Slow roasted tomatoes

[dstr8]

Vac seal and into the deep freeze.    They're great for anything...pizzas, salads, salsa...caprese salad with buffalo milk mozzarella(!), soups...

[CeramicChef]

Oh, WOWZERS!  That pic of you KK loaded down with all those tomatoes is an amazing shot.  I did a double take when I first saw it.  Those are gorgeous toms!  Congrats and kudos.

[MacKenzie]

dstr, that is a beautiful sight.

How long do you leave the tomato slices in the grill at 175F?

Edited July 26, 2016 by MacKenzie

[dstr8]

It will take 10-12-hours typically for the larger tomatoes in the photo.   But given its supposed to hit 102 here today, maybe only 8 hours 

Edited July 26, 2016 by dstr8

[MacKenzie]

Thanks, dstr, why you don't even need to light your KK, just put a candle in it  

[tinyfish]

Very nice.

[dstr8]

Just pulled them off the KK...sweet, syrupy, tomato unctuousness...

 

[Shuley]

Those look very versatile. Awesome idea.

[Aussie Ora]

I lock tomatoes I can eat them like an apple they look teriffic

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill♨

[MacKenzie]

Those are lovely looking smoked tomatoes, just imagine the goodness of those in a sauce or on a pizza.

[dstr8]

^ 'zackly!   I make a different mac n' cheese from an old Martha Rose Schulman cookbook...and tomatoes play a part.   These play a bigger part     They are a nice twist-up in caprese salad!    Sublime atop a burger.  But mostly they brighten winter days devoid of anything that looks and tastes like a real tomato in the markets...

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by dstr8

[tony b]

4 hours ago, dstr8 said:

But mostly they brighten winter days devoid of anything that looks and tastes like a real tomato in the markets...

Amen to that one, Brother! 

[cschaaf]

Wow, those look great. I love roasted tomatoes. I've always done them at higher hear, I'll have to try them this way.

Now if I could only grow some. I've tried a few times and haven't had any luck.

 

[kjs]

On 7/26/2016 at 11:28 AM, dstr8 said:

Its that time of year again...my Two-Three is sitting at 175ºF and the tomatoes are getting heat and a light smoke kiss from the lump oak.   

 

Wow. that's a load of tomatoes. Impressive!

 

[Syzygies]

On 7/26/2016 at 9:45 AM, dstr8 said:

Vac seal and into the deep freeze.

I own a chamber vacuum sealer in one kitchen, the best external clamp sealer ever made in the other kitchen, and $30 impulse sealers like these (Amazon) in both kitchens.

Once one gets the hang of it, for soft, wet foods it is far easier to burp the air out of plain chamber vacuum bags while sealing them with the impulse sealer. This is easier to figure out by experimentation than any wordy description. One squishes the bag to eliminate buried air pockets and to wet the inner walls. Drape the bag, above the contents, over the sealing bar, and pull down gently. Now squeeze the contents while adjusting how one secures the bag, so one end then the other over the sealing bar becomes the weak spot where air escapes. When virtually all the air has escaped, seal on an appropriate sealing setting.

Wordy, yes. The driver never gets carsick, you have to figure this out by trial and error. Easy to master, and afterwards, much quicker than any active vacuum machine.

I cannot word this strongly enough. There is a pronounced tendency for people to believe in the method they know (particularly if it's expensive and they already bought it). As a research mathematician I cannot afford this psychological inertia, so I regularly go around inside my head wildly swinging a baseball bat, to break up habits. Yes, I have recently tried both an external clamp vacuum machine and a chamber vacuum machine for this purpose, and neither holds a candle to learning the manual dexterity to burp air using a $30 impulse sealer.

This method is also ideal for stock. The methods I have tried for freezing stock, over forty years of cooking, are a museum of horrors. Reuse a yogurt or Chinese takeout container, and blast off the ice barnacles with hot tap water before use? Yeah, that was me thirty years ago, and I try to keep my cringing to myself in other peoples' kitchens when I still see similar.

Plain chamber vacuum bags, and a $30 impulse sealer, is THE way to go for freezing stock. Consider the more efficient use of freezer space a bonus.

[Syzygies]

I was just using an impulse sealer last night. Here is 28 lbs of tomatoes partly dried and sealed into 14 packets, now freezing on a cookie sheet to keep them flat.

[MacKenzie]

Syzyges, I can taste those tomatoes from here and they are so colourful. Thanks for mentioning the impulse sealers.   I have a chamber sealer and the regular Food Saver type and when that goes i think I'll replace it with the impulse type. 

[CeramicChef]

What are some of the better impulse types of sealers?  Thanks in advance.

[dstr8]

@Syzygies I like your application using the impulse sealer!   Generally, although it involves and extra step, I just freeze the tomatoes, fruit, soup, fish, etc., first then vac seal.  But I can see the value in having an impulse sealer!   Thanks!

Edited July 29, 2016 by dstr8

[Syzygies]

4 hours ago, CeramicChef said:

What are some of the better impulse types of sealers?

I deliberately linked to an Amazon search rather than a specific model. It's a commodity market and I'm unaware of quality differences.

The ones I actually own are from Sorbent Systems. They're a bit pricier (and not as convenient as Amazon) but great quality. Same commodity looks.

The next question is size. The 8" sealer does 6" wide plain Chamber bags like these 6" x 12" bags, but nothing else. That covers all my tomato and stock needs. Very rarely I wish it could seal wider bags.

A huge advantage of sealing in food-safe sous vide pouches like these is being able to go straight from freezer to water bath, to thaw. Then nick a corner for stock, and pour into the dish as needed. One can even reseal.