What are the best Cajun smoked Veggies?
Real connoisseurs of Cajun smoked meats are not only meat or fish, but even vegetables, cheese and mushrooms! In this post, we have compiled a list of seemingly surprising Cajun vegetables that, nevertheless, can also be smoked into an excellent dish.
Check out our Cajun cooking terms if you need help with cutting and preparing your Cajun cuisine.
Cajun Smoked Mushrooms
Cajun smoked mushrooms will be an excellent addition to various Cajun dishes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve as a cold snack.
Stuffed Cajun Smoked Mushrooms
To cook stuffed Cajun smoked mushrooms, you need to take medium-sized fresh mushrooms, fill them with any minced meat that you like and smoke for about half an hour, then let it stand under the lid for another 5 minutes, and you can serve it to the table.
Smoked Cajun Red Bell Pepper
Before you smoke the pepper, you need to fry it, then remove the seeds and the toasted peppers. Leave in the smokehouse for 20-25 minutes, and then let sit under the lid for 5 minutes.
Smoked Cajun Onion
Cut the onion into quarters or slices, heat it in the microwave for three minutes. Then put in foil and smoke for 20 minutes, then leave to settle under the lid for another 5 minutes.
Smoked Cajun Tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes in two, pepper and salt, and then smoke for about 20-30 minutes, after which we leave under the lid for another 5 minutes.
Smoked Corn
Remove the leaves from the corn cob. Before smoking, corn must be pre-processed. For that, you can leave it in the microwave for 2 minutes or boil in boiling water for 3 minutes. Smoke the corn for 20-30 minutes, and then leave it covered for 5 minutes.
Try Cajun smoked vegetables to diversify your diet with healthy and tasty foods. You can smoke almost any vegetables you like. At the same time, they will retain all the necessary vitamins, acquire a completely unusual piquant taste and mouth-watering aroma. Such smoked corn can be used as a side dish, appetizers, or added to various salads.
Smoked Pepper Cajun Style
Homemade Cajun smoked peppers have an exquisite taste and bright aroma. It can be used as a standalone snack or as an addition to fish or meat dishes. Preparing such a pepper is very simple.
Ingredients:
- Red bell pepper with dense pulp – 1 pound,
- Any vegetable oil – 1-2 tablespoons,
- Garlic – 2 cloves,
- A mixture of herbs (Italian or Provencal) – 1 tsp,
- Optionally – salt.
Preparation:
Wash the pepper thoroughly, then dry with a paper towel.
Prepare the marinade. Mix oil, spices, and chopped garlic. Coat each pepper with the resulting mixture. For convenience, you can use a brush.
Spread a layer of wood chips evenly on the bottom of the smoker. Oak chips or any fruit chips will do. To help the chips burn out more slowly and provide a thick smoke, sprinkle it lightly with water.
Place a dripping pan over the chips. Place the food rack and place the peppers on it.
Put the smoker on fire. Smoke the peppers over low heat for 7 minutes. Then you need to turn them over to the other side and hold them in the smokehouse for another 7 minutes.
Then the pepper must be removed from the smokehouse and ventilated in the fresh air for about half an hour. After that, the smoked bell pepper is ready to eat.
Cold Smoked Zucchini Cajun Style
Ingredients:
- Zucchini (young) – 2 pounds,
- Vinegar – 1 cup,
- Water – 6 cups,
- Black pepper, salt – to taste,
- Garlic – 2-3 cloves.
Preparation:
Wash the zucchini, dry with paper towels, cut into two equal parts lengthwise.
In a container, mix cold water with vinegar. Place zucchini in the resulting marinade, leave to marinate for 7-8 hours.
Remove the vegetables from the marinade, blot with a napkin, rub with a mixture of pepper and salt on both sides.
Place the zucchini in a cold smoked smokehouse. Smoke at a temperature of 25 ⁰С for at least 10 hours. You can serve smoked zucchini with fish and meat dishes or in addition to other vegetables.
Smoked Tomatoes Cajun Style
You will need:
- Tomatoes, preferably the same size -2 pounds;
- Salt, pepper – taste;
- Thyme – 1 tsp.
Preparation:
The tomatoes must be washed, dried and cut into thick slices (about ½ inch). Season with salt and sprinkle.
Place wood chips previously soaked in water at the bottom of the smokehouse. Alder, oak, fruit chips are suitable.
Cover the chips with foil, punctured in several places or install a special tray for liquid.
Install the grate, put prepared tomatoes on it. Put the smokehouse on fire, cover with a lid.
Smoke tomatoes over low heat for 35-40 minutes. That’s it, the tomatoes are ready to eat. They are tasty both hot and cold.
Smoking Eggplant Cajun Style
Smoked eggplants in Cajun style can be served as a stand-alone snack by sprinkling with grated garlic or cheese on top. And also combine them with other smoked vegetables.
You will need:
- 3-4 eggplants,
- Salt,
- a mixture of herbs,
- ground black pepper,
- vegetable oil – 1 – 2 tablespoons.
Preparation:
Eggplants should be washed, cut into thick slices. Salt generously and leave for 30-40 minutes.
Then soak for 15 minutes in cool water. Remove from water, dry them with a towel, pour with oil, season with spices.
Place 100 g of fruit chips (apple, cherry, pear, sweet cherry) in the smokehouse. Place the eggplants on a wire rack, cover the smoker and put it on fire.
Smoke vegetables at a temperature of 90-100 ° C for 50-60 minutes. You can serve eggplants right after cooking.
Smoked Onion Cajun Style
For the preparation of smoked onions, you do not need to add any spices and seasonings. Onions must be peeled, washed, cut into large slices.
Put the onion on a wire rack for smoking food, put the smoker on the fire. Smoke for 20 minutes at a temperature of 90-110 ⁰С. Chips for smoking are best taken from oak or alder.
The ready-made onion will perfectly complement vegetable salads and meat dishes.
Assorted Smoked Vegetables Cajun Style
In addition to smoking vegetables separately, you can try making a great snack – a vegetable platter. To do this, you need to take your favorite vegetables, for example: tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, bell peppers.
Wash and dry the vegetables. Divide cabbage into inflorescences, cut tomatoes, onions and bell peppers into small slices. String the vegetables on long skewers, like kebabs, grease with oil (vegetable) and place in the smokehouse. Close the smoker lid after sprinkling the soaked wood chips on the coals
Smoke the assortment on fruit chips for 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 90-100 ⁰С. Then the vegetable snack is ready to eat.
You can serve a smoked platter with fish and meat dishes along side the vegetable snack.
Smoked Plum Tomatoes Cajun Style
You will need:
- 8-10 plum tomatoes,
- Cut in half and peeled from seeds
- 4 sprigs of rosemary or thyme
- Coarse salt
- freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp.
- hickory chips,
- disposable round cake tins (size according to how many tomatoes you are going to smoke)
Preparation:
Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Divide the herbs into disposable tins, then lay the tomatoes cut down. Once the grill has warmed up to 120 degrees, place the tomato tins on the cooler side. Close the lid and let the tomatoes smoke for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
If you are using a gas grill, extinguish the flame and leave the tomatoes covered for another 10 minutes (this will add more flavor. This is not necessary when using a charcoal grill). Remove tomatoes from grill and serve hot or at room temperature.
Smoked Ripe Red Pepper Cajun Style
For the preparation of smoked pepper, only ripe red peppers are used; it is left on the bushes for as long as possible so that it loses most of its moisture. Peppers are smoked carefully, which gives it an unusual taste and aroma with hints of tobacco and even chocolate. Smoked peppers are used to make sauces, such as molé, salsa, add when stewing meat and vegetables, and also for making soups.
Smoked Green Bell Pepper Cajun Style
Pour a good handful of wood chips into a portable smoker, put green bell pepper on the grill not very tightly and over the fire. You need to smoke on high heat for about 30 minutes, while controlling the process. Since the heat is high, you may have to turn your peppers to the other side, it all depends on the design of the smoker itself.
So, what is it eaten with?
Smoked pepper is primarily used for grilling sauces; it goes well with all dishes cooked over an open fire, both with meat and fish. Believe me, lovers of spicy food will not remain indifferent and will be delighted with the unusual taste of smoked pepper.
How and with what to serve Cajun smoked pepper
Smoked pepper is not considered as an independent dish – pepper is used as a side dish. It is used to give a special taste and aroma to various dishes, sauces, and marinades.
To prepare it at home, you need to mix pepper with sour cream and garlic in a blender. Instead of sour cream, you can use cream cheese, and add chili sauce for flavor. Ready seasoning is good to serve with meat or poultry. Smoked pepper can be added to various dishes from meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables. This spice gives the products a piquancy, a natural aroma of smoke and a specific taste.
Smoked pepper is also used for making marinades, added to broths, burgers, and pizza. This pepper is even used for making drinks, such as spicy coffee. Smoked pepper can be chopped. It turns out as a smoked seasoning that can be added to all kinds of dishes. The advantage of the product in this form is the convenience of transportation, storage, and use. This method is actively used on an industrial scale.
Useful properties, nutritional value of the product
Even heat treatment of pepper does not deprive it of its beneficial properties. This is ensured by the content of the following elements in the product: ascorbic acid; vitamin PP; B vitamins: riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, selenium, magnesium, and calcium.
Such a composition provides the following useful properties of the product:
- improvement of the digestive process,
- lowering cholesterol levels,
- diabetes prevention,
- acceleration of metabolic processes,
- positive effect on the cardiovascular system,
- lowering blood pressure,
- strengthening immunity,
- Prevention of oncological diseases.
Smoked Mushrooms Cajun Style
Pickled, salted, and fried mushrooms in Cajun style are widely used in the culinary business to prepare various dishes. But smoked mushrooms in Cajun style have a particularly piquant taste. This product will add flavor to any appetizer or salad. It will also serve as an excellent side dish. It is very easy to prepare this delicacy yourself. This will require fresh mushrooms, some spices, and a mini smoker.
Preparing mushrooms for smoking in Cajun style
You can smoke any fresh mushrooms that you like. These can be store mushrooms or oyster mushrooms. Forest mushrooms will turn out to be very tasty: noble ceps, chanterelles, aspen mushrooms and etc. The main thing is that they are safe and fresh.
Before cooking, the mushrooms need to be washed. Do not leave them in water for a long time so that they do not absorb excess moisture. It is best to rinse quickly under running water and dry immediately with a paper towel.
You can smoke mushrooms in various ways. Choose the recipe that suits you best and get down to the fun process.
Smoked Porcini Mushrooms
Cut the prepared porcini mushrooms into thin slices. Put on a baking sheet covered with foil and oiled with vegetable oil. Bake in an oven preheated to 160 ⁰C for 30 minutes, basically until golden brown.
At this time, prepare the smoker. Scatter a small handful of wood chips at the bottom. Place a drip tray over the chips to drain off excess liquid.
Place the mushrooms on the wire rack, season with salt, sprinkle with black and/or red pepper. Close the smokehouse and put on fire. When smoke appears from under the lid, detected after about 10 minutes, the product can then be removed from the smoker.
Mushrooms prepared in this way can be used as a flavoring ingredient for salads or simply in addition to boiled potatoes.
Hot Smoked Champignons
You will need:
- Fresh champignons (small size) – 1 pound.
- Vegetable oil – ¼ cup.
- Salt, a mixture of Provencal herbs, ground black pepper – to the taste.
Preparation:
Wash the champignons, dry, place in a container.
Add oil, spices, mix thoroughly and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours.
Put slightly moistened fruit sawdust (cherry, apple tree) into the smokehouse. Place the mushrooms with their caps down on a wire rack.
Cover the smoker with a lid, pour water into the water seal and put on a lighted fire. Smoke the mushrooms for 40 minutes at a temperature of 80-100⁰С. You can eat smoked meats immediately after cooking.
Smoked Mushroom Cajun Style
You will need:
- Any fresh mushrooms – 2 pounds;
- Sour cream 15% – 150 ml;
- Dill greens – 1 small bunch;
- Chopped herbs – to taste;
- Soy sauce – 70 ml.
Preparation:
Peel, wash, and dry the mushrooms.
Prepare the marinade. Mix sour cream, herbs, spices, soy sauce.
Pour the future smoked meats with the resulting mixture, mix thoroughly, and leave for one hour to marinate.
Place wood chips in the bottom of the smokehouse. Use alder, sweet cherry. You can add a juniper twig. Cover the chips with foil so that the liquid does not fall on the chips when smoking. Otherwise, the dish will taste bitter.
Make a fire. Any wood is suitable for a fire. String the mushrooms on long sticks or skewers, like a shish kebab, place in the smokehouse, cover with a lid. Set the smoker on fire, smoke with hot smoke for 30 minutes.
The dish turns out to be juicy, aromatic, and very tasty. It is recommended to serve such a masterpiece hot, immediately after cooking. Treat yourself, your family, and friends with this unusual dish.
Useful Properties Of Cajun Smoked Vegetables
The biggest advantage of smoked vegetables is the absence of germs. If you are wondering if home smoking is harmful, then take a look at a number of characteristics that confirm the benefits of smoked products:
- Food does not get fatter. Compared to other types of heat treatment, smoking eliminates the addition of additional calories to vegetables.
- In the case of cold smoking of the raw material, vitamins are retained in the final product. Due to the fact that products with this type of smoking do not lend themselves to high temperatures, they retain all vitamins, trace elements, metabolic acids necessary for the human body. Therefore, it is safe to say that cold smoking is healthier than hot.
- Subsequently, hot, or cold smoking products do not irritate the digestive tract. The reason for this is that the raw materials did not interact with other components – water, oil, acids.
- However, there are both benefits and harms of smoked products, because the raw materials are still processed.