A liquid smoke tanning method uses liquid smoke as a tanning agent for tanning an animal skin, such as a hide or fur. The liquid smoke is used a natural source of aldehydes, which are commonly used in the tanning process and known to introduce toxicity into the animal skin. After the skin is prepared and cleaned for tanning, it is tanned in a liquid smoke solution, which may also include alum in an alternative embodiment. The liquid smoke is efficacious for crosslinking collagen proteins in the animal skin during the tanning process. The liquid smoke provides substantially the same collagen crosslinking capacity of aldehydes such as glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, or glyoxol. The liquid smoke is, however, organic and does not contain the level of toxins found in chemically produced aldehydes. After the tanning, the skin is dried through known means for production as an organic, nontoxic leather.