SMOKED OLIVES RECIPE is salty, smoky, sharp and gives your mouth the most interesting flavors you’ve experienced in a while.
Plus, it couldn’t be easier to achieve the finest results.
Here’s What You’ll Need
- Good Quality Olives (I like to get them packed in oil so that the olives then also flavor the oil).
- A cold smoker
Here’s How You Do It
- Remove the olives from the oil
- Put into your smoking device
- Apply cold smoke
- Return olives to the jar
Special Equipment
You will need a cold smoker for this recipe. While you can make a cold smoker for almost nothing, it requires a lot of work and power tools that I am not capable of doing myself.
You can check out YouTube and simply look up “how to build a cold smoker” and there are lots of ideas there. A friend suggested running dryer pipe from the exhaust on his Traeger grill to a hole cut in the side of a dorm sized fridge giving you all the cold smoke you could ever need.
I’m sure that works, I tasted his cold smoked items and they were delicious. I don’t have that kind of time, room or skills, frankly.
If you don’t either, then I 100% recommend the cold smoker that I have and that you can see in the videos and pictures on this page or on my own YouTube channel.
The smoker I recommend is expensive and there are cheaper options out there BUT Breville is a name I trust, their products are quality items and that is true with this smoker. It works straight out of the box. There is almost zero time invested in learning to use it as it is very intuitive.
So, if you want to cold smoke foods with zero time invested in making a smoker and you want something that definitely works where you don’t have to spend ages learning to use it, this is the cold smoker for you.
This photo is a link to Amazon, if you click it, you will go through to Amazon where you can compare prices. I am an Amazon affiliate and if you purchase through this link I will receive a commission, so thank you. My commission does not affect your price at all.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Once smoked, put back in the oil they came in, put the jar in the fridge and they should last several weeks. The same with any open jar of olives.
You can freeze smoked olives, but it changes the texture. There really isn’t any reason to freeze them. Just go ahead and eat them.
Tips and Tricks
- You’ll want to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for smoking your olives so that you can lay them in a single layer to apply the smoke.
- The glass or stainless container will work best because plastic bowls often want to absorb the smoke flavor.
- Perform cold smoking outside or you will fill your house with smoke and the smell lingers for a long time.
- Purchase the wood saw dust particles for smoking foods. It’s dried correctly and there isn’t a bunch of trash in the product. It’s worth the purchase.
- You do not have to purchase a smoking bell for your cold smoking. Simply use a bowl and some plastic wrap, it works just as well.
- This smoker works on batteries and they last a long time, but keep some extra ones on hand. You don’t want to run out mid-smoke.
- Make sure the plastic wrap is around the exhaust tube as tightly as possible.
- When you turn the smoker on, it will want to blow the plastic off of the bowl. You can reinforce the plastic by placing a rubber band around the plastic at the rim of the bowl.
Substitutions
This recipe really only has one ingredient, so I can’t recommend a substitution.
Olives – You can use any olive you prefer. I believe the olives packed in oil work best for the recipe simply because you get the added benefit of ending up with a smoked olive oil at the end when the olives are gone.
That said, feel free to use the olive from the olive bar at the grocery.
Watch Me Cold Smoke Olives
Can You Give Me a Hand
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- Remove the olives from the jar with a fork and set onto a paper towel. Leave as much of the oil in the jar as possible.
- Once the olives have drained for a few minutes. Place the olives in a bowl in a single layer and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
- If you aren’t already outside, take the bowl of olives outside. Place the hose of the smoker into the plastic wrap and make the plastic wrap as tight as possible around the exhaust tupbe. Place a layer of smoking dust into the bowl of your Breville cold smoker and light with a lighter while adjusting the exhaust for the smoker. Once the bowl is filled with smoke, you can continue smoking until the smoker bowl is exhausted OR stop the smoker and close up the hole where the tube enters the plastic wrap. Allow the smoke to engulf the olives and when the smoke dissipates, light the smoker again and fill with smoke again.
- Repeat this process tasting the olives intermittently. When the olives are as smoky as you prefer, place the olives back into the olive jar. Label your jar as “smoked olives” with the date. Place in the fridge and use when ready.
- You’ll want to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for smoking your olives so that you can lay them in a single layer to apply the smoke.
- The glass or stainless container will work best because plastic bowls often want to absorb the smoke flavor.
- Perform cold smoking outside or you will fill your house with smoke and the smell lingers for a long time.
- Purchase the wood saw dust particles for smoking foods. It’s dried correctly and there isn’t a bunch of trash in the product. It’s worth the purchase.
- You do not have to purchase a smoking bell for your cold smoking. Simply use a bowl and some plastic wrap, it works just as well.
- This smoker works on batteries and they last a long time, but keep some extra ones on hand. You don’t want to run out mid-smoke.
- Make sure the plastic wrap is around the exhaust tube as tightly as possible.
- When you turn the smoker on, it will want to blow the plastic off of the bowl. You can reinforce the plastic by placing a rubber band around the plastic at the rim of the bowl.
Nutrition Facts
Smoked Olives Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 31
Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 0.4g2%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Sodium 332mg14%
Potassium 9mg0%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 0.1g0%
Protein 0.2g0%
Vitamin A 84IU2%
Calcium 11mg1%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
So many things are of this world. Do you know of a few?
1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world