I originally posted this in rec.food.cooking and it was recommended that I
repost it here, but that I should be careful because you guys get a lot of
trolls from Vegetarians. I can assure you I have no attention of trolling
your group. I'm simply looking to tap the expertise of this group for some
advice on using my smoker grill now that I'm trying to give up meat.

I'm not a Strict vegetarian, nor would I come into this group to tell
others how or what to eat. I just choose not to eat meat due to my own
personal beliefs. It's a practice I struggle with greatly. :P

Hell, my friend gave me 5 Venison steaks last week and I have every
intention of eating them. I just choose to go veg. 9 days out of 10. I
already ate one of the steaks. I make my own Jalapeno Wine and marinated
one of the steaks in the wine with some onions and various spices. It was
probably the best steak I've every had! I used the left over marinate to
make a spicy gravy that went GREAT with the venison! It was unbelievable!
I'm not a big steak fan but HOLY CRAP was this good!!

Oh, that brings up another question: Do you think wood chips soaked in the
Jalapeno Wine would produce a Jalapeno Flavored smoke? What about a pan of
the Jalapeno Wine in the smoker? Would that instill a "smokey jalapeno
flavor" into whatever I'm smoking? I'm new to this so I figured I'd rely on
the expertise of this group before wasting a bottle of my Jalapeno Wine (it
takes 6 months to make a batch) on an experiment.

Anyway, Here is my original post from rec.food.cooking (Thanks for
reading):


Hello,

My brother (who recently died from cancer) tricked me into buying a small
smoker grill last year. He asked me to pick him up a smoker grill from K-
mart that was on clearance. It can be used 4 ways. Grill, Smoker, broiler
and something else that I can't quite remember off hand. When I arrived at
his house with the grill he was already assembling HIS grill!

I said, "WTF?!?! You asked me to pick this up for you!"

His response was: "yea, I knew you wouldn't buy one for yourself if I had
just asked you to"

The smoker grill was for sale for only 20 bucks! Normally like $150 It was
one of the BEST purchases I've ever made! And he was RIGHT! I wouldn't have
purchased it had he not tricked me into buying it!

Anyway, he taught me ALOT about smoking meat. What types of wood to use for
the type of meat. Apple wood works best with pork. Oak for this type of
meat. Certain types of wood for smoking fish. etc.......

I've recently been trying to become a vegetarian (since new years) but
STILL want to use my smoker. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on
Smoked Veggies meals? Skewers? Smoked Fajitas? Anything? and if so, what
kind of wood should be used? I'm assuming one should use a more mild wood,
like apple or cherry to smoke vegetables. Oak seems to be a "universal"
wood when smoking meat. Cherry seems to be a bit bitter for veggies. So
what wood should one use to smoke vegies?

I've looked all over the WWW but can only find matchings for woods/meat or
seafood. Not much out there for types of wood and smoked veggies.

Smoked Potatoes
Smoked Corn on the cob
Smoked Veggie Medley's

It has to be possible, and probably takes much less time than smoking meat.


Any other grilled veggie recipes would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, I'm looking forward to some responses!

Robert

Oh Great!

I just hit refresh on my newsreader and see that my post is right after
someone trolling about vegetarians.

Please don't let that hinder any responses to my original post.

Like I said, I'm trying to be a vegetarian for my own reasons, but I'm NOT
here to inconvenience others by trolling their newsgroup.

I might agree with some of these trolls, but don't feel it's my purpose in
life to irritate others with my beliefs.

Anyway, thanks for any forthcoming responses. I'm looking forward to them.


Robert

Have you checked the FAQ, it's chock full of recipes, not just meat either:
http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/

Here are recipe archives:
http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/bbq-recipe-archive/
(scroll to the bottom)

But to answer your question, I don't believe that what you intend would do
much to add any flavor to the smoke. McIlhenny Tabasco and Jack Daniels
(Bourbon) barrells are also sold as cooking wood and the consensus is, don't
bother. So if barrells steeped years in whatever pungent stuff you name dont
inpart much of anything......
--

"Duwop" > wrote in
:

> Have you checked the FAQ, it's chock full of recipes, not just meat
> either: http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/
>
> Here are recipe archives:
> http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/bbq-recipe-archive/
> (scroll to the bottom)
>
> But to answer your question, I don't believe that what you intend
> would do much to add any flavor to the smoke. McIlhenny Tabasco and
> Jack Daniels (Bourbon) barrells are also sold as cooking wood and the
> consensus is, don't bother. So if barrells steeped years in whatever
> pungent stuff you name dont inpart much of anything......


Thanks for the response. I'll have to check out the FAQ. I've been browsing
this group for a couple days but didn't see a link before.

Thanks again.

I agree with Duwop about not wasting your wine on wood chips or in a water
pan.

I think you may be confusing the term "smoking" with "grilling." Most of us
grill veggies, but not many smoke them, other than jalapenos or other
peppers to make chipotle.
You can grill just about anything. Tomatoes, asparagus, squash,
cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant and fruits, too. Pineapples, bananas...just
about anything.
With the veggies, either marinate them or just coat with olive oil/S&P and
grill until done. Doesn't take much time and the biggest challenge is
keeping them from falling through the grill. Buy a grill wok and that'll
make it much easier.
Experiment - there's no right and wrong, just what tastes good.

Jack Curry

Hell, I like your honesty, and welcome. I have a hard time with the Vegan
trolls and it has gotten to me at times, but I believe is eating, period.
Grilled Veggies are awesome, so listen up to the suggestions you get. They
will be worthwhile.
We like to;
Drizzle olive oil on the veggies of choice add S&P maybe one other spice
depending on your main course. Grill as Jack said in a top loading grill
wok.

--
Bruce-n-Gold Beach
Ol' Hippie®

In article 2>, Robert
> wrote:

<snip>
> Oh, that brings up another question: Do you think wood chips soaked in the
> Jalapeno Wine would produce a Jalapeno Flavored smoke? What about a pan of
> the Jalapeno Wine in the smoker? Would that instill a "smokey jalapeno
> flavor" into whatever I'm smoking? I'm new to this so I figured I'd rely on
> the expertise of this group before wasting a bottle of my Jalapeno Wine (it
> takes 6 months to make a batch) on an experiment.
>

On the up&up and treating you as 'not troll'......

Flavored wood chips and water pan additives are pretty much useless.

Some may have palates that can detect such minute (really really
minute) seasonings but I can't.
Jalapeno wine? Haven't heard of that but I have had peppered-up beer
(notably Cave Creek Chili Beer -recommended)
Use your brew in your marinade-don't waste it on wood or waterpans.
Veggies are suitable for smoking as well. Potatoes smoked then
casseroled are great and tomatoes smoke pretty well.
I've also lo-n-slo'ed eggplant, onions and garlic with mixed appeal.
If you have left over jalapenos they take smoke really well. BBQ'd
jalapenos are the thing for cheese dip.....

monroe(check our FAQ)

Hey Robert,
Welcome to the group. I've got a cookbook called Sublime smoke and it
includes a few smoked vegetable recipes. Things they suggest are
eggplant, potatoes,sweet potatoes, onions, leeks, corn, bell peppers,
tomatoes, squash, apples, mushrooms, beans. The smoked apples with honey
mustard in particular look interesting as did the smoked tomato pasta
sauce. So it's possible, I'd suggest seeing if your library has the
book, or the discount book rack. I got mine half off at book discounter.

Seattlejo

"Jack Curry" <Jack-Curry deletethis @cfl.rr.com> wrote in
. com:

> I agree with Duwop about not wasting your wine on wood chips or in a
> water pan.
>
> I think you may be confusing the term "smoking" with "grilling." Most
> of us grill veggies, but not many smoke them, other than jalapenos or
> other peppers to make chipotle.
> You can grill just about anything. Tomatoes, asparagus, squash,
> cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant and fruits, too. Pineapples,
> bananas...just about anything.
> With the veggies, either marinate them or just coat with olive oil/S&P
> and grill until done. Doesn't take much time and the biggest
> challenge is keeping them from falling through the grill. Buy a grill
> wok and that'll make it much easier.
> Experiment - there's no right and wrong, just what tastes good.
>
> Jack Curry
>
>

Actually I wasn't confusing "smoking" with "grilling", I just fell in love
with my smoker grill and want to continue using it even though I'm trying
to do the vegetarian thing. I have grilled plenty of vegetables in my life.
I was just wondering if I could still use my smoker and get some decent
results while abstaining from meat. Potatoes, Corn on the cob, eggplants,
peppers, something? what types of wood to use, etc...

A couple people brought up smoking Peppers for Chipotle Sauce. What kind of
wood should one use for that? I also grow my own peppers too. Orange
Habaneros (the hottest pepper in the world), Thai Hots which are VERY hot
and the HEAT lasts forever! the Thai hots are tiny little red peppers that
will kill you!!! but they have a MUCH better flavor than any other hot
pepper out there. I'm considering making wine out of them too. The Jalapeno
Wine was SUCH a HUGE success that I just have to try something HOTTER! I'm
also considering making Garlic Wine and Onion Wine. Keep in mind all of
these are for Cooking, BBQing etc... Too be honest, having all these wines
to make makes it quite difficult to be a vegetarian! I suppose I could
baste some Veggie Skewers with them, but when I 'sample' the wine I'm
always SOOOOOO tempted to try the wine with other meats. I have had my best
results with the Jalapeno Wine as a marinade for Venison, Pork Chops, Filet
Mignon, and Carp. I have had TRUELY Amazing results with that wine, I just
can't seem to incorporate it into the vegetarian/grilling lifestyle.



Thanks again for the response! I appreciate it!

Robert