Smoked Eggplant

[AngieSmokes]

Has anyone ever smoked a whole eggplant? If so, any tips on temperature/cook time/technique? I would think you'd want to prick the skin all over to "let the smoke in".

I have a couple of Italian eggplants in the fridge and was thinking it might make good baba-ghanoush. 

 

[SuperDave]

I would think that one would have to slice them, similar to grilling them on the bbq.  Brush a little olive oil on them and a like sprinkle of rub or seasoning.  I would limit it to a very short smoke and then transfer to a very hot grill for grill marks. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Like Ben, the IT Guy, says - "If you can't smoke it, it ain't worth eating!"   I would think you could slice it in about 1" slabs, coat with a little olive oil and seasoning of your choice, and smoke it at around 200° until soft.  Maybe about 2.5 oz of mild fruit wood, like apple or cherry.

 

[Pork Belly]

Personally I would rather slice it 1/2 inch thick, marinate briefly in olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Sear it on a scalding hot grill and splash with some good Balsamic vinegar. I think smoking would be like roasting and would make a mushy consistency.

 

[AngieSmokes]

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions! Love sliced grilled eggplant, especially with a more delicate eggplant like Japanese or the variety I've only once successfully grew it up here in the cold-and-short-summer PNW.

For baba ghanoush, caponata and the like, the eggplant flesh is supposed to be mushy, where if you peel and toss out the skin, you essentially have eggplant baby food, and then you mix that with tahini, lemon juice, garlic or diced tomatoes, peppers, capers, etc. for caponata. I've cooked eggplant whole before on a gas grill and roasted it in the oven, but thought it would be cool to also get that smoky flavor since eggplant has a tendency to be bland by itself. I imagine a smoke-infused pulp would hardly need any extra ingredients at all (well, maybe salt) to be yummy smeared on some hot fresh pita/bread. Will have to experiment. ;D

 

[NDKoze]

I wonder if it would help to brine it? That would add some salt flavor and whatever other spices work well with what you will be using the Eggplant with.

 

[Pork Belly]

I've cooked eggplant whole before on a gas grill and roasted it in the oven, but thought it would be cool to also get that smoky flavor

You would likely enjoy it smoked. I will only eat Eggplant two ways either grilled as I mentioned or dredged and fried.

 

[Barrel99]

PorkBelly +1. Although I do like caponata.

 

[AngieSmokes]

Never thought of brining it! I wonder what that would be like....

I can't think of anything dredged and fried that isn't good. Ok.... not a big fan of those freaky fair offerings, i.e. Twinkies, Snickers, Coca Cola? I've been meaning to try deep-fried pickles but haven't yet.

Back to eggplant, my husband makes a killer ratatouille & I make moussaka. But I admit my love for the nightshade knows no bounds. OK, pretty sure I wouldn't like it boiled.

 

[DivotMaker]

I've been meaning to try deep-fried pickles but haven't yet.

You should!  It's a staple at many Southern restaurants.  Good stuff!

 

[OFFSHORE GINGER]

I personally like to marinate it in Italian dressing lightly grilling it on both sides topping it off with Parmesan cheese before pulling it off the grill .

 

[AngieSmokes]

Sounds yummy! How many do the whole sweat-the-eggplant-with-salt-routine first? Honestly, I can't tell if it's just a waste of time...  : And maybe totally redundant if one marinades/brines it before grilling, anyway.

 

[Durangosmoker]

Perhaps just cut in half lengthwise, add oil and perhaps a rub (or just salt and pepper) to the cut side, and smoke cut side up?  I'm thinking of the traditional eggplant variety here, not the japanese, but the cut side might let the smoke in for the baba ganoush. 

 

[AngieSmokes]

Thanks for the reply! Actually tried that with a butternut squash just for kicks last week. Took nearly five hours to get to a soft internal temp of 175; the innards made for a really nice smoky soup. There was so much flavor from the smoke, we almost didn't even need to add the chopped Canadian bacon. Next time I'm going to peel, chop and parboil/steam the squash first and then smoke. Might need to do the same for the eggplant as well. Broil the eggplant whole, poke holes to let the smoke in and see how that goes. I'm afraid too much of the exposed surface area will dry out otherwise. Actually, I probably could just go through the process of making the entire dip and then smoke it! Hmm.. I have some not-so-great-store-bought hummus in the fridge - maybe I should smoke that. ;D