Smoking Whole Spices

[Wheives]

OK - So I'm on this Caribbean kick lately, and I love Jamaican Jerk. I got a fantastic jerk marinade and I've found a source which will soon have pimento wood pellets. But they are probably going to be expensive. Then I'm browsing amazon and I see whole allspice is not horrible in bulk. And that's amazon, so who knows. So, I figure, what the heh. I fire up a bunch of coals and empty the small jar of whole allspice from the cupboard into the pellet holder and voila - I get some nice, thick, aromatic allspice smoke. It makes me wonder how other spices might work.

Anybody else ever used whole spices in their smoking? I wondering about cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, cloves, star anise,...what else is there. I have read here about augmenting a smoke with herbs but I don't recall anything about spices. Any thoughts?

 

[TentHunter]

Yes, I've used allspice berries for smoking Jamaican Jerk a number of times, and you're right; it smells great! Allspice berries mixed with Cherry & Hickory is suppose to simulate pimento wood fairly well.

As far as trying other spices, I don't see why one couldn't experiment with other whole spices as well.

Also, Big Poppa Smokers sells the 1 lb bags of BBQer's Delight "Savory Herb" flavored pellets, which have herbs in the mix. They are especially great when baking breads or pizza on the grill. It makes your whole back yard smell like a pizzeria.





On a side note: I love Jamaican Jerk. If you'd like to try your hand at making your own Jerk marinade, I have an authentic recipe posted here: http://www.pelletsmoking.com/pelletsmoking-com-gallery-10/jamaican-feast-jerk-fritters-1297/