We all love smoked foods don’t we? Those smoked-filled flavours have us all coming back for more.
Here’s our Top Ten favourite foods to smoke along with recipes and further ideas for you to try at home.
Smoked Foods Recipe 1 Beef Cheeks
When most people think of smoked beef, they generally think brisket, ribs or ribeye. Yet beef cheeks are perfect for smoking slow and low until the fatty tissues break down to give you that tender, moist texture and taste you get from ribs and brisket.
Beef cheeks are also much cheaper than other beef cuts so they’re great for cooking on a budget too.
This recipe involves cooking the cheeks at 250°F and then braising them in beer for the second half of the cook. Delicious!
https://www.foodfirefriends.com/smoked-beef-cheeks/
You’ll need a great dry rub for beef recipe.
Smoked Foods Recipe 2 Smoked Chicken Risotto
This Weber recipe is particularly creative and a seldom thought of smoker idea.
The chicken is smoked at medium heat quickly and then added to a creamy, cheesy oozy risotto.
Ingredients for Smoked Chicken Risotto
- 2 chicken breasts skin on
- 1½ tbsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1-1.2 litres chicken stock
- 150g finely chopped mangetout
- 125g butter
- 1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 250g risotto rice
- 2 bay leaves
- 15g finely chopped parsley
- 40g Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Weber Hickory Firespice Wood Chips
Have a look here:
https://www.weber.com/GB/en/recipes/smoking/smoked-chicken-risotto/weber-86748.html
Smoked Foods Recipe 3 Turkey All Year Round
Turkey is a fantastic meat to smoke at any time of the year.
This recipe involves brining your turkey overnight, coating it with a delicious dry rub and smoking it slow and low at 225°F.
Ingredients For the Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 4 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of finely ground salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon of chilli powder (leave this out if you don’t like heat or you are cooking for kids)
For the whole turkey smoker recipe a try.
You could also have a look at our Turkey Brine recipe.
Smoked Foods Recipe 4 Smoked Mac and Cheese with Bacon
Mac and cheese is often thought of as a side dish at a BBQ, but if you add bacon (or even pulled pork or brisket) it becomes a meal in itself.
Like many foods, it tastes so much better smoked.
Ingredients
- 100g Plain All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Pints (or 1.2 Litres) of Whole Milk
- 100ml Double Cream
- 100g Butter
- 100g Grated Mozzarella
- 100g Grated Red Leicester
- 100g Mature Cheddar Grated
- Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
- 500g Macaroni Cooked to Packet Instructions
- 3 Slices Chopped Smoked Bacon
- 50g white breadcrumbs
- 50g parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
Try our full recipe for Smoked Mac and Cheese.
Smoked Foods Recipe 5 Smoked Lamb Leg & Homemade BBQ Sauce
Lamb is underrated meat to smoke, and it’s not that easy to see why – it’s so flavoursome.
Lamb leg is a great cut to smoke and this recipe calls for a great BBQ sauce. You can also use your own store bought sauce if you wish.
Ingredients for the Dry Rub
- 1 Tablespoon of Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Tablespoon of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano
- 1 Tablespoon of Sweet Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons of Dried Rosemary
Check out our smoker recipe for lamb leg.
Smoked Foods Recipe 6 Smoked Vegetables
Vegetables are often overlooked, yet they are fantastic smoked.
Unlike meat, it really doesn’t take long to get that smoky flavour into your veg – 45 minutes at most.
There are plenty of options, such as sweetcorn, asparagus, sweet potatoes, zucchini/courgette, aubergine/eggplant, mushrooms, cauliflower and so many more.
This recipe gives you a ton of ideas for smoked vegetables and it’s easy. What more could you ask? Other than a side of meat, of course.
https://gimmesomegrilling.com/easy-smoked-vegetables/
Smoked Foods Recipe 7 Chipotle Chilli Peppers
This is a great, versatile smoker idea – make your own smoked and dried chillies to be used in all sorts of dishes.
Put them in a chilli, in tacos, burritos, use them for adobe sauce, pretty much any Mexican or Tex Mex dish. The flavour you get is immense!
You smoke them in the smoker for 3 hours at 200°F with the wood of your choice (pecan is the classic Mexican choice) and then dry them for 10 hours.
Try out the article here:
https://keviniscooking.com/how-to-make-chipotle-peppers/
Smoked Foods Recipe 8 Smoked Chicken Wings with Hoisin Glaze
Chicken wings are always a favourite, but adding that lovely smoky flavour takes things up a notch.
The great Asian flavours of Hoisin and 5 spice in the glaze make for full melt in the mouth super tasty experience.
5 Spice Rub
- 1.5 Tsp Chinese five-spice
- 2 teaspoons garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 chicken wings, about 1.3kg/3lbs
- Olive oil
Hoisin Glaze
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 4 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
- 2 thinly sliced spring onions
Full recipe here:
Smoked Food Recipes 9 Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Often called meat candy (and for good reason), pork belly burnt ends are sweet, salty, sticky and will make your taste buds explode.
You smoke them slow and low at 225F, brushing them with BBQ sauce for the second part of the cook.
Dry Rub Ingredients
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Sweet Smoked Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
Have a look at this smoker recipe for Pork Belly Burnt Ends.
Smoking Recipes 10 Smoked Oysters
Oysters are a delectable luxury as is, but adding that touch of smoke to them takes them up another level or two.
You remove the top shell and smoke the oysters for around 35-50 minutes at 225°F until they are tender and not slimy anymore.
Served with garlic, butter, parsley and optional hot sauce.
It’s so worth the effort!
See here for the full recipe:
https://www.simplymeatsmoking.com/recipes/smoked-oysters-recipe/
If you enjoyed this article try our ‘Best Smoker Recipes,’ article:
https://bbqsmokergrill.org/smoker-recipes/
Or this ‘Best Meats For Smoking,’ article.
