Shortly after our life on Wildflower Lane began, Doug bought me a Masterbuilt electric smoker. I had always wanted to smoke food, and at the time, this smoker was perfect.

I started with salmon, chipotle peppers, and when family came to visit, a pork shoulder for shredded pork sandwiches. 

As I was prepping the last of my red jalapeños for chipotle peppers on one sublimely beautiful late summer day, I found myself with a couple of empty racks in the smoker. Should I add some tofu? Or more salmon, perhaps? No. On my kitchen countertop, in a shiny stainless steel bowl, sat the answer: tomatoes.

It had been a bumper year for paste tomatoes - I had already canned dozens of whole, fire-roasted and diced tomatoes, and dehydrated enough for a few years of cooking. At this point, I was getting desperate. That’s when I had the brilliant idea that smoked tomatoes would change the world. I was not wrong…it changed my world at least (watch out world, here we come!). 

After I removed the tomatoes from the smoker, I skinned them, chopped the flesh, and collected the resulting juice. It’s unclear why I decided to use them in salsa, but the result was so wonderfully tasty that I‘ve done it every year since. 

Side note: I highly recommend replacing your regular salsa or pico de gallo with this tasty treat.

Another treat is a by-product: the juice from the smoked tomatoes. It’s a spectacular addition to soups and sauces. Try it in my Death’s Door Chili. It’s worth it!