How do I smoke tomatoes?!
Answers: I need to smoke tomatoes to make a vinegarette recipe I am working on. I need help on the smoking process
It's pretty easy and after you've done it once you're an expert.
You need a grill. When you're smoking something like tomatoes, you want a lot of smoke but not a lot of heat. Soak some wood chips (6-8 cups)(whatever flavor you've chosen...mesquite would work good with tomatoes) in water, for an hour. Prepare your charcoal like you would for grilling but only use like 10 briquets. When the coals are ashen, move them to one side of the grill and put the wet chips on them and let them get to smoking (maybe 30 seconds). Cut the tomatoes in half and put them, cut side up, on the grate on the opposite side of the coals (probably should oil the grate a little, put some oil on a paper towel and rub it on the grate). Put the lid on with the top vent just slightly cracked and on the tomato side, and let it go for an hour.
It seems like a lot of effort if you're only making the vinaigrette once, but you can freeze tomatoes for future vinaigrettes and other recipes. But, be warned, the tomatoes will be mush if you freeze them.
Throw some other veges in there too if you're only doing a few tomatoes. Experiment!!
I smoke chile peppers over mesquite, then dehydrate them and put them in a blender for spices. Man that's good stuff!
From the Culinary Institute of America:
"Scatter a thin layer of wood chips in bottom of a disposable aluminum pan. Place a rack over chips (use balls of aluminum foil to elevate rack above chips if necessary). Cut tomato in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and place cut-side down on rack. Cover pan tightly with another disposable pan or aluminum foil. Place smoker assembly over high heat until you smell smoke. Remove pan from heat, but keep covered, three to four minutes. Remove skin from tomato while still warm."
Ohmigod. I read your question and thought smoke tomatos like "put this in your pipe and smoke it" LOL. I know you can do it on a cedar plank over very very low heat in the oven
um, i would probably just buy smoke flavouring- it tastes awesome, or just add something else that's smoked (like chipotle) to the dressing