We do a summer favorite WOOD FIRED GRILLED WATERMELON!
WOOD FIRED GRILLED WATERMELON BECOMES A STAR
You may have seen segments on grilling watermelon before which show slices of watermelon on a standard gas grill. Although I agree that the heat generated from the grill will produce a sweet outcome, there is no comparison to doing a grilling technique that incorporates wood for added flavor.
In this segment, I’ll show you how to grill watermelon on a grill of your choice with wood chunks for the unique combination of sweet and char flavors that only comes from grilling with wood.
Grilled Watermelon- Easy Prep
I think this is by far, the easiest preparation for the grill. All you need is a watermelon of your choosing and a grill; gas, electric or charcoal. Just 2-3 wood chunks from SmokinLicious® and about 20 minutes once you have a lit grill, and this method of bringing flavor to the standard watermelon will be complete.
As watermelon contains a lot of water, it is essential that you work with a medium heat setting on your gas grill and hot coals with a moderate flame for the charcoal grill. If using a gas grill, be sure to set up the wood chunks on just one side of the grill and allow the chunks to smolder first so there is plenty of smoke vapor. Since watermelon grills in no time at all, you want to have enough smoke vapor produced to give a great tasty outcome for both a gas grill or charcoal grill method. Electric smokers are self-contained allowing for simple dialing in about 15 minutes worth of smoking time.
For the watermelon, cut lengthwise in half and cut each half into individual slices about 1-1/2 to 2” thick. Or, you can remove all the rind and grill just the watermelon meat. Keep fire safe tongs at the ready so you can turn the watermelon slices just once as they evaporate some water and sweeten up. DO NOT leave the grill! This fruit requires a careful watch so stay put and you’ll have every piece cooked to perfection.
So Many Uses for Grilled Watermelon
You’ll see how the watermelon darkens in color, get bits of char coloring to the skin, and is less water soluble. That’s the perfect outcome. Now it’s time to think about how to use your wood flavored melon.
First, you can enjoy it as is. When I serve this naked, I just give one additional flavor such as fresh, chopped mint. But if you’re looking for a lunch or lite dinner entrée, think salad by including some baby arugula, goat cheese and a splash of balsamic vinegar. For a spicy version, sprinkle the wedges with red pepper flakes, a bit of granulated sugar, and lime zest. Wood fired watermelon also works great with other summer favorites like grape and cherry tomato, pepper slices, sugar snow peas, and cucumber. No matter how you choose to serve it, grilled watermelon with wood flavoring is going to top your list of grilled favorites.
Proving that there’s more to wood-fired cooking than just animal proteins, SmokinLicious® brings you great ideas for recipes featuring a wood-fired ingredient. Bringing you tips, techniques, recipes and the science behind the fire and smoke.
We never apply THE 5 SECOND RULE at SmokinLicious®
THE 5 SECOND RULE
listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking
We’ve all heard it! The infamous 5-second rule. When something falls on the floor, you have 5 seconds to pick it up and still consume it. At SmokinLicious®, that will NEVER be the case. If it falls to the floor, it is NEVER used in our manufacturing process!
You might ask, “Why to apply this rule when we’re only talking about wood, right?” If you understand the basis of wood-fired cooking then you understand that smoke is a vapor. And like any vapor, it attaches itself to anything in its surrounding area. When you cook with wood, you are adding its smoke or vapor as an ingredient to the foods being cooked.
So, do you really want something that has been on the floor for a short period or a longer period to be considered an ingredient in the food you will consume?
SmokinLicious® is unique in this thinking and as a result of this approach allowed our wood processes to be Kosher certified! We handle everything with care and with your food consumption in mind. To us, wood is a flavor ingredient and needs to be exceptionally clean.
Whether it’s our larger cuts of hardwood like our friction logs, barrel logs, and assorted chunk sizes or our smallest product, Smokin’ Dust®, we ensure that the wood never touches the ground or floor. SmokinLicious® developed custom storage containers and air collected systems that preserve the cleanliness of the wood and assure no product is EVER swept from the floor!
Why wouldn’t you want to deal with the leading cooking wood manufacturer in North America? Especially when others are simply recycling their waste wood products.
Don’t you think your customers care about the 5-second rule and deserve to know if you allow it?
Get the peace of mind AND a guarantee with a REAL cooking wood company… SmokinLicious®!
Dr. Smoke does not believe in THE 5 SECOND RULE at SmokinLicious®
It’s time I go there. I’ve fielded way too many questions to ignore it. Now is the perfect time for me to opine on this highly controversial topic: when it’s called barbecue.
The precious forest, source of forest grown hardwoods, covers 513,175 acres (801.8 square miles) and includes the Allegheny Reservoir Natural Habitat.
FOREST GROWN HARDWOODS
It is likely when you have your heart set on some wood-fired cooked foods that you give little attention to the wood that will be required for that cooking event. You may have seen wood smoker chips or chunks available in your local box store and decided that you can always pick those up last minute, to be assured your plans aren’t foiled. Or, you simply plan to go with charcoal chips without considering that this product is made from wood as well. Is the product made from something less than forest grown hardwoods? Smokinlicious® uses only forest grown hardwoods in the production of our entire line of cooking and smoking woods!
Unless you are in a direct county of involvement, you likely have not realized the invasions that are occurring readily to our forests, woodlots, and home landscapes.
To date, here are some of the diseases and infestations we are battling in the USA’s Precious Forest regions:
So why if you are a lover of BBQ smoking chips or BBQ wood chunks (smoking using wood chunks or woodchips) or other wood-fired foods, should issues with bugs be of concern? Because cooking by fire is the oldest known cooking method for humankind. Right now, you may simply enjoy 3 benefits of trees: for shade, for beauty (viewing), and for a flavor to foods cooked on your grill/smoker.
But there are many other benefits to forest grown hardwoods:
Decrease atmospheric carbon by capturing and storing CO2
Improve air quality by filtering pollutants and releasing oxygen
Reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants entering local water bodies
Increase property values by 3-7%
The pollutant removal alone that trees are responsible for provides a human health benefit worth $6.8 billion per year! Trees keep us alive!
As of December 2016, NYS DEC has detected an increased prevalence of Oak Wilt in the state which has no known treatment to contain and kill this fungus. Oak is one of the most popular hardwoods for wood-fired cooking methods.
Please, take the time to source wood for cooking from reputable sources and follow the laws in place in your specific state to ensure we can limit the spread of these pests and diseases, and continue to enjoy the oldest method of cooking: by fire!
With over 60 species of oak hardwood in the USA, this hardwood can be split into two categories: Red Oak and White Oak. It is one of the most popular hardwoods to use in cooking likely because of its ready availability. But as we’ve mentioned before, just because something is available in your area, doesn’t make it a success for all cooking techniques and foods.
Oak is a heavy, strong, and ring-porous hardwood resulting in a coarse texture and prominent grain. Oak hardwood is part of the Fagaceae family of wood. The scientific names for the varieties we manufacture are Quercus coccinea Muenchh., Quercus falcata Michx. Var. Falcata, Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm., Quercus prinus L., and Quercus velutina Lam. The common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions include Red Oak, Spanish Oak, Yellow Chestnut Oak, Rock Oak, Smoothbark Oak.
Oak is considered the strongest in flavor for hardwoods. It is known for providing deep coloring to the outer skin of foods meaning a very dark often black outer skin and it can be overpowering to those who aren’t used to smoked foods. It also is a hardwood that can mold easily especially when exposed to significant variations in temperature and humidity. Additionally, it does not like to make contact with metal which can be a challenge when cutting with metal/steel tools! Oak will show its distaste by producing black streaks on the wood or even coating its entire outside with a black “dye”-like substance.
So, if you are keen on bold flavors and definitely like smokiness to your foods, then oak is a clear winner. However, I do recommend using less of this wood when cooking poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables and herbs/spices especially if you have a gas assist unit or are using lump hardwood charcoal or hardwood Charwood for fuel.
