Smoked veggies

Unknown

I've been wanting to smoke some vegetables, maybe even kebab-style, but I'm not sure what kind work well (I saw the smoked tomatoes entry in the recipe section) and I'm not all that certain about how to approach the problem. I would assume very low heat. I don't have one of the indirect cooking plate-setter things, but if that would help I could rig something, I'm sure. We like a strong smoke flavor, and hickory chips (flakes, almost) are readily available to me.[p]Any tips would be appreciated.

Fidel

McGuire,[p]I do all of the following veggies regularly:[p]asparagus, squash, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, eggplant, and probably a few others I forgot.[p]I do almost all of them direct at about 325. Asparagus are my favorite. I toss in EVOO, skewer them, give a dash of salt and pepper, then grill at 350 for about 4-5 minutes per side. The come out crunchy, a little charred, and very tasty. [p]The others I generally either do on skewers, direct on the grill, or in cast iron pans.[p]They always turn out great.

AnnaG

McGuire,[p]I marinated some cut up squash, baby portabello mushrooms and new potatoes in some Zesty Italian dressing. I then rigged up a foil pouch and poured the whole thing in there. It was a direct setup and I just kept a watchful eye on them. I let them go about 30 minutes or until the potatoes were tender.[p]HTH...[p]Thanks...
...AnnaG...

Unknown

Fidel,
I've done plenty of veggies grilled, but I was wondering about smoking them. Or do you put chips in there and smoke them at the same time? I don't get smoke at 325, my chips burn... ???

Unknown

AnnaG,
Is the pouch not sealed up very tightly? I'm wondering how to get that smoked flavor...

Fidel

McGuire,[p]use chunks in with the lump instead of chips. You'll get plenty of smoke.[p]In the time it takes to cook veggies there isn't a lot of time to impart smoke flavor. I have never tried to slow cook any veggies - don't know how the would turn out.

AnnaG

McGuire,[p]Exactly... I left it open slightly to get that smoke flavor in there... [p]I am now hooked on using hickory chunks or chips, so you might throw 2 chunks in with your lump and you will get a smokey flavor...[p]Good luck...
...AnnaG...

Unknown

Thanks, I think I want to try slow-cooking just to see what happens, but failing that, I have some chunks left over from my old metal smoker -- sounds like as good a use for them as any.

Unknown

I'll give it a shot, thanks!

Matt

McGuire,[p]I have had tremendous luck smoking tomatoes, chiles, eggplant, onion, corn, and garlic. All do well with low temps for extended periods. Typically, I apply little or no prep prior to smoking as the smoked vegetables typically wind up as ingredients in other dishes -- dips, salsas, sauces, ratatouille, chili, relish.... I typically shuck the corn, slice the onions in half through the root, slice the eggplant, and separate garlic cloves from the head. Occasionally, I will core the tomatoes. My rule of thumb is that if you have an exposed surface (e.g., onions, eggplant) then I apply a thin coat of oil. I usually just throw the veggies on when I am slow-cooking something else -- I don't fire up the Egg just to smoke veggies.[p]All of that said, if you want to smoke any serios quantities of vegetables (e.g., to freeze harvest from your garden for use in the winter) then you need to get an electric smoker (sacrelidge!). About 5 or 6 years ago, I got a Big Chief electric smoker from Luhr-Jensen, and that thing has processed hundreds of pounds of vegetables since then. Ping me offlist if you need more info.[p]Matt