Kamado Joe Smoked Tomatoes, Bolognese to the Next Level

Kamado Joe Smoked Tomatoes, Bolognese to the Next Level.

What do you do when life gives you tomatoes? Simple, smoke them and use them to make the most amazing tomato-based bolognese sauce. Plus you can get the bonus of having a super tasty smoked tomato infused vegetable oil. So much flavour. Add these little flavour bombs to anything that you would normally add tomatoes too and it will take your dish to the next level.

Ingredients

  • ~2 kg of tomatoes

  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Your favourite herbs and spices

Time and Temp

  • ~107c [225f]
  • ~4-5 hours

Kamado Set-up

  • Set for indirect, deflectors in the low position and the grill racks in the upper position.
  • As we are aiming for a low temp, just a simple fire with the charcoal being lit in one spot (centre)
  • For smoke flavour, I added hickory chips

Method

  • ¼ the tomatoes
  • Sprinkle with Salt,pepper and seasoning of choice (I prefer “Italian Seasoning”)
  • I place on a wire cooling/cooking rack and add to grill. ( this makes it easier to move the tomatoes to and from the grill)
  • Let the kamado work its magic for as long as needed, typically 4 to 5 hours.

Once you have reached your desired doneness, remove from the grill and let cool for a couple of minutes. After the obligatory taste test, add to a container and cover with vegetable oil. This serves two purposes, allows you to store the tomatoes in the fridge for 4-5 days and the by-product is an awesome smoked tomato oil.


Uses

  • -My primary use for the smoked tomatoes was to make a bolognese sauce.
  • -Use in a salad.
  • -Just as a snack, on a cracker with some cheese.
  • -Use the flavoured oil for anything you want to add an extra layer of flavour.

For my bolognese sauce I just took a good portion of the tomato ¼’s and blended them with a stick blender and seasoned to taste (salt pepper). The aroma released while blending was amazing, pure smoky goodness.

During this same cook (Spaghetti Bolognese) I used some of the Smoky Tomato vegetable oil to fry off the beef mince – OMG ! what a flavour sensation. As soon as the oil hit the heat, the smell was overwhelmingly good, almost as if the kamado was lit in the kitchen. The smokiness and the sweetness of the cooked tomatoes was amazing.