We’re here to tell you that smokers aren’t just for making delicious, melt-in-your-mouth barbecue. However, if you’re just learning how to use your smoker or pit, we recommend you get comfortable smoking meats on it before you do anything else.
If you are tired of smoking meats and ready for a bigger challenge, then get ready, set, smoke!
Cheese
Everybody loves cheese because not only is it tasty – but there are so many different ways you can use it in the kitchen or on the grill. Cheese can be smoked too – yes we said smoked – but it is a food that needs to be cold smoked.
What do we mean by that? Well, cold smoking means that the temperature MUST be 90 degrees or less, that way you don’t melt the cheese. You can cold smoke cheese such as Havarti, Swiss, Colby, Mozzarella, Provolone, Jarlsburg, Gouda and Stilton.
We recommend that you smoke cheese during the fall or winter season – it would be hard to keep the internal temperature below 80 degrees when the weather is 90 degrees or more.
Nuts
Nuts are one of those things that you can place in the smoker and forget about for a few hours. We recommend that you soak the nuts in water and salt – or brine – for a few hours before smoking them. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can find some recipes online for different spice mixtures.
Did someone say hot and spicy cajun nuts?
Vegetables
Vegetables smoke well when the temperature is at least 250 degrees. Any wood that pairs well with meat will pair well with vegetables so if you already have the smoker going with some meat – toss in your veggies!
You can also cold smoke vegetables – which can be used in salsas, relishes or slaws. Cold smoking the vegetables gives them the smoky flavor we have all come to love but still allows the vegetables to retain their natural color.
So the next time you crank up your smoker, don’t be afraid to try and smoke something new!
