Wood Fired Cauliflower- Roasted on a LP/Gas Grill

Look at this great head of wood fired cauliflower over wood chunks!

 

It’s time to bring your vegetables into grilling season! Nothing beats the smell of a fresh garden vegetable roasting over wood even on an LP/gas grill. Make this the time of the year you’ll get great char wood flavour in your seasonal vegetables.

Ingredients:

• An LP or gas grill – any brand or size will do.
• “Double” Filet wood chunks from SmokinLicious®.
• a couple of heads of cauliflower. Pick the color you like the best – white, yellow or even purple!

Grill Preparation

If you want to add special wood flavoring to your LP/Gas grill there are easy steps to follow:

• Make sure your grill is clean from any significant grease build up.
• Remove the grilling grates and determine how much space is between the diffuser and the grilling grate.
• The diffuser is the plate covering the unit’s gas burner(s).
• Don’t remove the cover.

[setting up the wood chunks on the heat Diffuser to develop hot spots for Charring]

Once you have the sizing computed, then select the SmokinLicious® wood chunk size that will fit – Single Filet which is ~4 inches or the Double Filet which is ~2 inches.

 

Wood Preparation

Now, let’s set up the wood on the grill. Remove the cooking grates from the grill then strategically place the wood chunks over the heat diffuser. This is the metal piece covering the actually gas burners. If the SmokinLicious® wood chunks are fresh, then you can add them directly to the unit without pre-soaking them. If not, you may want to consider a lite soaking of about 15 minutes. Because I’m cooking wood fired cauliflower, I am using the chunks in their natural state. However, feel free to consider a pre-soak in liquid with flavouring such as beer, wine or juice.

 

Now replace the grill grates back on the unit, over the SmokinLicious® wood chunks! Make sure the grates are securely seated back on the unit. If there is a lot of space on your unit between the diffuser and the grate you may want to consider a SmokinLicious® single filet or block item. Now light the unit, set the dials to a low heat setting and bring the unit up to temperature. Say around 180 degrees. Do not overheat the unit.

Wood Fired Cauliflower- Preparation

In preparing my wood fired cauliflower for this cook, I’ve elected not to reduce the cauliflower heads into pieces. I prefer to do the cutting towards the end of my grilling presentation.

After pre-heating the grill to around 180 degrees, I add the cauliflower heads to the grill grates. Let the wood infusion flavour begin!

[ Fresh heads added to the grill, note the wood has not ignited yet to develop a hot spot]

Roasting Process for Wood Fired Cauliflower

I position the wood fired cauliflower head over the hot spots created by the SmokinLicious® “Double” filet wood pieces which are under the grilling grates. The wood will ignite and begin the charring stage of the heads of cauliflower. I recommend bunching the wood pieces together to produce a hot spot on the LP/gas grill to allow for a direct char technique. While I am not using the smoke from the wood, I am still infusing great natural grilling flavour with the wood.

[Now I have hot spots and look a the char we are putting on the wood fired cauliflower. The green is the Parsley I add at the end of the process]

My cooking is taking place with an open lid because I want to char not smoke! It’s important to keep turning the heads so the flavour will be even. In the final stage of charring, I add some fresh parsley to the wood fired cauliflower heads for final flavour and presentation. And, of course, I love to drizzle melted butter sometimes infused with paprika, to the finished product.

Remember this is a vegetable, not meat so there is no grease to flare up the LP/gas grill. This is another example of why using SmokinLicious® Wood Chunks on the diffuser and under the grill grates of your LP/gas unit can generate such exceptional wood-fired flavour. Now, get to those heads of your wood fired cauliflower and ENJOY!

 

BBQ SMOKE COLOR

BBQ Smoke color, Black, Brown White or Blue is the key to successful Barbecue flavor

You smell it before you see it! The aroma of foods being cooked outdoors. When those foods involve cooking over wood – hardwood to be specific – well, it’s a flavor experience that is in a league of its own.

Today, instead of concentrating on the cooking technique of wood-fires, let’s examine the smoke vapor.

Does BBQ smoke color mean anything for flavor outcome?

The quick answer: absolutely! Let’s take a closer look at the finer points of smoke vapor colors.

From Black to Nearly Invisible, The Language of BBQ Smoke Color

There are four basic attributes to smoke when it leaves equipment: volume, velocity, density, and color. It is the combination of these attributes that reveal so much about the color of smoke vapor or gas produced from combusted wood.

Black Smoke = No Oxygen

Black smoke is unattractive, highly dense, consisting of large particles, and the key sign that the wood is starved of oxygen. When air intake is left uncorrected, this black smoke vapor can turn foods acrid, bitter, and sooty. Certainly, this is not the goal of wood-fired cooking! Don’t cook with smoke that is black in color. Learn how to control air intake and exhaust for proper air flow and the best smoke vapor infusion for great flavor.

Gray/Brown Smoke = Poor Wood Quality

You understand air flow, the balance needed between the air intake and outtake. Despite your optimal setting of air flow, you still find gray to brown smoke color occurring. What happened?

Often, this boils down to a case of poor wood choice. Gray or brown smoke occurs when there is a mixture of moisture and hydrocarbons. Bark on woods can stimulate brown smoke as this is the driest and most impure part of the wood. You can also see gray to brown smoke color when there are other stimulants on the wood. It may be that something dripped on the wood, was deliberately applied to the wood, or as part of the wood’s manufacturing process if the wood is a by-product from another process.

White Smoke = Initiation of Heat

Virtually all solid materials exposed to combustion emit white smoke. This means heat is being stimulated to the wood and drying it out. Remember, moisture is water and when heat finds water it has to induct it to produce steam. This takes energy from the fire or ignition and can stall full stages of combustion. Once moisture is evaporated you will observe white smoke to transition to a clearer color, hopefully, the infamous blue. For longer, lower temperature cooking, wait for the white smoke stage to pass before adding the food to the grates. For hotter temperature cooking like burgers, steaks, etc., go ahead and add to the grates even with the white smoke present. The abundance of aromatics at the white stage will allow for the flavor to permeate shorter cook items.

Blue Smoke (or nearly invisible) = Holy Grail of BBQ Smoke Color

Keeping in mind that you don’t always need an invisible or blue smoke to have a flavorful wood-fired cooking event, this is still the goal when cooking with wood for many hours. Blue or invisible smoke means that full combustion has occurred to the wood and the lignin compound is releasing the smoky aromatic that will stick to moist food surfaces. Take advantage of this pristine stage and get cooking for the best wood-fired flavors.

Finding the Perfect Wood with the Perfect Moisture Level for the Ideal BBQ Smoke Color

As a final note, don’t be fooled into thinking that using dry wood will save time on waiting for the fire’s heat to evaporate excess water and get to the flavoring. There is extensive research demonstrating that the ideal smoke composition containing flavor stimulating compounds called carbonyls and phenols is in hardwoods that have a higher moisture rating not the 10% or less that is considered seasoned wood. Use caution when making the wood purchase. Knowing key details about the wood prior to purchasing will help to achieve the smoke color that produces maximum flavor.

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SNAPPER GETS WRAPPED IN CORN HUSK & COAL FIRED

Snapper Gets Wrapped in Corn Husk and is now ready to rest on our bed of coals to get roasted!

When fresh fish comes in season, whether you catch it yourself or find your perfect catch at the seafood market or store, there is no better way to release the flavor than on the charcoal grill. I found some splendid snapper fillets that I plan to marinate, wrap in a corn husk, and cook on the coals of my charcoal grill. Let’s get started!

The Perfect Marinade

 

Fish does not require a lot of marination time so know in the time it takes the fish to absorb the marinade’s great flavors, you can set up the charcoal grill. I like to lite the chimney starters while I make the marinade. For that, you’ll need:

• 6 white fish fillets (tilapia, branzino, snapper)
• ½ cup finely chopped scallion
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• Salt – 1 teaspoon
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 12 pieces of soaked corn husks

Mix together the scallion, minced garlic, oil, lime juice, paprika, curry powder, salt and black pepper. Place the fish in a baking dish or in a sealable storage bag and top with the marinade mixture. Marinate the fish in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.

Wrapping the Snapper

It’s time to take our marinated fish and encase it in the corn husk. If you have fish fillets that will fit in a single corn husk, then one will do. However, if you are doing larger pieces of fish, usually over a few ounces in weight, you will need to place 2 corn husks on a work surface overlapping the husks. Place one piece of fish on a pre-soaked corn husk wrapping the husk around the fish. Tie the ends of the husk with meat twine noting that most of the fish is enclosed in the corn husk. Repeat with the remaining pieces of fish. You’ll see that what has been made is a steam packet for the fish. The corn husk is strong enough to allow the extra marinade to stay within the husk and simply tenderize the fish.

Grill Setup

I’m using a kettle grill with a wire mesh placed in the charcoal area to retain more of my hot coals. Since I started the chimney starters while preparing the marinade, I pour these into the charcoal area that also holds some unlit charcoal. On top of the hot coals, I place a couple of wood chunks which will add great flavor. I’ve also included a foil-covered brick to act as a heat conductor and retention device. This is a two-zone setup. I’ll keep the hot coals and wood going on one side of the brick and place my corn husked fish on the other side of the brick. In less than 20 minutes, these will be ready to go, fully cooked, and full of moisture.

Coal Fired to Perfection

Know that when you coal or ember cook foods, the temperature even from these small embers is high. The grill will average between 300-350° F for the cooking. There is no need to turn the corn husks, just simply monitor to ensure they don’t catch fire. A spray bottle of water on hand is helpful at this stage. In the end, the char flavor will penetrate the husk and produce the most fantastic flavor to the fish. Simply cut the ties from the corn husk ends and enjoy the fish with your favorite sides. There is nothing like natural fire cooking for fish.

 

SMOKEY HUNGARIAN PEPPERS ON THE KETTLE GRILL!

Smokey Hungarian Peppers on our kettle Grill!

I love growing Hungarian wax peppers in my garden and then harvesting for recipes and freezing for future recipes. Hungarian wax pepper come in different levels of heat depending on the variety chosen. Mine are a hot variety but work perfectly for mixing with other creamy flavors to produce some great condiments and sauces. I will introduce you to two versions of my Smoked Hungarian Pepper Spread in our recipe blog which will post soon.

Previously we showed you how to ember cook Hungarian peppers which entailed placing the peppers whole on hot embers and turning every 5 minutes or so. This time, the cooking will be over the hot coals of a traditional charcoal kettle grill and include wood chunks to the coals for added flavor.

Purchase or pick your favorite variety of Hungarian wax pepper and bring great grilled flavor to them with charcoal and hardwood, using any charcoal grill you have.

Homegrown Is Best

Our homegrown Hungarian peppers on the plants!

Just a small number of pepper plants can produce an abundance of peppers! Start with a high-quality organic soil and you will find there is little to be done to peppers other than watch them grow. You will see that though these are a wax variety of Hungarian pepper, if left on the plant, they will turn from the traditional yellow-green coloring to red. Do not confuse these peppers with the banana pepper variety. Though they look the same, they are different in heat level, with the wax variety being higher heat/spice level than banana. Once picked, I simply clean them under running water and pat dry. These are then ready for grilling.

Tasting Note: I don’t remove the membrane or seeds from the peppers prior to grilling. I simply place them on the grill grate whole. Note some of the peppers may have more water than others and burst on the grill. Be sure to turn them before they show wrinkling and that should prevent them from bursting.

Charcoal Grill Set Up

Our Wood chunks on the charcoal for the smokey flavor

The key to producing a great char on the peppers is to be sure you are cooking over gray, hot coals and not flame. The easiest method of starting the coals is with a charcoal chimney starter.

Simply fill the starter and light at the base using newspaper or a fire starter. Then allow the chimney to burn down until the charcoal is grayed over and red. I still put a bit of unlit charcoal in the kettle and then pour the hot coals over the unlit. Only do this step if you have more than one grate of peppers to cook or want to use the grill for cooking something else as the heat level produced will last many hours.

Place your peppers on the grill grate and grill until charred on one side. Turn with tongs and grill a few more minutes, then remove. These are now ready for your favorite pepper recipes! Do not forget to freeze some to keep on hand during the months the peppers won’t be available in stores.

What is your favorite pepper to grill? Leave us a comment to opine and subscribe to get all our postings on tips, techniques and recipes. Bringing innovation to wood fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

 

SMOKED BROCCOLI CASSEROLE WITH APPLE & QUINOA

Collage of Smoked broccoli ingredients for our SMOKED BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Once you’ve smoked at least one head of broccoli, you’re ready to use it in this wonderfully flavorful creamy dish. Keep in mind, you can make this a vegan recipe by swapping out all the dairy products for comparable vegan ingredients.

For those looking to make this a main meal, add a protein like chicken or turkey. Simply include the pre-cooked protein when you spread the other ingredients into the prepared oven safe dish.

So, here we go with our smoke broccoli casserole with apples and quinoa.

INGREDIENTS:

You will need:

• 1 cup quinoa, washed
• 1 head of smoked broccoli, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced apple (like Fiji, Golden)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup Panko
• Salt/fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk (may use coconut, almond, cashew or 2%)
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil or spray a 9×13 baking dish. In a large saucepan, add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa. Cook according to package directions. With roughly 10 minutes left to finished cook, add the diced apple. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Panko and cook, stirring constantly, until browned (about 3 minutes); then remove from heat and set aside. Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly until slightly thickened. Stir in quinoa/apple mixture, smoked broccoli, 1 cup of cheese, yogurt, salt and pepper.

Quinoa, Butter, and Apples in a skillet

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Spread broccoli mixture into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in oven and bake until cheese has melted and the mixture is warmed through. Sprinkle with browned Panko and serve.

Mixing all ingredients together and putting in baking dish

ADD YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES:

This recipe can be changed to include some of your other favorites like cubed squash, grapes, cranberries. Or as mentioned earlier, you may add a protein such as chicken or turkey. Simply cook the meat separately in the oven, on the stove top, or on the grill.

You’ll love the balanced smoky flavor of the broccoli with the creaminess of the apple and quinoa. This is soon to be a Fall favorite as you adjust to the cooler temperatures.

Enjoy!

 

THE ULTIMATE WOOD-FIRED CLAMS CASINO

Our wood-fired clams casino on the offset grill with brick and the finished product

Have you ever noticed how many ingredients go with clams?  This low fat, high protein seafood also has many beneficial minerals.  They are also one of the most sustainable seafood resources.

I thought I would provide an easy wood-fired cooking method that can be done on your charcoal grill (you certainly can modify a few setup items and do this on the gas grill as well using wood) and produce the most flavorful clams casino out there.

Go find some similarly sized clams, fire up the grill, and get ready for this recipe and technique to become your favorite.

Hot Coal Grilling

Our recipe is quite simple: gather together

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 oz. sliced pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced (you can use pre-minced garlic)
• ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 18 medium clams, shucked, bottom shells reserved

 

Before starting on the casino filling, it’s important that you get the grill ready.  First, you’ll want to get a chimney starter of charcoal going.  I’m using SmokinLicious® charwood in place of traditional charcoal as this is a partially charred product that will also provide for some hardwood flavor infusion.  Once lit, the chimney starter needs to burn down the charwood to hot coals – no flame should be visible when you dump this into the grill.

For my charcoal grill, I’ve set a mesh screen at the base of my kettle grill to allow me to retain as many hot coals as possible.  The screen helps to prevent small coals from falling through the charcoal area.   I’ve also covered brick with heavy-duty foil to act as a heat conductor and radiator.  This will help to keep a constant temperature during the actual cooking process.  The brick will also separate the cooking area from the fuel area.  A bit of unlit charwood is also added to the charcoal half of the grill so these bits can ignite from the hot coals and sustain the heat level more evenly.

Casino Mixture

With the charwood burning in the chimney starter, I can now start on the casino filling.  After adding a tablespoon of oil and cooking the pancetta or bacon in a skillet, I’ve put that aside on a paper towel lined dish and added the diced red pepper to the fat drippings in my pan.  After cooking a few minutes, I had the shallots, garlic, and parsley to the same skillet and sauté until the shallots are tender and translucent, which is about 5 minutes.  Add the white wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated.  Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely.

Assembling the Casinos

While the casino mixture is cooling, I prepare my clams.  Here you have a couple of options depending on your skill level and time management.  You can shuck the clams as normal and reserve the bottom shell with the clam, or you can steam the clams until just open, separate the top from the bottom shell, reserving the bottom shell.  I loosen the clam from the shell so it’s easier to consume with the casino mixture.  After the clams are readied, I take the cooled casino mixture and add the previously cooked pancetta or bacon, 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan, and fresh pepper mixing well.  I then take a tablespoon of the mixture and mound it over the clam in the shell.  The finished clams are placed in a grill-proof pan.

Wood Firing Brings Depth of Flavor

#chefbertandtom

With all my top neck clams stuffed with casino filling, I sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and the 2 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs over each clam.  I am now ready to place the tray on the grill.  Since I’m using a two-zone cooking method, I can safely put the lid on the grill without concern for charring these clams too far.  With a steady temperature of about 300°F, these will take between 15-20 minutes.  You can rotate the tray if you feel the heat level in your grill is not even or steady.  For those that like a crunchy outside to the clam feel free to place these under the broiler for a few minutes.  The clams pick up the wood flavor in a very balanced way, giving just hints of charry goodness with each bit.  Super easy, super flavorful, and super fun to make.  Take your clams to the wood fire for your next event.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… about the great results had from indirect cooking or the two-zone grilling technique, as referenced in this recipe blog.  When it comes to this particular recipe, you will find that wood fired clams done on a charcoal grill with indirect heat and a simple brick heat conductor will add a distinctive smoky flavor twist to your clams casino.  This appetizer promises to be a fan favorite for any seasonal or football party!

 

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 gently 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.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… that ember roasting is ideal to boost up the bland, delicately flavored zucchini and will add a rich, wood-fired taste dimension to any dish featuring this exquisite summer squash.  So, be prepared to enjoy a rich, char-smoked variation of your ratatouille, quesadillas, stuffed zucchini or soups from ember cooked zucchini!