Pizza Today - February 2022 - 39

" True barbeque in my opinion is smoking meat. It's an art form and its
tricky to get just right. "
S
moking is one of the oldest
techniques for changing the
flavor dynamic of vegetables,
fish and meats. It is also a great
way to preserve foods. The Romans smoked
Westphalian ham and cheeses. The early
Norwegians had an overabundance of fish
but not enough salt to preserve them but
eventually learned from the Celts and the
Germans that a small amount of brine and
a lot of smoke was the perfect solution. In
France, wine was often matured in lofts
where meats were smoked and this was
thought to improve the wine, much to the
dismay of the Romans.
These days world champion Ismaele
Romano of Via Focaccia in Las Vegas
says that in Sicily, smoking is usually done
with orange wood or almond wood. Chef
Romano says that in Sicily smoked meats
are accompanied by fresh Sicilian oregano,
fresh garlic, parsley and lemon zest. He says
that when smoking lamb, you must add mint
and that he is very fond of Sicilian roasted
vegetables where onions, peppers, tomatoes
and eggplant are roasted and smoked to
make a salad. Brad Rocco, owner of Bexley
Pizza Plus in Columbus, Ohio and a huge
smoking enthusiast, has been creating
tavern style and Detroit style pizzas with
different smoked proteins and cheeses like
low moisture provolone and Colby that, he
says, are better for smoking than mozzarella
or burrata.
My Cup Runneth Smoker
Some of the most successful barbeque
places in the U.S. have fashioned smokers
out of discarded drums and cans. Here are a
few ways to smoke items in your pizzeria or
restaurant.
Electric smokers: The older models like
Little Chief are just boxes with heating
elements in the bottom with a pan for
the wood chips below a replaceable rack.
You adjust the top lid to your liking of
temperature. The new electric smokers
use the same style with probes, timers and
alarms.
BBQ grills and charcoal smokers: These
range from barrel, egg or cabinet and are the
gold standard to deep smoky flavor and that
famous smoke ring on meats. These rely on
the control of the flow of air to smoke which
can lead to either dry and tough foods or
ashy and bitter foods.
Propane Smokers: These are usually
shaped like a cabinet, with the vents and
burner at the bottom. Some have a water
pan, and the chimney and dampers are
located at the top. They are very fast and can
be smoking within 10 minutes.
Offset smokers: These were originally
made from discarded barrels. The firebox is
located to the side and below the cooking
chamber, so the smoke and heat is drawn
across the food. These take longer than
other smokers to get going but are great for
smoking a lot of food.
Oven smoked pans: These are made to
be used for small amounts of foods and can
be heated quickly during or before service.
Basically, just a pan with a raised wire rack
and a lid for a small amount of smoking
chips to enhance vegetables, fruit and thin
strips of meat or chicken.
Smoking packets: Who would have
thought it was so easy. By putting smoking
chips in a foil satchel with holes in the
top and placing it in the bottom of a large,
lidded pan, you can smoke just about
anything small like cheeses, potatoes,
cabbage and carrots.
Wood for Flavor
Smoking has its roots around the
world and the very center of any smoking
enterprise is the fuel for the smoke.
Pecan: Doesn't burn as hot as oak but has
a gentle, sweet flavor. Best used for short
term smoking fish, chicken and shoulder
cuts of pork.
Oak: Many barbeque pros love white oak
because it has a mellow, smoky flavor and
gives a fairly even and moderate heat.
Hickory: This wood is more powerful
than oak but is perfect for heavier meats like
beef.
Apple, Cherry and Other Fruit Woods:
These offer a rounded sweetness and gentle
smoke that adds a very subtle flavor to fish
chicken and pork. This wood burns fast and
is great for short-term direct smoking.
Mesquite: This wood burns hot and fast
and is strong flavored. This is great for steak
or big meats for a quick hot smoked product.
Brad Rocco, 2014 World Pizza Champion, Smoked Portobello and Pepperoni Pizza
Smoke 'em if you got 'em!
Here are some items that can turn your
pizza line up from boring to... smokin'!
Root Vegetables: Smoked with cherry
wood and thyme, garlic, savory, sage and
rosemary. Moist root vegetables like kohlrabi
and many radish variants benefit from a
splash of smoke then a quick cure of salt
and sugar. Best paired with celery, cucumber,
lemon, bourbon, coffee or basil.
Mushrooms: My rule of thumb in
smoking mushrooms is, the meatier and
more boring the mushroom, the better. This
is because many mushrooms have a nuanced
floral and earthy flavor that gets saturated
with strong aromas of smoke. Just 10 to 15
minutes in fruit wood like apple is enough to
enhance the mushroom for further cooking.
Best paired with leek and onion, thyme,
lavender, pork and even strawberry.
Cheeses: Colby, Fontina, Gouda, cheddar,
and even Swiss can be great after a dose of
cold smoking.
Pork: This is the king of smoking in the
pizzeria. Smoking big belly is the king but
by smoking tougher, less fatty cuts like pork
loin, you can make Canadian Bacon. This
only entails a rub of salt, sugar and pepper,
or the options of coriander, thyme, cayenne,
rosemary, sage or fennel to steer the loin to
your flavorful liking.
Lamb: If you can smoke less-pricey cuts
of lamb like shoulder, breast or leg, you'll be
able to serve it on pizza. Lamb is a specialty
on numerous flatbreads in the middle east
like the Turkish Pide. Thyme, sage, rosemary,
garlic, sumac and coriander are all good rubs.
Sliced thin after the oven atop creamy goat
cheeses with mint, pomegranate syrup and
pine nuts.
Duck: Like lamb, this is often overlooked
by pizza people as an affordable pizza
alternative protein. It may seem like an
" elitist " element but in my book, nothing
beats duck pastrami cured with juniper,
ginger, cloves and garlic and smoked to
perfection. Sliced thin with cherries and
burrata is a sight to behold.
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche
Pizza in Athens, Ohio.
Pizza Today - February 2022

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