Smoke-dried roma tomatoes

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I just watched Food Finds on the Food TV channel. They showed a guy in Austin, TX who smoke-dries Roma tomatoes. I want to try that (on a much smaller scale, obviously). Two questions; what temperature would I want the smoker, and what type of wood? I would think a heavy smoke and/or strong wood would NOT be what I want. Maybe alder? Apple? Cherry?

... and how much wood WOULD a woodchuck chuck...? /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

Kelly
 
I would think you would want to smoke real low like 150-160. Just enough to get some flavor. Say for a couple of hours. Then move to a dehydrator.

Or keep the temp down to 100-110 with a little air circulation and let dry.
 
Bruce, that sounds like a plan. Romas are on sale locally for 0.48/lb., so it's not like I'll be out more than a couple bucks if I experiment and they don't turn out.

Kelly
 
Hi Kelly,
I saw that show last year, and it really intrigued me. Now that you have reminded me, I will have to review the show.
Roma's will certainly be the tomato of choice because of their low water content. May I suggest you do a little bit of research on sun-dried tomatoes. Like Bruce suggested I would imagine you want the temperature high enough to start the water evaporation, without blistering the tomato skin. Now that I think of it, the comparison to smoking jalapeno's would probably be very similar to smoking tomatoes.
Fruit wood's would probably compliment the tomatoes, then again I smoke Jalapeno's with a light hickory smoke. I'm from the school, whatever is most available is what gets used the most.

Jim
 
Good idea Jim, to do some research. I was hoping the guy on the show would tell us the temperature he smoked them at, and for how long. Guess he wants us to buy HIS tomatoes. Hmmmm..... now there's an idea -- buy his, make my own, and do a comparison! Gosh, "research" is fun.

Kelly
 
Kelly,
Here is the website for the Smoked Tomatoes from the food network show.
Boggycreek
He smokes them for 5 days, so needless to say, he is very low in temperature. I don't see a place to mail order these from. But they certainly have some items I would be very interested in tasting.

Jim
 
A friend saw that show and convinced me to experiment with smoking/drying plum tomatoes. Here's what works best for me.

Slice them in half lengthways and scoop out the little bit of seeds and tomato snot inside. To help speed the drying process, put them cut side down on paper towels for a couple of hours. A light sprinkling of kosher salt on the cut side also helps draw out moisture without affecting the flavor.

I bring the WSM up to low jerky temperature (about 150) with about a one pound coffee can of lump. The tomatoes go on the grates cut side down and perpendicular to the grate since they will shrivel as they dry. Smoke for several hours until they become leathery.

I get sufficient “smokiness” from just the lump so I haven’t tried other woods for flavor.

So far, I’ve found the best use for smoked tomatoes is adding them to salsa. They add a layer of smoky complexity as well as absorbing excess moisture as they rehydrate.

They can also be dried until they crumble. The tomatoes can then be ground and used in rubs and in a chili spice mix.

Looking forward to hearing what others do with dried romas.
 
I didn't see the show, but coincidentally I've recently been thinking that smoking the vegetables (tomatoes, onions) before making a BBQ sauce might add a nice smoke flavor without needing to use liquid smoke. I don't know if it would really taste any better, so I wanted to do a taste test. Has anyone tried this? I imagine you wouldn't really try to dry out the tomatoes for it.

--Mick
 
Something to think about is "grilling" onions, peppers, tomatoes to use in making sauces, salsas, etc. The "charring" flavor adds a great dimension. If using a wood fire even better.
 
Jim, thanks for the link. Ken, thanks for the info (and I love the term "tomato snot"). I never did get around to experimenting with this, but I think I will one of these weekends.

Kelly
 
Kelly,

Thanks. I couldn't think of a more pleasant sounding term that would as accurately describe that viscous liquid surrounding the seeds. Besides, I think it's the perfect counterpoint to the snobbery of my "smoky complexity" term used elsewhere in the post. Life is all about maintaining balance!

Hope no delicate sensibilities were offended.

Please post what your experiments come up with.

Ken - Ready for a long weekend without a five hour drive to a contest.
 
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