Do you really need a commercial smoker oven?
How can you smoke food professionally in a commercial kitchen?
Do you really need a commercial smoker oven?
These are questions more and more chefs and foodservice operators are asking as they look to enrich their menus and give their dishes a distinctive character through smoking.
There is often confusion about the real difference between a smoker, a BBQ smoker, and a commercial smoker oven, even though the basic principle is the same: smoke accompanies the food during preparation. The differences mainly lie in how this process is managed.
Why is a commercial combi oven with smoking better than a commercial smoker oven?
Did you know that you can also smoke food using a commercial combi oven? As anticipated, to meet the needs of professionals working in very different contexts, increasingly hybrid solutions have been developed. Like a multifunction oven, they allow multiple cooking techniques to be managed with a single piece of equipment. With the right accessory, however, this tool can become much more, enabling you to expand your offering without complicating daily operations.At this point, a natural question arises: which solution is best for your business? Should you choose a commercial smoker oven, or a commercial combi oven with integrated smoking?
So, is a commercial smoker oven worth the investment?
A dedicated smoker makes sense in highly specialised contexts. But for businesses looking to expand their offering without disrupting space and workflows, a commercial combi oven with integrated smoking is often the most efficient choice.
The advantages of choosing a Unox combi oven with HYPER.Smoker
HYPER.Smoker is Unox's commercial smoking accessory. It has been engineered down to the smallest detail to allow smoking directly inside the professional combi oven, without the need for an additional power supply and using only natural wood chips.
The result is a clean, integrated and fully controllable solution that brings smoking into the everyday workflow of a professional kitchen, making it accessible, repeatable and perfectly aligned with today's operational needs.
HYPER.Smoker is compatible with both the MIND.Maps™ combi oven range and the AI-powered X™ range. Activation times vary depending on the model: with MIND.Maps™ ovens, it takes around 25 minutes to reach the ignition temperature, while with X™ ovens this is reduced to about 6 minutes, making smoking easier to manage even during pre-service preparation.
Can you smoke and cook in the same cycle? Yes. With HYPER.Smoker you can smoke and cook at the same time: you're effectively roasting, grilling or slow-cooking while adding a layer of smoky aroma as an extra value. Smoking doesn't replace cooking, it enhances it.
The advantages of choosing a Unox combi oven with HYPER.Smoker
Over the years, Unox has become a global benchmark in the world of commercial combi ovens, offering one of the widest and most complete ranges on the market. Solutions designed to meet the needs of very different sectors: from bakery to delicatessen, from independent restaurants to large chains and production facilities.By working closely with such diverse professional environments, one requirement has clearly emerged over time: expanding the menu offering without making kitchen operations more complex.This is where the idea of developing smart accessories comes from, designed to enhance the performance of Unox combi ovens and allow professionals to introduce new techniques without adding extra machines, installations or operational complexity.HYPER.Smoker is Unox's commercial smoking accessory. It has been engineered down to the smallest detail to allow smoking directly inside the professional combi oven, without the need for an additional power supply and using only natural wood chips. The result is a clean, integrated and fully controllable solution that brings smoking into the everyday workflow of a professional kitchen, making it accessible, repeatable and perfectly aligned with today's operational needs.
- Full control of the process: Smoking is started directly from the oven control panel by selecting the desired intensity level. Temperature, time and humidity are always under control and, if needed, you can monitor the cooking process using a core probe, just like in any traditional preparation. The result no longer depends solely on the 'chef's touch', but on a precise and repeatable process.
- Food safety and cleaning: With HYPER.Smoker, you work exclusively with real wood, natural wood chips or shavings, no chemicals or artificial flavourings. Smoking is therefore fully compatible with HACCP regulations and integrated into a commercial oven equipped with an automatic washing system. At the end of service, there's no need to disassemble parts or manually remove soot and residues: simply start the cleaning cycle and the oven is ready for the next day.
- Automation and ease of use: No pitmaster skills or highly specialised staff are required. Thanks to dedicated smoking programs stored in the oven and selectable directly from the control panel, the entire process is automated: time, temperature and smoke intensity are managed automatically. This allows even new kitchen staff to achieve consistent, high-quality results from day one, reducing errors, waste and training time. The HYPER.Smoker accessory itself is also designed for maximum simplicity: open it, load it with natural wood chips, close it and place it inside the cooking chamber in just a few steps. No complex operations, no continuous manual adjustments. Once the program is started, the oven takes care of the rest.
- Versatility for every menu: You can choose different wood types or aromatic essences, tailoring the smoking profile to your menu style, lighter or more intense, rustic or refined. With the CHEFTOP-X™ combi oven, it is also possible to work at low temperatures or even cold smoking, a real game changer for delicatessens, butcher shops and advanced kitchens looking to expand their offering without adding new equipment.
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No cross-contamination of odours: Does the smell remain inside the oven after use? This is one of the most frequently asked questions. The answer is no: smoke remains confined during the smoking cycle and is completely removed during the automatic washing process, without contaminating subsequent preparations.
What can you smoke in a Unox commercial oven with HYPER.Smoker?
The applications are far broader than you might expect, and they go well beyond the world of BBQ.
- Meat is the most suitable ingredient: the higher the fat content, the better it absorbs smoky flavours. Pork ribs, pork butt, shoulder, coppa or leg are among the most popular preparations. Pulled pork, for example, can be cooked at low temperature for many hours, prepared the day before and then used for dozens, or even hundreds, of portions.
- Würstels and sausages also work extremely well, as do certain cured meats and deli-style preparations.
- Fish, on the other hand, is more delicate: hot smoking mainly affects the surface. A salmon fillet, for instance, will absorb aroma on the outside but very little inside. This is an express preparation, meant to be cooked and served immediately.
- In more refined cuisine, many chefs use smoking on vegetables, vegetable chips or plant-based ingredients. It's important to keep in mind that, with the same amount of smoke, an aubergine will always have a more delicate flavour compared to meat. Then there's the whole world of finishing ingredients: smoked butter for biscuits or desserts, smoked salt, infused oils. Here, smoking doesn't mask flavour, it enhances it, adding depth and complexity.
19th February 2026
