“You say ‘tuh-may-toe’ I say ‘tuh-mah-toe’.”
This recipe will provide you with a rich, smoke-flavored tomato sauce with which you can use in a number of recipes such as: Smokey Tomato Jam, BBQ Sauce, Marinara Sauce, Spanish Rice, Cocktail Sauce, Tomato Soup, Meatloaf, Salsa, Bloody Marys, Sloppy Joes, and the list goes on and on….
Almost any tomato can be used for this recipe except small varieties such as cherry or grape tomatoes. I use Roma (also known as Plum or Italian) tomatoes because they are typically firm and have less seeds and moisture than other varieties.
It is the smoky flavor that makes this recipe pop but, don’t worry if you don’t have a smoker. Follow the other steps but, instead of using a smoker, roast the prepared tomatoes in the oven for 2 ½ hours at 225°F. and then at Step 7, add 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke to the tomato mixture.
Just a suggestion … omit adding salt or pepper to this recipe unless you are planning to use it as ‘stand alone’ tomato sauce; otherwise, when used as an ingredient in another recipe, it might result in an unwanted taste.
Please note – After slicing, trimming, smoking, and peeling, four pounds of Roma tomatoes will render six cups of pulpy sauce ready to be used in other recipes.
Rinse the tomatoes and, on a cutting board, trim off the top half inch because the area of stem and the beginning top of the core is usually woody. Next, cut each tomato in half (length-wise) and place the halves in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and stir the tomatoes until they’re well coated with oil.
Place the tomatoes, cut side down, on several shallow aluminum pans.
Place the pans of tomatoes on the smoker that was preheated to 220-225°F.
Smoke for 2 to 2 ½ hours at a steady 220-225°F until the tomatoes are hot and the skin is cracked and beginning to peel.
Remove the tomatoes from the smoker and peel them with your hands. If the peel doesn’t slip right off, then you haven’t smoked them long enough.
Dice the peeled tomatoes and move them to a large non-reactive pan.
Using an immersion blender or a potato masher, process the tomatoes until the mixture is a pulpy, thick sauce.
If you plan to use the smoked sauce in a recipe immediately then transfer it to a convenient bowl; otherwise, transfer the mixture to an airtight container where it can be kept refrigerated for up to a week until used.
PLEASE NOTE - The "Sign Up To Be Notified Of New Site Additions" has been disabled due to interference from hackers and spammers. This feature will likely not be replaced ... sorry for the inconvenience. ALSO - The website is now 99% complete and should be pretty much bug free ... if you notice any glitches or have suggestions, please let me know via the Contact page. CURRENTLY the individual recipes are being reviewed and, when necessary, modified.
