# Tomato sauce



## bradger (Sep 11, 2019)

Every now and then i make my own tomato sauce, this morning while i was making my breakfast an idea popped into my head (funny how that can happen). Next time i make my sauce why not try to give it a smokey flavor. 
I was thinking of smoking the tomatoes. i usually use cherry.
So i decided to come here, because i figure someone here (probably Chilli) at some point has tried this, and i was wondering how feasible it is.
I more than likely will try this since i have a few days off of work. unless i get a lot of negative results. If i do i will post results.


----------



## chilerelleno (Sep 11, 2019)

I've not made any sauce, but I've smoked mater's for various reasons.
I'll be


----------



## JJS (Sep 11, 2019)

I have tried (and failed) to smoke tomatoes for the same reason you are looking to do as well as salsa. I came to the conclusion that the best way (haven’t tried yet) would probably be to take the skin off, get them to the consistency you are looking for, throw them in a pot in the smoker and stir occasionally until to the smoke level you are looking for.

I may try cutting some in half and cold smoking them to see how that turns out this weekend. 

Word of advice, tomatoes make a damn mess of the smoker if you are not careful, use a baking sheet that you don’t care about to put them on.


----------



## bradger (Sep 11, 2019)

I was thinking of cold smoking  and cutting in them in half.


----------



## chilerelleno (Sep 11, 2019)

I was thinking about the same.
Roma's, blanched, skinned and seeded.
Cold smoked on a jerky rack over cookie tray or disposable pan.

Easier to put a little liquid smoke in the sauce.
Yeah, call me a blasphemous heretic.


----------



## zwiller (Sep 11, 2019)

Never smoked them but one time had a bumper crop and roasted the heck out of them on the grill before canning.  Insanely good.  Skins were totally charred.  You might have better luck dehydrating if you want to smoke them.


----------



## DanMcG (Sep 11, 2019)

Yeap, dehydrate them while you're smoking them, they'll take on the smoke the more they dry.


----------



## S-met (Sep 11, 2019)

I smoke tomatillos for salsa verde somewhat regularly with great success. Tomatoes shouldn't be too different. Cherry tomatoes tend to have thicker skins as do roma. You may need to cut them in half first. Though eggplant does fine whole smoked. I'd also consider smoking on a tray to catch the juices if I cut them in half.

I'm just heading to work, but can  probably post a q-view later this evening.


----------



## smokerjim (Sep 11, 2019)

I think if I was going to try it I would  go ahead and make sauce put in pot and cook down in smoker stirring once in a while, same order as dutches baked beans, I think you'll be able to control how much smoke you want. then if you need to cook it down more you could move it to the stove.


----------



## chef jimmyj (Sep 11, 2019)

Cherry Tomatoes would be a PITA, but Peeling is the key. The skins are there to Protect the fruit. It is pretty impervious to everything, including heat. Look at your salad, the skin let's the Dressing run off like they were covered in Rain-X! Any temp above 250 works but hotter the better. The smoker temp dehydrates the Tomatoes concentrating both smoke and the tomato flavors. A bit of Salt, accelerates the water loss too. Cherry Tomatoes are tasty but a bit watery with too little meat to make a sauce without a long cook and A LOT of them. Roma or Paste Tomatoes are a first choice but this time of year, anything I  have gets sauced out...JJ


----------



## bradger (Sep 13, 2019)

Here we go.


----------



## bradger (Sep 15, 2019)

Sorry I lost the picture of them just out of smoker.
fresh herbs I used.
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
lightly sauteed





	

		
			
		

		
	
 the adding the tomatoes 





	

		
			
		

		
	
 after mixing with boat motor
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
 finished 
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
 and on my lunchthis 
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
 This came out very well, i think the key was letting the tomatoes sit since taking out of smoker on Friday.


----------



## chilerelleno (Sep 15, 2019)

So how long and at what temp did you smoke the tomatoes?
What wood(s) did you use for smoke?
How was the end result, was there a good smoky flavor in the finished sauce?


----------



## bradger (Sep 15, 2019)

cold smoke for about 4 used hickory pellets in the maze smoker. it had a decent smoke flavor.
it might work for your salsa.


----------



## 6GRILLZNTN (Sep 15, 2019)




----------



## Cabo (Sep 16, 2019)

I smoke them quite often.  Just cut them in half and smoke at 250 for about an hour or until they are getting really soft.  Never done cherry ones though, usually larger ones.
We use them for salsa, chili, or just eat them on their own as a side dish.


----------



## bradger (Sep 16, 2019)

Cabo said:


> Never done cherry ones though, usually larger ones.


you should try the cherry, i think they picked up the smoke better.  They way I use the maze is once it starts smoking heavily I turn the burner off i had it sitting on.


----------



## indaswamp (Sep 16, 2019)

I've made smokey tomato sauce before, but I smoked the garlic and onions-not the tomatoes. The onions and garlic are drier and take the smoke better....


----------



## Drums45 (Oct 20, 2019)

bradger said:


> Every now and then i make my own tomato sauce, this morning while i was making my breakfast an idea popped into my head (funny how that can happen). Next time i make my sauce why not try to give it a smokey flavor.
> I was thinking of smoking the tomatoes. i usually use cherry.
> So i decided to come here, because i figure someone here (probably Chilli) at some point has tried this, and i was wondering how feasible it is.
> I more than likely will try this since i have a few days off of work. unless i get a lot of negative results. If i do i will post results.


I smoked meatballs last week at a chef friend’s suggestion. They turned out great! So, like you I thought about making smoked tomato sauce. I’ve failed at smokin veggies before when I was first starting my smokin adventure, but now with some years of experience I wanna try it. I think I’ll try smokin the pork neck bones and using them to start my sauce on the stovetop. If that’s not enough smoke flavor I’ll put the sauce in a disposable pan and smoke for a half hour at a time until I get a desired flavor. Good luck there. The meatballs,
3 Oz Each took one hour n the smoker I used cherry with a touch of hickory at 230-245. Happy smokin’!


----------



## chef jimmyj (Oct 20, 2019)

That will work. We like sauce with meat! I have cut an entire 8 pound Butts into 2-3" chunks, smoke them a couple hours, and add to my sauce. About 3 Hours of simmering gets the meat fork tender and give a wonderful flavor to the sauce...JJ


----------



## GentlemanJerk (Dec 3, 2019)

I've smoked quite a lot of tomatoes, usually end up making about 10-12 quarts of smoked canned tomatoes a year.  The method I use is to blanche and skin the tomatoes, regardless of size, and then cold smoked them whole for 2-3 hours depending on how much smokey flavor you want.  I haven't tried skinning cherry tomatoes yet, but that does seem like a pain.  If I were to smoke cherry tomatoes I would probably cut them in half and then cold smoke them cut side down for only an hour.  

You really do need to take the skin off as it is a superb barrier that will keep most of the smoke flavor out.    However, without the skin the tomatoes became mush very easily and I've found that I need to use a silicone rack on top of the metal rack to ensure they don't slip between the grates.  The silicone rack has about 1/2" square holes throughout to let the smoke puff up through.

I've mainly used hickory (dust and pellets) and it gives a great flavor, but I've also smoked them with sage pellets before with surprising success.  The sage flavor really comes through strong with 1-2 hours of it being plenty for my tastes.

We make sauces, soups, and salsas with the tomatoes.  The salsa in particular has always been a big hit, the extra level of flavor that the smoked tomatoes brings really lets it stand apart from the average canned or fresh salsa.


----------

