Smoke Roasted Long Hots

In the Philadelphia area the Italian communities have become very fond of roasted long hots or fried long hots. You can order it as an add-on to any hoagie or cheesesteak, roasted pork or chicken cutlet sandwich. In fact you should read menus carefully in these parts because they are fond of just including them.

Long hots offer "clean" heat without the pickling juice that comes with jalapenos or banana peppers. They are most often roasted with olive oil, maybe some balsamic vinegar, black pepper and garlic. They can be used on sandwiches like roasted pork, cheesesteaks, hoagies, wraps, and even egg rolls. They are at home on top of a salad or as shown above, just served with your favorite meats and cheeses (if you haven't already, please try Imported Extra Sharp Provolone).

So, I have a local farm within a couple of miles and I do whatever I can to support them in the summer. Zucchini as big as your head, fresh corn picked three times a day and a bumper crop of cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers of all kinds. They were selling 5 for a dollar or a basket (bushel) for $10. Today I just grabbed 15 for $3 but will be back for a basket before summer ends.

So here is what I did:

I threw the 15 Long hots into a disposable foil deep 1/4 sheet pan along with 5 Poblanos for good measure. I tossed them around with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, whole peeled garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and some additional granulated garlic. Once tossed together you will have something like this:

I set up my smoker for 275F and chose hickory logs for the boost of flavor.

I usually let them go for 2-3 hours, but you can not hurt them. Mine tend to still have a little crunch but you can let it smoke for up to 5 hours or more if you like them soft. I actually got a call from my child's summer camp and had to run up there to drop something off. They were fine as I left them to roast for 2 more hours while I was at the camp. When I returned they looked like this:

So from here I just tossed them around in the pan oil and vinegar and divided them into containers. I filled a tall plastic deli container of long hots and a small container holding the Poblano's. Then I decided to drop the rest of the long hots into a food saver bag and seal them up tight and right into the freezer.

As I write this I am leaning over this very sandwich. (below)  Mmmm...

 So, I think it is important to recognize the smoker as a source of good quality flavor for a whole host of foods. I love that this project cost me $4 in vegetables at the height of their freshness and some other items I had in the kitchen anyway. There is low stress and great return on investment. You will be enjoying these on anything you can think of. I ordered an omelette the other morning with long hots, roasted pork and the beloved sharp provolone cheese.

Recipe:

This does not really require a recipe. Just wing it or follow along with my article and you will do fine! Enjoy!