smoking fruit


 
Michael G. (Canada Mike)

Michael G. (Canada Mike)

TVWBB All-Star
A friend of mine is a mixologist. He want to smoke some peaches and some pears to puree for cocktails he's playing with. He's using a gasser and a chip box, indirect heat. I've suggested trying hickory or alder, and he also got some whiskey barrel chips too.

Any suggestions? ideas as to length of smoking? split the fruit? skin side up or down?

Thanks,
Canada Mike
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Michael G.:
A friend of mine is a mixologist. He want to smoke some peaches and some pears to puree for cocktails he's playing with. He's using a gasser and a chip box, indirect heat. I've suggested trying hickory or alder, and he also got some whiskey barrel chips too.

Any suggestions? ideas as to length of smoking? split the fruit? skin side up or down?

Thanks,
Canada Mike </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ok, I'll start this one.
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Well there's a few issues here. First, fruit is very porus, so be easy on the smoke. Alder only, as Hickory is way too strong for this application.
Next is the skin. If not using it in the drink, it would be easier to remove it before smoking than post smoking.
Time, not long if you still want the fruit to taste like fruit. This whole thing is going to be trial and error till you get it dialed in. Start with one hour max and go from there. Take very detailed notes, as in times, temps, amount of charcoal used, lit and un-lit, amount of smoke wood, etc. and adjust as needed to reach what you are looking for.
I'd go for more of a cold smoke like you were smoking cheese to start with. HTH
 
I'd say a light hit of oak might be nice. I find it provides some vanilla notes that would compliment the fruit. plus things like whiskey already have oak notes to go with the smoked fruits.

another suggestion might be cinnamon bark. I find big bags of it at an Indian spice market for 2 bucks. It has an amazing aroma when it burns and adds an exotic flavor to meats.

IMO this is something that would be hard to get right. My experience is that most people don't like the taste of smoke. It would be tough to have it there and just in a complimentary role.

One more suggestion: have him look into the smoking gun from polyscience. Its a tool geared towards these kinds of applications where you are applying a small amount of smoke flavoring to a small amount of food in a controlled situation. And with that you could try smoking hard spices (allspice, cinnamon, clove) and experimenting with how they flavor the fruit.
 
J Pavone,

I've had success smoking tomatoes - just smoke them like you're roasting them, so 1 hour at 300 or whatever gets you to the texture you're looking for.

I will say that a sandwich I made with melted cheddar, 2 over easy eggs, bacon and a smoked tomato was the best egg sandwich I've ever had.
 
I'm not to sure how this one will work out. A smoky flavor I would think would pair well with bourbon, scotch, pretty much any whiskey. But those are the types of beverages that I like to drink straight. You never know. Gives me an idea for a dessert though.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
Alder only, as Hickory is way too strong for this application. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would think a fruit wood.....


............sorry, could not resist.....but seriously, some cherry or apple or pear wood???
 
I know it's not "smoking" but maybe a drop or two of Liquid Smoke to the puree would achieve the desired results.

Sacrilege, I know...just my $.02
 
I'm still scratching my head over this one to be honest. One thing to add to the above, put the smoke wood on and let the acrid white cloud burn off before you add the fruit so that it gets smoked in just a thin blue smoke.

I have a feeling regardless of your smoke media it's going to come across very strong ultimately. I think I'd start with only 30 min sessions.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j. pavone:
Would the same apply to veggies? A friend had asked about tomatoes and how long would you leave them on? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
j, another option for the toms.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Don Irish:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
Alder only, as Hickory is way too strong for this application. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would think a fruit wood.....


............sorry, could not resist.....but seriously, some cherry or apple or pear wood??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If he didn't have alder, then yes to the fruit woods. Alder is a very mild smoke wood. You would really have to go wild on the amount to over-smoke something with alder wood. Another great choice, maybe the best choice for smoking fruit would be grape vines, as they are very mild as well. Harder to get, but would make a great smoke wood for the fruit.
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