Smoke is a seasoning. Used with restraint, it frames an ingredient rather than masking it.
When fat drips onto glowing coals it vaporises, rising back as aromatic smoke that settles on the food above. This is where much of live-fire flavour comes from.
The goal is balance. Too little and the dish feels flat; too much and the ingredient disappears. Timing, distance from the heat and the choice of charcoal all shape the outcome.
