Pears, pears, everywhere! Why not try your hand with this easy method for smoked pears Depending on where you’re located, you’ll have at least a few varieties of pears to select from. Rather than just enjoy these as a raw fruit, try something truly unique that will give them a kiss of wood flavoring?
Stovetop smoking is so easy and a great way to still enjoy wood-fired flavorings during the winter months, when you may not want to venture out to the grill or smoker. I’ll be highlighting Bosc pears in today’s technique. To do this technique you will need:
Fresh pears – 4 will likely fill the smoker pan one time
A Chef’s knife, paring knife, and cutting board
A cooling rack
Pears cut in half
PREPARING THE SMOKED PEARS
When I purchased my Bosc pears, I made sure that they were firm to the touch so that I would have some longevity to their use in recipes for a while. Carefully, wash each pear and then pat dry with a paper towel. I then slice each pear in half, removing the stem tip. This will give me a flat surface to smoke and cook my pears since I am using a stovetop grill pan with my process. That will allow me to form some great grill marks on the pears while they cook. The benefit to using halves of pear is I can feature larger pear cuts in a salad or dessert, highlighting the golden smoked color.
Once the pears are halved and the stems removed, I will core out the seeds and hard seed membrane with a small paring knife. Once that step is complete, I start the heat under my stovetop smoking pan.
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!
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.
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!
These are the small bags of wood chips for the technique BBQ Grill & Smoker pan, try the 3 pack or a box!
Welcome QVC shoppers who purchased the Technique Pre-seasoned Cast Iron 11″ BBQ Grill Pan & Smoker over the U. S. holiday weekend (July 4th). Dr Smoke did some research and watched the demonstration of this product by the great people of QVC. During the segment that I watched they recommended the use of Smokin’ Dust® with this unit. While this is true, I would also recommend the use of Smokinlicious WoodChips as well! We have tested other stove top smokers and found that with the heavier “cast” iron pans our WoodChips sometimes perform better than our Smokin’ Dust®
When applying our Smokinlicious Smokin’ Dust® with the Technique Pre-seasoned Cast Iron 11” BBQ Grill Pan & Smoker you may have to add water to make a paste and put it on the bottom tray of the unit. This will prolong the burn life of the Smokin’ Dust® and increase the smoke flavor during the cooking process
We have ordered a unit and will be testing our products in the next couple of weeks. Dr Smoke and the culinary crew will be testing this unit and will be adding information to our “Match your Cooker“ section of our web site. Please check back to Smokinlicious®for updates! Please enjoy your unit!
If you need additional assistance, regarding product compatibility, or tips on smoking,please call 1-800-941-5054
Bon Bar B Q!
Dr. Smoke-create smoked foods with our wood chips for the Technique BBQ Grill & Smoker
The Smokinlicious® Test Kitchen had an opportunity to use the Technique® Cast Iron Pan and Smoker which many of you purchased via QVC. Here are some preliminary findings by our Culinary Team:
➝Use caution when selecting cuts of meat with this cast iron pan! We had purchased a 10 lb. pork shoulder and struggled to get the cover tightly on the pan. Right now, it appears that cuts less than 8 lbs. would be ideal for cooking/smoking/roasting/grilling.
➝I’m sure we were not the only purchasers to be disappointed to read in the Technique® brochure that you should “not try to smoke in the oven” with this unit. Rest assured, Dr. Smoke will see if there is a means of actually smoking in a conventional oven by using low temperature and LiquidInfusedWoodChips /Smokin’ Dust®. /WoodChunks with this smoker unit (more on these findings as they become available).
➝ We cooked both a bone-in pork shoulder and bone-in chicken breast. Both cooks revealed great moisture to the meat. We used the recommended medium heat setting on our gas range but found that the cast iron pan radiates a significant amount of heat. Thus, we recommend reducing the heat setting to a low-medium (“3″ if you have a digital setting) on gas units. We also turned the heat off our cast iron pan approximately 20 minutes prior to completing the cooking time in order to benefit from the pan’s ability to generate further heat on its own. Remember, all meat should rest prior to cutting.
➝ There was considerable “rendering” out of the fat drippings into the drip pan. There is significant staining on the stainless steel drip pan so you may want to consider lining the pan with foil or even parchment paper to reduce metal staining.
➝ Smokin’ Dust® Usage: although the dust will render black in this pan, it did give off a tremendous amount of aroma. We used the Smokin’ Dust® dry, about 2 Tablespoons worth, in the center of the smoking pan. This appears to be the correct amount although we did not feel it produced as much flavor to the meat as a conventional smoker.
➝ WoodChips: we used Wild Cherry WoodChips (standard grind) in the smoker pan while cooking a bone-in chicken breast on the gas stovetop. The chips also produced significant aroma in the air but we found that they produce much more flavor to the meat. Keep in mind, our chicken breast was just over 2lbs so it fit easily in the grill pan with the cover tightly on. The fact that more flavor was infused in the chicken could be the result of less air leakage than the pork shoulder and the fact the chicken is much more porous allowing for ease in accepting smoke. We used the WoodChips pre-soaked for 15 minutes in water, then allowed to drip dry before placing in the smoker pan. We used approximately 1 handful and spread them in the smoking pan to allow the drip pan to fit easily in place. Once our chicken was finished, we noted that the wood chips also blackened during the cooking process, much like the Smokin’ Dust®.
At this stage in our testing of the Technique® Cast Iron Pan and Smoker, we feel it is comparable to other stovetop units that we’ve tested. One important difference is the fact that there is no built in thermometer, so you must check the meat with a handheld or wireless thermometer to ensure you remove the food at the proper cooking temperature. Here are some other points worthy of mention:
➝ this is a heavy cast iron pan and all parts of it become very hot ➝ the pan can use some additional seasoning as there is some food sticking occurring with the grill pan ➝ it does take some effort to clean but if you re-season and continue to use the cast iron pan, I would anticipate this to become less of an issue ➝ there is a significant convection occurrence when cooking which produces a very moist product but as mentioned above, you must time the cooking process to ensure no over-cooking
Stay tuned for additional posting regarding this cookware. Our plans are to try the Smokin’ Dust®. mixed with liquid as well as to try our Woodscuit®Flavor-Infused products.
Till then, “Bon-Bar-B-Q!”
Donna G
Dr. Smoke- The Technique® Cast Iron Pan & Smoker passes the Smokinlicious® kitchen test with flying colors when using our sized hardwood smoking chips!
For more related reading on stove top smoking, check out these articles:
The Smokinlicious®Test Kitchen conducted an additional test using the Technique® Cast Iron Skillet and Smoker which many of you purchased from QVC as the Special of the Day. This time, we used our flavor-infused wood product called the Woodscuit® on the stovetop.
What We Cooked: Boneless Pork Tenderloin
How We Cooked: on the stovetop using medium-low heat on the gas range
What Wood We Used: Bourbon Flavored Woodscuit® – 3 pieces
Length of Cook Time: 2-1/2 hours
Findings: Again, as our previous test cooks have demonstrated, the Technique® Cast Iron Skillet and Smoker provides for a very moist product. This time, we lined our drip pan in foil to decrease the amount of elbow-grease needed to clean up. Since our Woodscuit® product has a moisture content of ~45 percent, these wood pieces did not display the charred look like the woods used in the previous test cooks (both the WoodChips and Smokin’ Dust® were black by the end of the cooking time). However, once the tenderloin was finished, our panel of tasters did not find any significant smoke flavor to the end product. For those pieces that had been more to the center of the cast iron skillet, the tasters noted slightly more smoke flavor but overall, there was no distinguishable smoke flavor infused in the food.
Currently, our Test Kitchen has found that the WoodChips used on the stovetop, provide for the greatest flavor infusion of the wood used. As always, we will continue to test this cast iron skillet with a plan to see if adding water to the smoke pan with the wood product, helps to keep the flavor infusion going.
Stay tuned!
Fingerling Potatoes are Next
Dr. Smoke- Cast iron skillet cooking and smoking is easy, affordable & offers great flavor results! When using the Technique® Cast Iron Skillet, coupled our quality cooking wood, you can’t go wrong!
For more reading on the Technique® Cast Iron Skillet & Smoker and how you can do stove top smoking from your own kitchen, check out these articles:
