Collage of Smoked Chestnuts go on a Stovetop Smoker

SMOKED CHESTNUTS ON A STOVETOP SMOKER!

Depending on where your located, chestnuts may only be available for a short period each year, usually around the holidays. Mostly pan roasted in the oven, why not do something unique with this prized fruit and smoke them! In addition to the chestnuts, you’ll need a stovetop smoker, purchased or you can make your own with tools likely in your kitchen. You can see our writing on the “The Kitchen Find” which will guide you on what is needed.

You will also need:

• Minuto® Chips Size #6 from SmokinLicious®
• a cutting board and knife
• about 2 hours of time. Be sure you also have a hood vent where you will be using the stovetop smoker in order to maintain a smoke-free kitchen.

You will find chestnuts available prepackaged or in bulk when in season. Although the packaged product will include a directive to cut an X in the flat surface of each nut, I grew up in a household where we always cut off the stem side. This is the small, dark cap side to the chestnut. The chestnut has a cap and a pointed end giving it a bloated teardrop look. I have found that when smoking, I get better control of the smoke infusion with a fresh cut to one end. Keep in mind, not all the chestnuts purchased will likely be viable as often mold will take hold of some of the chestnuts which you won’t see until you cut into them. As the chestnuts age, they can develop a fuzzy mold on the outside which will tell you not to waste your time cutting that one open! Simply discard!

Generally, chestnuts have a flat side and a rounded side.

To prepare them:

• lay the chestnut on the cutting board with the flat side down. Place your knife blade over the small dark cap, and slice off in one motion. This will reveal the chestnut meat inside which will have a yellow-white hue. Once the cap is off, you’ll be able to tell if any mold has set in as it will have a marked gray/black appearance. If any mold is noted, discard the chestnut as it won’t cook tender. If the majority is free of mold, go ahead and keep it for the smoking/cooking process.

To do stovetop smoking, there are 4 parts needed:

• a pan to hold the heat and wood chips
• a drip pan to prevent rendered fat and juices from entering the wood. Generally, you only need the drip pan when you actually have a food item that will produce juices or fat drippings.
• a grill pan
• a lid.

Note: Smoked chestnuts will not produce any drippings though they do have a percentage of water that will be released as steam into the lid of the pan. Just be sure when you open the lid that you keep any collected water from dripping back into the cooking grate.

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We discuss how long do wood chips last in an electric smoker!

How long do wood chips last in an electric smoker Click To Tweet

Without question, electric smokers are by far the easiest smokers to manage as they require no charcoal lighting, no constant checking of the fuel supply, and usually no messy ash pan. These are units that are designed to run on very little wood product, usually between 2-5 ounces because the actual ‘fuel’ is an electric coil. No gas, charcoal, or pellet.

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Smokinlicious® Custom Process for Sized Cooking Wood Chips

OUR WEIRD NAMES FOR SIZED COOKING WOOD CHIPS

The conversation always ends the same when we inquire about the size chip product needed. “It’s the size of a penny”, or sometimes they say a nickel, dime or quarter. That is the only reference we are provided with to produce a wood chip product quote! With all due respect, coin currency is not the same from country to country including the penny which is now obsolete in Canada!

A great deal of commercial brand equipment, especially industrial smokehouses, are manufactured in Europe and Canada. These countries use the metric system, a concept that is all but lost on most American companies since it is not a commonly used practice.

This is not the case for SmokinLicious® which currently tracks 9 sizes in our manufacturing process so we can assure consistent product manufacture. And yes, we reference the metric system in our sizing!

Taking a page from the “Dummies” guide book concept, we found that most companies producing a wood chip product screen for two common sizes. In fact, they often sell the two sizes by reference to packaging bag color. We at SmokinLicious® screen for 9 different screened sizes! Why? Because for food manufacturing companies to be cost effective while gaining optimal level of flavour infusion to their food product(s); correct wood product selection matters!

Incorrect Size Chip

If you comprehend that an incorrect size chip product in your commercial equipment will compromise the overall flavour profile due to variability in combustion of the product. Then you would be ready to maximize not only the budget for the smokehouse operation but likely preserve more capital that would have gone to equipment breakdown expenses caused by inappropriate sized wood product clogging smoke regulators.

We know what the various equipment manufacturers recommend; well, to be honest, we know what they think is best for their equipment. But let’s face it – their goal is to produce a state of the art, mass volume producing, time efficient smoke house with the hope that it will be efficient with the wood product material selected by the user. They do not commonly source the wood product material to go with the equipment once sold and they certainly don’t know the intricacies of hardwood. That’s where SmokinLicious® will step in. Our Team has the expertise to make the perfect size match that will produce ideal combustion rate which in turn results in ideal flavour infusion, color infusion, and function of the smoke house. Plus, we dial in the suitable moisture level to generate that perfect combustion rate that produces consistent results every time the smoke house operates.

Join Us for Sized Cooking Wood Chips

Once you join us, you’ll come to appreciate our “weird” names like Grande Sapore® (our larger screen chip sizing), Minuto® (covering 4 mid-screen sizes) and Piccolo (are smallest screen production that includes 3 micro sizes). We’re confident that you will come to understand and appreciate that our “weird” names provide assurance that we know what we’re talking about, we know what will work with your specific equipment, and that each order will have consistent particle sizing. No “two color” bag option that contains whatever scrap wood happened to be available that day for processing.

We don’t complicate things. By offering more options in wood chip/sawdust product, we can give our customers the flavour outcome they never imagined and cost efficiency they only dreamed about. Let’s find out what your favorite “weird name” will be and make you a member of our “club”!

Dr. Smoke- we have any chip size to fit your needs!

Eastern Alder wood for a light smoke wood flavor

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

Dr Smoke- “Eastern Alder is a very versatile wood for all foods.”

Crushed or Diced wood chips

CRUSHED OR DICED WOOD CHIPS? Click To Tweet

You see the options all the time. Crushed or diced tomatoes? Every chef knows when and why you choose one over the other. Did you know the same concept is true for wood chips?

At SmokinLicious®, the only true cooking wood Company, we produce our wood chips in the same manner as tomato processors! We crush the wood for our Grande Sapore® chips – these pieces produce a unique flavor because of their shape just like crushed tomatoes give a deeper flavor to recipes! These chips are meant to last and work with other ingredients for full flavor balance. We also offer our “diced” option of predetermined wood slices to produce our Minuto® and Piccolo® chips for smoldering on heat plates, cast iron, and flavor bars. Just as diced tomatoes give a fresh-from-the-garden taste, diced wood chips likewise produce a different, often more intense fresh wood flavoring.

SmokinLicious® only manufacturers cooking woods. That is our primary and only business. We know hardwoods for cooking, all types of wood-fired methods. And we know wood flavoring – how to get the best clean flavors from the select hardwoods ideal for cooking!

See for yourself why we are a superior product with a superior outcome. Enjoy the benefits of the knowledge of our flavorists and get the options you are looking for. Made the SmokinLicious® way!

Dr. Smoke- there is a smoking difference between crushed or diced wood chips

Our Culinary Team wants you know…

… that the crushing and dicing method of our making of culinary wood chips is strikingly similar in concept to how grapes are processed in the phases of wine making? For example, the Ripasso method of Italian wine production starts out with crushed, partially dried grapes and proceeds on to fermentation with the leftover skins. Both Ripasso produced wine and our crushed or diced wood chips offer distinctive flavor, body and personality in a class of their own!

THE KITCHEN FIND!

Stove top smoking techniques do not require fancy equipment, there are plenty of pots in your kitchen.

STOVE TOP SMOKING….

If you’re like me, over the years you’ve become a collector of various cooking gadgets and equipment to the point where you simply don’t have room for one more thing! Yet, you are enamored with the thought of doing stove top smoking & cooking when the weather isn’t cooperating or you simply prefer to be in the house rather than take food and gadgets outside.

Well, I have got just the solution for you!

Stove top smoking can be as easy as locating a deep pot with lid, metal steamer insert, aluminum foil and tools you likely already own.

Now when I say deep pot I’m talking about a lobster pot, large sauce pot, or even a Dutch oven. Anything that has capacity to hold a suitable number of food items on a steamer insert will do.

Once you have your pot and food item that you want to smoke follow these steps.

STEPS FOR STOVE TOP SMOKING:

• Put a piece of foil at the bottom of the pot so it touches both sides

• Sprinkle a ¼ cup of unsoaked wood chips on the foil (you can use any of our wood chip sizes but I prefer the Minuto® Wood Chip sizes)

• Place a second piece of foil or disposable foil pie plate on the chips followed by your steamer insert. (This will keep drippings from falling on the chips.)

• Place the food items (chicken, fish, pork, beef, vegetables, fruit, etc.) on the steamer. Be careful not to crowd so the smoke can circulate around the food.

• Depending on the extra room in your pot, if there is a lot of surface above the foods, go ahead and tent the steamer insert with foil so the smoke vapor has less area it needs to travel

• Put the lid on the pot and seal the rim with foil to ensure none of the smoke vapor can escape

• Turn the heat under the pot to high and allow to begin the smoking for 5-8 minutes

• Reduce the heat to medium and cook small food items like chicken, fish, vegetables, or fruit for 10-15 minutes. Large food items like pork tenderloin, beef short ribs, etc. for 30-40 minutes.

• Shut off the heat and allow the food to rest in the residual smoke vapor for 10 minutes

• Remove the lid and foil tent if one was used

If you have done smaller cuts of poultry, fish, or meat, these may well be cooked through (175° F for dark meat 165° F for white meat). Otherwise, if cooking is still required, transfer the food to an oven safe dish or sheet pan and finish cooking in the oven.

There you have it!

A simple in-house, smoking technique using tools you likely already have in the kitchen! Just think, you stayed warm, dry, and comfortable in your own house while the Grande Sapore®, Minuto®, or Piccolo® Wood Chips did their wood-fired magic.

As always, we would love to see your take on the homemade stove top smoker so send along pictures.

info@smokinlicious.com

SmokinLicious® Products used in this technique:

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

Additional reading:

-A DIY STOVE TOP SMOKER MAKES PERFECT SMOKED RICOTTA CHEESE

-THE EASY METHOD TO COLD SMOKED CHEESE

-PERFECTION OF THE SMOKED PEAR!

-TO THE SMOKE THE CHESTNUT GOES!

Dr. Smoke “It doesn’t take fancy equipment to smoke foods on the stove top.”

Smokinlicious Culinary Quality Wood Blocks- DrSmoke

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!

Dr. Smoke- only manufacturers Culinary Quality wood- Nothing else!!

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Beechwood Hardwood

Smokinlicious® is pleased to announce that we have added an eighth hardwood species to our product line. Beech is now available in wood chips, double and single filet wood chunk, wood blocks and heartwood logs for purchase!

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