With tomato season upon us, I thought I'd give smoked tomatoes a try.
We used Roma tomatoes, cut end to end, with a little garlic powder and black pepper. My wife suggested we score the underside, so we tried one tray that way. It was the thing to do -- that tray dried out much more than the other.
Two hours of Oak, followed by 14 hours at 135F. You gotta love the Auber! Now they are going into the regular dehydrator to be finished off.
The tray without the scoring:
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/2011-09-20_10-51-01_250.jpg)
The tray with the scoring:
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/2011-09-20_10-50-29_226.jpg)
Thats great, they look dried for some winter use. Here is a option I got from a friend (MOM)
" I use the sauce type tomatoes, marzano to be exact. Cut them in half, lay them directly on the grates of the smoker,cut side up. I sometimes add salt and pepper, onions, oregano, fresh garlic etc. I keep the temp about 225-250*, it takes about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. When they are soft they are done. You can eat them like that or put them in the blender and presto you have sauce. Don't use a harsh wood chip, I like apple, cherry maple whatever we have thats on the light side."
great idea!
Quote from: Keymaster on September 20, 2011, 05:21:06 PM
Thats great, they look dried for some winter use. Here is a option I got from a friend (MOM)
" I use the sauce type tomatoes, marzano to be exact. Cut them in half, lay them directly on the grates of the smoker,cut side up. I sometimes add salt and pepper, onions, oregano, fresh garlic etc. I keep the temp about 225-250*, it takes about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. When they are soft they are done. You can eat them like that or put them in the blender and presto you have sauce. Don't use a harsh wood chip, I like apple, cherry maple whatever we have thats on the light side."
Thanks, Keymaster. I got the idea of drying tomatoes from an article in the Toronto Star last weekend, and they did say to use the oven at 200F. After reading some stuff about dehydrating, I ignored that because 140F seemed to be the way to go. They went into the dehydrator around noon and just came out at 11:30pm and are really great but not yet done. Way too long.
I think your way will be great and will try it when I have smoker space. I did use oak which worked out very well. Two hours was bang on.
FYI to everyone: I tried one of the tomatoes all by itself (to test of course) and then took a sip of a Liebfraumilch (German white wine) I was already drinking. AMAZING!!!!
Rich
Ah ha! Just the info I was after - great :)
I have gone the other way and dried down my tomatoe halves in my dehydrator - not too much - but enough to make the cut surfaces nice and dry for the smoke to stick to....(fingers crossed it works)
Then I will vacuum bag them and freeze - to use in recipes for my homemade tomatoe sauce (ketchup) and soup..
Do u think they would be ok to use in a salsa too...?
I ended up drying my toms down for a few hrs in the dehydrator (cos' apparently smoke sticks better to drier things...?)
I also didn't want to cook mine - so I then cold smoked them for 1.5 hrs in alder...they turned out lovely! Yum.
I mashed up a couple in a bowl of my homemade tomatoe soup, to try them - was very happy with the result.
Looking forward to trying the sugar n herbs like u Smokeville.
This batch is now frozen and ready to add to recipes - but I would like some different ones to eat out-of-hand or in nibblies or such...? I will try apple wood next time...
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Foodlover2/Smokedtoms.jpg)
They look great!! I have never tried that before.
Anyone have any other uses for them besides soup, sauce, and salsa?
I bet they would be excellent in hot salsa.
Just an added thought... I added some halved jalapenos to the smoker along with the tomatoes. Great combination for salsa!
Quote from: Georgia Chad on January 13, 2012, 06:46:53 AM
They look great!! I have never tried that before.
Anyone have any other uses for them besides soup, sauce, and salsa?
I bet they would be excellent in hot salsa.
You can use them in any recipe calling for sundried tomatoes.