Smoked fruit works — in some cases
Charcoal enhances the flavor of nature’s sweet goodness in a few quite worthy instances
Fruit has a lot of great things going for it. It’s healthful, refreshing and, with varieties harvested from all over the globe, it offers a chance to taste the world.
Fruit is traditionally the perfect grab-and-go snack with no cooking required, but if you expose it to a little heat, it can take on a completely different texture. Watermelon and pineapple can take to a hot grill the same way that a piece of steak will, with a blackened seer that takes in the charcoal flavor.
But in the old R&D department, there is very little documentation out there that advocates putting fruit varieties in the smoker. That’s where we come in.
I selected nine fruits and smoked them all the same way: 25 minutes of smoke on apple wood (because it made sense to smoke fruit with fruit) over lump hardwood charcoal, with the off-set device set to about 250 degrees.
Results are rated as smokeless, smoke-ish and holy smokes! Here are the fruity findings:
AVOCADOS
Fat takes on smoke, and there’s about 20 grams of it in your typical avocado, so expectations were high. The fruit (halved with the skin left on to keep it more manageable) took on a nice brown char after 25 minutes, and the heat melted the inside to a creamy consistency that could easily be consumed with a spoon. It might not be the prettiest dish, but this was a successful enough test that I think smoked guacamole could and should be a thing. Verdict: Holy smokes!
BANANAS
I have a feeling that the peeled bananas fell victim to the trial conditions and needed more time to develop (at least 15 additional minutes). Bananas have such a distinct flavor and hearty texture, the smoke wasn’t able to alter it much. The fruit did take on some nice grill marks though. Verdict: Smokeless
GRAPES
Yes, you absolutely can smoke grapes, but the result was a love-it-or-hate-it creation. I was pretty unimpressed, but others who tasted them thought the grapes exploded with smoke on the back end. Oddly enough, whole smoked grapes (red seedless were used) fared far better than halved ones that turned rubbery. Verdict: Smoke-ish
MANGOES
Leave the skin on the mango and cut it into three or four big chunks. Mangoes are delicious on their own, but the smoke and heat turned the fruit into a delicious treat that took on a parfaitlike consistency. Verdict: Holy smokes!
STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries were halved to produce more opportunity for the smoke to penetrate. On the palate, the berries at first tasted fresh and held that distinct strawberry flavor, but after about 15 seconds, the puff of smoke hit the back of the throat. It’s probably best to leave ’em as nature made ’em. Verdict: Smoke-ish
PEACHES
One of my favorite fruits to grill is also a standout on the smoker, taking it all in like a sponge. Halve the peaches and place them skin-side down. After 25 minutes, the peaches are tanned, caramelized, and the skin can be peeled off with a slight tug of the thumb. This will be a regular thing during my future cooks, and it was the best out of everything tested. Verdict: Holy smokes!
PINEAPPLE
If it weren’t for the 25-minute limitation, I would be tempted to smoke a whole pineapple as if it were a pork shoulder for four to five hours. With the time constraint, I went the sliced route, and it was a winner. The slices took on a gooey glaze and fell just short of the peaches as the best of the bunch. Verdict: Holy smokes!
GRAPEFRUIT
I cut the grapefruit up into half-inch slices so the smoke could hit it from both sides. The pink center showed signs that it was taking it in, but after a taste, the powerful citrus elements drowned out the smoke. I have a feeling that oranges, lemons and limes would behave similarly. Verdict: Smokeless
WATERMELON
Slices of watermelon, brushed with olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, are fantastic on a hot grill and will take on the sear like a good steak. The smoker yielded results that weren’t so spectacular, and it simply tasted like warmed watermelon that looked like it was a victim of culinary torture. Verdict: Smokeless