Tree scents in barbecue dishes: what to choose and how to smoke?

Visiting foreign countries is all about the lasting impressions we take away from the most enjoyable trips. The sights, the colours, the sounds, the smells, the tastes. We invite you to relive your memories of travelling in the Mediterranean together with Spanish SMOKEY OLIVE WOOD wood dust, wood shavings and with blocks and other products for seasoning food. 

You can choose from 6 trees that are the most commonly smoked in Spain, but also in Portugal, Italy and other southern European countries: from the most popular - olive treefrom the most popular olive oil, to the mild and light lemonwood or orange tree, aromatic almond wood to expressive walnut wood or the sacred Holm oak. 

 

And see below for how to smoke. Although many people think it's a very complicated process, it's actually incredibly simple. It only takes a minute, but believe me - your dishes will be much tastier and better looking! 

There are several ways of smoking: cold and hot. Depending on the method chosen, not only does the size (coarseness) of the wood used vary, but so does the end result and the smoking time.

Hot method - The option most often chosen by grillers to flavour their dishes. Although it sounds complicated, in the world of grillers it is a cooking process in which pieces of wood of different sizes are thrown onto coals (or other heat sources such as gas burners). As they heat, they dry, smoulder and finally burn, releasing smoke. This is what flavours and colours the meat.

If you want to season your dishes with the wood of your choice, just do it as normal. The only difference is that before you put the food on to cook, you should put the wood chips/chips/chips on the hottest part. In a charcoal grill, this is the coals; in a gas or charcoal grill, we recommend using a special smoke generator. That's it! Just enjoy the pleasant smell and see your dish take on a yellowish colour and a much broader, richer flavour.

By the way, pellet grills no chips are needed: the fuel for the grill, heated wood pellets, not only cooks the food, but also flavours it. 

To ensure that the smoke lasts as long as possible, the wood pieces or chips are usually soaked in water (the usual time is 30 minutes, but it can be longer: you are soaking the wood after all). Of course, you can choose to extend the range of flavours with other liquids: try beer, wine, brandy, cognac or other drinks. Each of these will add an additional, distinctive flavour and aroma to the presentation. 

 

The size of the wood pieces depends on how long you want to smoke: remember that the finer the wood, the quicker it starts to burn, the more intense the smoke, and the sooner it finishes smoking. Who needs one of these? However, there are some dishes that cook for very short periods of time, so if you go for large chips or sticks, you simply won't be able to give your quick-cooking dish enough smoke flavour. Examples include shrimps, steaks, vegetables, etc.

It is also important to note that each tree has a different intensity. Some give a rich, bright flavour, while others give a light, mild flavour. Like spices, trees need to be matched to dishes. While rich-tasting wood smoke is suitable for smoking dense, bright meats, be careful when using it to smoke seafood, vegetables and chicken: your dishes may be bitter, pungent and have a slightly sour aftertaste. Rosemary and oregano are simple examples of this. The former is suitable for seasoning beef, lamb and game, while oregano is suitable for much milder dishes. You are unlikely to notice a small amount in a beef stew. In pizza, on the other hand, it will be quite pronounced.

For gas grill owners, we recommend checking out the Youtube channel. You will find lots of information and videos about smoking on this type of grill. We recommend you to watch the following videos for example: here, here, and here. 

For more information on smoking, see also here. Smoke ring - an indicator that the food is indeed flavoured with smoke. 

 

In the cold process Smoking is normally carried out at low temperatures (up to 20-25 degrees). For this purpose, grills usually use ultra-fine chips, which are placed in a spiral shape smoke generator. One generator One edge of the generator is seared, the top and bottom flaps of the grill are minimally opened and the smoked food is placed inside the grill. Generator can smoke from 6-8 to 16 or even 24h, depending on: 

Cold smoking is recommended at cooler times of the year to allow the smoked product to preserve from the smoke without spoiling. Depending on the purpose, the size of the pieces and the load of the grill, the smoking may be done several times instead of once, with a break of a day or several days. 

 

Remember that both cold and hot-smoked dishes do not develop their full flavour immediately. It is best to start tasting them the next day, when the flavours have settled and spread throughout the product. 

In our shop www.griliai.lt You will find a wide selection of both cold smoking dusts, generators and hot smoking chips, coarser and finer sticks, smoking boxes. You are also welcome to visit our physical shop in Kaunas, Žemaičių pl. 37 - we will help you choose and advise you on how to smoke and get the perfect result.