THE EASY METHOD TO COLD SMOKED CHEESE

Cold Smoked Cheese is a very simple technique with very rewarding results. Follow our instruction and enjoy some all natural smoked cheese.

The cooler season is here and that’s the perfect time to think about cold smoking techniques that bring special flavoring to heat sensitive items.  First up for us, cheese!  We’re lighting up the Technique Cast Iron Stove Top Smoking Pan and loading it up with our favorite varieties of cheese in preparation for a couple of recipes.  If you don’t own a stove top smoker pan, see our blog titled “The Kitchen Find” which will guide you on using items likely found in your own kitchen.

90°F or Less

Cold smoking requires that you keep the temperature below 90°F.  That may sound like a challenge but when you use a stove top smoker – equip it with an ice cube pan – you’re on your way to all things cold smoked.  The best chips to use for this method of smoking are SmokinLicious® Minuto® Wood Chips.  I’m electing to use Wild Cherry for the balance of flavors between my cheese choices.  These chips will combust evenly and slowly, releasing a steady smoke vapor that will work well with the cheese.

First, the stove top smoking pan needs to be set up.  The Technique pan comes with everything needed, including a drip pan.  We won’t be using the drip pan for its intended purpose but rather, to become an ice pan.  An ice pan will help to keep the temperature of the smoking pan below 85° F; and that means you can smoke all types of foods that normally couldn’t be exposed to heat! (chocolate, cheese, fragile fruits, candies, etc).

Be sure you have a handful of wood chips in the base pan before adding the drip pan full of ice cubes.   Place the wood chips in the center of the pan then fill the drip pan completely with ice.  Then add the grill pan and get the cheese out of the refrigerator.  Remember, you will be smoking the cheese for a few hours so you’ll need to refill the drip pan with ice cubes every hour.   There is no need to replenish the wood chips as a single handful will be plenty.

The Ice Tray

With the heat set to the lowest setting possible on your stove top, the drip pan filled with ice cubes to reduce the temperature even more, the cheese selections which include Swiss, horseradish cheddar, muenster, and fresh mozzarella, are added to the grill pan.  Place the cover on and this should be left untouched for at least an hour.  Once the hour passes, it will be time to replace the ice cubes in the drip pan.  Be sure to leave the cover on the grill pan when changing out the ice tray.  This should be done every hour up to the final hour you want to smoke.  I am doing a four-hour process on my cheese today so I will replace the ice pan three times.  That’s it!

Once infused, remove the cheese, wrap in wax or parchment paper and refrigerator for at least 2 days to allow the smoke vapor to release throughout the cold smoked cheese process.  Then get ready to enjoy your smoked cheese as is, or include in recipes.  We have 2 recipes coming up: A smoked cheese and bacon quiche and smoked grilled cheese with tomato and pepper jelly.

I hope I’ve inspired you to try cold smoked cheese on the stove top.  We need your comment and rating, so subscribe and follow us so you don’t miss a thing.  As always we welcome your suggestions as well on recipes and techniques you want to learn about.  We are your source for all things wood-fired, providing tips, techniques, recipes, and the science behind the fire.

Is It Fresh? Here’s Why You Need to Know

Is it fresh, is always a question that comes from new customers only! Our old customers know that at Smokinlicious® we are cutting products daily and measuring moisture to produce the best smoking wood in the world!

I always find it interesting when we receive a new inquiry about providing specialty products for commercial-grade smokehouses.   I’m speaking specifically to the large commercial-grade smokehouse.  The type that utilize walk-in, wall smokehouse units that can turn out hundreds of pounds of product each cycle.

First, there’s always the question if we can duplicate the current wood chip product.  That’s where the education begins.

The Truth Is in The Sample

Sending the current wood supply sample is key to determining what should be used in product.  Once we provide the video review of what is in the sample in terms of sizing, we’re on the way to getting an understanding of why the current product may not be ideal.  Our concern is not just the overall flavor and color to the finished product, but also to reducing equipment failures that may occur from clogging of the wood material due to dust particulants.

Is It Fresh- Is Best

Following our discussion on product sizing, it’s time to explain why ordering fresh product is key.  We don’t operate on the concept that you need tons of extra product inventory sitting in your location, making the potential for color changes to the wood, moisture depletion, and susceptibility to mold spores a reality.  Instead, fresh product is produced when you need it, allowing for consistency in your smokehouse products’ flavor and color.  I know this is a stretch when there are many suppliers out there who encourage you to order pallet after pallet of product with the incentive of saving 10% if full truck loads go out.  Good luck getting the premium flavor and color your looking for with that old, dehydrated product!

We’ve Got Your Back

We know every customer we have the privilege of doing business with needs assurance that we can cover their needs.  That’s why our entire Team is involved to ensure that we can ship earlier if needed.  We take the time to monitor your Company’s usage and predict your next order.  Or, we can set up a shipping schedule you’re comfortable with that is easy for everyone involved and won’t require extra, valuable storage space be used.

Yes, you could say we are not the norm and we’d be just fine with that.  In fact, we encourage it.  To us, there’s nothing like cooking with fresh product that has been designed with your Company’s needs in mind.  That’s why our superior product will give you a superior outcome.  Fresh hardwood product for unmatched smoke infused food products. That’s the SmokinLicious® way!

OPEN PIT COOKING FIRE BUILDING: PART I

Build an open pit cooking fire for grilling and ember cooking! Is easier than you may think follow our steps below!

SmokinLicious® receives a lot of questions about wood-fired cooking and one of the most repetitive concerns the building of the fire for cooking.  We’ve developed this series to address how to build the  fire by equipment and technique.  For Part I, we cover the open pit cooking fire.

Get Organized

The first step is to know where you will build the fire.  Are you planning on using an outdoor fireplace, a fire pit, or will you construct a temporary fire location?

When using an existing fireplace located outdoors, you must ensure that the firebox is clean of previous ash and wood.  The same is true for a open pit cooking fire pit.  If you will set up a temporary location for the fire, consider what you will use for materials to secure the area.  It is never recommended to use your patio, paved driveway or lawn because a hot fire is sure to damage them or, at the very least, mar their appearance (thin charcoal black coating the surface).  Using large stones, interlocking bricks, or a metal fire ring work great at securing the area to contain your fire.

Once you’ve decided on the location, you’ll need to collect some supplies to make the cooking safe and fun.


▪ material to contain the fire like stones, bricks or a cast iron/wrought iron ring.  You can use an outdoor fireplace or open pit cooking fire pit whether permanent or portable


▪ water, shovel, dirt, and/or fire extinguisher to deal with potential fire spread or wayward embers


▪Smokinlicious® smoking wood chips for quick lighting


▪ small twigs or small pieces of hardwood to create a tepee around the wood chips (we like our Smokinlicious® smoking double or single filet chunks)


▪ larger hardwood pieces to create a 2^nd tepee around the first (Smokinlicious®1/4 cut logs work great for that)
 

▪ rolled newspaper or fire starters


▪ have additional hardwood for producing more coals for cooking as needed


▪ a coal rake, fireplace tongs for moving and relocating wood pieces, spray bottle of water to tame flames near food, instant read thermometer (you can also use a traditional wrought-iron log holder to make the fire – the hot coals will fall through and then you rake them to the cooking side)

The Perfect Fire

Always take note of the day’s temperature, wind conditions/direction, and conditions of your wood (dry or wet, fresh cut or aged) before you start.  You want to be sure you set up and start the fire where the wind direction won’t cause smoke to enter house windows or the dining area.  Keep those locations upwind.
In your fire safe area, pile up a few handfuls of hardwood chips (you can use newspaper but I like to try to stay with wood in its natural state).  Make a small tepee around the wood chips using small wood pieces (our single filet wood chunks work great) or twigs.  Make a second tepee of larger wood pieces around the first one.  You’ll see that you’re graduating from small wood pieces to larger as you build but you’re also ensuring good oxygen pockets to help feed the fire to the next level.  This is what ensures even combustion and even coals.  Now, light the wood chips at the center and allow everything to ignite.  Don’t add any additional wood until you see the outside wood ablaze.

Fire for Fuel, Coals for Cooking

The purpose of your shovel other than as protector of wayward fire, is to take those hot coals and move them to the cooking area.  Remember, the fire area is not where you are going to cook.  That location is nearby but not with the flames.  You should never cook over direct flame as it will overcarbonize the foods and result in bitter tastes.

Ideally, you want to cook over coals that have a white colored ash over them.  Now, here’s how to determine temperature of those coals: hold your hand over the coals the distance your foods will be.  If you can only hold your hand for a count of 2 seconds before you need to pull it away, that is high heat.  3-4 seconds is medium-high, 5-6 seconds is medium and 7-8 seconds is low heat.

Bring on the Food!

Once your coals are at the perfect temperature for the foods you want to cook, it’s all about cooking!  Remember, you can set up different heat areas to cook different foods.  That’s what makes the experience with wood cooking, specifically with coals, so exhilarating.

AVOCADO CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Avocado chocolate pudding kissed by “fire” and “smoke” for an extra boost of flavor!

 

Avocado has been known for its health benefits for some time and has gone beyond the simple slice or dice and add to your favorite salad.  It has become the new replacement for butter in many recipes.

Now, I’m going to do a similar approach to chocolate pudding by incorporating avocado instead of dairy but first, I add a wood-fired flavor to the avocado to bring out a flavor level to this fruit that is distinctly different from its raw flavor.  You can see our previous article on the technique we used on the gas grill.

Flavor Affinities

Once you’ve wood fired your avocados on a gas or charcoal grill, you need to gather the following ingredients:

• 2 wood fired avocados
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• Unsweetened cocoa powder- ¾ cup
• Pure maple syrup- ½ cup
• ¼ cup- fresh orange juice, plus ¼ cup additional reserved
• Hot water (not boiling)- ¾ cup
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts
• whipped heavy cream

In addition to the above ingredients, you’ll need a blender.

Blending Flavors Is All That’s Needed

Whenever I wood-fire avocado, I usually remove the flesh from the shells and store in a container in the refrigerator for my recipes.   Take the flesh of two previously wood-fired avocado and place in the blender.  Carefully split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds adding to the blender.

Now comes the cocoa powder, maple syrup, agave nectar, orange juice – ¼ cup to start – and salt.  Turn on the blender and incorporate everything until a coarse puree forms.

With the blender running on medium, gradually stream in the hot water and blend until smooth and creamy.  The hot water will produce a very shiny, ganache like appearance to the pudding.  If you feel the pudding mixture is too chunky or thick, blend in additional orange juice from the ¼ cup reserve but do not exceed the additional ¼ cup amount.

Chill It Before Serving

Once you’ve reached the perfect consistency for your pudding, it’s time to divide the mixture into 6 serving bowls and chill for at least 2 hours.  You can make this up to 3 days ahead of time but be sure you do not cover the pudding while it chills.  This is not like older recipes that contained dairy and could form a “skin” on the pudding.

Once chilled, top with whipped cream and chopped hazelnuts – I prefer to crush my hazelnuts using a canned good with the nuts in a sealable storage bag.  Super rich, creamy with a distinct extra flavor that mixes so well with the sweet syrups and fresh flavors of orange and vanilla.  Smoky Avocado Chocolate Pudding – a star finish to any meal!

In conclusion, we hope you found inspiration with this recipe.  We’d love to see your photos of your take on the recipe.  Leave a comment and subscribe.  Keep following us as we bring you innovative tips, techniques, and recipes on working with wood for cooking, grilling & smoking.

IS WOOD-TAR CREOSOTE THE ‘MONSTER’ TO WOOD-FIRED COOKING

We explore the question “is wood-tar creosote” bad for your BBQ food?

There are lots of stories out there in the BBQ world about creosote!  Most have the same tone: creosote is not something you want when you cook with wood.
Unfortunately, that can never happen as creosote is always present in wood.

So, why has creosote become the monster of BBQ cooking?

Likely because there is confusion with another type of creosote: coal-tar creosote, commonly used to preserve such things as railroad ties, telephone poles, bridges, etc.  You know when material has been exposed to coal-tar by the black, charred appearance.

The Advantages of Wood-Tar Creosote

One of the primary advantages to having creosote in hardwood is its ability to act as a preservative.  Long before equipment was designed for cooking, people would dig holes in the ground to produce a smokehouse for preserving game meats they hunted.  It was the only method of ensuring safe consumption when refrigeration wasn’t readily available.

Wood-tar creosote is colorless to yellowish and presents as a grease or oil consistency.  It is a combination of natural phenols which are the natural compounds that produce the flavors of BBQ when the wood is combusted or burned.  In addition to the distinct flavor, phenols are also responsible for the aroma and color of BBQ foods.

Guaiacol is a compound derived from methyl ether and is responsible for BBQ’s smoky taste while the dimethyl ether syringol is the chemical responsible for BBQ’s smoky aroma.

Risks of Wood-Tar Creosote

Now that you know not all of creosote’s chemical composition is bad, what are the risks to a wood-tar creosote?

The biggest risk is in burning wood that is not at an ideal combustion rate.  I’m sure you’ve had experience with campfires that produce an acrid aroma and literally cause a foul “taste” in the air from poor combustion rate (too slow burning).  That is the challenge and risk when using wood products with food for hot smoking.  Remember, hot smoking requires temperatures that are lower – generally below 275°F.  To achieve a consistent low temperature, you must control air intake and damper or exhaust.  If you don’t achieve a good balance, the result will be a sooty, bitter tasting and smelling food outcome.

How do you know if your crossing into risky and poor outcome territory?

By the color of the smoke.  A poorly balanced combustion of wood will produce a black smoke.  Repeat these conditions and you’ll stimulate creosote deposits within your equipment which can reduce the draft needed to ensure the fire gets enough air to optimally combust.  Remember, creosote on its own is highly combustible which is why there are many wood stove house fires occurring due to poor maintenance/clean out of these units.

Not All Hardwoods Are Equal In Compound Percentages

Now that your aware that phenolic compounds, specifically guaiacol and syringol are key to tasty, flavorful BBQ foods, let’s talk about these compounds in specific hardwoods.

Interestingly, Beech wood is highly prized and used in Europe for smoking particularly in meat processing facilities.  This is no surprise to me since Beechwood has one of the highest percentages of guaiacol when at a high heat level (distilling).  Know that the phenolic compounds present in all wood distill at variant percentage levels and usually require a combustion temperature of nearly 400°F to peak.   Yet another reason why you want to keep a balance to your fire so combustion is optimal. Thus the resulting flavors and aromas are pleasant.

SMOKED POTATO CURRY SMOKINLICIOUS® STYLE!

This smoked potato curry smells and tastes awesome! Try this around a holiday to just add a small smoky flavor to a favorite vegetable.

Whenever we reach the transition between Winter and Spring, I like to start transitioning my meals from hearty comfort foods to a bit more health conscious to prepare for the “less clothes” season coming.  Since I’m in the southwestern portion of New York State, our warmer temperatures can be a long way away from the calendar date of the first day of Spring.

That’s when I love to do dishes like Indian curries!

Hearty and filling, but loaded with healthy vegetables, I’m taking the traditional potato curry to a new level with my smoked potato!

Despite the many ingredients, this is still a very simple dish.

Ingredient List:

Gather together the following ingredients:

• 2 cups smoked potato (see are previous posting on how to smoke the potatoes)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Clove, cardamom, fennel seeds, curry, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin
• 1 large red onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 green chili
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can butter beans
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons high heat oil

Building Flavors

The first ingredients to incorporate will be the cinnamon stick and fennel seeds.  fennel seeds.  Heat the 2 tablespoons of high heat oil – I’m using coconut oil –  in a pan.  I’m using cast iron for the even heat distribution and retention of heat.  Once hot, add the cinnamon stick and fennel seeds and stir to keep the seeds from burning.  While infusing these flavors, mix together 2 teaspoons of curry, 2 teaspoons of cardamom, and 1 teaspoon of cumin.  Add these dry ingredients to the oil mixture and stir well.

You’ll start to smell the wonderful aromatics of these spices.

Vegetables and Spice Are Always Nice

Continuing to build on our flavors, I chop 4 garlic cloves and add to the spiced oil as well as 3 green chili slices, mixing well.  Allow these ingredients to tenderize for a few minutes then add your diced red onion.  But be sure you stir well to allow everything to incorporate.  Allow this mixture to cook on medium heat until the onion has become very tender and begins to darken in color, meaning it is sweating.  Now, get ready to add even more spice flavors.

Kicking Up The Flavors

Once the garlic, chili, onion mixture has tenderized, it’s time to add more spice.  Then, mix 1 teaspoon each of coriander, turmeric, clove, and chili powder together.  Add to the onion mixture in the pan stirring well.  Now we are ready for the 2 cups of the previously smoked potatoes.  Mix everything together well.  As the potatoes tenderize, you can break them apart into smaller pieces if desired.  Then add 1 cup of water and allow the mixture to simmer.  At this point I turn my heat down to medium-low.

Getting A Meaty Texture

Let’s add some additional meatiness to this dish by first incorporating 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.  Next, 2 diced tomatoes and the can of butter beans which if you don’t know, are white Lima beans, a great cholesterol lowering legume and rich in fiber!  Mix well and allow to simmer.  At this stage, you will see the ingredients thicken.  If you would rather more of a thick soup consistency rather than gravy consistency, feel free to add additional water.

After simmering for about 8 minutes on medium-low temperature, I add 2 tablespoons of butter to the mix.  If you’re dairy free, feel free to eliminate the butter and you’ll still have a wonderful dish.
I like to serve my smoked potato curry with chopped fresh green onion on top and brown rice on the side.  Taziki or Greek yogurt adds a nice touch as well for those looking for a “cooling” affect to the dish.

Now, dig in and see how versatile this dish can become.  Think about changing the smoked potato for a grilled or smoked eggplant, zucchini or yellow squash.  All wonderful options for this vegetable hearty dish.

HOW MUCH AND WHAT KIND OF SALT?

Adding salt choices has a purpose and why

This article was born from a question which was recently forwarded to SmokinLicious® to answer. 

“Why salt choices are necessary in food despite adding different ingredients even for sweet dish need(ing) salt”.

 I realized just how important salt is to the style of cooking known as barbecue.

Why the Need to Salt?

Salt is a mineral found in crystalline form that is used as a seasoning for food.  Simply put, salt brings out the flavor or natural essence of food.  Salt choices draw out the natural juices in raw meat and dissolves with the liquid forming a brine that gets reabsorbed by the meat.  This results in the meat’s ability to hold on to more of its own natural juices during cooking.

Types of Salt Choices

Over the past 5 years, salt choices have become a very hot commodity in the food industry.  There are hundreds of kinds of salts but for simplicity sake, I will discuss those that are commonly found in grocery and food specialty stores.

Table Salt:

Decades ago, this was simply known as iodized salt.  This is the most refined salt that is known to have a metallic taste due to the grinding process and high-heat process to produce it.  It is almost pure sodium chloride and has the highest per-granule sodium content of all salts.  When used in cooking, the cook generally will use too much due to this refined grind size.  I recommend you never cook with standard table salt.

Sea Salt:

This salt type is made by the evaporation of seawater which results in the retainment of natural micronutrients.  Unlike table salt which uses a high-heat process, sea salt provides minerals of iodine, magnesium, calcium, potassium and bromide.  There are many different grind levels in sea salt and each of those, affect the taste, color, and mouthfeel of the salt itself.

Kosher Salt:

Known for its ability to distribute evenly on the surface of food, kosher salt is harvested by mining dried up ocean and sea beds.  It has a much coarser grind than table salt, which is considered flaky (For cooks, it is reliable, consistent, inexpensive, and pure).

Finishing Salt:

Just as the name implies, this type of salt is used only when a dish is finished, for instance, sliced tomato with mozzarella and basil, grilled to perfection steak, and even watermelon.  Therefore, it is considered a very light tasting salt.

Tamari and Soy Sauce:

I am including tamari and soy sauce as these are very common substitutes for salts in sauces used for barbecue.  Sometimes, soy sauce is used in addition to salt or garlic and onion salt for these items, making them much higher in overall sodium content.    On average tamari has 700mg sodium per serving while soy sauce comes in at a whopping 1000mg per serving.

BBQ Rubs & Seasonings

Hopefully, you’ve learned how to read an ingredient list on any label.  The first ingredients listed make up the largest amount of the contents, while the last few ingredients make up the least.  I looked at five (5) popular BBQ rubs and seasonings sold on Amazon.com to see what ingredients made up the bulk of these items and where salt rated on the ingredient list.  Here are my findings:

McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning – coarse salt, spices, garlic

17^th Street Magic Dust All-Purpose Seasoning & Rub – salt, sugar, dextrose

Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub – brown sugar, sugar, salt

Stubb’s Beef Spice Rub – sea salt, spices, cane sugar

John Wayne Rubs – salt, garlic, sugar

As you can see, salt is a primary ingredient of commercially marketed rubs/seasonings for barbecue.  Therefore, I always recommend that you give some consideration to making your own rub or seasoning.  When produced in large quantity, you can keep these in the refrigerator for up to a month in an air tight container.  Best of all, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing you can control the level of sodium in your meal.

EMBER FIRED EGGPLANT & FETA TARTS

Ember Fired Eggplant on the rack cooking above a bed of hot coals. This technique provides the heat for cooking and the aroma of the wood smoke

You’ve heard me mention before how great it is to ember or coal fire certain foods, with a good majority of those items falling in the fruit category.  One of the best fruits to use this technique with is eggplant.

Not of Nutritional Value

Eggplant, also called aubergine, is part of a flowering plant grown for its edible fruit.  This is a thick-skinned fruit that has a meaty quality to its flesh.  In fact, it can make for a filling meal.  Eggplant contains a lot of water – 92% to be specific!  It is not known to be a contributor for daily nutritional intake.  Despite all that, Eggplant remains a favorite ingredient to cook with.

Nestling is Key

When cooking in the coals, it is best to use medium sized eggplant.  It doesn’t matter what variety you select, the technique for cooking in the coals will remain the same.

Starting the fire

First, you need to start with a good wood fire, using clean hardwood.  In order to do this technique successfully, you need to ensure that there are no flames left in the fire, just hot coals.  You’ll know the coals are ready for the cooking when they are completely grayed over.  If your grilling area is large enough, you can stage a couple of burning wood pieces to provide additional heat to the area.  Just don’t cook directly in those flames.
When the coals are ready, make sure the embers are in an even layer and then place the eggplants side by side in the embers.  I like to use a fine screen in the bottom of my charcoal area to aide in heat retention.  Now, leave these untouched for about 10 minutes.  After that time, you can turn the eggplant to ensure all sides get evenly charred.  If you make a large enough fire, you can bury the eggplant completely in the hot coals and not have to do any turning.  That technique will require about 30 minutes of cooking time.

Blackened, Charred Skin Makes It Ready

Once the Ember Fired Eggplant has tenderized in the coals, it’s time to carefully remove it. Cool the eggplant, so it won’t burn and can be handled.  Then, slice each eggplant open from end to end, and gently scoop out the flesh.  Be sure to leave all the charred skin behind.  If you’re ready to use this in a recipe, then no need to do anything more to the eggplant.  If you plan on using it later, you must prevent the eggplant flesh from turning dark by incorporating 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and enough water to cover the flesh.  When finished, it’s best to store the Ember Fired Eggplant in a glass jar, bowl, or other container.

6 Needed Ingredients

To make the Ember Fired Eggplant with Feta Tarts, you’ll need a muffin pan and the following food ingredients:

• Flesh from 1 medium size coal-fired eggplant
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
• ¼ cup roughly chopped pistachios, plus 2 tablespoons for topping the tarts
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 5 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• Extra virgin olive oil for brushing dough and preparing muffin pan

Wood Flavored Eggplant Mixture

Roughly chop the wood fired eggplant.  Then transfer to a medium bowl and add feta, 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios, coriander, red-pepper flakes, and mint.  Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and stir gently to combine.

Making the Tarts

Lightly oil the muffin pan cups.  Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a board and lightly brush with oil.  Stack 4 more phyllo sheets on top, brushing each with oil.  Cut the stacked sheets into 6 equal squares.  Carefully, pick up each square and place in a muffin cup, gently pressing in place.  Fill each dough cup with about ¼ cup of eggplant mixture.  Gently fold over the corners of the dough to enclose the filling as a tart.  Brush tops with oil and sprinkle with crushed pistachios.  Then Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

EMBER FIRED FRESH ZUCCHINI

Zucchini is a great vegetable to not only grill but ember cook. It has the density to hold up over the high heat. Add a distinct char taste to this abundant vegetable either as a side dish or an ingredient by making ember fired fresh zucchini.

I love thick skinned vegetables that come in season during Summer.  They are the perfect items to light a fire and make some hot coals to ember fire flavor into them.
We’re getting ready to coal roast one of my favorite vegetables – zucchini!  This is so simple to do and produces an extraordinary flavor for zucchini to be eaten on its own or to be used in your favorite recipe.  Clean out the fire pit, charcoal grill or outdoor fireplace and prepare to roast “ember fired fresh zucchini” directly on the hot coals.

Building A Small Fire

Know this from the start – You do not need a large fire!  A small fire is best to accomplish your cooking in about an hour’s time.  For my fire, I am using ten SmokinLicious Single Filet Wood Chunks in Ash with a couple of pieces of charwood that were left over from a previous cook.   Why Ash hardwood?  Because it is hands down, the best hardwood to produce an even bed of coals which is what you want when you coal roast.

I stack the wood so there is quite a bit of air space between the pieces.  This ensures I have good oxygen flow to produce combustion quickly. My technique is to stand the wood pieces on their end and make a circle. I try to have a couple of pieces in the center kind of tipped on to each other.  Remember, you want to produce hot embers quickly so it only requires a little wood and a lot of oxygen to burn things down.  I light my wood using a small butane torch. Leave the torch in place until I’m sure the wood has ignited.  I keep the lid off my charcoal grill so I can push the combustion process through completion and get those ash covered, hot embers.

Red Means Hot

You will know when the coals or embers are ready for cooking when you have uniform coals and they are glowing red from the bottom and gray on top.  I keep a couple of larger coals banked to the side to maintain heat and for reserved hot coals. Just in case I need to rake more to the cooking side.  I like to nestle a high heat metal cooking rack on the hot coals and then place my whole zucchini on the rack.  This allows for little ash to accumulate on the skin.  Remember, those coals are very hot so the zucchini will take less than 20 minutes to tenderize and char.

Turn For Full Char

With the zucchini and coal rack in place, I give the embers about 8 minutes to char and cook the first side of the zucchini.  After that time, I gentle turn the zucchini so that each side gets an even char.  Once the first 8 minutes are done, there will be less time needed for each of the other sides as the zucchini will hold heat.  I’ve added one additional wood piece to my banked fire just to be sure I have enough heat in the coal area.  I will not put the lid on the unit during the entire cooking process as this is open fire cooking.  My total coal cooking time is approximately 16 minutes.

Perfection In Smoke & Char on Ember Fired Fresh Zucchini

After placing my ember fired fresh zucchini on hot coals for about 16 minutes total, turning several times to get an even char, this spectacular vegetable is ready for eating.  You will see, there is very little coal bed left following this technique so remember, if you are cooking more than a couple of zucchini, you will need a larger coal bed.

For those of you thinking that the black, charred skin will be bitter and not appealing to eat, think again.  Most of the char will rub right off but the flavor will be infused throughout the ember fired fresh zucchini.  I’ve sliced mine about ¼-inch thick as I plan to make a galette of ricotta, garlic oil, and basil.

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD SMOKE

10 food items that you never thought you could smoke! Once you master these items your culinary flavoring world with smoke will be end list.

We are going beyond the obvious and the traditional when it comes to items that you can smoke. It’s time to up your skills and menu items with the top things you would never think of to smoke.

Keep in mind, we are not just referring to hot smoking. We’re including the quick technique of handheld food smoking as well as stove top smoking in a pan.

Let’s get to it!

#1 Banana

Honestly, banana can be smoked via an indirect hot smoking method as well as with a handheld food smoker. With a peak season from January thru April, and imports readily available, you can enjoy this fruit anytime of the year! For the handheld smoker technique, skin the banana and expose to the smoke vapor. This just takes minutes. For the hot smoking technique, you’ll need to be sure that the banana is placed on the side of the grill that does not have the heat source so it doesn’t get too mushy.

#2 Sauces

Do you have a favorite sauce recipe that you would love to add a smoky component to? Don’t waste a lot of time trying to get smoked ingredients into your sauce. Instead, just expose the sauce to a cold smoke application using a handheld food smoker. Using this method lets you decide just how strong to make the overall smoky flavor.

#3 Radish

The best thing about radish is all the root colors they are available in; red, white, purple, and black. Their shape can be round or cylindrical and they have the distinct undertone of spice and zest. They are so easy to smoke on a grill with hardwood by slicing them and placing in a vegetable grill pan. You can even place whole radish directly in hot embers to add flavor and char.

#4 Chestnuts

You’re familiar with roasting chestnuts but did you realize that smoking them is just like slow roasting? Chestnuts have a lot of moisture which make them ideal for the grill. Whether on a charcoal, gas or even a standard stove top grill pan, by including wood in the mix, this nut takes on a whole new flavor. Fresh chestnuts are available during the winter months so start planning.

#5 Chocolate

You’ve probably guessed that chocolate smoking can only be done with a cold smoking technique. This ensures that no chocolate melts and all that yummy goodness stays perfect inside. Using a handheld smoker, smoke infusion can take as little as 15 minutes when you let all the smoke captured with the smoking bag dissipate. Otherwise, it can be a short as just a few minutes.

 

#6 Water

Why would you want to smoke water? First, there are many recipes that require water in them so this is a subtle way to add a smoky ingredient. Second, smoked cocktails are all the rage. Why not smoke the ice cubes instead of the entire drink? The easiest way, is to smoke water and then place it in ice cube trays and freeze. You can smoke the water on a hot smoker, stove top smoker or with a handheld smoker. Lots of options.

#7 Cream

Cream is one of those dairy items that reacts well with smoke vapor. In fact, most items that contain milk by-product will smoke well. I really like cream because you can do so much with it: Include it in sauces, desserts, soups. Each time you use it in a different dish, it will take on a new flavor profile.

#8 Citrus Fruits

All citrus fruits are simply spectacular when they are exposed to smoke. Now you don’t have to smoke the main protein of the meal. Instead, just serve the citrus with it, whether you juice it on fish, add it to a sauce, or drizzle it on your favorite cake. Again, you can hot smoke, stove top smoke, or cold smoke citrus.

 

#9 Spices

Any spice can be turned into a smoked spice. Want smoked curry? Go ahead! Smoked Cinnamon? You go it! You can smoke any spice easily with a handheld food smoker. In minutes, you can have your own version of any spice smoked.

 

#10 Herbs

Just as you can do with many of the previous items on our list, herbs allow you to decide where the intensity of the smoke flavor will come from. You can smoke herbs and then sprinkle on top of a dish, you can smoke the herb and add it to a cooked item — think herb crusted chicken, or it can be married with other ingredients that the specific herb is compatible with. Remember, a cold smoke method will keep the herb in its raw state while hot smoking will produce a dehydrated version of the herb that is so much better than those dry herbs you buy in the grocery store.