The single seeded berry, fleshy fruit we know as avocado is loaded with healthy fats, 4 grams of protein, and 975 milligrams of potassium which is nearly twice as much as a banana. With 18 of the amino acids recommend in daily consumption, you’ll want to include avocado in your diet.
We thought we would take this fruit favorite and add a flavor level for your avocado recipes by wood-firing the avocado. This simple step will bring all the nutritional benefits of the fruit with a bold new taste.
Looking to add some smoky flavor to your BBQ try this smoked Potato salad recipe and please everyone’s taste buds!
POTATO SALAD GETS SMOKE INFUSION
Without question, potatoes are my favorite vegetable to expose to smoke vapor. For one, it is so easy to do whether you select a gas/LP grill, charcoal grill, convection grill, or electric unit. Additionally, it takes such a short amount of time to cook them this way.
With four select ingredients readily available throughout the year, you can make this flavorful and healthy salad anytime of the year. Perfect on its own for lunch or as a side dish to beef, pork, poultry, and fish, you’ll find your own variations to keep it unique.
When your craving salad but our tired of the same boring options, take it a step further and feed all your senses with the Smoke Pear Salad with Gorgonzola from SmokinLicious®!
This is a very simple salad once you’ve followed our segment on smoking fresh pears. With pears in season during the colder months, it’s a great time to get your serving of greens. So, let’s get started with what you will need for Smoked Pear Salad with Gorgonzola:
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!
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!
Our fire Roasted Pepper make the perfect Salad with these white beans!
FIRE ROASTED PEPPER SALAD
Summary:
Fire roasted peppers by ember cooking on hot coals in our open pit or charring peppers on the grill for this roasted peppers salad. Grilled peppers make the perfect fire roasted pepper salad and should be a star in your salad recipes under healthy foods! The fresh parsley, arugula, added to the white beans are refreshing! You must try this!
If you are a follower or subscriber of ours, then you’ve likely seen our recommendations for charring peppers on the hot coals using an open pit, fireplace, charcoal grill or even gas grill. It’s so easy yet gives such a flavorful outcome to use in all types of recipes.
I’m giving you a salad recipe that is hearty enough to be a salad entrée or the perfect side for your favorite protein.
We are doing our grilled tofu adding a BBQ flare recipe on a grill pan to hold the Tofu so we can add a natural smoky flavor!
AN EASY RECIPE FOR GRILLED TOFU ADDING A BBQ FLARE
When you’re ready for a non-animal protein, why not take tofu to the grill and infuse it with hickory wood smoke which is a perfect match to our spicy Hoisin sauce and marinade. Our 6-ingredient recipe will get you on the way to a perfect healthier alternative to traditional smoked and grilled proteins.
Smoked Cabbage on the gas grill using SmokinLicious® filet wood chunk is a wonderful way to add flavor to the vegetable!
IT’S NOT SLAW!
Smoked Cabbage
Bringing you another vegetable to take to the grill and smoke with wood for exceptional flavor. This time we focus on cabbage, a fiber-rich leafy vegetable that has been known to help with so many conditions. We will take wedges of cabbage, paint them with a spicy Dijon sauce and wood-fire them for about an hour using an indirect cooking method. Get your gas grill or charcoal grill ready for our version of smoked cabbage that you’ll want to make again and again.
