Smoked Portobello Mushrooms enhances the natural flavor of this fungi

What’s Fungi?

This is a group of organisms that include yeasts, molds, mildews and MUSHROOMS!  That’s right!  Mushrooms are a fungus but a good one.

As a water-rich fungus containing 85-95% water content, mushrooms develop from a nodule which forms the common stem and gill top.  There are lots of mushroom types and not all of them are edible.  Be sure to stick to mushrooms you purchase in the store and leave the wild ones to the forest animals.

A Healthy Fungus for More Nutrition

One benefit of mushrooms used for grilling and smoking is due to all that water content, they infuse smoke vapor quickly.  This gives the mushrooms a deeper flavor that is even more earthy then when they are raw.

Here’s a super easy appetizer or main entrée that features large Portobello caps.  Portobello mushrooms are very “meaty” and the larger ones tolerate grilling and wood smoking well.  Their large size mean you can easily place them directly on the grill grate but given all the water they will expel, save messing up your grill and use a sheet pan or aluminum foil.

Give this one a try and I’ll bet you’ll start keeping this fungus around in your refrigerator for a quick and easy snack, appetizer or meal.

Smoked Portobello Mushrooms (Serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

12 large Portobello mushrooms

16  ounces Bruschetta or salsa (homemade or store bought)

12-16 ounces of fresh mozzarella

Bunch of fresh basil leaves roughly chopped for garnish

Start by preparing a charcoal or gas grill or smoker to reach a cooking temperature of 250°F.  I prefer to use a two-zone or indirect cooking set up which is heat on only one side of my grill.  My tray will be placed on the no heat side.  Cooking wood preferences are either wood chips or chunks– both will do the trick for you!.

While the equipment is heating, clean the mushrooms well and remove the stems (save the stems for another recipe).  Pat the mushrooms dry.  Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with foil, or use a disposable foil pan.  Make sure the pan you select will fit on your grill or smoker.  Place the mushroom caps on the sheet pan, cap side up.  Spoon the Bruschetta or salsa into the mushroom cap, ensuring an even coating on the entire cap.  Place thin slices of fresh mozzarella on top of the Bruschetta or salsa filled caps.  Place the tray on the grate and cook/smoke for about 25 minutes or until the mushrooms are heated thru and the cheese is golden on top. Remove the tray carefully from the grill once the mushrooms are cooked thru being careful not to spill the rendered water that has accumulated on the tray surface.   Chop some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over the finished mushroom caps.  Serve hot.

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Thinking about using cedar wood for cooking? 6 reasons to don’t!

6 REASONS TO AVOID CEDAR WOOD FOR COOKING

You love different techniques for cooking and absorb new information like a sponge.  In particularly, you love outdoor methods of cooking.  One of your favorites is plank cooking on cedar wood.  Every time you read a recipe, they all call for use of a cedar plank or other methods to use cedar wood for cooking.

But is cedar really the best choice?  More so, is cedar wood for cooking a safe choice?

#1 Softwood Classification Presents a Concern for Using Cedar Wood for Cooking

Cedar wood is not a hardwood.  It is a softwood that is from the gymnosperm trees meaning, it is a conifer or cone producing tree.  As a rule, softwoods should not be used for cooking as they contain a lot of air and sap which equates to a fast burn and unpleasant flavors.  In fact, there are many softwoods that can be toxic if cooked over.

#2 Poor Fire Resistance

During plank cooking, you are using the wood as a vessel to infuse flavor to whatever food is placed on top of the plank.  Here’s the concern with cedar – because it is a lower density wood (23 lb./ft³), it has very poor fire resistance.  That means, it reaches full combustion much faster than hardwood and will burn as a result.  Certainly, that’s not what you’re looking for when you plank cook.

#3 Poreless

Unlike hardwood which contain pores in the cell walls, softwoods like cedar are poreless.  They use cell components called tracheids to transport water and nutrients.   In addition, the organic compound lignin found in the cell walls, is much lower than in traditional hardwoods used for cooking.  Why is this an issue?  Lignin is what gives wood fired cooking the distinct flavor and aroma to foods.  In using cedar wood for cooking, the average lignin composition is 20%±4 compared to common hardwoods used for wood-fired cooking which average 28%±3.

#4 Plicatic Acid

Cedar contains chemical properties (specifically plicatic acid) that are shown to be a good absorber of odors and moisture.  This is one of the key reasons why cedar is a preferred softwood for pest control to keep fleas, ants, mites, moths, and mosquitoes away.  When exposed to plicatic acid for lengthy periods of time, a condition known as “cedar asthma” can develop.

Additionally, a regular exposure to the cedar oil found in the wood can result in contact dermatitis or skin irritation, rhinitis, and conjunctivitis.

#5 Animal Toxicity

There are many studies available on how the use of cedar wood chips and shavings have affected animals continually exposed to these products.  Most studies show a correlation with liver dysfunction in animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters.  In fact, smaller animals, like guinea pigs and hamsters, have a higher incidence of death which may be attributed to plicatic acid exposure.  The phenols and aromatic hydrocarbons also have been shown to cause respiratory problems in animals like those listed above.

#6 Not All Cedar Is The Same

Cedar is part of the pine family of trees with native origin in North Africa and Asia.  There are no native cedar trees to North America.  The red cedar common in the Eastern USA is part of the Juniper family and can be highly toxic if taken internally.  Under no circumstances should you ever cook with red cedar from the Eastern states of the USA.

USA cedar trees are referred to as false cedars since there are no native varieties.  There are commonly 5 varieties of the false cedars available: Western Red Cedar (common to Southern Alaska, Northern California, and the Rockies), Northern White Cedar (Southeastern Canada, Northeastern quarter of the USA, south into Tennessee, and west into Iowa), Eastern Red (Aromatic) Cedar (Eastern USA), Yellow Cedar (Pacific Northwest from Alaska to British Columbia into Oregon), Spanish Cedar (although Native to South and Central America, it was planted in Florida).  Every false cedar has some known health risks with the most common being respiratory due to toxicity of its pollen, oil, or other chemical compound.

Now you’re asking..

“So if there are all these documented health risks, how and why have cedar plank cooking and other methods of cedar wood cooking gain so much popularity?”  I suppose the easiest answer is that cedar was used by the earliest settlers in the Pacific Northwest as a means of preserving, storing and cooking the seasonal fish.  Think about the limitations of the day: they would be using resources that are available without thought to the items we ponder today like health, future risk, etc.  This concept was examined from a different perspective many years later with the desire for flavor, appearance, and functionality.

We often make the mistake of jumping into something full throttle before asking some of the key questions to keep our bodies safe and healthy.  Remember, there’s lots of documentation out there stating why you should not cook with softwood yet when it comes to cedar wood cooking, specifically, cedar plank cooking, we don’t seem to carry that issue forward.  I don’t think I’ll ever understand why.

We love providing information to our readers and subscribers that is not in the open and letting you weigh the information for your own verdict.   All types of questions are welcome and we encourage you to follow and subscribe to our social channels so you don’t miss anything.  We look forward to providing you with tips, techniques, recipes, and the science for all things wood-fired cooked.

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

More Related reading on this subject

Additional reading:

-BEYOND PRICING: THE TOP THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING COOKING WOOD

-THE TOP 8 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN COOKING & GRILLING WITH WOOD

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

Dr. Smoke says “Just because it might be a “fad,” cedar wood for cooking may not be good for your health.”

Guest Blog- Kylee Harris on Coffee Smoked Foods!

Kylee Harris on Coffee Smoked Foods– At one point, all foods had an element of smoke; everything was cooked over an open fire before gas and electric stoves came about. It’s thought that the smell and imparted taste of smoke is programmed into mankind as a result, which is why smoked foods are popular all over the globe. Meat, seafood, and even smoky desserts like fruit pies, are still flavored with a variety of wood smoke. Recently, professional and home cooks alike have begun to wonder about the hidden potential of another thing close to their hearts: coffee. Smoking food with a combination of wood and coffee beans could be the next big taste revolution.

Coffee Smoked Foods- Coffee Varieties for Smoking

Just as there is a variety of options when it comes to smoking food with wood, there are a few choices in coffee as well. For flavor profile, darker and richer bean varieties pair best with red meat, while more mild varieties are better sampled with poultry and seafood. There’s also the question of regular or decaffeinated types of coffee. No, smoking with coffee won’t caffeinate your food (though wouldn’t that be interesting), but there can be a difference in flavor here as well. Regular has a higher level of acidity and thus bitterness, while decaf is less so. Rule of thumb: if you like the bitter tang of a certain coffee, then you will probably like the flavors it lends to smoked food.

Coffee Smoked Foods- Beans, Grounds, and Pellets

Of course, flavor is one thing- this is open to individual tastes- but what about what works best for the actual smoking process? Ground coffee is great as a marinade or rub for meat, but it burns up too quickly to be very useful for smoking. Coffee beans are better for the process, as they can burn more slowly. A combination of wood chips with coffee beans (a 3:1 ratio) is a good balance, allowing the coffee beans to add their subtle flavors without becoming too smoky and overpowering. There’s also the option of coffee pellets, which are coffee grounds and saw dust pressed into compact pellets used as a fuel for both cooking and heating. These are said to have a much more subtle flavor when used for cooking and work particularly well, according to fans, for flavoring smoked corned beef.

Coffee Smoked Foods- Pre-Roasted vs. Green Coffee Beans

While both grounds and pellets have their place, most people prefer smoking food with whole coffee beans, which then poses the question: raw and green, or already roasted? The answer really depends on personal preference, once again. Green coffee beans will give off much more smoke, which can be a good thing if that’s the flavor you’d like to try. Pre roasted, on the other hand, will smoke less, but may need to be soaked in water first in order to be able to smolder for a longer time to produce a sustained smoking processes. 

As you can see, there are quite a few choices you can make to customize your coffee-smoked food experience. Experimenting with flavors and methods is what really makes cooking the art form that it so clearly is. The options are plentiful, and the vision (or taste, as it is) is all up to you.

Other blogs you might enjoy:

–Great Sustainable Wines To Pair With Your Smoked Meat

–How To Maintain A Safe Kitchen Environment

–Himalayan Salt Blocks: Benefits, Uses, and Tips

Smoking color is correct when white smoke is present

In Grilling the smoke means everything! Share on X

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 is a flavor experience that is in a league of its own.

Recently, our cartoon friends, Tom and Bert, had an exchange about what the color of smoke means.

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These wood chips are produced to fit the the Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® Combi Oven

Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® Combi Oven-“Smoke”with Smokinlicious®

We love having the opportunity to work with chefs throughout the world in determining what they desire in a wood-fired flavor for various menu items.

As you can imagine, we get the opportunity to work with a variety of equipment lines that use wood for flavor and coloring.  One of our favorite commercial equipment lines is produced by Alto-Shaam® who specialize in food service and retail markets by offering cooking, holding, display, and chill equipment lines.

Part of the Alto-Shaam® cooking offerings is Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® Combi Oven which not only offers convection cooking but smoke infusion as well.  This highly efficient oven works with hardwood chips to bring the aroma and taste of wood infusion to all types of meat, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices.  In fact, when SmokinLicious® began development of our microchip line, we targeted Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® oven for ideal sizing production to meet the needs of the commercial kitchen.  In the end, we found that our smaller Minuto® Wood Chip line offered even greater flavor than traditionally-sized wood chips with little ash residue when used with the Combitherm®.

Here’s the best part: because we manufacture every product, we can offer chefs single species of our filtered specialty wood chip line or we can custom blend to give their menu items greater diversity from others.  That includes blending different wood species as well as sizes.  Smaller chip particles may be used for more pungent woods while larger sizes of sweet or savory chips are included for a fully balanced wood recipe flavoring based on the overall food ingredients.

Chefs who use the Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® simply love the ease of adding our dust free product to the equipment, dialing in the smoke infusion level they desire, and letting the oven do its magic.  The best part is they don’t have to worry about an unclean wood source going into their expensive equipment and causing equipment failure or producing off color and taste to the foods being cooked.

We know we can offer the best flavor in wood combustion by starting with the ideal hardwoods for cooking.  The rest can be left to the cook’s imagination.  We know the effort it takes for those in the food and beverage industry to commit to a specific piece of equipment.  We know the expense involved.  What we don’t understand is why the same time and research aren’t spent assessing the wood supply to be used in the oven?  Why risk this investment to an unvetted supplier?

If you own an Alto-Shaam® Combitherm® Combi Oven or you are in the market for a new piece of equipment, join those who have already experienced the benefits of our exceptional Minuto® wood chip line and get ready to be blown away with the possibilities our products can bring to your kitchen!

Bon Bar B Que!

Dr. Smoke- It’s our opinion that we have best small diced wood chips for commercial smoking use.

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

OPEN PIT COOKING- BUILDING THE PERFECT FIRE

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- Open Pit Cooking

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 for Open Pit Cooking

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 Open Pit 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.

We hope this article was full information you didn’t know.  Leave us a comment and subscribe so you don’t miss anything concerning wood fired cooking, flavors, and the science behind the fire.

More Related reading on “What Wood for Smoking” and other great smoking and grilling tips and techniques

Interested in reading more? Try:

-Top 10 Vegetables to Cook in Hot Embers

-THE TOP 8 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN COOKING & GRILLING WITH WOOD

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

Smoker Logs

Dr Smoke- “Spending time on fire preparation for open pit cooking will enhance your cooking results.”

Caution- When selecting wood chips for smoking know the wood source!

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN $3.99 WOOD CHIPS FOR SMOKING AND THE SMOKINLICIOUS® BRAND

listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking

If you’ve ever looked at the wood chips for smoking products available at most discount retail stores, you’ll notice that they seem to have consistent pricing in the $3.99 or less bracket.  Yet, you look at the SmokinLicious® brand and come up with a price that’s close to twice the cost.  What’s the deal with the price difference?

There are many factors involved in determining the retail price of wood chips many of which I’m sure the average consumer hasn’t considered.  What exactly are you paying for when you select a specific wood chip brand?

Let me give you some insight.

Wood Chips for Smoking- Let’s Start with the Raw Material

The raw material is by far the largest cost factor with selling wood chips for grilling, smoking, and cooking in general.  I’ll make the comparison to cotton purchased by a t-shirt manufacturer.  There are grades of cotton.  Higher grades of cotton go into more expensive cotton clothing.  Purchase a $5 t-shirt and you’re guaranteed a lower grade cotton was used. This means you likely won’t get more than a year of consistent wearing and washing out of that $5 t-shirt!

The same is true for wood chips.  There are 8 different grades of wood or lumber for purposes such as cabinet making, flooring, construction, and pallets.    Only one culinary wood company specifically purchases raw lumber material for cooking wood manufacture only.  That would be SmokinLicious®.

Other companies will do one of three things; have a primary business in one of the areas listed above and use the waste product for producing the wood chips, or, purchase another company’s waste product to market as a wood chip grilling and smoking wood, or, have the company with waste product package a private label brand of grilling and smoking chips and deliver to a centralized distribution warehouse for the brand, something commonly done by equipment manufacturers who feel a need to offer a wood chip to go with the equipment.

Cleanliness of the Manufacturing Process

Another key factor in cost is the handling of the material during the manufacturing process.  Now I understand that we are talking about wood and not a food item.  However, if you are using a wood to add flavoring to food through smoke vapor from burning wood, then I see the wood as an ingredient.  As with any ingredient, I would prefer to use something that is clean and pure since I will be eating this.

Since I’ve already pointed out that many companies use materials that are labeled as waste wood, you have no idea how the waste material was collected, stored, moved, and processed.  You also don’t know what’s in that waste wood (treated lumber pieces, a mix of woods, some softwoods) or how old that material is which directly affects the moisture level.  Remember, moisture is needed to smolder the wood and produce smoke vapor.

SmokinLicious® is the only culinary wood manufacturer that is Kosher certified, attesting to the steps taken to ensure the culinary products are clean, clean stored, and preserved.

Wood Chips for Smoking- Varieties and Availability

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Adding salt choices has a purpose and why

SALT CHOICES- HOW MUCH AND WHAT KIND?

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.

Salt Choices- 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.

Salt Choices- Types

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.

Salt Choices in Relation to 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.

We hope you found this article informative and valuable.  We’d love your comments!  Don’t forget to subscribe to and follow us so you don’t miss a thing.  We’ll continue to bring you tips, techniques, recipes, and the science behind all things wood-fired!

More Related reading on “What Wood for Smoking” and other great smoking and grilling tips and techniques

Related reading:

-10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD SMOKE

-SMOKING FOODS IN FOIL: PROS & CONS

-JUST BECAUSE YOUR SMOKING (FOOD THAT IS!) DOESN’T MAKE IT ALL BAD!

Purchase products:

Smoking Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

Wood Chips- Minuto® and Piccolo®

Dr Smoke- “Making the right salt choices. This is the hardest part of cooking- too little or too much are both bad.”

Our finished wood roasted onions!

WOOD ROASTED ONIONS TO DIE FOR!

listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking

One vegetable that is available throughout the year is the onion.  Although you’re likely accustomed to using this in recipes as an added natural flavor when you wood-fire the onion, something magical happens to its cell structure that turns these into the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth gems that you’ll want to use in even more recipes.

Onions are high in vitamin C, can aid in weight loss, and have reduced certain cancer risks, especially those associated with the digestive tract.

Whether you elect to do the standard yellow onion, the sweet red onion, or shallots, you will love how smoke vapor works to bring out the best in any variety.

Wood Roasted Onions- Preparing for the Grill

Before preparing the onions for the grill, let’s get the grill started by lighting the burners on only half the grill.  This is referred to as two zone cooking.  On the lit burner side, I place 2 wood chunks – I’m using the Single Filet size from SmokinLicious® – directly on the heat shields of my hot burners.  This will provide the wood flavoring to the onions.  My burners are set to medium-low which usually produces a cooking temperature of about 300°F.  Simply adjust your burner setting to reach this temperature.

For the onions, I simply cut the tops of, slice in half and remove the skins.  I place the halves cut side down in a roasting pan and add about ¼ cup of oil to the pan.   With my pan ready, I place it on the unlit side of the grill and close the lid.  In about 75 minutes, these will slightly charred, tender, and juicy.

Tasting Notes:  Although I used avocado oil since you are not grilling over direct heat, you can use other oils such as olive, almond, walnut, grapeseed, coconut, sesame, canola, etc.  Remember, some varieties of onion are considered herbs so doing an assortment of types will give you an abundance of flavors.

Wood Roasted Onions- The Longer the Wood Roast the More Flavor

You’ll find as these onions cook and absorb both the smoke vapor and oil, the scales of the onions will separate and caramelize.  The results are tender, juicy and flavorful with a hint of woodsy from the charred edges.

I decided to make a simple sauce of butter, cheese, parsley, and pepper for my onion mix and served these alongside a pork steak, also cooked on the grill with a two-zone method.

The best part is onions are available year-round so I can do this method even in the dead of winter, as remember, the gas grill still functions even in the cold!  For those who like to freeze produce, this freezes very well so grill a lot keep them so they’re ready for the winter days you don’t feel like lighting the grill.   Just think what an onion soup will taste like when you wood-fire the onions first!

Tasting Notes:  If using a charcoal grill, still use a two-zone cooking set up meaning charcoal on only one side of the grill.  Be sure you only cook with hot coals, no flames.  This type of grilling can have more challenges to steady temperature so make sure you check the onion pan more frequently.

Smokinlicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Single Filet

More Related reading on “What Wood for Smoking” and other great smoking and grilling tips and techniques

Additional reading:

-EASY GRILL ROASTED TOMATOES

-Roasted/Toasted Onions over Embers

-GRILLED PEACHES FOR THE PERFECT SALAD

Dr. Smoke- Wood roasted onions will add a superb flavor to these vegetables

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

THE EASY METHOD TO COLD SMOKED CHEESE

listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking

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.

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Chef Bert and Tom combining hardwoods for smoking flavors

Learning how to combine Hardwood species to change their smokey flavoring Share on X

There is misinformation out there that you may have been victim to.  When cooking with hardwood, you may have been under the impression that only certain woods can be used with certain foods.  For instance, hickory is reserved only for pork shoulder and brisket.  Cherry for chicken, etc.

But that is hardly the truth.

Hardwood used for cooking must be viewed as another ingredient.  As a key ingredient, it needs to be balanced with the food item and other ingredients used in preparation before grilling and smoking.

The intent today is to provide a guide on combinations of hardwood that work well for specific foods.  Essentially, the ingredients of a rub, glaze, sauce or marinade will dictate what hardwoods will maximize all the flavors to become a finished masterpiece.

Combining Hardwoods- Hardwood Selection as a Compatible Ingredient

The goal when using hardwood is balance of the flavor outcome.  You never want the hardwood to produce an ashy or burnt flavor.  The essence of the wood should simply add to the beautiful flavor outcome for a memorable eating experience.

Here is SmokinLicious® rating on boldness of flavor for the hardwoods we offer:

When I design wood recipes for specific foods, I like to think about balancing out a medium or bolder flavor with one that is lighter.  For lighter fare items like vegetables and fish, two wood combinations are generally used while longer cooked animal proteins can tolerate three hardwoods well.

In the chart that follows, reference is provided to various foods that benefit from exposure to the specified hardwoods.   Use the color blocks indicated under each food group to guide you on combinations.  Find the same color blocks in that group, and you have the balanced combination of hardwood.   For instance, under Fruit, there are two red squares for an alder and cherry combination.  Under the Fish column, there are 3 options: Alder and Maple represented by the pink square, Beech and Cherry represented by the orange square, and Ash and Maple represented by the gray square.  These combinations are balanced by the essence they produce in the smoke vapor.  Just use equal parts of each wood and remember, always start with a small quantity of hardwood as it does not take much to produce great flavor.

TIP: if you are using a spicy rub, default to combinations that includes mild to moderate flavor intensity.  Using sweet ingredients, include a bolder hardwood flavor.

Our Guide for Combining Hardwoods

Experiment to find your favorite combinations of hardwood and soon you’ll have your own personal, detailed guide!

Do you have a favorite combination of hardwood?  Leave us a comment and subscribe to get our latest tips, techniques, recipes and the science behind the fire and smoke, for all live fire cooking methods.  That’s SmokinLicious!

Products discussed in this Blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

More Related reading on combining wood species and sizes to change their smoke profile and more!

Related Reading:

-COOKING WOOD WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

-WHAT WOOD TO USE FOR SMOKING: A PRIMER

-10 THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE PURCHASING WOOD FOR COOKING, GRILLING & SMOKING

Dr. Smoke- Combining hardwoods by mixing different species and sizes increases your smoking results!

Plant-based burger taste better when cooked with wood chips or wood chunks for added flavor!

What is a plant-based burger?  There is no question that this has become the new rage.  Plant-based burgers have been introduced not only to the grocery meat case in over 8000 locations but to thousands of restaurant locations world-wide.

It is a genetically modified version of heme, the iron containing molecule in soy plants, which is what accounts for a “meat” flavor.  It also incorporates coconut oil and potato starch to give a more burger-like texture, something that has been a complaint with vegetarian or vegan patties.  Brands like Impossible Burger® use a braiding of minerals, fats, and proteins to keep the burger from falling apart. 

To compare an animal protein burger with a plant-based burger from a nutritional view, you’ll find that the plant-based burger may not always be the better choice.  It really depends on the brand but know you should look at the saturated fat level and calories as the plant-based burger is not always lower than the traditional beef patty or even a poultry patty.  Sodium levels should also be monitored.

Plant-based Burger- Make It More Like A Burger Experience

You may know that many people accept that there are two camps for cooking burgers: grill grates whether on a gas grill or charcoal, and a griddle whether on a stove top or on a griddle insert of a grill.

I would argue, however, that there is another camp.  Those of us who believe in live fire with wood for cooking common items like burgers and dogs.  This is how you take an average burger and maximize the experience of eating while creating a newness to a very popular American item. 

The influence of plant material combustion and release of the flavonoid composition of this material is what can take your average burger to the next level.  I don’t know how many times I’ve had dinner guests inquire how I made something like a burger taste so high quality.  It’s only then that I reveal my use of hardwood, whether chunks in a smoker box, chunks directly on hot charcoal, or a sprinkle of wood chips on a griddle or plancha.  Wood takes even the most basic food item and brings out umami. 

Plant-based Burger- Grill Set Up

For the easiest cooking of your plant-based burger, start by setting up an outdoor grill with a two-zone cooking set up.  That means one half of the grill has no burners lit for the gas grill, or no hot coals on one half of the charcoal unit. 

Start the burger cooking by placing the plant-based burgers on the indirect side (no direct heat) and adding wood to the direct side.  This is where a smoker box comes in handy on the gas grill, which I fill with small wood chunks.  Close the lid and cook for about 7 minutes, unless the burger is particularly thick which would call for 10 minutes cooking.  Open the lid and turn the burgers over still using the indirect side for cooking and allow to cook for another 7 minutes (or 10 for thicker cuts). 

If you’re going to medium finish which is 145°F, then at about 125°F internal temperature, move the burgers to the direct heat side of the grill and cook leaving the lid up.  This will sear the outside.  Be sure to keep flipping the burgers every minute to ensure a perfect sear and not an overdone burger. 

To me, this makes a plant-based burger even more of an authentic burger flavor with the simple addition of hardwood on the grill of your choice.

Have you tried and loved a specific brand of plant-based burger?   Leave us a comment to state your preference and follow us or subscribe for more great recipes, techniques, tips, and the science behind the flavor.  That’s SmokinLicious®.

SmokinLicious® products:

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®, Minuto®, & Piccolo®

Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

More topics to read about:

–BOOST UP THE FLAVOR OF YOUR SMOKER BOX!

–GRILLING & SMOKING QUESTIONS/ANSWERS THAT MAY SURPRISE YOU!

–APPLEWOOD – WHY WE DON’T USE IT! – HERE’S WHY

Smokey Hungarian Peppers on our kettle Grill!

Let's Do Smokey Hungarian Peppers on the Kettle Grill! Share on X

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.

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Enjoy our COOKWARE FOR THE GRILL

COOKWARE FOR THE GRILL-THAT WORKS!

Top 5 cookware accessories for your grill Share on X

If you’ve followed my writings for some time now, you’ve likely learned that I believe outdoor equipment is the same if not better than the traditional indoor options.  You literally can make anything on the outdoor equipment that you make inside your home.

Knowing this, I have received many questions regarding the type of cookware that I use when grilling and/or smoking on said equipment.  Today, I’m going to discuss the preferred cookware materials and the potential issues that can arise if you use a material that is not considered ideal for high heat temperatures.

Material #1: Cast Iron- Cookware for the Grill

This is my first choice and many other cooks, and the only material I use when I coal cook with cookware.  Why?  It is durable, it is relatively inexpensive, it is unbelievable at heat retention, and you can cook almost anything in it.   Literally, it never wears out!

Downside?  It is a material that needs to be maintained meaning oiled consistently.  It is heavy!

Material #2: Carbon Steel- Cookware for the Grill

Carbon steel is a beast at retaining heat and it can be used on any cooking surface.  Although lighter in weight than cast iron it is still heavier than stainless steel.  Similar in many attributes to cast iron, it also requires frequent seasoning and the base of the pan will become discolored from the high heat exposure.   Plus, it is not dishwasher safe so you need to love this material and be willing to put some work into maintaining it.  If you’re lucky enough to find a piece you love, you will make magic in it whether near or in the fire.

Material #3: Stainless Steel Combo

I’m sure every one of us owns at least one piece of stainless steel.  This is a very attractive piece of cookware from the aesthetic view.  However, on its own, stainless steel is not the best heat conductor.  This is the main reason why it often is combined with another material to improve its heat retention properties and keep it light in weight.  Suitable pairs you’ll find for stainless steel include copper and aluminum.  All three of these materials on their own, are not ideal.  Cooper and aluminum heat very quickly which means they can burn very quickly as well, while stainless steel on its own can take forever to heat up.  But combine copper and aluminum or aluminum and steel and you have an ideal heat conductor and safe high heat material.  Rule of thumb: never use aluminum and copper cookware on their own for high heat cooking.

Material #5: Enameled Cast Iron- Cookware for the Grill

Know as the “pretty” cookware, enameled cast iron is cast iron at the heart-and-soul but with beautiful ceramic enamel outside surfaces.  It has fabulous heat conductivity and retention but it is not non-stick which can cause some issues.  I find it works really well when I use more of a two-zone cooking set up rather than direct coal or heat cooking.

Material #5: Non-Stick

Teflon is a non-stick, promoted material, that should be avoided.  It has no ability to be used for high heat and in fact, excessive heat can melt this material.  Also, Teflon is documented to flakes off after extended use, moving these flakes into your foods.  At higher temperatures, the material produces toxic fumes that have been proven to be a health risk.

What Are High Heat Levels?

Now we know what materials are optimal for high heat cooking but what are the actual temperatures that can be handled?

Cast iron and stainless-steel combos can tolerate 1500°F, with stainless steel excelling to 2200°F.  Although copper has a melting point of 1984°F and aluminum at 1221°F, cast iron, and steel materials in cookware still perform the best.

Now you have the education behind your choice of cookware.  My last piece of advice is to always think about how you plan to use the cookware.  If you love to nestle in the coals or be as close to the flame as you can, the items that may not look as pretty are likely the best choice.  Take our tips in this blog USEFUL COOKWARE OPTIONS FOR YOUR GRILL and expand you cooking/Grilling skills and techniques!

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks: Double & Single Filet

More Related reading on Cookware for the Grill

Related reading:

-TOP TOOLS NEEDED FOR GAS GRILLING

-TOP TOOLS TO OWN FOR CHARCOAL GRILLING

Dr. Smoke- I hope you enjoyed this blog- Cookware for the Grill!

-THE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO ‘MAN’-ING THE GRILL

Our top 12 Grilling Mistakes!

Did you do one of these top 12 grilling mistakes this Year? Share on X

As a billion-dollar business, selling grills is likely not going away any time soon.  In fact, sales are gaining strength thanks to COVID-19 which forced many to find ways to keep cooking and eating interesting while forced to stay out of restaurants.

When asked, most people say they grill or barbeque for flavor.  If that is the case, then why are some of the most common practices the ones causing the most variation in the taste of your grilled foods?

Here are the top 12 grilling mistakes you should avoid.

#1 Skipping Preheat of the Grill

It does not matter if you prefer to use a gas grill or a charcoal unit, you need to preheat the grill before adding food.  Why?  It is the only way to avoid having your foods stick to the grill grate.  When you allow the metal to heat to a very hot level, the protein in meats cannot form a bond with the metal grate.  Plan about 5 minutes preheat time for charcoal grills and 15 minutes for gas units.

#2 Cooking on an Unclean Grill

Yeah, I know.  The grill is located outside so you think it does not need the same care and cleaning as your kitchen equipment indoors.  Wrong! Leftover food particles, grease, smoke tar and creosote can build up on various parts of the grill and cause changes in food flavors as well as make the food stick.  Plus, a grease trap that has never been emptied can ignite which will ruin your planned grill day!  Get in the habit of scraping the grill grate after preheating and lightly scrub the cooled down grill including the lid area, with steel wool and water.  The lid likes to hold on to carbonized grease which becomes flaky and falls off onto your foods if left in place.

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