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| Making Peach Sweet Potato Cobbler |
Over the past few months we've been working on lots of recipes and the creation of some new sauces and seasonings. In that time we've focused on the making of fantastic meals like "Brisket for One", "Marinade Pour Cote de Porc", "Bourbon Glazed Pork Ribs", and more. One thing we did not spend much time on was the creation of desserts and appetizers for the beginning and end of the meal. But today that changes a bit in that we will be creating a completely new dessert. This dessert takes into account the classic combinations of a Southern favorite "Peach Cobbler" and combines that with another Southern favorite "Sweet Potatoes". The recipe is fairly simple and easy to make and when done right using your barbecue smoker the end results are phenomenal. So, spend some time with us as we walk through the steps then go out and make your own creation. Let all your friends know that your grill can do more than make ribs and chicken.
Let's get started with the Smoked Peach Sweet Potato Cobbler recipe.
First, it's a good idea to collect all the ingredients necessary to make the cobbler. Here's the ingredient listing below:
Peach - Sweet Potato Preparation
- 4-5 Medium to Large Peaches
- 2-3 Small to Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Ground
- 1 Cup Sugar
Topping Mix
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1-1/2 Cups Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Melted Butter
Barbecue Grill
- Apple Wood Chunks
- Charcoal Briquettes
After the Sweet Potatoes and Peaches are washed use a fork to poke holes into the Sweet Potatoes. The holes will allow the steam to escape and will aid in cooking the sweet potatoes more evenly and faster. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the Sweet Potatoes on foil or in a container and let bake for 30 minutes. We use foil because if you cook the sweet potatoes too long the innards will begin to pour out onto the oven. It's probably a good idea to keep the oven on for a short period as we will be using it later in the process to warm the cast iron pan.
Remove the skin from the Peaches. Slice the Peaches into multiple slices about 1/4 inch thick. After the Sweet Potatoes have baked remove the skin and slice into 1/4 inch segments similar to the Peaches. Combine the Peaches and the Sweet Potatoes in a large bowl. Add the Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Sugar spreading evenly over the Peach Sweet Potato combination. Toss the mixture to ensure everything is coated then cover with a paper towel and allow the mixture to rest for 45 minutes on the counter or in your refrigerator. The Peaches will begin to sweat their liquids into the boil which is exactly what we want.
To make the Cobbler crust we will combine the Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Baking Powder and Salt to create a first level crumbly crust. After the ingredients are thoroughly mixed you can decide if you want to pour in the melted butter on now or pour in after the cast iron pan has been warmed.
Next preheat your oven to 350 degrees if you haven't done so already. Collect your cast iron pan and place in your stove at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. This will allow the pan to retain heat and reduce the transition from cold to warm when the pan is placed on your grill.
While your pan is warming start your barbecue grill. A charcoal grill will take about 25 minutes to get to a managed temperature of 350 degrees so you may have to start the grill earlier than using the cast iron pan warming as a guide. Add about 2 Ounces of Apple Wood chunks to the charcoal to create the wood smoke.
Once your grill reaches 350 degrees and the cast iron pan has reached temperature remove the pan from the oven. Remove the paper towel from the Peach Sweet Potato mixture and add into the pan including the resulting liquid. Spread the mix evenly across the pan.
With the mixture in the pan pour over the Cobbler Topping until it evenly covers the entire surface of the fruit and potato mixture. Make sure to cover all the fruit and sweet potatoes.
With the mixture covered pour over the melted butter as evenly as possible across the entire surface of the Cobbler Topping.
Place the cast iron pan on the barbecue grill in an indirect fashion so that the heat is not directly under the pan. Allow the pan to cook within the grill with the lid closed for 1 hour. At about 45 minutes into the cooking cycle take a quick look to see that the crust is cooking evenly. Add the amount of time that the lid was off to the overall cook time and return the lid to the grill.
After about 1 hour the crust should be golden if not slightly brown from the wood smoke. Remove the cobbler and let rest for 15 minutes minimum as the pan will be very hot.
Serve the Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream or similar.
Regarding the Cobbler mixture you can also add the melted butter to the mixture as I did in the video. Note the mixture will clump more and will need to be spread out across the fruit and potato mixture. Also if you like your Cobbler to be more smoky just add another 1 to 2 ounces of Apple Wood chunks. Manage your heat levels by adjusting the top and bottom vents on your grill.
This is an awesome dessert and I would recommend making with both the Sweet Potatoes and the Peaches or if you like you can just make it as a Peach or Apple Cobbler with just the fruit and no Sweet Potatoes. Either way you can have this wonderful dessert with some modest preparation within 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
I've added our Smoked Sweet Peach and Sweet Potato video for your review. Please enjoy and send any comments you might have to my attention. I hope you try this dessert in any form that you feel works best for you.
One last thing regarding the Nutmeg used in the initial Peach and Sweet Potato combination. The addition of Nutmeg was brought about as a way of segmenting and plainly allowing the taste of the Sweet Potatoes to be specifically identified in the blend. Since the recipe base is made mainly for the Peaches it was a concern that the Sweet Potatoes might be overshadowed by the Peaches. The primary amounts of syrups and liquids that were drawn out came directly from the Peaches so the cobbler might tend to have more of a focused Peach taste over the Sweet Potatoes. So, by adding the Nutmeg we draw forward on the Sweet Potatoes and add balance to the overall Cobbler.
Is it necessary to bake the Sweet Potatoes prior to adding to the Peach and Sweet Potato mixture. I would argue that yes it is necessary to bake the Sweet Potatoes. You will find that the Sweet Potatoes are hard and can almost be rock like when felt. The Peaches tend to be softer with their skin somewhat relaxed depending on their state of ripeness. If we were to simply cut up the Sweet Potatoes and add to the mix then the Sweet Potatoes may not soften at the same rate as the Peaches. Since Sweet Potatoes fully soften around 1 to 1-1/2 hours in the oven we knew we would need to pull back on the full heat and focus on somewhere around 30 to 45 minutes of baking which would allow some softness without going overboard. I chose 40 minutes to split the difference and the results were almost perfect. In fact the Sweet Potatoes tend to hold their shape and remain viable without becoming like mashed potatoes in the cobbler. Also, consider using small Sweet Potatoes enough to simulate the same size and shape of the Peaches when cut. The results will work together beautifully and you will be rewarded for the extra steps in your process.
If I haven't mentioned it already I used Apple Wood to smoke the cobbler. Regarding the amount I focused on using about 3 Ounces of wood realizing that for regular barbecues I would typically use 5 to 6 Ounces of wood. I would note a couple of things about the wood. First off wood chips would work better than wood chunks. Chunks tend to concentrate the smoke and can in fact make it difficult to control the amount of smoke dispensed onto the cobbler.
Second I would ensure that the wood is soaked for at least 20 minutes minimum. Soaking the wood thoroughly will slow down the amount of smoke given off by the wood during the heat process. Keep in mind that the cast iron pan will be offset from the fire and will be baked through heat transfer commonly known as indirect heating. If locating Apple Wood chips is a problem then it may be better to simply purchase charcoal that has been wood infused. There are a number of brands of the market where Apple Wood chips have been pressed into the charcoal during the manufacturing process. In the case of Apple Wood briquettes I would forgo the soaking process. It is not necessary to soak the briquettes when they have been infused. Soaking charcoal briquettes would act to prohibit their ability to ignite for the cooking process. Further soaking wood infused briquettes may act to taint the wood smoke causing more of a sooty effect that the production of wood smoke desired.
Finally, although we did not use any of our bbq sauce, dry rubs or condiment products in the making and production of the Peach and Sweet Potato cobbler you could actually use some of our dry rubs in the process. You could actually use our Santa Maria Dry rub in place of the salt. As well you could use 1/2 teaspoon of the Chipotle or Santa Barbara Smoked Seafood Rub to add a subtle spicy and sweetness to the overall Cobbler. I would keep the amounts of dry rub at or below the 1/2 teaspoon so as not to overpower the overall taste of the Cobbler. Either way the end results I believe would be fantastic.
Happy Barbecue!
