One of the easiest techniques to do with fruit on a gas or charcoal grill is wood firing peaches. Take advantage of the season with this fruit by bringing different flavors and textures for great recipe. Why not start with my recipe for a summer gazpacho that will cool you off during the hot season. It’s time to take advantage of the summer harvest with fresh peaches and yellow tomatoes for fabulous summer cuisine
It’s Asparagus season and that means you should get the most out of this sensational vegetable while it’s fresh! Be sure to visit our series on the ember roasting of fresh asparagus (see the previous blog) so you can move on to our fabulous recipes. Our featured recipe in this series is Crostini with Ember Roasted Asparagus, Pimento & Olive Spread, a perfect snack, appetizer, and certainly a spur of the moment food for the pop in visitor. So, here we go!
One of the most versatile vegetables is now in season and can be used in both hot and cold side dishes and main courses. In this series, we will be roasting our peas using a hot smoking method to bring the great wood-fired flavour.
Ingredients- Smoking Snow Peas
At least 1 lb of peas, I like sugar snap peas
Almond oil
Sea Salt & Fresh Pepper
A charcoal smoker, any size will do
A disposable foil pan or vegetable pan or basket that is high heat tolerant
I’ll be using my Stok Drum Charcoal Grill for this series. As the Stok has its own charcoal basket, I won’t need to prepare any additional lump hardwood charcoal. I am using a direct method of cooking. I place my charcoal in the unit’s charcoal basket leaving my grate insert off for now. Once the coals turn gray, I will lift the charcoal basket and allow the coals to advance into the cooking drum. I then grate insert off as I will use my vegetable pan to go right over the top of the insert area.
Adding Grande Sapore cherry wood chips
Pea Preparation
While the coals have been firing, I start preparation on the peas. As I am using sugar snap peas for this recipe there is very little preparation that has to be done. I first will remove all the string membrane that is attached to one side of the snap pea. If any stems are left on, I will remove those as well. I then wash the peas in a colander and then allow them to drip dry, shaking my colander occasionally to rid any excess water. If needed, I will pat dry the peas to ensure they are ready for the fire. Then I sprinkle on some Almond oil, sea salt, and fresh pepper to the peas. Now, we’re ready to wood fire!
My coals are hot, the wood chips are smoking, and the peas are ready to be kissed by fire! I place the vegetable pan on the center of the grill and leave my grill cover off. When cooking with wood, know that some temperature fluctuation can occur due to the natural variation in combustion so don’t leave the Peas unattended. Once you see the peas start to char, give them a toss with a spoon to ensure an even char cook.
Placing the peas on the Stok grill pan
Usually, you will see char begin about 4-5 minutes into the cooking cycle. Once that occurs, you will be looking at another couple of minutes before the peas will be ready to come off the grill. Be sure you monitor that you don’t go too far with the smoking process. If the peas begin to shrivel and wrinkle, you went too far. You can remove them and place in an ice bath or run under cold water to stop any additional cooking from taking place.
Smoking Snow Peas- Recipe Ideas
It’s so hard to explain the aroma that comes from the grill when you wood fire vegetables. Keep in mind, that even when the vegetables are chilled, they will retain their char flavor. Here are some tips to finishing these beautiful smoked sugar snow peas: add some crumbled feta cheese and serve, or a splash of lemon juice and dill, or even a dollop of ricotta cheese that’s been whipped with a bit of cream. You can also check into our next blog on peas where we feature these scrumptious beauties in a Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad, just perfect on a hot summer’s day!
First Turn on the Grill
The Culinary Team wants you to know…
… that when it comes to the forgotten method of direct ember cooking with wood, there are many great food varieties besides your typical meats, poultry and seafoods that offer awesome flavor. This blog demonstrates how snow peas are one of many tasty garden variety veggies that will tickle your pallet with a great smoky wood-fired taste. There are many more foods for you to enjoy with this technique! Go ahead, experiment with your favorite vegetables or fruits and treat yourself to a “world of flavor” possibilities!
Fresh strawberries are pretty much available all year, so why not do something different with this fruit favorite and try your hand at smoking them! One of the easiest methods for controlling the smoke level to a fruit is to use a hand held food smoker.
RADISH SALAD WITH A WOOD-FIRED FLARE- The peak season for radishes is April thru July so I’m taking advantage of this great seasonal vegetable and putting them on the gas grill with some wood chunks to smoke up the flavors. I’ll first provide you my technique for bringing a wood flavor to these red beauties on a traditional gas grill, then I’ll use the finished product in a smoked radish and cannellini bean salad that is perfect as a side dish or for those vegetarians, add some non-animal protein to be a main dish favorite. Let’s get started!
The first step for ember roasting fresh asparagus on a Hibachi!
It’s Asparagus season and that means you should get the most out of this sensational vegetable while it’s fresh! Learn how easy it is to ember roast this thick skinned vegetable to bring out the fantastic flavor of this vegetable as a side dish, or used as an ingredient in other recipes like a refreshing dip, soup, or stuffing for meat or fish.
Try our pan cook zucchini on the gas grill with wood chunks for a flavoring twist
PAN COOK ZUCCHINI ON THE GRILL WITH WOOD FLAVOR
It seems like when August rolls around, people start looking for something new to do with all that zucchini that you either have in your own garden or found at the fresh market. I’ve got a one pan dish that is easy to construct with the best part being you can do the entire recipe on your LP/Gas grill.
Grab your prized zucchini and get to the grill and I’ll show you how easy this technique and recipe are for a great meal.
Our Charred Broccoli soup ingredients, in the pot and finished soup
CHARRED BROCCOLI SOUP WITH GRILLED BROCCOLI FLORETS
Known as the mini tree, broccoli is part of the cruciferous vegetable family that includes cabbage, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, and kale to name a few. Broccoli is low in calories and packed with nutritional value including Vitamin K, C, folate, and potassium.
Although popular as a steamed or stir-fry vegetable, one of the great things when grilling broccoli is it doesn’t lose any nutritional value and you gain great flavor.
Often, when it comes to smoking poultry, many people become quite nervous as they may have had a previous experience that resulted in a dry outcome. Or, they may have read how difficult it is to maintain moisture when you smoke poultry. Today, I’m going to show you how to smoke Cornish game hens on the Orion Cooker.
Why does the Orion Cooker make a difference? Because this isn’t a traditional smoker. This is a convection cooker that you can smoke with.
