I’ve got another great recipe for wood fired beets that will provide a quick way to prepare a fabulous beet hummus for guests, bring-a-dish parties, or just as a great snack for your own family. Wood fired flavor will come from the gas grill equipped with wood chunks using a two-zone cooking method. The outcome is a full flavor, beautiful beet hummus color to delight all who have the pleasure of partaking in this treat. Just one good size beet will do the trick but I always do an extra to keep around.
Join me at the grill as we make ricotta and smoked beet hummus.
By our stove top smoked chives techniques we will be adding a pinch of smokey flavor to these wonderful bright green chives
Fresh chives are in season so why not do something different with this wonderful herb and try your hand a smoking them! One of the easiest methods for controlling the heat and smoke level to a delicate item like herbs is to use a stove top smoker or stove top smoker set up with a cast iron pan. The point of smoking the chives is to add a depth of flavor to any recipe.
INGREDIENTS FOR STOVE TOP SMOKED CHIVES:
A stove top wood smoker or cast iron pan with an insert pan for the chives and a lid
Be sure your smoker base pan of the stove top smoker unit or of your cast iron pan is clean of any previous wood chips or food scraps. Add the SmokinLicious® Wood Products Minuto® Smoker Wood Chips in Size #6 in the base of the unit or skillet, about a dessert plate full of chips. Be sure to select a wood flavor that will not overpower the chives flavor. My choice is Sugar Maple. The chips should be left dry as stove top techniques work best with dry wood product.
HEATING THE PAN FOR STOVE TOP SMOKED CHIVES:
After adding the wood chips turn the heat level of your stove to medium. Put the cover of the unit on or a lid on the pan and let the chips begin to smoke. On the stove top unit, keep the vent top open about ¼ turn. You can alter the position of the lid on a skillet so it isn’t air tight. Remember, you’ll want to trap most of the smoke into the unit or pan. Once you see smoke vapor exit the vent, it’s time to add the chives.
Putting the chips in the bottom of the pan
PREPARING THE STOVE TOP SMOKED CHIVES:
Gently wash the chives and trim the bloom heads of the stalks as well as any dry bottoms. Pat the chives dry and place in the food pan.
SMOKING PROCESS FOR STOVE TOP SMOKED CHIVES:
Using a stove top smoker will be the easiest way to get smoke flavor to each chive as the food pans have evenly placed vent holes to ensure great flavoring to every part of the food item. Maintain a temperature of about 150°F to ensure that you don’t burn the chives. About 10 minutes into the infusion, check the chives by lifting off the cover and see if they have taken on a golden hue. If so, you’re about ½ way there! At this point, the chives will begin to lose moisture and become similar to a dried herb.
After about 20 minutes, you’re ready to remove the chives and start on the next batch. Once the smoking process is finished, starting thinking of all the uses for this flavorful smoked herb. Be sure to check out our recipe postings to give you inspiration. Please try using our stove top smoked chives technique on this seasonal herb for a wonderful smokey flavor.
RADISH SALAD WITH A WOOD-FIRED FLARE- The peak season for radishes is April thru July so I’m taking advantage of this great seasonal vegetable and putting them on the gas grill with some wood chunks to smoke up the flavors. I’ll first provide you my technique for bringing a wood flavor to these red beauties on a traditional gas grill, then I’ll use the finished product in a smoked radish and cannellini bean salad that is perfect as a side dish or for those vegetarians, add some non-animal protein to be a main dish favorite. Let’s get started!
When you don’t want to smoke the actual protein, think about smoking another ingredient that will be married to the pork. For me, that was the maple syrup I use in my marinade recipe. I’ll review for you the cold smoking technique for this and then provide my recipe for this great marinade that can be used on fish, chicken, turkey, pork, and goat.
The Simple Cold Smoke Method
I’m sure you’ve read or seen some type of information for cold smoking cocktails, cheese, salt, and spices. This technique is easiest when you use one of the many types of handheld food smokers on the market today.
For my method of smoking maple syrup, I’ve selected the Gourmia® Mini Smoker which works best with a very clean, dust-free micro wood chip to produce the smoke for infusion. This is easily available from SmokinLicious®, offering a variety of sizing to fit your need in 8 hardwood species. I’ll be using the Minuto® Wood Chip Size #8 for this smoking infusion.
I’ve found the easiest method of smoking and maintaining the maple syrup, is to use a glass container like a wine bottle. Just be sure that the container is completely clean and dry.
I place about one cup of maple syrup in the glass bottle. Taking the tubing of the Gourmia® Mini Smoker, I place the end in the glass bottle. Taking just a finger size pinch or two of the wood chips, I place in the handheld food smoker’s chip bowl and then ignite the wood chips with a lighter while turning the unit’s fan on. Once the smoke is generated, I turn the unit’s van off and allow the bottle to fill with smoke. Save a cork as you can use it to plug the bottle allowing for maximum infusion of the smoke. Be sure to rotate the bottle to allow for the smoke to travel completely within the maple syrup.
The Smoked Maple Syrup Marinade Recipe
Once the maple syrup has been smoked, it’s time to collect the other ingredients and make our marinade. Using equal parts smoked NYS maple syrup Grade A and Dijon mustard, I add 3 tablespoons of lime juice and fresh ground pepper and whisk until just combined. Taking a storage bag, I place a 4 lb. boneless pork roast inside, then pour in my Smoked Maple Syrup-Dijon Marinade. Sealing the bag, I place the bag in the refrigerator for a least 4 hours though I prefer to marinate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Place the marinated roast in a roasting pan with rack. This will take about 75 minutes to reach 145° F internal temperature. About halfway through the cooking process, I rotate the cooking pan and spoon some of the pan juices back over the roast. That will give it a beautiful bronze finish. Remove from the oven and cut into ½” slices. The Aroma-taste of pure maple joy with a smoky kick!
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