Smoked Carrots (Ginger butter glazed rainbow carrots)
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.
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
Nutrition
Calories: 101kcal
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