 |
| The process of smoking strawberries for your summer cocktail is very
easy. Merely cut your strawberries and place them on your grill to
enhance their flavor than process into flavorful drink. |
If you enjoy fruity drinks or smoothies, then the Smoked Strawberry
Aqua Fresca is perfect! Using seasonal fresh strawberries will bring
this to the ultimate flavor height but any store purchased variety will
work as well. This is the perfect cocktail for a summer event or as a
non-alcoholic refresher on an exceptionally warm summer day. Get ready
as we tell you how to do the
smoking technique then construct this fabulous drink.
Strawberries Love Smoke
Start with strawberries that are at their peak. Gently wash them and
then trim the stem end. I cut smaller strawberries in half and larger
in quarters to ensure the
smoke vapor can
penetrate easily but you certainly can leave them whole. In addition
to the strawberries – at least one quart to produce enough liquid for a
few drinks – you’ll need the following ingredients and materials
Ingredients & Materials:
- 4 tablespoons sugar – reserve some extra in case you want to make this sweeter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine or coarse sea salt
- Juice of 2 limes
- Handful of fresh basil or mint
- Ice cubes
- Blender
- Mixing bowl
- Mortar & pestle (optional)
- Sheet pan lined with parchment paper
- 2 double filet wood chunks from SmokinLicious®
While you are getting the strawberries ready you
can have your grill warming up. Set all burners to medium-low and close
the lid.
Gas Grilling With Wood Chunks
Cooking with
wood chunks
can be done on the LP Gas Grill by using the heat shields or diffusers,
whose purpose is to ensure even heat output over the grill grate. By
keeping a medium-low heat on the burner containing 2 wood chunks from
SmokinLicious® – I’m using 1
ash and 1
cherry –
you won’t get the wood erupting in flames but rather a slow combustion
that releases plenty of wood-fired flavor. While the wood heats up, I
combine my strawberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of
vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt.
Get Ready For Juicy Bubbles
When you smoke strawberries on the grill, all the locked in pectin
water will be released by the heat. That’s why it’s so important that
you line your sheet pan with parchment paper so you don’t end up with a
hard to clean mess.
After mixing in the vanilla extract, sugar, and salt it’s time to
spread the strawberries onto the lined sheet pan and place on the
grill. Once the pan is in place, turn off all the burners except for
the one that has the wood chunks on the diffuser. Cooking time will be
about 40 minutes with a grill heat of 300°F maintained with the lid
closed and 1 burner lit.
Taste Is The Sweet Aroma
Whenever I smoke fresh strawberries, it brings the memory of my Mom
making strawberry jam. As the strawberries react to the smoke vapor,
you will see the pectin release and a beautiful, thick glaze will form
around them. This is the stuff that will make an exceptional aqua
fresca so be sure you don’t lose any when removing the pan from the
heat. You’ll see the finished strawberries take on a much darker
coloring and reduce size slightly from the water loss. Now get ready
for the fun part – getting our drink together.
Strawberry Base
To start our drink creation, you will need a blender and I prefer a
mortar and pestle for combining citrus and fresh herbs. Add the smoked
strawberries to the blender and the remaining sugar. You can add the
lime juice and fresh basil or mint right to the blender or add to a
pestle and combine with the mortar. Once combined, add to the blender.
Process the mixture. Add a few ice cubes and process again until a
smooth mixture is revealed. You may add lime juice, sugar and ice as
you see fit at this point – the recommended amounts are merely a guide.
Creating the Ultimate Aqua Fresca
With our strawberry mixture completed, it’s time to combine
everything into a refreshing drink or cocktail. If making a cocktail,
select your spirit of choice. I recommend tequila, vodka, or rum. Add
some ice cubes to a glass. If making the alcoholic version, add an
ounce of alcohol to the glass. Pour in the strawberry mixture and stir.
Add a sprig of basil or mint to the glass and serve.
If you are a frozen drink person, add more ice during the blending
stage to thicken this up and make a milkshake like consistency. This is
so refreshing and so fitting for the warmer months. Enjoy the Smoked
Strawberry Aqua Fresca your way as you stay cool this summer season!
After
smoking the strawberries using either a handheld food smoker, stovetop
smoker, gas grill or charcoal smoker – we have instructional videos on
all these techniques – the next step for our Bellini is to make the
simple syrup. Taking 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water, I add both to a
saucepan set over medium heat and stir constantly until the sugar is
dissolved. Then I remove it from heat and allow to cool. At this
point, I like to pour the simple syrup into a liquid measuring cup to
make adding to our cocktail easier.
Time
to start making the Bellini. I add ice cubes to a blender and pulse
them into crushed ice. I then take my smoked strawberry juice which I
reserved from my previous smoked strawberries and add about 1 cup to the
crushed ice. If you’re using whole smoked strawberries, you can pulse
these into the crushed ice. After adding my smoked strawberry juice, I
add about 1 cup of simple syrup. Pulse the mixture until blended and
make any necessary adjustments to ice, strawberry or syrup flavors until
you have the consistency and balance of sweet and smoky that you like.
Keep in mind, you will be pouring this mixture into the glass first,
then adding the sparkling Prosecco so don’t over-sweeten.
