Alright, so I got this itch recently. Been doing a lot of ribs, brisket, the usual stuff on my smoker. Love it, don’t get me wrong. But I started wondering, what else can this thing do? Specifically, stuff that didn’t used to walk or swim.
Heard folks talking about smoking veggies and cheese, even tofu. Sounded kinda weird, kinda interesting. Figured, why not give it a shot? Nothing to lose except maybe a block of cheese and some dignity.
First Attempt: The Veggies
So, Saturday rolls around. I decided to start simple. Grabbed some bell peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms. The usual suspects for grilling, right? I chopped ’em up kinda chunky, tossed ’em in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Basic stuff.
Fired up my trusty smoker. I used apple wood chips this time, thought it might be milder for the veggies. Didn’t want to overpower them right off the bat. Aimed for a lower temp, maybe around 225°F (that’s about 107°C for you folks across the pond). Spread the veggies out on a wire rack, figured that’d let the smoke get all around them.
Put them in. Then waited. Checked on them maybe after 45 minutes. They were getting soft, smelling pretty good, smoky. Gave them a little stir. Left them in for probably another 30 minutes or so? Honestly, I was just winging it, going by look and feel.
Pulled them out. The color was nice, a little bit darker. The smell was fantastic – smoky but still fresh somehow. Taste? Pretty darn good! The smoke flavor was definitely there, not too strong. Way better than just plain roasted veggies. The zucchini got a little mushy, gotta watch that next time. Maybe cut it thicker or pull it sooner. But the peppers and onions? Awesome.
Next Up: The Cheese Experiment
Okay, veggies were a win. Felt brave. Decided to try cheese. Heard this could be tricky ’cause, well, melt factor. Got a block of sharp cheddar and some mozzarella.
This time, I knew I needed cold smoking. Basically, smoke without the heat. My smoker isn’t really set up for true cold smoking easily. So, my workaround? Waited for the smoker to cool down quite a bit after the veggies. Kept the temp really low, like under 90°F (around 32°C). Used a smoke tube filled with pellets to generate smoke without much heat. Again, apple wood.
Put the cheese blocks on a rack. Left them in there. This felt weirder than the veggies. Just leaving cheese in smoke. Checked it after an hour. It looked okay, not sweating too much. Decided to give it another hour.
Took them out after about 2 hours total. The cheddar had a nice light tan color from the smoke. Mozzarella, less so. Let them sit wrapped in butcher paper in the fridge overnight – heard that helps the smoke flavor mellow out and soak in.
The next day, busted them out. Sliced some cheddar. Whoa. Smoky! Really good smoky flavor, mingled with the sharp cheese taste. Success! The mozzarella was milder, still nice, but the cheddar was the star.
- Things I learned:
- Low and slow is key for veggies, but watch the softer ones.
- Cheese needs actual cold smoke, or as close as you can get. Patience is required.
- Wrapping cheese after smoking and letting it rest is crucial. Don’t skip that.
So yeah, smoking non-meat stuff? Totally works. It’s different, requires a bit of fiddling, especially with temperatures and times. But the results? Pretty cool. Definitely gonna try some smoked nuts next, maybe some tofu just to see what happens. It’s fun messing around with the smoker this way.
