These smoked carrots are spiced with ginger, garlic, and a subtle earthiness of ground cumin. The ginger butter-seared smoked carrots make an ideal side dish with a perfect crunch, that stays even after getting cold. These are spiced savory, which balances their sweetness and complements the smokey flavor.
Carrot fries are rich in vitamin A, dietary fibers, and potassium.
Why will you love these smoked carrots?
- Simple and approachable. It is a very simple recipe and uses very basic ingredients.
- A perfect side dish. Use the rainbow carrots to jazz up special occasion meals with these smoked carrots.
- A nice balance of spices. Ginger works great with carrots and the ground cumin gives it a subtle earthiness.
- Gluten-free. They make a perfect gluten-free side dish that will complement most entrée dishes.
- Delicious carrot recipe with the perfect amount of sweetness and crunch. The carrots are spiced savory, which balances the sweetness of the carrots. And they have a perfect crunch, that stays even after getting cold.
- Omit butter and make it vegan using vegetable oil or olive oil.
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🥘Ingredients for smoking carrots
Carrots
Any type of carrot will work for making fries. You can use baby carrots. You can use red carrots, orange carrots, yellow carrots, purple carrots, or even white carrots. All would work. I have used rainbow carrots in this recipe. I just love the way it looks and so does my kids.
You do not have to use these fancy carrots, just stick to whichever you can procure easily. Try to avoid large and fibrous carrots. They are less sweet and take longer to cook.
Butter
I am using butter, but you can use whatever fat you want to use. Olive oil would be my second recommendation.
Ginger
Ginger goes great with carrots. Carrot soups cannot be made without ginger. And same stands true for our smoked carrots recipe.
Garlic
Garlic is another ingredient that we all have in our kitchens. You can press garlic in a garlic press or mince it finely.
Salt and spices
I am just using salt, black pepper, and cumin. The best is to use home roasted and ground cumin for the best flavor.
🔥 How to smoke carrots?
If you are wondering about how to smoke vegetables? This section will take you through various methods for smoking carrots or any other vegetable.
You can use either of the following ways to smoke the carrots.
1 Stovetop Smokers or kettle smokers
You can use a smoker that smokes food on a stovetop, in an oven, or on a grill. These stainless-steel smokers use wood chips to infuse the vegetables with smoke while it is cooking in the smoker. Kettle smokers also work great for making smoked vegetables. Smokers are ideal for cooking slow-smoked carrots. To expedite the process makes smoked baby carrots in the smoker.
2. Smoke infusers
In this case, you will need to cook the carrots first, and then use smoke infusers (that generally work for cocktails) to give them a smokey taste. Use mini smoke infusers or smoke guns or smoke tubes.
3. DIY a smoke infuser
Take aluminum foil to make a thick bowl-like structure. Into it, add the oak wood chips or whatever wood you like. Then on a plate place the cooked carrots. On the same plate place the aluminum bowl with wood chips. Use a flame lighter to put the wood chips on fire and close it using a cloche or glass dome. As the wood chips will burn, they will release smoke inside the cloche, making the glazed carrots smoky.
4. Liquid smoke
You can also go for liquid smoke like Cogin hickory to braise the carrots to get that smoky taste without having to go through the trouble of producing the smoke in the smokers and smoke infusers.
5. Wood pellet grill
If you have a wood pellet grill like Traeger, you have the ultimate weapon to smoke and grill the carrot altogether. You just can’t beat the food grilled in wood pellet grills.
🔪Instructions to make smoked carrots
Step 1 Prepare the ingredients for smoked carrots
This recipe does not need much prep time. Start by washing and cleaning the carrots. You can use a vegetable scrubber to scrub the carrots to remove all the dirt clinging to the carrots. It is important to clean the root vegetables thoroughly. Alternately you can also peel the carrots.
I washed the carrots nicely and then used a peeler to peel the carrots and then cut off the tips and ends. You can also slit the carrots into halves if you like. It will save cooking time. Peel and mince the garlic cloves and grate the ginger.
Step 2 Pan sear the carrots
In a pan, melt butter and add grated ginger and minced garlic. Cook them for 2 minutes on low-medium heat while stirring occasionally. We do not need to cook them till they turn golden since we will finish the carrots in the smoker or the oven. Now add the carrots and sear them at medium heat for 10 minutes. You can finish the carrots in the pan itself if you like but doing them in the oven makes the process easy.
Pan searing the carrots makes cooking them in a smoker much faster. If you cook smoked carrots completely in a smoker, it can take about an hour or more. But pan searing them for 10 minutes reduce the cook time in the smoker by half.
Step 3 Smoke and cook the carrots
If using a stovetop or oven smoker
If you are using a stovetop or oven smoker or kettle smoker, add the wood chips of your choice, and place the pan-seared carrots on the smoker plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ground cumin. Cover and let them cook while smoking in the smoker for about 25-30 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the carrots.
You can also make the smoked carrots, start to finish in a smoker, but that would take 90-95 minutes.
If using smoke infusers or DIY Smoker
Preheat the oven to 425o F and transfer the pan-seared carrots to a baking tray or baking sheet and sprinkle the spices. If using an oven-safe pan, just sprinkle the carrots with salt pepper, and ground cumin. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the carrots for about 20-25 minutes or until they are done. Insert a fork into the carrots to check if they are cooked.
Transfer the cooked glazed carrots onto a large plate. Now, add wood chips in aluminum foil folded to form a bowl-like shape. On the same plate place the aluminum bowl with wood chips. Use a flame lighter to put the wood chips on fire and close it using a cloche or glass dome.
As the wood chips will burn, they will release smoke inside the cloche, making the glazed carrots smoky. Alternately use the smoke infuser to add smoke into the Close or glass dome.
Remove the cloche and garnish the smoked carrots with the herbs of your choice and serve hot.
Recipe Variations for smoked carrots
A few other variations of carrot recipes that you can try smoking are as follows:
- Smoked carrot fries
- Honey glaze smoked carrots
- Mustard glazed smoked carrots
- Garlic parmesan smoked carrots
- Honey thyme smoked carrots
- Smoked carrots and potatoes
🫙Storage Tips
Store the smoked carrot in an airtight glass container to retain the smoke flavor. You can also place it in an airtight ziplocked bag. They will store well in a refrigerator for 2-3 days.
♨️ Reheating the smoked carrots
To Reheat the smoked carrots, you can use either of the following ways based on how much time you have and what equipment you want to use.
- Air fry the smoked carrots at 400 of for 3-4 minutes while turning halfway in between.
- Reheat them in a microwave on a lazy day.
- Or simply empty them into a frying pan. And reheat while turning regularly.
💭Pro Tips
- Choose smaller and slender carrots. They are sweeter, cook faster, and are less fibrous.
- Make sure to clean the carrots properly. The best option is to peel the carrots with a peeler, but if you do not like peeled carrots, do scrub them nicely to get rid of all the dirt.
- Do not cook the ginger and garlic much else they will burn by the time carrots are done cooking.
- Pan searing the carrots makes cooking them in a smoker much faster. If you cook smoked carrots completely in a smoker, it can take about an hour. But pan searing them for 10 minutes reduce the cooking time in the smoker by half.
- Use freshly crushed pepper and home-ground cumin for the best flavors on smoked glazed carrots or nay baked carrots recipe.
- Using a smoker gives a better smoky flavor than the smoke infusers.
- If you want to avoid the hassle of smoking, and still want the smoked flavor, go for liquid smoke. Just a smear of the liquid smoke and it just tastes like the real thing.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Ideally thin, slender carrots can take about 60 minutes to cook in a smoker. The best way is to pan-sear them and then finish in a smoker. Also, you can slit the carrots into halves and then smoke them. This makes cooking them in a smoker way faster.
Well, besides meat you can smoke all sorts of vegetables in a smoker. Carrots, potatoes, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, eggplants, etc. can be cooked in a smoker for the best flavor.
🍽More side dish recipes
- Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli Spiced to Perfection!
- Frozen Cauliflower in air fryer : A Quick Recipe
- Air fryer spaghetti squash: Low Carb, Quick and simple!
- How to fry frozen okra in air fryer? Breaded and plain cut okra
- Frozen Green Beans in Air Fryer
- Frozen Sweet Potatoes in Air Fryer
- Cabbage Curry Recipe ( North Indian Cabbage Sabzi)
I hope you will like this smoked carrots recipe. Share your results and opinions in the comment section below. Also, subscribe to never miss a recipe.
Till then
Make it Delicious
📝 Recipe
Smoked Carrots (Ginger butter glazed rainbow carrots)
Ingredients
- 12 oz Carrots
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon ginger grated
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly crushed
Instructions
Step 1 Prepare the ingredients for smoked carrots
- Start by washing and cleaning the carrots. Use a vegetable scrubber to scrub the carrots to remove all the dirt clinging to the carrots. Then use a peeler to peel the carrots and then cut off the tips and ends. You can also slit the carrots into halves if you like (They cook faster in a smoker).
- Peel and mince the garlic cloves and grate the ginger.
Step 2 Pan sear the carrots
- In a pan, melt butter and add grated ginger and garlic. Cook them for 2 minutes on low-medium heat while stirring occasionally. Now add the carrots and sear them at medium heat for 10 minutes. Pan searing the carrots makes cooking them in a smoker much faster.
Step 3 Smoke and cook the carrots
If using a stovetop or oven smoker
- If you are using a stovetop or oven smoker or kettle smoker, add the wood chips of your choice, and place the pan-seared carrots on the smoker plate. Sprinkle with salt, freshly crushed black pepper, and ground cumin. Cover and let them cook while smoking in the smoker for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the carrots.
If using smoke infusers or DIY Smoker
- Preheat the oven to 425o F and transfer the pan-seared carrots into a baking tray and sprinkle the spices. If using an oven-safe pan, just sprinkle the carrots with salt, pepper, and ground cumin.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the carrots for about 20-25 minutes or until they are done. Insert a fork into the carrots to check if they are cooked.
- Transfer the cooked carrots onto a large plate. Now, add wood chips in aluminum foil folded to form a bowl-like shape. Place the foil also on the plate.
- Use a flame lighter to put the wood chips on fire and cover it using a cloche or glass dome. As the wood chips will burn, they will release smoke inside the cloche, making the glazed carrots smoky. Alternately use the smoke infuser to add smoke into the Cloche or glass dome.
- Remove the cloche and garnish the smoked carrots with the herbs of your choice and serve hot.
Notes
- Choose smaller and slender carrots. They are sweeter, cook faster, and are less fibrous.
- Make sure to clean the carrots properly. The best option is to peel the carrots with a peeler, but if you do not like peeled carrots, do scrub them nicely to get rid of all the dirt.
- Do not cook the ginger and garlic much else they will burn by the time carrots are done cooking.
- Pan searing the carrots makes cooking them in a smoker much faster. If you cook smoked carrots completely in a smoker, it can take about an hour. But pan searing them for 10 minutes reduce the cooking time in the smoker by half.
- Use freshly crushed pepper and home-ground cumin for the best flavors.
- Using a smoker gives a better smoky flavor than the smoke infusers.
- If you want to avoid the hassle of smoking, and still want the smoked flavor, go for liquid smoke. Just a smear of the liquid smoke and it just tastes like the real thing.
📋 Nutrition Facts
Andrew Johansons
Loving those carrots. I used my kettle smoker. But I also followed your pan-searing techniques. It makes cooking fast.