Last Updated on October 28, 2022 by Carne Diem
Sides and Salads
Method: Handheld Smoker
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Despite all my years of smoking I must admit it never once crossed my mind to smoke a salad. I have made several grilled salads over the years that turned out really well, but never have a smoked one. A couple weeks ago I was eating at Affare in Kansas City and was shocked when I saw a smoked salad on the menu. I knew we had to order it. Needless to say, everyone at our table loved it. This recipe is inspired by that great salad though quite different (we are not keen on straight up stealing other peoples recipes, no matter how great they are). Our version uses a peppery arugula, with bourbon vinaigrette, apples, salt and pepper cashews, and crumbled black pepper goat cheese.
Making the Smoked Arugula Salad
Prepare the Bourbon Vinaigrette
The dressing for this salad is a simple vinaigrette with a hint of sweet bourbon flavor. To make the vinaigrette, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a shaker or salad dressing cruet. Shake well to combine. Refrigerate until needed. The 2 tablespoons of bourbon called for in this recipe results in a subtle bourbon flavor. Depending on your preferences you may choose to increase of decrease this amount by a tablespoon.
Prepare the Smoked Arugula Salad for smoking.
For this recipe you will need some flavored cashews (we think the salt and pepper variety works really well with this recipe), arugula, peppered goat cheese, apple slices, and very thinly sliced shallot. You can make as much or as little salad as you want, but this amount of apple and shallot is good for about 4-5 salads.
Thinly slice the apple and shallots, and crumble the goat cheese.
In a 1 quart (32 ounce) mason jar, add 3-5 apple slices, followed by the crumbled goat cheese, and cashews.
Top with the arugula and thinly sliced shallot. Repeat with the remaining jars depending on the number of salad servings that you wish to make.
Smoking the Arugula Salad
To smoke the salad we will be using a Smoking Gun. The smoking Gun is a handheld food smoker. This tool allows us to add subtle smoke flavor to foods or drinks. The subtle smoke flavor added works perfectly for this Smoked Arugula Salad.
Choose a mild flavored wood for this recipe. Fruit woods such as apple of cherry work well. We went with apple.
Place the smoking tube as deep into the Mason jar as possible. Light the Smoking Gun. This step is best done under a kitchen hood if you are doing this inside.
As the smoke starts flip the jar on its side or upside down to try to keep as much smoke in the jar as possible. Smoke for about 30 seconds then remove the smoking gun and place the lid on the jar. Repeat with the remaining jars.
When ready to serve dump the salad into a bowl and top with the bourbon dressing. Enjoy! This salads pairs perfectly with other smoked and grilled meats like Weekday Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey Breast, Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, and Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip.
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📖 Recipe
Smoked Arugula Salad with Peppered Goat Cheese and Bourbon Vinaigrette
Equipment
- Smoking Gun or other handheld smoker
Ingredients
- Arugula
- 1 Shallot thinly sliced
- Seasoned Cashews
- Peppered Goat Cheese crumbled
- 1 Apple thinly sliced
Bourbon Vinaigrette
- ½ Cup Olive Oil
- ¼ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Tab Bourbon
- 1 tea Minced Garlic
- 1 tea Dijon Mustard
- ½ tea White Sugar
- ¼ tea Salt
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a salad dressing shaker and shake to combine. Refrigerate until needed.
- In 32 ounce Mason jars, layer the a apple slices, crumbled goat cheese, cashews, arugula, and sliced shallots.
- Smoke the salad using a Smoking Gun or other hand held smoker. Place the smoking tube into the Mason jar as deep as possible and light the handheld smoker.
- As the smoke starts flip the jar on its side or upside down to try to keep as much smoke in the jar as possible. Smoke for about 30 seconds then remove the smoking gun and place the lid on the jar. Repeat with the remaining jars.
- When ready to serve dump the salad into a bowl and top with the bourbon dressing.
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