The Smokinlicious® motto Only use forest hardwood for smoking Click To Tweet

Smoking and wood-fired cooking are a passion for many. You invested in a quality piece of equipment. Shopped for the best ingredients. Dedicated time to watching videos and reading articles on smoking. Sourced hardwood that claims to be for smoking. But do you know for sure?

So Many Terms

Food labeling over the years has become complicated. That seems to have passed on to hardwoods for smoking and cooking as well. Package labeling for wood is not usually accurate. In fact, it implies certain information.

Case in point, many suppliers now use the term 100% natural. But what does that mean? Natural used for food labeling means there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives and there has been minimal processing. Certainly, a supplier that sources wood from orchards uses the “natural” term but you have no assurance the tree has not been genetically modified. Translation – chemicals have been added.

Move on to the various drying processes and even more confusion occurs.

Kiln-dried, air-dried, and naturally cured are all common labeling for wood. But that’s as far it may go. No one references how long that process is, or at what temperature the drying occurs, or even where this process happens (i.e. open yard, shed, etc.).

True Forest Hardwood for Smoking

When you see forest grown on the package you assume the wood comes from a natural growing area. Even if there is a reference to a drying process, be sure the wood does not appear cracked and light in weight. If too much moisture is taken from the wood, you’ll end up with seasoned firewood and not a hardwood for smoking. Remember, moisture is needed to produce a clean smoke. No moisture means no flavor from the wood.

Be sure the label states 100% of the hardwood named on the package. If not, you may be using a combination of hardwood AND softwood! You have to make the decision on whether you want to use bark-on or bark-free wood. Off-flavors can develop with bark.

In the end, by reading wood labels in detail like you do with food labels, can guarantee you a better choice. After all, some of the best flavors come from those items direct from the land around us.

Products discussed in this Blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

Forest Grown Hardwoods- The Precious Forest

Hardwood vs. Softwood for Cooking

Learn how to use the BBQ box smoker Click To Tweet

We have all been in Tom’s position. We love grilling and smoking but prefer the warmer weather. For those of us in 4 season climates with below zero temperatures in winter and lots of snow, it seems too hard to continuing grilling! But just as Bert remarks, you do not have to give up cooking outdoors just because of the weather.

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WOOD FIRED GRILLED AVOCADO

Oh, the wonderful, healthy, creamy, flavorful avocado. With more potassium than a banana and 18 amino acids for daily intake, you can’t go wrong with this single seed fruit.

Did you ever think to grill this fabulous fruit with a little wood to give it even more flavor? We’ll show you just how easy grilled avocado can be on the gas grill using wood chunks for your smoke infusion.

Grilled Avocado with a Wood Fired Touch

Regardless of the brand of gas grill you have, you can add wood chunks to the grill for wood fired flavor. My grill has heat shields over the burners so I use that area to add one small wood chunk under the grill grate, directly on the heat shield. No, you won’t damage your grill, as the wood combusts to ash and basically blows away.

One chunk is all it will take to get great flavor into the avocados. I keep the burner that the wood chunk is located on set to medium as well as the burner next to that one on medium. Since I have 4 burners, 2 are on and 2 are off.

Once the grill is to 300° F, this technique will take less than 20 minutes.

Simple Preparation for Wood Fired Grilled Avocado

The only preparation needed for the avocados is to cut them in half and remove the seed. The avocados are placed flesh side down on the grate only on the side with the burners off. The heat captured within the grill will spread throughout the grilling area and cook the avocado while adding wood smoke vapor. Note, it’s important that you don’t attempt to move the avocados for at least 10 minutes otherwise you will find the avocado flesh will stick to the grate and you’ll lose much of the fruit’s flesh. Wait until some of the fat renders and chars making removal so simple.

Grilled Avocado- Prep To Finish In Less Than 20 Minutes

In less than 20 minutes you will have wonderfully wood flavored, charred flesh avocados ready for your favorite recipes. Think of using this fruit in smoothies, dips, on salads, as a creamy ingredient for sauces – remember, avocado can be used to substitute the amount of butter used in most recipes. We will take some of our avocado and make a wood fired guacamole first. Our recipe will post soon so stay tuned and don’t’ forget to send us your pics of wood fired avocado.

Did you get motivated to fire up the grill with wood? Send us a comment or your avocado fired pics and don’t forget to subscribe. Bringing you fun, innovative tips, techniques and recipes on all wood fired methods for foods, beverages, spices, herbs and so much more.

Be sure to check out:

-The Top 10 Vegetables To Cook In Hot Embers

-HOW TO TURN YOUR LP/GAS GRILL INTO A SMOKER

-STEPPING UP RADISH SALAD WITH A WOOD-FIRED FLARE

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double and Single Filet

ODE TO GRILLED FAVA BEANS

 

I love when the ideal weather comes around when at the same time there are so many options for fresh produce either at the Farmer’s Market or local grocery store. I tend to lean toward my grill and smoker for most of my cooking when the weather turns hot and steamy.

Beans are one of those vegetables that are spectacular on the grill but they get even better when you add a few wood chunks. I’ll show you how to prepare Fava Beans for the grill and give you my easy, fool-proof technique for incorporating wood chunks for flavor.

Grilled Fava Beans- The Grill Set Up

Before preparing the Fava beans, get the gas grill heated by turning on only half the grills’ burners which will be the side that radiates out the heat and holds the smoker box. For the smoker box, I’m using a stainless-steel model that has a hinged lid. I place 3 double filet wood chunks from SmokinLicious® in the box in a combination of woods. I’m using hickory, white oak and sugar maple to give me a great smoke balance to the beans. This will ensure I don’t overpower with the smoke vapor. By placing the smoker box with chunks on the grill grate as it preheats, it will be smoking by the time you have the beans ready.

Simple Bean Prep for Grilled Fava Beans

There is little to do with the Fava beans before they go on the grill. Wash them to start to make sure all the dirt and debris is removed. Pat dry with a paper towel and then move them to the cutting board. Remove any leaves and cut just the stem end to remove the stem. Place in a disposable foil pan, spread out evenly, and add roughly 6 tablespoons of butter to the beans, as well as salt and fresh ground pepper. That’s it. Leave the bean pods intact as they are going to act like a miniature steamer to cook the beans and ensure they don’t become over smoked.

The Grill Act

With the grill heated and the wood chunks smoking in the smoker box, place the pan of beans on the unlit side of the grill and close the cover. Check that your grill temperature steadies out at about 375°F. If lower, simply increase the heat setting on the active burners. Too high, decrease the heat setting. Leave the beans untouched for about 30 minutes. Return to the grill, stir the beans and check the wood chunks. If the chunks are still emitting smoke, close the grill lid and leave for an additional 10 minutes or so, or until fork tender. Remove the pan from the grill and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Grilled Fava Beans- Buttery, Smoky Finish

After the beans have cooled enough to be handled, take each pod and push the beans out one end into a bowl. You may keep the empty pods to use for making broth or for puree in a sauce or smoothie. These Fava beans are now ready for you to enjoy as is or use in your favorite recipe. Now, I’m taking my Fava beans and making a dip with goat cheese, lemon and tarragon.

 

 

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

Additional reading:

-STEPPING UP RADISH SALAD WITH A WOOD-FIRED FLARE

-WOOD GRILLING AVOCADO

-INFUSING WOOD SMOKE INTO BRUSSELS SPROUTS

One of the most common questions asked when it comes to smoking foods on a gas grill, traditional charcoal grill or smoker is, how much wood do I need? Likely the second most common question is where does the wood go? Click To Tweet

 

Let’s break this down by equipment and method of smoking so you have a good place to start in answering the above questions.

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COAL FIRE CAULIFLOWER BY COOKING ON A CHIMNEY STARTER

 

A cousin to broccoli, #cauliflower is one of those vegetables that can be eaten raw or cooked and converted to so many different textures. Best yet, cauliflower is one of those super cancer-fighting foods as it contains sulforaphane known to kill cancer stem cells.

I’ll be taking my head of cauliflower and introducing it to hot coals, first, direct heat using a #chimneystarter for the actual cooking and then directly on the hot coals to give it the perfect “meat” char. No matter what color you enjoy – white, yellow, purple – grab a head and get your chimney starter ready, as I show you how to use a chimney starter as an actual grill.

Cooking on a Chimney Starter: Why a Chimney Starter?

There are times when you really don’t need to fire up a full charcoal area of coals on the charcoal grill. I have the perfect solution when you’re doing just a small quantity of a food, like our head of cauliflower. Use your chimney starter

To start, I place a mesh screen on the charcoal grill grate to help retain the small, hot coals for cooking. I have a collection of micro charcoal pieces that work perfectly for this type of cooking.

After lighting a Firestarter, I place the charcoal filled chimney starter on top of the Firestarter and allow the coals to burn down to hot embers. Hot embers are what I will be using to cook my fresh cauliflower, first, directly on the chimney starter, then on the mesh screen once I dump the hot embers from the chimney starter.

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INFUSING WOOD SMOKE INTO BRUSSELS SPROUTS

A favorite of the cabbage family, Brussels sprouts came to the United States via French immigration in the 18^th century. They are dominantly grown in California and available June thru January making them a Fall and holiday menu favorite. SmokinLicious® will take the flavors up a notch and add wood smoke into Brussels sprouts for two upcoming recipes. We’ll do this on the gas grill fit with wild cherry wood chunks to bring subtle smokiness to the finish sprouts. First purchase 3 lbs. of Brussels sprouts and get two cherry single filet chunks, and you’re ready to fire up the grill and get smoking.

The Easy Grill Method for Infusing Wood Smoke into Brussels Sprouts

Bringing the flavor of wood smoke into Brussels sprouts is so easy. To start, gather about 3 lbs. of Brussels sprouts, some cooking oil, butter, and a heavy-duty skillet. I prefer a nut oil like walnut or almond. For a skillet I’ll be using cast iron. I’ve trimmed the ends on about half the sprouts and for the other half, I’ve trimmed the ends and cut them in half. That’s it! Fire up the grill and get ready for a quick method of adding great wood-fired flavor.

It only takes a couple of pieces of wood chunk to bring fabulous flavor to the grill. I set up a cast iron pan on one side and place two cherry wood chunks on the heat shields of the far burner. Let the pan heat up for about 5 minutes then pour in a couple of tablespoons of oil and heat. Right before I add the Brussels sprouts, I add a couple of tablespoons of butter. In go the whole Brussels sprouts and the lid comes down. Leave untouched for about 5 minutes before turning.

Flavor Finish

As I have two recipes in mind I’m cooking two batches of Brussels sprouts: one batch whole and one batch halved. After leaving for 5 minutes, I stir them to ensure that all surfaces are infused with wood flavor. I maintain a temperature of 350-375° F which will make this a quick cooking method. The first 5 minutes, the lid is down but once stirred, you can finish the cooking with lid up. Remember, cast iron will retain heat, so you can turn the heat off and let sit for about 5 minutes.

After stirring a couple of times, both the whole and halved Brussels sprouts are ready in about 20 minutes time. I simply remove them from the heat and bring them in to be added to my favorite recipes.

I have two recipes I’ll be working on: Smoky Brussels Sprout Gratin and Tortellini with Lemon and Smoked Brussels Sprouts. These truly are the most flavorful Brussels sprouts! For those of you thinking about a holiday meal with them, well, the grill will give you that extra oven room you need. Take advantage of the long harvest season and try these mini cabbages on your grill. Check in for our recipes soon so we can get you started on how to use your prized sprouts.

Bringing you new methods of infusing wood fired flavor into seasonal items. Be sure to subscribe and follow us to gain great tips, techniques, recipes and the science behind the fire.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… that the direct infusion of hardwood-fired smoke to foods, like Brussels Sprouts, is considered a flavor ingredient, much in the same way that spices, minerals and sauces enhance taste. When fired, the components of smoke vapor carry the hardwood’s distinctive flavor profile directly into meats, seafood, fruits or vegetables with pleasing results to the palate.

SmokinLicious Products used in this recipe- wood smoke into brussels sprouts:

Wood Chunks- Single Filet

Additional reading:

-WOOD GRILLING AVOCADO

-HOW TO TURN YOUR LP/GAS GRILL INTO A SMOKER

-WHAT’S IN THE SMOKINLICIOUS® WOOD CHUNK BOX?

 

 

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

EMBER FIRED ZUCCHINI

How to cook your zucchini on hot coals.

I love thick-skinned vegetables that come in season during Summer. They are the perfect items to light a fire and make some hot coals to ember fire flavor into them.

We’re getting ready to coal roast one of my favorite vegetables – zucchini! This is so simple to do and produces an extraordinary flavor for zucchini to be eaten on its own or to be used in your favorite recipe. Clean out the fire pit, charcoal grill or outdoor fireplace and prepare to roast “ember fired fresh zucchini” directly on the hot coals.

Building A Small Fire

Know this from the start – You do not need a large fire! A small fire is best to accomplish your cooking in about an hour’s time. For my fire, I am using ten SmokinLicious Single Filet Wood Chunks in Ash with a couple of pieces of charwood that were left over from a previous cook. Why Ash hardwood? Because it is hands down, the best hardwood to produce an even bed of coals which is what you want when you coal roast.

I stack the wood so there is quite a bit of air space between the pieces. This ensures I have good oxygen flow to produce combustion quickly. My technique is to stand the wood pieces on their end and make a circle. I try to have a couple of pieces in the center kind of tipped on to each other. Remember, you want to produce hot embers quickly so it only requires a little wood and a lot of oxygen to burn things down. I light my wood using a small butane torch. Leave the torch in place until I’m sure the wood has ignited. I keep the lid off my charcoal grill so I can push the combustion process through completion and get those ash covered, hot embers.

Red Means Hot

You will know when the coals or embers are ready for cooking when you have uniform coals and they are glowing red from the bottom and gray on top. I keep a couple of larger coals banked to the side to maintain heat and for reserved hot coals. Just in case I need to rake more to the cooking side. I like to nestle a high heat metal cooking rack on the hot coals and then place my whole zucchini on the rack. This allows for little ash to accumulate on the skin. Remember, those coals are very hot so the zucchini will take less than 20 minutes to tenderize and char.

Turn For Full Char

With the zucchini and coal rack in place, I give the embers about 8 minutes to char and cook the first side of the zucchini. After that time, I gently turn the zucchini so that each side gets an even char. Once the first 8 minutes are done, there will be less time needed for each of the other sides as the zucchini will hold heat. I’ve added one additional wood piece to my banked fire just to be sure I have enough heat in the coal area. I will not put the lid on the unit during the entire cooking process as this is open fire cooking. My total coal cooking time is approximately 16 minutes.

Perfection In Smoke & Char on Ember Fired Fresh Zucchini

After placing my ember fired fresh zucchini on hot coals for about 16 minutes total, turning several times to get an even char, this spectacular vegetable is ready for eating. You will see, there is very little coal bed left following this technique so remember, if you are cooking more than a couple of zucchini, you will need a larger coal bed.

For those of you thinking that the black, charred skin will be bitter and not appealing to eat, think again. Most of the char will rub right off but the flavor will be infused throughout the ember fired fresh zucchini. I’ve sliced mine about ¼-inch thick as I plan to make a galette of ricotta, garlic oil, and basil.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… that ember roasting is ideal to boost up the bland, delicately flavored zucchini and will add a rich, wood-fired taste dimension to any dish featuring this exquisite summer squash. So, be prepared to enjoy a rich, char-smoked variation of your ratatouille, quesadillas, stuffed zucchini or soups from ember cooked zucchini!

Check in soon for our post on that recipe. Did you love this wood-fired technique? Leave a comment and subscribe as we continue to bring you new ideas, tips, techniques and recipes for all things wood-fired, smoked, and charred!

You may also enjoy reading:

-Top 10 Vegetables to Cook in Hot Embers

-EMBER FIRED ZUCCHINI & RICOTTA GALETTE

-SUCCULENT WOOD FIRED STUFFED TOMATO WITH HERB RICE

-Ember cooked Sweet Peppers

SmokinLicious® products:

Wood Chunks- Single Filet

Charwood

WHAT’S IN THE SMOKINLICIOUS® WOOD CHUNK FOR SMOKING BOX? Click To Tweet

These two questions have been quite common for the 12+ years we’ve been in business. What does a cubic foot box of wood weigh? How many pieces do you estimate are in a cubic foot box of wood?

Due to the regulations imposed by The National Conference on Weights and Measures -Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, we cannot specify weight on a wood product, even though we are a cooking wood. Instead, when asked about weight, we only provide an estimate clearly stating that wood is not sold by weight due to the variation in moisture level and density of the wood selected.

I can, however, tell you the details that a recent first-time customer posted to an online forum that had me elated!

The Specifics You’ve Asked About Wood Chunk for Smoking

This customer took a lot of time and effort to get to the details about our wood; the packaging and the weight not just of the carton, but of specific select pieces. This customer purchased the Serious Smoker Double Filet Wood Chunk which is our cubic foot carton product with the smallest chunk sizing. We offer an option to select up to 3 wood choices for this carton size, with this customer selecting our 3 most popular hardwoods: Hickory, Sugar Maple, and Wild Cherry.

First, let’s look at this customer’s overall purchase.

Wood Chunk for Smoking- It’s In The Numbers

The packaged hardwood weighed in a 32.5 lbs. A total of 139 pieces of wood were packaged. Of that total, 48 pieces were Wild Cherry, 44 pieces Sugar Maple, and 47 pieces Hickory.

Individual Weights

This customer owns equipment that references specific weight of wood needed to smoke optimally. In this case, just 2-4 ounces of wood is ideal.

Although weights for each of the 139 pieces of wood were not obtained, sufficient sampling was done. Here is what was reported:

• the lowest weight of a Wild Cherry chunk (remember, these are all double filet) was 1.5 ounces and the highest was 4.1 ounces
• lowest weight of a Sugar Maple chunk was 2 ounces and the highest at 5.7 ounces
• lowest weight of a Hickory chunk was 2.8 ounces and the highest at 6.4 ounces

For this equipment user, there was an estimate that 139 pieces of hardwood would provide for some 100 smoking events!

What I loved the most about this report is that it correlates specifically to the density of these 3 hardwoods. Hickory has the highest density of the 3 kinds of wood selected and this is reflected by the weight of the individual pieces sampled. Sugar Maple would be next in density followed by the Wild Cherry, all proven with the reported weights.

What Did You Learn?

Unquestionably, there is a lot of wood chunk pieces in a cubic foot carton! Which means you want to ensure you can use that much wood in a reasonable amount of time to maximize the freshness factor and peak level for function as a smoking wood. Individual pieces will vary in weight even if the dimensions of the pieces are relatively the same. That is the nature of a water-rich material – the water weight influences the overall piece weight.

We are indebted to this customer for taking the time to inform us all of his findings since, by law, SmokinLicious® can’t offer this detail.

We hope you liked this post. We’d love to hear from you so subscribe, comment and follow us on all social media platforms. Keep those suggestions coming for the future information you crave.

Additional reading:

–HOW MUCH WOOD TO ADD WHEN SMOKING

–BOOST UP THE FLAVOR OF YOUR SMOKER BOX!

–THE ART OF CUSTOMIZING YOUR COOKING EXPERIENCE

Our Products Discussed in this Blog:

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

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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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

 

 

 

 

 

Forest Fresh Hardwood is a perfect fit for ceramic smokers and grills. Click To Tweet

 

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 culinary wood product match. We refer to our guide affectionately as “Match Your Cooker”.

In this article, we are covering our recommendations for ceramic and komado style grilling equipment; these are grills that are made from ceramic, clay, terracotta or crushed lava rock that allow the grill to reach extremely high temperatures – usually at or above 750°F! They are also capable of using charcoal and wood either independently or in combination.

As there are always new equipment lines and models released, our plan is to provide regular updates on this listing. We also encourage you to send us a message when you don’t see a manufacturer or model listed to ensure it is added to the list (email drsmoke@smokinlicious.com).

For now, we introduce you to our wood master’s guide to SmokinLicious® culinary woods for ceramic and komado grills.

Single Filet Wood Chunks for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Single Filet Wood Chunks as the charcoal area allows for larger wood pieces:

Big Green Egg models: 2XL, XLarge

Char-Griller Akorn model: ceramic kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL

Kamado Joe Big Joe™ 24”

Komodo Kamado® 32” Big Bad

Louisiana Grills K24

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Jack Daniel’s Edition Oval XL 400, Primo Oval XL 400

Double Filet Wood Chunks for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Double Filet Wood Chunks to maximize oxygen flow:

Bayou Classic Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Big Green Egg models: Large, Medium, Small

Blaze™ 20-inch Cast Aluminum Kamado Grill*

Broil King® Keg™ models: Keg™ 5000, Keg™ 2000

Cal Flame® Kamado Smoker Grill

Caliber Pro Stainless Steel Kamado Grill*

Char-Griller Akorn: models: Kamado and Kamado Jr.

Char-Broil Kamander® Charcoal Grill

Coyote Asado Ceramic Grill

Gourmet Guru Grill Ceramic Kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL, Large, Small

Hanover® 19-in. Ceramic Kamado Grill

Kamado Joe models: Classic II™ 18”, Big Joe™ 24”, Stand-Alone™, Joe Jr.™

Komodo Kamado® models: 32” Big Bad, 23” Ultimate, 21” Supreme, 19” Hi-Cap Tall, 19” Hi-Cap Table Top, 16” Hi-Cap Table Top

Louisiana Grills models: K13, K18, K22, K24

Monolith Grills BBQ Guru Edition models: Classic, Le Chef

Pit Boss Grills models: K22 Ceramic Charcoal Grill, K24 Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Primo Oval LG 300, Primo Oval JR 200, Primo Kamado All-In-One

Vision™ Grills models: XL

Grande Sapore® Wood Chips for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Grande Sapore® Wood Chips for those who prefer a wood chip product rather than chunks:

Bayou Classic Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Big Green Egg models: MiniMax, Mini

Blaze™ 20-inch Cast Aluminum Kamado Grill*

Broil King® Keg™ models: Keg™ 5000, Keg™ 2000

Cal Flame® Kamado Smoker Grill

Caliber Pro Stainless Steel Kamado Grill*

Char-Griller Akorn: models: Kamado and Kamado Jr.

Char-Broil Kamander® Charcoal Grill

Coyote Asado Ceramic Grill

Gourmet Guru Grill Ceramic Kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL, Large, Small

Hanover® 19-in. Ceramic Kamado Grill

Kamado Joe models: Classic II™ 18”, Big Joe™ 24”, Stand-Alone™, Joe Jr.™

Komodo Kamado® models: 32” Big Bad, 23” Ultimate, 21” Supreme, 19” Hi-Cap Tall, 19” Hi-Cap Table Top, 16” Hi-Cap Table Top

Louisiana Grills models: K13, K18, K22, K24

Monolith Grills BBQ Guru Edition models: Classic, Le Chef

Pit Boss Grills models: K22 Ceramic Charcoal Grill, K24 Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Primo Oval LG 300, Primo Oval JR 200, Primo Kamado All-In-One

Saffire Grill and Smoker**

Vision™ Grills models: XL

Minuto® Wood Chips for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

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

Saffire Grill and Smoker

We hope you view this guide as a helpful resource for selecting the perfect culinary wood for your equipment. As always, our Wood Guide Team is ready to answer your additional questions and further assist you with the perfect grilling and smoking experience!

* Although considered a komado grill, this brand is not made with any ceramic, clay, terracotta, or crushed stone.

** This brand is only designed for use with wood chips and includes a patented smokin’ chip feeder.

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore® & Minuto®

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

-TOP TOOLS TO OWN FOR CHARCOAL GRILLING

-THE WATER PAN EXPLAINED FOR GRILLING & SMOKING

 

 

DINING FOR SMILES 6 COURSE DINNER EVENT

Alliance For Smiles began in 2004 with the mission to repair cleft palate and lip deformities in under-served areas of the world. In fact, over the years, various fund-raising concepts were instituted to offset the costs for highly expensive missions. Most missions are easily over the $300,000 level in donated surgical and treatment protocols.

Why Portville, NY

Chef Carl Vahl, Board of Directors member for Alliance For Smiles, brought attention to his local community of the efforts for this organization by presenting the Dining For Smiles event, an event which featured a six course gourmet dinner for 18 privileged guests. SmokinLicious® had the honor of preparing many of the components of the meal over a wood fire.

When hosting an intimate event like the Dining For Smiles dinner, organization and assignment of duties are key. As such, Chef Vahl utilized the full volunteer staff regardless if the members had experience in a kitchen or not. The event featured a wonderful six course dining experience with the following featured:

• Tuna Crudo- Course One
• Butternut Squash Soup- Course Two
• Seasonal Salad- Course Three
• Handmade Lobster Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce- Course Four
• Wood Fired Lamb & Canadian Salmon served with Jasmine Rice and Wood Fired Brussels Sprouts- Course Five
• Panna Cotta with Fresh Mango- Course Six

Additionally, wine pairings were presented with each course revealing an assortment of sparkling, rosé, red and white wines.

The Courses

As the 18 guests arrived and were seated at one of two tables, the first course is served – a Tuna Crudo featuring Sushi-grade tuna nestled in a Wasabi avocado cream, topped with pickled onion and finished with candied lemon peel. This course was served in a martini glass and accompanied by Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine considered the Italian champagne.

The second course of the Dining For Smiles dinner featured roasted organic butternut squash with the subtle flavor of nutmeg and topped with a crisped sage leave and touch of maple syrup. My favorite part of this dish was its serving bowl – a charred mini white gourd. By retaining the top of the gourd, you can ensure that the soup stays hot until its placed in front of the guest. Each gourd was hand cut and charred to ensure no off flavors transferred from the gourd to the soup. Just a perfect vessel for this scrumptious soup.

Following the first two courses of Tuna Crudo and Butternut Squash Soup, the third course was the salad course featuring mixed greens of green and red leaf lettuce, spinach, and frisee; apple slices; candied walnuts; ember cooked red pepper slices; and a fresh vinaigrette. This course helped to balance the stomach in preparation for the upcoming courses that would be richer and more substantial. Paired with our salad course was a full-bodied chardonnay.

Chef prepared homemade lobster ravioli for the fourth course. This was a decadently rich dish featuring a brown butter sage sauce and fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top. This course was paired with a beautiful Rosé, with both items being well received. As a matter of fact, I don’t recall a plate coming back to the kitchen that wasn’t completely clean!

Main Course for the DINING FOR SMILES 6 COURSE DINNER EVENT

Now, it’s time for the main course – course number five! First came the proteins. We produced a wood-fired leg of lamb and lamb rib loins cooked over charwood, ash, sugar maple, and wild cherry wood chunks. The wood-fired cooking offered a fabulous color to the meat.

Our Canadian salmon enjoyed cooking over charwood and sugar maple and wild cherry wood chunks. A combination of orange butter, olive oil, and smoke vapor produced that beautiful golden skin. After resting a while, the lamb and salmon were sliced in preparation for full plating.

We start with Jasmine rice topped with wood-fired brussels sprouts and carrot. Next to the plate, a slice of wood-fired lamb and a filet of salmon. Served with a custom mixed wine of Sangiovese and Syrah. Simply a perfect course!

Finally, we’ve reached the end of a fabulous meal – the final course – dessert. Panna cotta with fresh mango, served with a German Reisling, the perfect end to a fantastic evening.

 

 

 

A Meal that Stays in Memory

Chef Vahl’s vision for a flavorful, entertaining evening proved to be a realty as these 18 guests can attest to. We are so thankful and honored to have been a part of it.

If you want to donate to the Alliance For Smiles mission, visit www.allianceforsmiles.org and view all the lives that have been touched by the commitment of so many. Always remember to help others in need in any way you or your company can, just as SmokinLicious® was able to do with this Dining For Smiles event!

Glad we could share our DINING FOR SMILES 6 COURSE DINNER EVENT!

Purchase products:

Charwood

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Additional reading:

-DINING FOR SMILES EVENT PREPARATIONS

-WELCOME TO OUR BRAT PARTY-BRATWURST IN THE ORION SMOKER COOKER

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