Latikia Experiment

Once you've grown and harvested your tobacco, what do you do with it? Talk about it here.
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Smitty
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Latikia Experiment

Post by Smitty »

I wanted to try to make some Latikia from the Samsun tobacco from this years crop. I fired up the smoker with some white oak and got it held at 175*. I used some shredded leaf in a metal collander. I have no idea how long I will let this go, I am using an ounce just to play around with it.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

Well, how did it turn out? Keep us posted.

You're way ahead of the game. My babies are just begining to kick into gear. They range from 6" to 18" tall and they're getting to the point where you can almost "watch" them grow. I notice the difference in the size of the leaves from when I go in the morning to when I get home in the evening.

By the way, that's a nice smoker... plenty of room for tobacco and racks of ribs, brisket, tri-tip, links, pork shoulder... umm, it's lunch time and I'm starving.
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Smitty
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Post by Smitty »

I have to wait a bit longer for some VA to cure before I can see how succesful it was, or wasn't! I have never tried straight Latikia before so I don't know what it is supposed to be like. I like the aroma it has now so that sounds like a good start.
I was worried that the tobacco might cause off flavors in the smoker, that is why I tried a small amount. The ribs I cooked after turned out fine....no nicotine kick!
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Smitty
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Post by Smitty »

I have a couple days off and the weather is beautiful and I decided to ramp up my experiment a bit. I used about 100 fresh picked Samsun leaves and packed the loosely into a couple colanders and stacked the onto a pizza screen. I started an oak fire and have it held at a little over 100*. These are the temps I use when I smoke fish,. It is considered a "cold smoke". Absorbtion of smoke, adding flavor, seems to be key here. It is not to dry out the leaf. As a matter of fact, I have been misting them with some distilled water every couple hours to keep them pliable and from getting to brittle. After the first four hours they are browning up and smell wonderful. :P
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Alan L
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Post by Alan L »

Damn, dude, I've been salivating like Pavlov's dogs waiting on a report of your efforts, and now you say you haven't tasted it? :shock:

As an aside, what fish do you smoke at ~100 degrees F? I do rainbow trout filets at 150 using hickory smoke and they are utterly sublime. :P

I'll send you a tin of McC's pure latakia for a sample if you'll send me an ounce of your homesmoked.

I'm currently scoping out fields of burley so I can ask for a couple of plants before harvest. Smoking them (over wood before in the pipe :roll: ) is something I'd been thinking about! 8)
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Smitty
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Post by Smitty »

I have smoked a bunch of Mackerel at those temps. I used local white oak for that too. Really nice flavor profile.It is an oily fish to begin with.
I tried a pipeful of the test last night. It started out as an oriental Samsun which air cured was a bit harsh almost sourish, which is about what is supposed to be for blending. Adding smoke really mellowed it out. Totally different smoke. Not harsh at all, nor sour. I pulled some Virginia out off the shed and mixed 1/3 of the smoked Samsun and the VA. I like it a lot. I will play around with the mix, but that seems to be a good starting point. It doesn't taste like a true English blend, but good anyway. :P
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