Smoked Eggplant

Building the smoker (and fireplace)

Branko has been busy this winter, preserving food. 

It started last year with fermenting cabbage to make sauerkraut and morphed into smoking eggplants and hot peppers.  To clarify, Branko wasn't "smoking" eggplants but smoking them to eat, using his wood stove as the smoker.

He came up with the brilliant idea to use a bamboo steamer,  which is made of interlocking trays with perforated bottoms that stack one on top of the other. The whole basket is placed over the chimney so the smoke  rises through the layers,  curing and smoking the food.  

Bamboo racks

Bamboo steamer

The eggplants are peeled, sliced, salted and left for an hour or so,  allowing the salt to draw out the moisture.
After wiping the excess moisture from the eggplants, they are placed in the steamer trays.

Ready to get 'smoked'

Twigs seem to be the best for this stove.
The steamer is placed on top of the Charlie Noble (top of the chimney)
Moisture is still created from the vegetables and smoke, so the eggplants need to dry in the air/sun after a few hours of smoking. 
Depending on the thickness of the slices, the smoking process can take a couple of days.

Chimney with Charlie on top

Bamboo steamer added

Finished product

Because of the curing process the eggplants and hot peppers are preserved, needing no refrigeration.   Branko made babaganosh and smokey eggplant oil ( using olive oil.)  The hot peppers were made into siraccha sauce, but also left as is (smoked and dried) for added flavor in any meal.

Next up orange and lemon marmalade.
Sue Chef,
Marg
(I know it's not spelled "Sue")