Can I Smoke Cajun Veggies?
With all the unexpectedness of this approach, smoking Cajun vegetables has been known for a long time; there are many recipes using such products and recipes for smoking Cajun cuisine itself. Cajun vegetables can be processed individually, or along with meat or fish ingredients.
The main condition under which the most favorable result is achieved is knowing the ingredients that go best with the vegetables to be processed. You need to know which types of wood are best flavored, how to marinate correctly before smoking, and other subtleties of the process.
A ready-made smokehouse can be purchased, but often it is designed independently. The main principle of the device is to organize a place in it where the wood material will smolder, as well as a smoking chamber in which smoke permeates the product for an arbitrarily long time. For a homemade smokehouse, any utensil can be used: buckets, metal barrels, and an empty gas cylinder.
Smokehouses are even being built in the ground. All devices have a strictly defined purpose. Those smoking boxes, in which smoldering sawdust and products are located in one container, are intended for hot smoking.
Its characteristic features are:
- high temperature,
- short duration of the process,
- Change in the consistency of the product.
Such a box is heated on a preliminarily made fire, and the sawdust begins to smolder under the influence of high temperature. Inside, sieves or hangers are arranged for placing products. From above, the box must be covered with a lid.
Typically, the smoking temperature in such a smokehouse is 90-120 ° C degrees. It is not easy to regulate it. You have to first make a fire, wait for a while, and then measure the temperature. If it is necessary to change the parameter, then the intensity of the flame must be increased or decreased. Typically, the hot smoking method is used when the range of temperatures suitable for cooking is large.
How To Smoke Cajun Veggies?
For Cajun vegetables, you can use any options for smokers, from real units, to household counterparts and even homemade constructions from pots and cauldrons. The choice depends on the possibilities and imagination. But in all cases, sawdust or chips will be required. It is not necessary to look for a suitable tree, now you can buy ready-made, factory-packaged chips of cut Cajun vegetables.
Before use, you only need to slightly moisten it, or at least the top layer. In this case, the harmful substances contained in the smoke will linger and will not get onto the food.
Cajun vegetables can be smoked in 2 ways:
- By placing them on the wire rack.
- On foil or wrapped in it.
For the first method, the whole vegetables are most often used, without peeling the skin. For smoked vegetables in foil, you can use vegetable spices, the combination of which can be remarkably diverse. The second option allows you to get a fragrant dish, ready to eat.
Whole smoked Cajun vegetables can be used immediately or prepared on their basis of various aromatic snacks, sauces, or side dishes. Almost all types of Cajun vegetables can be used for smoking. The higher the quality of the original product, the tastier and better the result will be.
Some Cajun vegetables can be pre-pickled, seasoned with spices and even oiled. It is not necessary to cook smoked meats from vegetables alone; you can add bacon, mushrooms, any sausages, or meat products.
Cajun vegetables are usually smoked at 70 °C. Note that there are recipes for exclusively hot or cold smoking. However, the indicated temperature is outside these ranges, so a design change is indispensable.
If you have in your arsenal a smokehouse for cold smoking, then you need to shorten the chimney by all available means. The chimney, made in the form of a pit, is blocked by a partition, and the smoking box is moved closer to the firebox.
You can do a test run to measure the temperature in the smoker. It is extremely easy to make a suitable device for smoking Cajun vegetables from a hot smoker. It is enough just to raise it over a kindled fire. But it will not work to change the temperature in large values, because with a sufficiently high rise, the sawdust may not heat up to the desired temperature.
For smoking, choose meaty vegetables with little moisture. The watery vegetables will take much longer to cook.
Smoked Cajun vegetables keep well frozen. Therefore, they can be made for future use, divided into portions, and defrosted when necessary. Of course, they are inferior in taste to a freshly prepared analogue, but they will delight you at any time.
When smoking Cajun vegetables on foil and trays, it is particularly important that the smoke is working from the top. To do this, you need to tightly close the lid, if necessary, cut the load. If gaps remain, then you can wrap the device around the perimeter with foil; some craftsmen use ordinary flour and water dough for tightness.
In order for the sawdust to smoke well, the juice dripping from the products does not delay the process, a tray must be placed under the wire rack. It should be smaller, so that smoke can pass well along the edges. A layer of salt can be poured onto the tray, which will absorb dripping juices.
If you need to smoke the whole tomatoes, a puncture is made in the skin. Otherwise, under the influence of temperature, it will crack in an arbitrary place and the juice will flow out.
Whole vs Cut-up Cajun Veggies
Nutrition scientists consider slicing and chopping fresh vegetables to be procedures that damage plant cells and elicit “wound” responses. Vegetables respond to slicing as a form of stress, the researchers say. Vegetables perceive this along with other forms of stress – high or low temperatures and dehydration.
Of course, the idea that by cutting Cajun vegetables we “hurt” them and damage their structure can sound strange and negative. But do not forget that by chewing them, we injure vegetables even more. But chewing is the natural beginning of the digestive process and helps us feel full. That is why the question is not whether to cut Cajun vegetables or not, but how to do it right and on time!
How To Cut Cajun Vegetables Properly
Dozens of scientific studies on this topic have made it possible to identify several practical recommendations for cutting Cajun vegetables.
Choose The Right Knife
A blunt-blade knife inflicts unwanted and unnecessary damage to vegetables that can be easily avoided. To do this, you need to use a sharp knife. A dull knife will increase the drainage of electrolytes in vegetables (including calcium and potassium) and loss of flavor. Using a knife with a sharp blade will help reduce bacterial growth and avoid excessive softening. But be extremely careful when using a well-sharpened knife!
The smaller the pieces of Cajun vegetables, the faster they will lose color, flavor, texture, moisture, and health benefits. That is actually why you rarely see finely chopped fresh vegetables on sale. This significantly shortens their life after smoking as well.
As a general rule of thumb, the finer you cut your Cajun vegetables, the faster you need to smoke and eat them. For example, pepper sliced an hour before serving will provide more health benefits than slicing and smoking 2-3 hours before serving.
Peel & Chop Veggies Yourself
Agree, the temptation to buy peeled and chopped Cajun vegetables in the store is very great! After all, this saves a lot of time. However, studies show that vegetables processed by the producer are often contaminated with some bacteria.
This applies, for example, to shredded pepper or peeled carrots. These kinds of vegetables usually contain bacteria E, which is harmful for your health. coli and Listeria innocuous were found in such vegetables. It’s better not to be lazy and peel and cut vegetables yourself. Based on these guidelines, it can be concluded that common sense is key when cutting Cajun vegetables.