Smoking – Grow. Cook. Eat.

August 31, 2011

Fish at the Farmers’ Market

I love shopping at farmers’ markets, but it always seems that I need to supplement my weekly grocery run with a trip to Whole Foods. But now that the Union Square Farmers’ market has a fish vendor (along with the de riguer produce, as well as cheese, chocolate, bread and meat), My meals have become more diverse and I don’t have to make a second shopping stop.

Roasted Clams with Smoked Tomatoes, Corn and Grilled Bread
2 ears corn, shucked
4 slices of crusty bread brushed with olive oil
1 cup apple wood chips, soaked in water
3 tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic
2 dozen Wellfleet or other littleneck clams
1/4 cup white wine

1.    Light a charcoal fire in the grill. When the fire is hot, grill the corn until it starts to char. Remove from heat and set aside. Grill bread slices for about 30 seconds on each side, until toasted.
2.    When fire on the grill starts to wane, drain the wood chips, and throw onto smoldering embers. Replace the grilling grate, put the tomatoes on the grill, and cover. Close the vents on the top of the grill lid. Let tomatoes smoke for at least 20 minutes.
3.    Cut corn kernels off the cob.
4.    In a large skillet, over medium – high heat, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook until they're soft, about 5 minutes.
5.    Add clams and toss in butter/onion mix until well coated and the clam shells begin to roast
6.    Add smoked tomatoes, corn and white wine. Cover pan, and cook for 5 minutes or until all the clams have opened.
7.    Serve clams with grilled bread for soaking up all the yummy juices.

From the farmers’ market: corn, bread, tomatoes, onions, garlic, clams

October 23, 2009

Ms. Misinformation

I always thought that red peppers were merely ripened green peppers; true for both bell and chilies. All summer, I watched my jalapeno plant grow, and waited and waited for them to turn red. After a while, I stopped checking. The green foliage and peppers began to blend in with the border plantings.

When I was in the garden yesterday, checking in on the kale and salad greens, I spied the drooping plant, weighted down with a dozen green peppers. With evening temperatures already dipping into the 30s and 40s, any chance of a red pepper was lost. I snapped off the peppers to salvage what I could. But I wondered if the recent cool temperatures sucked out the heat from the chilies, as rumor had it? I cut one in half, nibbled gingerly on a seed, and confirmed that, in fact, they were still piquant.

To preserve the chilies for the winter, I sliced them into rings, smoked them on the charcoal grill and then packed them in oil in ice cube trays. They add a nice, smoky undertone to many recipes. Sometimes, if I’m feeling sassy, I pop popcorn in a “cube” of smoked chilies. This makes an extremely addictive and thoroughly satifying snack.

So to recap my misinformation:
– Not all peppers turn red when ripe.
– Chilies don’t lose their heat in cold temperatures.

And here’s some correct information about chilies: most of their heat is in the white membranes and seeds. To lessen the heat of peppers, cut these parts out.

September 14, 2009

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Deliciousness (Recipe: Roasted Wellfleet Clams with Smoked Tomatoes)

How do you smoke a turkey? From the butt-end…. ba-da-bum!
(Thanks goodness I have a day job!)

When I preserve tomatoes for the winter, I stew a case for all-purpose cooking, and smoke a case for a more jazzy supply. The smoked tomatoes add depth to so many of my favorite dishes, including — Beef Stew, Chicken Enchiladas, Ricotta Ravioli with Tomato Sauce.

I don't have a proper smoker, but I use my Weber Charcoal Grill. While the fire is blazing in the grill, I soak 2 cups of apple wood chips in water or wine. Just as the fire starts to wind down, I drain the wood chips, and toss them on the smoldering charcoal. I replace the cooking grate, and fill it with tomatoes (and as I did the other night — also jalapenos and chicken). I'm careful to place the food away from the direct heat. I don't want the food to cook too quickly. And, should there be a flare-up, I don't want the food to burn. I cover the grill, leaving the vents just cracked open… and walk away for at least 30 minutes.

With the smoked tomatoes, I make another summer-time favorite, enjoying the last few sparkles of the warm weather….
Roasted Wellfleet Clams with Smoked Tomatoes and Grilled Bread
2 tablespoons butter
1 onions sliced
3 cloves garlic
2 dozen Wellfleet or other littleneck clams
3 smoked tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
4 slices of crusty bread for grilling

1. In a large skillet, over medium – high heat, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook until they're soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add clams and toss in butter/onion mix until well coated and the clam shells begin to roast
3. Add tomatoes and white wine. Cover pan, and cook for 5 minutes or until all the clams have opened.
4. Toast or grill bread
5. Serve clams with grilled bread for soaking up all the yummy juices.

Optional: Serve with grilled corn and/or chicken.

October 11, 2008

More Adventures in Smoking: Bluefish

There are several truths in my culinary world: everything fried tastes better and everything smoked tastes better. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule – thinking about all the fresh vegetables coming out of the garden (good!) and about that smoked oil (bad!).

Bluefish fits perfectly into that rule. Some people enjoy it fresh, but with a strong, oily flavor it’s better suited to smoking and more universally liked that way. I love having little snacks in the fridge for when unexpected guests come over, and smoked bluefish is a great option. Whole Foods sells smoked bluefish pâté but I was wholly disappointed to discover it contains high fructose corn syrup. The only solution is to make my own.

Smoked Bluefish Pâté
To smoke bluefish: Season ½ pound filet with salt, pepper and a little sugar. Start a charcoal fire on the grill. Meanwhile, soak wood chips in water. When charcoal fire starts to fade, prepare to smoke and move quickly: Drain wood chips and toss on top of the embers. Replace the grate on top of the grill and put the bluefish on the grate… away from the fire. Close the grill and the vents on top – leave the vents on the bottom open. Let fish smoke for 30 minutes or more.

In a food processor fitted with a plastic blade, combine bluefish with 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon brandy, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Pulse to combine. Stir in chopped scallions. Serve with crackers.

October 9, 2008

Adventures in Smoking

Welcome to my journey of culinary exploration. What started as a way to incorporate more bacon into my diet, ended in a discovery of a new taste sensation!

It all started with a post by Canary Girl. She wrote about bacon mayonnaise: mayonnaise made with rendered bacon fat instead of the usual vegetable oil. I was beside myself with the genius of this idea. But as I thought about it, the logistics seemed somewhat challenging. Bacon grease solidifies at room temperature which would make it seemingly difficult to emulsify into mayo. The really beauty of the idea, my thought- process continued, is the smoky, salty fat. So if I made “smoked” oil, then I could make mayo without bacon – and have a recipe that my non-pork eating friends would like.

Given my history of setting fires in other people’s kitchen, smoking oil wasn’t one of my better ideas. This is what I did… I lit a charcoal fire (yes, that’s right, open flame) in the Weber grill on the patio. When the embers started to fade, I threw on soaked wood chips. I put the grate on, and on the side without the flame, I put on a pot of canola oil. Oh, and as long as I was smoking, I put a second pan with home grown chilies and more oil. Thank goodness I’m still here to tell the tale, because I could have created a massive fire. But I didn’t and I ended up with some smoky oil and chilies.

With the oil, I made mayonnaise. Unfortunately, it tasted like the bottom of an ashtray. It probably would have been better with equal parts regular oil and smoked oil. As I recounted my tale to my neighbors they mentioned yet another brilliant idea: popcorn in bacon fat! And so the culinary journey continued…….

I rendered bacon over low heat – wanting to release the fat without crisping the bacon.

When enough fat coated the bottom of the pan, I added the corn kernels. While the corn popped, the bacon continued to crisp. After 10 minutes, I had fluffy popcorn mixed with crispy bacon bits. A quick toss with salt… The bacon flavor was good, but very subtle – I had used three slices for 1 cup of popcorn. Next time, I will need to use more bacon.

Since I also had the smoked chili oil, I decided to pop corn in that. Now THAT was delicious. Surprisingly smoky and unexpectedly spicy, it was a great success for pre-dinner cocktail snacks. Thanks to Canary Girl for inspiring this journey!

August 29, 2008

Beer Can Chicken

Last week Dina called to say she was having a few people over for dinner and had bought 2 whole chickens to roast. I’m not sure how I got to be so bold, but I suggested she make Beer Can Chicken. Great, she said, as long as you’re the one to do it. Not sure how my day would progress, I tentatively agreed.
I don’t typically buy beer at Whole Foods (much less any beer), but I was there for other things so I thought I’d just buy it there. I was perusing the beer case, when a “team member” offered assistance in my search.

“I’m looking for a beer to make beer can chicken with,” I said.

“What???” he replied.

“You’ve never heard of beer-can chicken??” I asked stunned.

“Nope, what is it?”

“It’s when you stick a can of beer up the chicken’s bum and cook it on the grill,” I answered.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

We settled on Narragansett Bay. The cans were a bit tall, but the flavor profile was just right for such a dish.

Back at Dina’s house, dinner preparations were a bit harried. I didn’t arrive until 6:30 and guests were expected at 7:30. The chickens were still in their packages. No time for any sort of marinade or brine. So I pulled the skin away from the meat and rubbed salt and butter on the meat.

I smoothed the skin back over.
Half way through the cooking, we took the chickens off the grill, put some wood chips on the embers, and finished the chickens with a little smoke.