SMOKED HERBS FLAVORS WITH SMOKED HERB DUST

Don’t make the mistake of thinking fresh herbs are to be used in dishes as, well, fresh only. Although you may have dried your fresh herb harvest before, we are bringing another alternative to you, smoked herbs.

We hot smoke the fresh herbs on the grill then turn them into a dust for use in all types of dishes. The smoking process will bring a depth of flavor that you’ve likely never experienced before. Go to the herb garden and pick your favorite varieties and let’s get making smoked herb dust!

Smoke Vapor Infusion

One thing about this smoked herb technique is you can do the smoke infusion by a variety of equipment methods.

For those with a gas grill, add wood chunks either directly to the heat shields on one side of the grill or add wood chunks to a metal smoker box that can be placed on the heat shields or the grill grate. For charcoal grill owners, light your charcoal and allow to reduce to hot coals only. Add a piece or two of hardwood chunks or a handful of hardwood chips to the hot coals. If possible, push the hot coals to one side of the grill. For both grill types, you want to use a two-zone cooking method so the herbs don’t catch fire.

For those that don’t own grilling equipment or who simply don’t want to bother lighting up the grill, you can use a handheld food smoker. Simply place micro wood chips in the bowl of the unit, place the herbs in a storage bag with the tubing of the smoker unit, cinch the end of the bag around the tubing, and light the chips. I like to leave the smoke in the bag for maximum smoke vapor infusion.

I used both my gas grill and charcoal grill for the smoke process by placing my herbs in a vegetable basket and grilling with the herbs on the unlit side of the grill. Within the first 5 minutes, you’ll see how the herbs lose moisture and begin the drying stage.

Tasting Notes: I find the handheld food smoker will produce the boldest smoke flavor to the herbs. The intensity of flavor rated from lightest to boldest based on equipment would be a gas grill, electric smoker, pellet smoker, charcoal grill, handheld food smoker.

Grinding Process

Once the herbs have charred and dried, it’s time to remove them from the grill and bring them to the food processor. I have a mini processor that only has two settings: chop and grind. I prefer to use this appliance to bring the smoked herbs to dust level but a spice grinder works just as well.

First, remove all the herb leaves from the stems and place a small quantity in the food processor bowl. You can remove the leaves by placing the entire herb sprig in a colander and pressing the leaves through to parchment paper. Secure the lid and grind until you get as fine a dust as the appliance will allow. Both the appliance and the herb will determine how fine the herb dust will get. As you will see, basil dust becomes finer than oregano. This technique will work for just about any herb you can grow or locate at the market. Store the herb dust in glass or metal jars for up to a year.

Tasting Notes: Smoked herbs are much stronger in flavor than the standard dried herb. Adjust the amount used in recipes as needed. It is often best to start with less, taste, and then add more as needed.

So Many Uses

Experimentation is key when it comes to #herbdust. Most often, herbs will be applied to meats and poultry, perhaps rice and pasta dishes, but there are so many more foods that are good pairings for herb dust. Let’s take parsley as an example. Commonly used with fish and beef, parsley is a great pairing for sweet items as well. This includes banana and cream. It’s important that you look beyond the traditional side dishes and entrees and explore the sweet side of what herbs can offer. By doing so, you’re sure to find endless combinations that will tickle your palate and give you more pleasing menu experiences.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know …

… that the two-zone method is certainly a practice that you will want to master and prioritize in your wood cooking toolkit, especially when grilling and smoking delicate fresh consumables like herbs. Not only will two-zone cooking avoid those acrid tastes associated with flare ups, it will infuse your food items with a nice balance of wood smoke flavoring.

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Minuto & Piccolo

Additional reading:

-WHY TWO-ZONE COOKING METHOD LET’S YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE GRILL

-STOVE TOP SMOKED CHIVES

-PAN COOK ZUCCHINI ON THE GRILL WITH WOOD FLAVOR

Our Roasted Tomatoes on the gas grill with smoker box containing two Double Filet wood chunks! Click To Tweet

Many of us love to grow vegetable gardens but soon find we have an overabundance of certain items like tomatoes (though these are technically a fruit). I’m here to give you a super easy method of bringing tenderness, juiciness, and great wood flavor to this summer favorite.

Collect your favorite tomato varieties from the garden and meet me at the grill for this great, easy technique.

Preparing for the Grill for Roasted Tomatoes

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How to set a Stok™ Grill: Our Video Response

We received the following inquiry from a Stok™ Grill user and Smokinlicious® blog follower:

“I want to smoke ribs on my STOK™ drum charcoal grill but am worried about getting a consistent temp and my ratio of wood chips to lump charcoal“?

Listen And Watch PART ONE:

 

Thank you, Mr. Brown, for your question submitted @smokinlicious on Instagram. Follow us on our blog, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, as we explore the culinary delights of wood-fired cooking and all the superb flavors! Wood – it’s not just for traditional barbecue – it has SO many great uses: ember cooking, baking, roasting, searing, cold smoking, etc.

Keep your questions coming!

Bon Bar B Q

Dr. Smoke and the Culinary Smoke Team

 

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE- EASTERN ALDER!

As we highlight another hardwood from our offerings, we need to start by pointing out that we are referring to Eastern Alder not the better known Western Alder or Red Alder of the west coast. Eastern Alder is part of the Birch family, with the scientific name of Alnus but the common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions of Eastern Alder (Smooth Alder), White Alder, Red Alder.

Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density. It is most commonly used with fish but I think I need to stress here that really any cooking hardwood can be used with any food item at the discretion of the cook. Many factors play in to how a hardwood reveals itself during the cooking event: rub ingredients, brine ingredients, quality of the meat/poultry/fish, freshness of the food item, style of cooking (over the coals, in the coals, indirect heat, etc.) and most importantly, oxygen flow which feeds the combustion of the wood. Alder provides a neutral coloring to the outer skin of foods which is why it is a favorite for fish. Would this be a first choice for say a steak or other beef item? No, but I certainly like to use it for lots of other things like fruit, vegetables, cheese dishes, and of course, fish.

For cooking, you can expect Alder to perform as follows:

Heat Level: Medium – 17.6MBTU

Fuel Efficiency: Fair

Ease of Lighting: Good

Ideal Uses: Cold Smoking/Poaching/Grilling/Stove Top Smoking

When you’re looking for something on the lighter menu of woods, keep Alder in mind, and explore its lighter heat level and versatility for the more delicate items of cooking.

 

Additional information:

-THE SAFE BET!

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

-KIWIFRUIT GETS SMOKY

Purchase products:

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

 

SMOKY-GRILLED POTATO: OUR #1 CROP GETS A NEW FLAVOR TAKE-As the #1 crop in the world, available all year, potatoes are a favorite for a variety of reasons. Get the nutritional benefit of this abundant vegetable by adding flavor in a different way – cooking it over charcoal and hardwood!

Ingredients for Your Smoky-Grilled Potato Dish:

• New red and white potatoes
• 3 tablespoons of oil (grape-seed, walnut, almond, vegetable, or canola)
• Coarse salt
• Fresh pepper
• Heat-safe pan
• Kettle grill
• Charcoal
• SmokinLicious® Sugar Maple wood chunks & Wild Cherry Grande Sapore® wood chips

Simple Preparation For a Simple Vegetable

I’m using small red and white potatoes. You’ll need a knife and cutting board, as I like to cut these small potatoes in half to allow for maximum wood fire flavoring. I’m going to use a vegetable grill pan but you can use any heat safe pan whether foil, glass, heat-safe ceramic, or cast iron. Cut each potato in half, and place in the grill pan.

Seasoning and Oil Bring Out the Best

Just 3 simple ingredients are needed before the pan is placed on the grill. Drizzle three tablespoons of oil over the halved potatoes, then add coarse salt and fresh pepper. The oil can be grapeseed, walnut, almond, vegetable, or canola, anything you have and prefer. Mix well to ensure each potato is coated, then let rest to allow the seasonings to penetrate before adding to the hot grill.

Charcoal Grill Set Up

Time to get the grill ready. I’ll be using a combination of charcoal and wood – charcoal as the fuel for heat and wood chunks and chips for flavor. Keeping my intake vents open on the kettle grill, I start a chimney full of charcoal. Just one chimney will be needed for the actual cooking. I lay a small line of unlit coals down both the right and left side of the charcoal grate to keep my temperature stable through the cook. I pour the hot coals in the middle then add two Sugar Maple wood chunks and a handful of Wild Cherry Grande Sapore® wood chips on top of the hot coals. On goes the food grate and then my vegetable pan of halved seasoned potatoes.

The depth of Flavor Through Smoke

Once the wood is set up and the food grate is on, the pan of potatoes is added. Put the grill cover on and adjust the lid outtake vent to 1/3 open position. Now, adjust the lower intake vent to the ½ open position. Let the potatoes cook for about 25 minutes prior to stirring. You’ll see the golden hue from the maple and cherry smoke vapor. Be sure to rotate the potatoes on the bottom to the top so that there is even color and flavor to each piece. The total cook time will be close to an hour but each grill and charcoal will perform differently so be sure to watch closely after the first 35 minutes. Remove when the potatoes can be pierced easily with a toothpick or knife tip.

Smoky-Grilled Potato- Full Flavor With All the Nutrition Intact

With all the nutritional value still intake, these golden, smoky potatoes are ready to eat as is or you can include them in your favorite potato recipes. I’ll be giving a smoky edge to my interpretation of a potato curry in our next recipe feature. Take advantage of this popular comfort vegetable and the ease of using a charcoal/wood grill for cooking and give your meals a memorable flavor enhancement.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… that potatoes are one of the easiest veggies to grill or smoke! A minimum amount of effort will yield maximum deliciousness. Go ahead and experiment with a variety of your favorite spices or ingredients when grilling or smoking your spuds. Cilantro, curry, garlic or onion powder and even a touch of cayenne pepper can add a taste zip to these great and hardy tubers. There are many varieties of potatoes and they all do well on a grill or in a smoker but, just remember- the fresher the better!

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our feature so start the conversation with a comment!

Related Reading

-HOW TO USE CHARCOAL WITH WOOD IN COOKING

-HOW TO TURN YOUR CHARCOAL GRILL INTO A SMOKER

SMOKED CHEESY POTATOES- WHAT A WONDERFUL TWIST

SmokinLicious® Products in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

OVER THE TOP GRILLED & SMOKED BEEF SHANKS

 

I’m going to make a confession. I rarely select steak to grill anymore. The reason – there are just too many other options that I simply prefer. Like beef riblets, short ribs, and shank. Oh, the bone-in shank! That is my favorite.

I’m going to give you a wet rub recipe and a grilling technique you can do on the grill of your choice, though I’ll be picking the easy gas grill. Get to the butcher and select some premium bone-in beef shanks then visit SmokinLicious® online for some wood chunks. Then get ready for the best grilled & smoked beef shanks you’ve ever had!

Smoked Beef Shanks- A Great Wet Rub

I tend to lean toward some Asian-inspired ingredients for my rubs, especially those that are a wet rub. While working on the rub, be sure you’ve started your grill so it will be ready to go when the meat is rubbed. Remember, we are using a two-zone set up for the grill so burners lit only on one side of the gas grill with the wood chunks placed on the heat shield or in a smoker box placed over the lit burners like I’ve done. Or, for the charcoal/wood grill, hot coals banked to one side of the grill.

For this wet rub, you’ll need equal parts of the following ingredients:

• Ground ginger
• Whole allspice – about 30
• Garlic powder
• Cinnamon
• Cocoa powder
• Sesame oil
• Worcestershire sauce
• Hoisin sauce
• Honey

Start by combining the dry ingredients, followed by the wet and combine with mortar and pestle until a paste is made. Then coat the beef shanks on both sides and the edges with the wet rub. I line a disposable foil pan with a roasting rack, then place the shanks on the rack.

 

 

 

Tasting Notes: don’t be afraid to use a store-bought rub and simply add oil and/or garlic/spice pastes. There is nothing off limits when it comes to producing a rub.

Smoking

Time to open the pre-heated grill and start the cooking of the shanks. The wood chunks should be smoking well at this point so add the shank pan to the unlit side of the grill. Leave untouched for at least 40 minutes. Return to check the internal temperature. Flip the shanks and rotate the foil pan. Leave until the meat registers 140-145° F.

Tasting Notes: select the hardwood you like or use a combination of hardwoods like I did with my shanks – maple, hickory and white oak.

Smoked Beef Shanks- Serve ’em Up

When done, I simply slice against the grain for beautiful, flavorful beef that has a controlled infusion of smoke. Here’s a tip: be sure you enjoy the marrow in the bones! It is very rich so if you elect not to eat it when the meat is done, use it with onions and shallots to make a confit, or use it with a rich pasta dish to make the flavor of the richness even more stunning. Or, combine the marrow with an acidic dish like an arugula salad with lemon and capers. And don’t forget to save the bones to make our smoked beef broth. Two zone cooking makes it so easy to control the smoke infusion and produce perfection in any item grilled.

What’s your favorite beef cut to grill and smoke? Bringing innovation to wood-fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

Additional reading:

-SMOKED BEEF SHORT RIBS

-WHY IS MY BARBECUE MEAT DRY??

-GIVE ME THAT BEEF BRISKET!

BOOST UP THE FLAVOR OF YOUR SMOKER BOX! Click To Tweet

BOOST UP THE FLAVOR OF YOUR SMOKER BOX!- People are always in search of that great flavor to food that only comes from hardwood. In fact, it is common for discussions around outdoor cooking to use the terms grilling and barbecuing interchangeably as if they mean exactly the same thing. Let’s be clear – cooking with just LP/Gas is grilling. Barbecue is outdoor cooking over hot coals or wood, whether in lump charcoal form or straight hardwood pieces.

Barbecue vs. Grilling

In an effort for grilling equipment manufacturers to compete with charcoal grills and smokers, many began integrating a wood chip drawer in their units to imply that “barbecue” was possible on a gas grill. If you ever tried these, you likely were disappointed in finding that the intensity of flavor just didn’t compare to charcoal equipment. Then the smoker box was developed with a wide variety of design options from rectangular in shape, V-shaped at the base to fit between grill grates, and venting hole configurations that made claim to more intense smoke penetration. Here’s the thing – no one ever discussed what should go in the smoker box. The assumption was to always use wood chips but I am going to take you on a flavor journey using that box that will open your eyes to understanding cooking with hardwood.

One of the key complaints I hear is that when using wood chips in a smoking box or drawer, the chips don’t seem to give off enough smoke and have a very short burn life. In fact, refilling the box or drawer is often needed to finish a simple food item like chicken pieces or ½ slabs of pork ribs. Wood chunks or uniformed sized pieces of hardwood lend to a much longer burn/smolder rate and give off great flavor infusion.

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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 Wood Chips as well! We have tested other stove top smokers and found that with the heavier “cast” iron pans our Wood Chips 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!

 

 

Our finished Smoked Rhubarb

Try Rhubarb (smoked) for a less tart taste! Click To Tweet

Rhubarb Smoked – I will make a confession: I don’t like rhubarb, a spring to early summer perennial vegetable, on its own, likely due to the very tart flavor. I do, however, enjoy this vegetable smoked and then blended with a sweet fruit.

This is likely why you may not have realized that rhubarb is a perennial vegetable since this is so widely used for dessert items. The rhubarb stalks are suitable to eat but the leaves are poisonous meaning they should never be eaten or added to a smoothie. Since this is a tart vegetable, I am going to first smoke it to change the balance of that tartness. Later, I plan to use these smoked stalks in combination with some smoked strawberry to make a strawberry-rhubarb fool, a delicious treat or dessert.

For now, let’s get about a pound of fresh rhubarb, hopefully from a garden or a fresh market, and meet at the smoker for an easy method of infusing wood flavoring to this tart stalk vegetable.

Smoked Rhubarb- Selecting and Preparing

Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable that prefers cold conditions to thrive. When first planted, you won’t be able to harvest any of the stalks until the second year, similar to growing asparagus. When ready to harvest, you’re looking for stalks 12 to 18-inches in length with good girth to them. If the stalks are too thin, that means the plant does not have enough nutrients.

Here is a great guide on growing your own rhubarb for those that want to add to your garden production or simply like this vegetable: https://happydiyhome.com/growing-rhubarb/

Once harvested, clean well under water and pat dry. Trim all the leave ends from the stalks as these are poisonous, and discard. Note you can compost the leaves as the poisonous oxalic acid breaks down quickly when decomposition begins.

I prefer to cut my stalks into 3-4-inch lengths. That’s it! Likely one of the easiest vegetables to prepare for the smoker. Speaking of the smoker, time to prepare ours. I’ll be using an electric smoker today since smoking rhubarb takes very little time.

Tasting Notes: Whether to cut the stalks is dependent on what you plan to do with the rhubarb so adjust this step according to your planned recipe.

Smoked Rhubarb- Fire Up the Smoker!

I’ll be using a standard vertical electric smoker that uses lava rocks as the radiator of the heat as well as an electric element as the fuel/heat source. My electric smoker allows me to use wood chunks so I have an assortment of small sizes that total about 6 ounces of hardwood. The double filet wood chunk size is ideal and as a tip, if you note to SmokinLicious® the need for thin chunks, these can be provided.

My set up is simple: I wrap one of my grill grates in aluminum foil, place my element on the lava rocks and insert wood chunks between the element’s spaces. I’m using a combination of maple and cherry hardwood. I add my water pan with about 2-inches of hot water so energy from the unit isn’t wasted heating up the water. On goes my tray of pre-cut rhubarb that are spaced to allow the smoke to penetrate all around. Leave these untouched on the smoker for about 20-25 minutes or until the thickest stalks are fork tender.

The best part about rhubarb on the smoker is it takes very little effort. Trim, clean, and cut to size then place on the grate and smoke. In about 15 minutes time, you’ll see a golden hue come out of the rhubarb pieces. That means the smoke has penetrated its great flavor. Using a fork or the tip of a paring knife, I check the thickest stalk to be sure I can easily pass the metal tip thru. If so, then the rhubarb is tender and ready to come off the smoker.

If your plans are to prepare this for rhubarb pie, then just continue with your favorite recipe. This step is simply to provide another flavor level and begin the cooking process. Check in with us soon as we release our version of the strawberry-rhubarb fool featuring this smoked rhubarb and smoked strawberry.

What’s your favorite method of cooking rhubarb? 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®.

SmokinLicious® products used for this technique:

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

Additional reading:

-ELECTRIC SMOKERS: WHEN IS A WOOD CHIP DEAD?

-EASY GRILL ROASTED TOMATOES

-ODE TO THE GRILLED FAVA BEAN

Dr. Smoke- Take tart to the smokey side with fresh, smoked rhubarb!

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.

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Additional reading:

-WOOD-FIRED APPLES MAKE THE BEST CAKE

-PEACHES WOOD FIRED FOR A SMOKY FLAVORFUL GAZPACHO

-Smoked Snow Peas With Cucumber Salad

 

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!

STOP and ponder this for a moment – Do you realize where exactly those wood products come from?

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:

• Emerald Ash Borer
• Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
• Whitebark Pine Beatle
• Beech Bark Disease
• Dutch Elm Disease
• Butternut Canker
• Asian Longhorn Beetle
• Dogwood Anthracnose
• Gypsy Moth
• Balsam Woolly Adelgid
• Laurel Wilt disease
• Sirex Wood Wasp
• Sudden Oak Death
• Polyphagous & Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer affecting sycamores, willows, oaks, maples (including Boxelder), and commercial avocado trees.

EVERY state in the US has battled imported forest pests with the hardest hit being New York State followed closely by MA, WI, IL, VA, MI, NJ, OH, and CA. Every decade, 25 new insect pests are established in the US which can lead for potential decimate of an entire tree species in just decades.

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!

Additional reading:

-ARE FRUITWOOD TREES LIKE THE APPLE “SNOW WHITE” BIT INTO?

-TO BARK OR NOT

-SHOULD YOU GRILL WITH MOLDY WOODS?

Purchase Products:

Wood Chips-Grande Sapore®

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

 

THE NOT-SO-SMOKEY SMOKED TURKEY Click To Tweet

Turkey is one of those items that is generally made for a special event – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year – and not associated with everyday cooking. I’m here to tell you that it’s easy to enjoy turkey any time of year when you use a gas grill for the cooking and smoke infusion. All you need is a turkey (preferably one under 15 lbs.), 6 wood chunks, a water pan with hot water, and your favorite gas grill.

Smoked Turkey- Turkey 101 Prep

I’m fortunate to have a local fresh turkey farm, Sprague’s Turkey Farm in Portville, NY, close by so I’ve ordered one that is under 14 lbs. Before preparing the turkey for marinating overnight, I first need to remove the parts that are commonly found inside the turkey. This includes the neck, heart, liver, and gizzard which is part of the turkey’s digestive tract. These parts do make for great stock so if you can, save them to add to a stockpot down the road.

Once the organs and neck are removed, it’s important to wash the entire turkey under running water. After a thorough wash, pat dry with some paper towels and place in a shallow pan for the rub application.

Herb and Spice Rub

After washing and patting dry the turkey, I trim the excess skin from the neck area and then begin applying the rub. I’ve combined an assortment of herbs and spices for my rub as I tend to like a potent mix of ingredients to balance the fresh meat and smoke. My rub includes: allspice, clove, basil, cumin, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, celery salt, garlic and onion powder, oregano, orange and lemon peel, paprika, and ancho chili powder. I make sure to cover the entire surface of the bird. I add a few drops of avocado oil and then apply additional rub. This will be refrigerated overnight to allow the flavors to marry and penetrate to the meat.

Tasting Notes: Feel free to incorporate different herbs and spices in your rub as there are no rules when it comes to combinations.

Smoked Turkey- Smoking on the Gas Grill

As you can see in some of the photos, this was a cold day at the grill, with a temperature below 25°F. I prepare my LP/Gas grill by first removing one of the grill grates, exposing two of my burner shields. To one of the shields I place 3 double filet wood chunks from SmokinLicious®. Now I lite only two burners; the one with the wood chunks and the one directly next to that. I set these burners to medium heat to start. Just before I’m ready to grill, I check the temperature readout and adjust my heat setting until I hit my target temperature of 325°F.

Time to add the rubbed turkey to the unlit side of the grill and my water pan right next to the bird. I insert a thermometer and close the lid. Basically, for the next couple of hours, I just need to monitor that the water pan has enough hot water in it and the bird gets spritz with water to keep the skin moist.

Tasting Notes: Although I’ve placed my water pan to the side of my turkey, between the lit and unlit sides of the grill, you can use this as a drip pan and place this directly under the turkey. I elected not to do this today due to my low outdoor temperature.

Time to Serve Your Smoked Turkey!

If you’ve maintained the steady temperature of 325°F and hot water in the drip pan, you won’t need to stay with the grill during most of the turkey’s cooking time. My skin has crisped up thanks to maintaining moisture both on the bird’s skin and in the cooker with my water pan. I remove the turkey and take it to the kitchen where I cover it for about 30 minutes prior to carving. It’s super tender, moist, with a crunch to the skin. The best part is that the smoke is subtle and does not over power the fresh meat.

That’s why the two-zone method of smoking is perfect when your feeding a variety of tastes. Those that tend to avoid smoked foods will find this full of flavor that is well balanced due to our rub and consistent cooking temperature. My turkey of 13-1/2 pounds took just about 4 hours to finish with very little effort on my part, even with a 22°F outdoor temperature and wind chill. The best part is my oven was free to cook a bunch of side dishes so everything was timed perfectly for the table.

What’s your favorite preparation for turkey? Bringing innovation to wood fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

Additional reading:

-WHY TWO-ZONE COOKING METHOD LET’S YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE GRILL

-SMOKE A TURKEY- LEARN HOW

-SMOKED HAM ON THE GAS GRILL

-CORNISH GAME HEN MEETS SMOKE IN THE ORION COOKER

 

For those that have followed us for years, you know we are proud that almost from the start of our Company, we were committed to providing a guide for equipment to cooking wood product match. We refer to our guide affectionately as “Match Your Cooker”.

In this article, we are covering our recommendations for smoker equipment; these are cookers that are dedicated for use as a smoker, usually hot smoking at that. As there are always new equipment lines and models released, our plan is to provide regular updates. We also encourage you to send us a message when you don’t see a manufacturer or model listed so we can add this to our listing.

For now, we introduce you to our wood master’s guide to SmokinLicious® cooking woods for specific smokers.

Barrel Smoker Logs for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Barrel Smoker Log/ Full Cut Log:

BBQ Pits By Klose model: Commercial Indoor & Outdoor Pits; Mobile Cookers and Catering Rigs

Bubba Grills models: T3 Steam, 250 Gallon R, 250 Gallon Ribbox, 500 Gallon R, Hog/Shoulder Box, Custom Grills

Cookers and Grills.com model: Mobile Units, Hog Cookers, Pig Roasters

Horizon Smokers model: Trailer Smokers

Jambo Pits model: J-3 and J-5 Models

Kingfisher Kooker’s model: Commercial Rotisserie Cookers, Commercial Grill

Lang BBQ Smokers model: Competitive and Commercial Smokers

M Grills model: M1, M36, M48

Meadow Creek® BBQ model: Barbecue Smoker and Barbecue Smoker Trailer

Myron Mixon Smokers models: H2O Water Smoker, Gravity Feeds, H2O Rotisserie Water Smoker, Trailers

Ole Hickory Pits™ model: Convecture™ Tri Ovens

Peoria Cookers model: Mobile Units

Southern Pride BBQ Pits & Smokers model: Gas and Mobile Smokers

¼ Cut Wood Logs for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® ¼ Cut Wood Log:

American Barbecue Systems model: “The Judge”, “The Smokehouse 6042”

Backwoods Smoker: “The Gladiator”

BBQ Pits By Klose: Combination Smokers and Grills

Karubecue model KBQ C-60 BBQ Smoker Pit

Lang BBQ Smokers model: Competitive and Commercial Smokers

Ole Hickory Pits™ model: Convecture™ Tri Ovens

Pitmaker model: BBQ Edge Smoker

The Good-One™ Smokers model: The Pitboss

Tucker Cooker Co.

 

Unfileted Wood Blocks for Food Smokers

The following Smoker list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Unfileted Wood Block:

BBQ Pits By Klose: Combination Smokers and Grills

Big Poppa® Smokers models: cabinet smokers

Bubba Grills models: Super Cooker, Deck Grills, Custom Grills

Cookers and Grills.com model: Mobile Units, Hog Cookers, Pig Roasters, Backyard Chef & Patio Smoker Grills

Meadow Creek® BBQ

Pitmaker model: Hitman 48, Short Sniper, Long Rifle Sniper, Magnum Sniper Smoker

The Good-One™ Smokers model: The Open Range, The Heritage, The Marshall, The Pitboss

Tucker Cooker Co.

Yoder Smokers

Single Filet Wood Chunks for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Single Filet Wood Chunks:

American Barbecue Systems model: “All Star”, “The Pit-Boss”, “The Bar-Be-Cube”

Backwoods Smoker model: “Party”, “G2 Party”, “The Fatboy”, “G2 Fatboy”, “The Pro Junior”, “The Piglet”, “Piglet Plus”, “The Competition Hog”, “The Pro-Competition Hog”, “The Whole Hog”

Big Poppa® Smokers models: all drum smokers

Bubba Grills models: Deck Grills

Char-Broil model: Highland Offset Smoker, Longhorn Offset Smoker, Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker

Cookers and Grills.com model: Charcoal/Wood Smoker Grills

Pitmaker models: Hitman 20×32, Custom Smokers

Smoke Hollow Charcoal/Gas Grill

Stump’s Smoker models: The Baby, The XL Baby, The Junior, The Classic, The Stretch, The Monster, Platinum 4, Platinum 6, Reverse Flow models

The Good-One™ Smokers model: The Patio Jr.

Double Filet Wood Chunks for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Double Filet Wood Chunks:

American Barbecue Systems model: “All Star”, “The Pit-Boss”, “The Bar-Be-Cube”

Backwoods Smoker model: “Chubby 3400”, “Chubby”, “G2 Chubby”

Best Choice Products model: 43” Outdoor Vertical Smoker

Brinkman models: Trailmaster 57” Vertical Smoker, Roadmaster, All-In-One Gas & Charcoal Smoker, Grill & Fryer, Smoke ‘N Pit

Broil King model: Smoke Offset, Smoke Grill, Smoke Vertical

Cabela’s 7 in 1 Cooker/Smoker

Char-Broil model: Vertical Charcoal, American Gourmet Offset Smokers, Offset Smokers, Bullet Smokers, Silver Smoker

Char-Griller Grills & Smokers models: Smokin’ Champ™ 1624 Charcoal Grill, Smokin’ Outlaw 3724 Charcoal Grill, Smokin’ Pro™ E1224, Competition Pro™ 8125 Charcoal Grill, Texas Trio

Cookshack model: SmartSmoker Commercial Smoker & Smoker Oven, Smokette Electric Smokers, SuperSmoker Electric Smoker, AmeriQue Electric Smoker

Cuisinart model: COS-244 Vertical 36” Propane Smoker, COS-118 Vertical 18” Charcoal Smoker

Dyna-Glo models: DG01176BDC-D Off-Set Smoker, DGX7080BDC-D 36” Vertical Smoker, Signature Series Vertical Smoker, DGX376BCS-D Compact Charcoal Bullet Smoker

Masterbuilt models: 7 in 1 Smoker and Grill, Dual Fuel Smoker

Master Forge Charcoal Smoker/Griller

Meco (Americana) Charcoal Combo Water Smoker

Pitmaker model: BBQ Safe Smoker

Red Box Smoker

Smokin-It®

Southern Country Models: 2 in 1 Water Smoker and Charcoal Grill, 5025 Stainless Steel Charcoal Water Smoker

Stump’s Smoker models: The Mini Stumpster, The Stumpster

Texas Pit Crafters models: PM 500S BI, PM 500U BI, PM 500 U S/S BI, PM 535U BI Smoker, PM 550S BI, PM 550 Smoker with Enclosed Front Load Firebox, PM 550 Upright Smoker/Pit with Enclosed Firebox

 

Grande Sapore® Wood Chips for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Grande Sapore® Wood Chips:

Alto-Shaam model: Smoker Ovens

Broil King model: Smoke Offset, Smoke Grill, Smoke Vertical

Camp Chef model: Smoke Vault Smoker

Char-Broil model: Vertical Electric & Propane

Dyna-Glo model: DGU732BDE-D 30″ Digital Electric Smoker

Napoleon model: Apollo AS200K, Apollo AS300K

Pit Barrel®: any model

Minuto® Wood Chips for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Minuto® Wood Chips:

Alto-Shaam model: Smoker Ovens

Bastra

Camp Chef model: Smoke Vault Smoker

Char-Broil model: Vertical Electric Smokers, Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker, Analog Electric Smoker, Simple Smoker

Dyna-Glo model: DGU732BDE-D 30″ Digital Electric Smoker

Fessmann

Hakka Electric Stainless Steel BBQ Smoker

Kerres

Koch Smokehouse

Landmann model: 26” Smoky Mountain Electric Smoker

Smoke Hollow model: 44” Two Door Propane Gas Smoker, 38” Propane Gas Smoker

Smokehouse Products model: Little Chief Front Load Smoker

SmokinTex model: 1100 Pro Series Electric Smoker

 

Piccolo® Wood Chips for Food Smokers

The following Smoker list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Piccolo® Wood Chips:

AFOS

Alto-Shaam model: Smoker Ovens

Arcos

Camp Chef model: Smoke Vault Smoker

Jugema

Koch Smokehouse

Lambda

Maurer-Atmos

Ness

Schroter

Spomasz Wroclaw

Vemag

Voss

Smokin’ Dust® for Food Smokers

The following Smokers list equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Smokin’ Dust®

Alto-Shaam model: Smoker Ovens

 

 

 

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Smoker Logs

Wood Blocks

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

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

Smokin’ Dust

 

 

-“MATCH YOUR COOKER” – CERAMIC AND KAMADO GRILL: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

-WOOD BURNING PIZZA OVENS: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

-TEMPERATURE CONTROL IS ALL IN THE AIR FLOW

-THE WATER PAN EXPLAINED FOR GRILLING & SMOKING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part one of the Audio:

Part two of the Audio:

It’s long been the equipment associated with the guys. Perhaps it’s due to the primal start of cooking over the live fire which initially was a man’s skill. Hunt the animal and cook it on fire and hot coals.

Recently, the trend has begun to turn around in favor of more women chefs cooking components of a meal on the grill. In fact, it’s not just the traditional LP/gas grill but charcoal grills as well, as women chefs take their new recipe and technique finds out of the traditional indoor kitchen and to the outdoors.

Just Because It’s Outside Doesn’t Change The Purpose

There is no question that outdoor grilling equipment has evolved into something of a fantasy. We now have choices beyond the standard LP, natural gas, charcoal, and electric grills. Many brands are now featuring dual fuel cooking, meaning they may have gas or electric assist but use wood and/or charcoal for heat and flavor!

What does this mean for the ladies who want to do the more outdoor cooking on the grill?

Versatility! It is so easy to cook an entire meal on the grill without it taking several hours or more.

Accessorize!

The key to ensuring that an entire meal can be cooked on the grill is to have the right tools and that includes some accessory items. Let’s look at each recommended item and answer the question why it’s important to the woman’s full meal grill event.

#1 Grill Grate Accessories:

First up, the grill pan, grill basket or grill topper. These are perfect for vegetables and fruits making it so easy to ensure that the food doesn’t stick to the grill grates and that every piece gets cooked evenly. Plus, since many grills are now sold with a side burner, you can always steam or parboil tougher vegetables first, then transfer to the grill pan/basket/topper. Or, use that side burner to make rice for a healthy starch side. Don’t have a side burner on your grill or are using a charcoal grill? Then buy a butane burner! These are so inexpensive yet give you another cooking option to get everything ready at the same time.

#2 Easy Charcoal Lighting:

If you don’t know what a chimney starter is, time to learn. The charcoal chimney starter is the best way to light a charcoal fire. Although these traditionally use newspaper at the bottom (for ignition) and load charcoal chunks (can be briquettes or lump) into the body of the unit, I take a simple method of lighting my chimney. I load with my favorite charcoal and use a butane torch under the unit to light – no newspaper needed. This allows me to leave the butane on auto fire for a few minutes to ensure the lower coals are lit. Simply pull the torch out, shake the chimney while wearing fire gloves, and return to a heat safe surface until the top coals turn white-gray. Oh, and you can always light the chimney off that side burner too!

#3 Purchase 2 Thermometers

Stop guessing at when things are done! You need to invest in 2 quality thermometers; one for the grill/smoker and one instant-read for the food. Be sure the thermometers you invest in can take a reading in 5 seconds or less, have at least a 4-inch probe for thicker cuts of meat, and have cables that are durable (if you don’t go with a wireless), especially for equipment thermometers that are placed through venting holes or under lids.

#4 Silicone

Anything made from silicone will become a lifesaver at the grill. Silicone pot handles covers, spatulas, heat resistant tongs – you get the idea. This material can handle the high heat of grills so stock up on those items you’ll need and use the most. Suggestions? Tongs, pot handle covers, spatulas, spoons, mat.

Diversify!

Grilling does not necessarily mean you must put all foods on the grill grates. Use high heat cookware to help you out. Think cast iron or high heat clay and enamels meant for the grill. These are perfect for starting one-pot wonders like legumes, pasta dishes, even sauces. With a roomy enough grill, you can fit many different items – grill pan/basket, Dutch oven, and rib racks. Don’t forget most grills come equipped with a lower and upper grill rack so more fragile items that need less heat can go to the top. Here are some tips on food to cooking equipment match:

Tip #1: Cast Iron and Charcoal

Cast iron is, without question, the best material for cooking directly in the coals. Here’s a tip – if you have an outdoor fireplace or even a fire pit that uses wood, you can do this method of cooking by placing your cast iron skillet or Dutch oven directly in the coals. Keep in mind, I said coals, not flame. Coals have a very high BTU rating and can cook foods within cast iron as if they are in the oven. Just be sure to pack the hot coals around the cast iron after placing the pan in the coal bed. Perfect items to try: vegetable medley, roasted potato, curry dishes, au gratin dishes.

Tip #2: Cast Iron and LP/Gas Grill

Just like having the side burner on a grill, cast iron on the grill is like having an extra pot on the stove. Cast iron comes in lots of sizes and cookware type: saucepan, skillet, Dutch oven. Anything you would traditionally make in cookware on the stove can be done on the grill. The key is to ensure that you have this on a section of the grill that isn’t set to “high”, as cast iron holds heat.

Tip #3: The Upper Grill Rack

Though small in overall size, the upper grill rack is designed for those fragile items or for items that require simple warming. Think melting butter for vegetables, heating sauces, warming bread and rolls. Use it! It can be of great value to keep you from needing anything indoors.

Tip #4: The Rotisserie

If you have a grill with a rotisserie, use it! Keep in mind, as that item turns on that rod, the meat or poultry renders some fantastic juices. Catch them! Put a high heat pan under the food item with some great vegetables and use the drippings to add superb flavor to the cooking process.

Women Chefs- “Flavor It Up!”

Now, let’s be clear! Unless you’ve invested in a dual fuel or hybrid grill, one that allows you to use charcoal and/or smoking wood, most standard LP grills are just that: grills not smokers. If you don’t have a hybrid but want to get some smoking woods flavoring to your foods, then start thinking of adding charcoal and wood chunks! Yes, you heard me right. Wood Chunks vs. woodchips which was the product of choice for years with LP grills.

Why Smoking Wood Chunks?

Most grills today are designed with covers for the gas burners to diffuse the heat more evenly. They go by a lot of names: heat distributors, flame tamers, heat plates, burner shields, flavorizer bars. The addition to the traditional LP grill is the reason why you can use smoking wood chunks. Simply place a few small wood chunks under the grill grate right on top of the heat diffuser. Be sure you only put chunks on a burner you will ignite. Replace the grill grate and you’re ready to go! And, yes, you will get real wood smoke vapor to flavor whatever you’re cooking on the grill. I promise!

Final Points Especially for Our Women Chefs

“Manning” the grill is no different than planning a meal in your conventional kitchen. Pick out the components of the meal and decide what needs to cook were on the grill: directly on the grate, on the rotisserie, in cast iron, on the coals. If doing a meat, be sure to marinate 6 hours or best, overnight, to ensure a moist outcome and to reduce cooking time.

Have everything prepped including the grilling tools you will need and this is a walk in the park for all women chefs planning daily meals for the family. The best part, you can enjoy more of those great warm days and not sweat in the confines of the hot summer kitchen!

-HOW TO USE CHARCOAL WITH WOOD IN COOKING

-HOW TO TURN YOUR CHARCOAL GRILL INTO A SMOKER

-HOW MUCH WOOD TO ADD WHEN SMOKING

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

 

 

 

 

DON’T PUT CULINARY QUALITY WOOD LAST!

Case Notes: A restaurant is preparing to open in a new location and made the decision to invest in an Italian made pizza oven that has an option for wood-fired cooking. This equipment would take 6 months to manufacture and deliver to the USA, which gave the owners time to complete renovations on their new building in preparation for the free-standing oven’s installation. During that time, menu development and plating options were reviewed and decided upon.

The one planning need that was left to the last minute – locating the supplier for the cooking hardwood and determining appropriate sizing for the new equipment! WHY???

It always surprises me that restaurateurs are willing to spend $50,000 and up for commercial equipment that does a specific function or technique, yet they don’t spend the time before that purchase ensuring they can obtain the quality accessory needs to get every benefit from that investment.

Here’s the best part: often these equipment lines tote that they can do all sorts of functions including wood-fired cooking techniques. The truth – they aren’t really promoting that function of their equipment line! They simply want to sell you the equipment and have you use standard fuel options like electric and gas. How did I come to this conclusion? By the content of the user’s manual.

Many do not reference:

• size of wood product needed for the equipment
• how to light the product
• how much of the product to use
• where to locate a supplier of the cooking wood
• pictorials of the steps to do the technique
• provide a troubleshooting guide.

Do you really want to spend $50,000, $60,000, $100,000 and be left to fend for yourself with that investment?

Take the appropriate steps when considering additions to or replacements in your equipment line. Research not only the equipment but what is needed to do the smoke infusion technique with that equipment. Yes, wood chips are readily available even though there is a high level of variation between products. But other products are not so easy to find like wood pieces larger than wood chips but smaller than split firewood logs.

In addition, wood-fired techniques can also require additional “tools” to be available in the kitchen that may not have been standard inventory before.

Such things as:

• fire retardant gloves
• fire grade tools like long-handled tongs and a wood poker
• a MAP canister/torch for lighting the fire
• an infrared thermometer for reading temperatures within the cooking chamber
• an ash receptacle.

Prioritize the needs of a wood-fired equipment addition by first reviewing the best option in equipment for your business’ need and second, assessing all the requirements of the wood to be successful in bringing this technique to your kitchen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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