While smokers are known for their ability to turn everyday proteins into barbecue ambrosia, they can also be used to vastly improve your favorite fruits or veggies.
With recipe options like smoked peach and jalapeno chutney, slow-smoked street corn, or these Italian Style Smoked Tomatoes, adding a little smokey flavor to your veggies is a great way to step up the flavor of your food.
Smoke the tomatoes for 20 to 30 minutes. They will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Smoke the marinated tomatoes.
With the smoker preheated and tomatoes marinated, its time to get down to some cooking.
Open the lid to your smoker and carefully arrange the tomatoes on the grill grates. You can line the grates with tin foil if youre using more petite tomatoes or smoke the tomatoes on a metal sheet tray to keep all the juices; eat if youre planning to turn which can be gr the tomatoes into a sauce.
Smoke the tomatoes for around 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and taken on a lovely smoky flavor.
Smoking tomatoes is less of a science and more of an art, so make sure to monitor them closely so you can pull them out at just the right time.
Start with great tomatoes.
You want to use ripe but not overripe tomatoes for this recipe. Tomatoes that are too ripe or juicy will break down quickly in the smoker and yield a less than optimal finished product.
You can use whatever tomatoes you have access to, but there are a few varieties that wont work quite as well in your smoker. Smaller types like cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes arent well suited to the smoker. Their higher than average water content means that they will break down further than other tomatoes,s and their smaller size means you can only cook them for a very short time.
Using larger varieties like beefsteak tomatoes, Roma/plum tomatoes, Hanover tomatoes, or larger heirloom varieties means youll end up with much better-smoked tomatoes overall.
Youll want to keep your smoker at 200°f or slightly warmer, but not above 225°f during the smoking process.
You can smoke your tomatoes at a higher temperature, but youll need to reduce the time in the smoker to make sure they retain their structural integrity.
Unlike other smoked items that take a longer time to cook, your smoker should be completely preheated when you put the tomatoes in. Longer proteins like pork butt, or brisket, can go in a less than perfectly preheated smoker without issue, as they will cook for so long, it really doesnt affect the finished product that much.
If you put your tomatoes in too early, theres a good chance they will cook unevenly or acquire off-flavors from the incomplete combustion of the smoking wood. For the best tasting smoked tomatoes possible, make sure to let your smoker preheat fully before starting to cook. If youre not sure if the bbq thermometer on your smoker is accurate, consider investing in a quality meat thermometer to help monitor your pit temp.
Go ahead and use whatever flavor wood you like for this recipe. We recommend lighter woods, like oak or applewood, for veggies and more delicate meats, but you can use whatever wood suits your tastes.
While your smoker is preheating, prep your tomatoes so that once the smoker is up to temp, youre ready to go!
While your smoker is preheating, you can prepare the tomatoes, so theyll be ready to go the moment your smoker hits that ideal temperature.
You can half or quarter the tomatoes to prepare them, depending on the size. If possible, you want to maintain a larger size for your smoked tomatoes but also not keep them whole. By cutting the tomato, you increase the surface area and break the skin barrier allowing the smoke to permeate the vegetable fully.
Keep the tomatoes about the size of a golf ball, and theyll stand up to the heat and smoke long enough to create a delicious smoked tomato flavor.
Once youve halved or quartered your tomatoes, depending on size, go ahead and marinate them in the olive oil, salt/pepper/garlic rub, and the fresh basil.
You can leave the tomatoes at room temperature while your smoker preheats, but dont let them sit too long as they will begin to lose moisture from the salt in the rub!
Italian Style Smoked Tomatoes
FAQ
How do you preserve smoked tomatoes?
Can I freeze smoked tomatoes?
Can you cold smoke tomatoes?
What is the shelf life of tomatoes?