The smell of wood smoke and freshly peeled apples takes me back to the evenings I spent at the foot of my grandfather’s chair. There was always a fire in the huge rock fireplace and there was always a pile of apples in a large wooden bowl sitting beside a burlap bag full of venison jerky. Watching grandpa peel the apple with his pocket knife was always fun as he could easily do it in one continuous motion, never letting the peel break. I’d toss the long string of peeling onto the fire and watch it steam and crackle in the flames while munching on my apple slices. Apple Smoked Apple Crumble is a uniquely flavored dessert that will tantalize your senses with smokey crunch, gooey goodness, and fresh flavor.

Using the Smoke Chief to cold smoke both the apple slices and the crumble topping, kisses the ingredients with apple smoke flavor. It’s a subtle seasoning and a great example of using smoke as you would a spice, like a dash of nutmeg or clove. With apples available all year, this is a convenient treat to bring to a summer gathering, a fall tailgater, or to serve in the middle of winter by a warm fire. If serving adults, this dessert can be spiced-up by drizzling on a bit of your favorite liqueur or cinnamon infused spirit.

Apple Smoked Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

Filling:

6-7 cups sliced apples

3/4 cup brown or white sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Butter for greasing pan

Topping:

1 cup whole wheat or white flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Smoked nuts (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Spread topping in a shallow pan or dish and place in grill or smoker. If adding nuts, place them on a drying screen to smoke along with the crumble and sliced apples.

Peel and slice apples placing them in a single layer on drying screens or grill/smoker grates. Fill the Smoke Chief with Apple Pellets, connect to grill or smoker, and cold smoke 45 minutes to an hour.

In a large bowl, mix smoked apples with sugar, flour and salt. Generously grease the bottom and sides of an oven-safe casserole pan. Place apple mixture in the pan and bake in a preheated 375º oven for 25 minutes.

Remove apples from the oven and sprinkle smoked crumble evenly over the top of the apples. Return to the oven and bake another 20-25 minutes or until apples are soft and crumble is golden brown. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Adult Apple Smoked Apple Crumble: Flavored spirits of choice (Dr. McGillicuddy’s Apple Pie, Cinnamon Schnapps or Jim Beam Kentucky Fire) can be added to the apple filling (1-2 tablespoons) or simply drizzled on top of the ice cream right before serving.

Article and photos by Tiffany Haugen. For a copy of Tiffany’s book, Grill It! Plank It! Wrap It! Smoke It!, go to www.tiffanyhaugen.com.