Hummus? Huh?

[pi guy]

Ok, so here's a crazy-ass question. Anyone ever smoke chick peas for use in homemade hummus?

I make homemade hummus every week now and my recipe is on point! To the extent I'm seriously thinking about selling it at a farmers market or something.

But reading through the threads here, looking for meat smoking ideas, it got me thinking about hummus.

Any thoughts?

 

[Straw_Sticks_Bricks]

I do have some thoughts. I may have to do some experimentation myself.

First, do you mind sharing your hummus recipe? My wife and I enjoy it, so I'd love to surprise her with a new recipe.

Second, do you flavor the hummus? One of our favorites to buy from the store is red pepper hummus. I think smoked peppers might be a good way to get a kick of flavor in there. Smoking the garlic might work also.

Third, do you use canned or dry chickpeas. If you use canned, I think smoking them might dry them out too much. Maybe keeping them with the aqua faba in the smoker could help. But then I'd wonder if the smoke would mostly follow the liquid and not the beans. If using dry, cooking them in the smoker might work. I've never tried cooking beans in a smoker. The Instant Pot is just too convenient.

Lastly, I wonder if it might work better to smoke some sesame seeds and use them to make the tahini for the hummus. Seeds and nuts tend to absorb smoke flavor well and drying them out shouldn't be a concern since the tahini gets its liquid from olive oil.

 

[nlife]

I use Rainbow Plant Life's recipe for hummus. Yea, the name is a bit silly, but the wife and I really enjoy her version.

I've never tried a smoked version of any hummus. It could be interesting, though I think you'd have to watch the overall amount of smoke time and choose a mild wood since I feel that it could overpower the rest of the flavours fairly quickly.

Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out.

 

[pi guy]

First, do you mind sharing your hummus recipe? My wife and I enjoy it, so I'd love to surprise her with a new recipe.

Thanks for the reply and sharing your thoughts! The best part is the technique, more than the ingredients. This creates a super creamy texture. It's a longer process, having to keep stopping and scraping down, but it's really worth it in the end.

Here is my current recipe. I got it from Inspired Taste website and tweaked a few things:
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1/2C fresh lemon juice
1/4C tahini
1 1/2 small-medium garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Extra Bold olive oil (for serving)
Ground smoked paprika (for serving)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then process for 30 seconds more. (This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy).

2. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then process for another 30 seconds or until well blended.

3. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process them until thick and relatively smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. (This keeps the hummus from getting too "gritty").

4. If it's too thick, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water with the food processor turned on until you reach the perfect consistency.

5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of smoked paprika over the top.

 

[pi guy]

Second, do you flavor the hummus? One of our favorites to buy from the store is red pepper hummus. I think smoked peppers might be a good way to get a kick of flavor in there. Smoking the garlic might work also.

I haven't added anything yet, but have plans for a lot of different additions, to make a range of different flavors. I may try to sell them someday if I can get some of the flavor profiles down (hence why I'm considering the smoked aspect).

 

[pi guy]

Third, do you use canned or dry chickpeas. If you use canned, I think smoking them might dry them out too much. Maybe keeping them with the aqua faba in the smoker could help. But then I'd wonder if the smoke would mostly follow the liquid and not the beans. If using dry, cooking them in the smoker might work. I've never tried cooking beans in a smoker. The Instant Pot is just too convenient.

Canned only so far, I never thought about them getting dried out, but that could cause an issue for sure.

 

[pi guy]

Lastly, I wonder if it might work better to smoke some sesame seeds and use them to make the tahini for the hummus. Seeds and nuts tend to absorb smoke flavor well and drying them out shouldn't be a concern since the tahini gets its liquid from olive oil.

That's not a bad idea! I may try smoking them before the chick peas, thanks.

 

[pi guy]

I use Rainbow Plant Life's recipe for hummus. Yea, the name is a bit silly, but the wife and I really enjoy her version.

I've never tried a smoked version of any hummus. It could be interesting, though I think you'd have to watch the overall amount of smoke time and choose a mild wood since I feel that it could overpower the rest of the flavours fairly quickly.

Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out.

I will definitely report back, thanks.

 

[voyager 663rd]

I make mine as well--green goddess, garlic, roasted tomato.

BY FAR, my absolute favourite is

Buffalo Wing Blue Cheese hummus--Franks B/wing hot sauce is the "buffalo" aspect--no chicken so is still vegan friendly.

To that, I ALSO add a habenero or scotch bonnet (or if I'm feeling frisky, a Reaper). That is not in the recipe BUT is a must!

Spicy Hummus Recipe - Chili Pepper Madness

Whip up this creamy, spicy hummus recipe made with fiery habanero peppers, tangy Buffalo sauce and plenty of blue cheese. It's time to spice things up!

www.chilipeppermadness.com

You have to try this one.

BUT in regards to the OP

Re: smoked. I would first just add some smoked ingredients to the finished product, leaving the actual hummus part unadulterated.

See how you like it and go from there.

 

[chef k-dude]

I make mine as well--green goddess, garlic, roasted tomato.

BY FAR, my absolute favourite is

Buffalo Wing Blue Cheese hummus--Franks B/wing hot sauce is the "buffalo" aspect--no chicken so is still vegan friendly.

To that, I ALSO add a habenero or scotch bonnet (or if I'm feeling frisky, a Reaper). That is not in the recipe BUT is a must!

Spicy Hummus Recipe - Chili Pepper Madness

Whip up this creamy, spicy hummus recipe made with fiery habanero peppers, tangy Buffalo sauce and plenty of blue cheese. It's time to spice things up!

www.chilipeppermadness.com

You have to try this one.

BUT in regards to the OP

Re: smoked. I would first just add some smoked ingredients to the finished product, leaving the actual hummus part unadulterated.

See how you like it and go from there.

Wow, those read like some very awesome takes on hummus.

Pi is using smoked paprika as a garnish. Seems like a few drops of liquid smoke would be an easy solution. As long as I dont use too much of it I find it's just fine in the few recipes I use it in. I'm not sure I'd want smoked hummus in general. I know folks will smoke just about everything but for me everything doesn't need to taste like smoke.

 

[voyager 663rd]

Canned only so far, I never thought about them getting dried out, but that could cause an issue for sure.

I only use dried. so much cheaper.

I do a double batch of equivalent-batch chickpeas in the IP --NO overnight soaking required-and freeze half for the next batch.

 

[pi guy]

I make mine as well--green goddess, garlic, roasted tomato.

BY FAR, my absolute favourite is

Buffalo Wing Blue Cheese hummus--Franks B/wing hot sauce is the "buffalo" aspect--no chicken so is still vegan friendly.

To that, I ALSO add a habenero or scotch bonnet (or if I'm feeling frisky, a Reaper). That is not in the recipe BUT is a must!

Spicy Hummus Recipe - Chili Pepper Madness

Whip up this creamy, spicy hummus recipe made with fiery habanero peppers, tangy Buffalo sauce and plenty of blue cheese. It's time to spice things up!

www.chilipeppermadness.com

You have to try this one.

BUT in regards to the OP

Re: smoked. I would first just add some smoked ingredients to the finished product, leaving the actual hummus part unadulterated.

See how you like it and go from there.

The Buffalo Wing recipe is great, thank you. It's one of about 10 I had been thinking of, so this is really helpful!

The more I'm thinking about it the more I agree: add some smoked ingredients but leave the base hummus as is.