We are in love with all our donabe pots. This time, I want to write about my donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin".
Just like our other donabe pots, this is an authentic Iga-yaki Donabe (made by Nagatani-en) from Iga, Japan. To make each donabe, it takes about 2 weeks.
Okay, let's start smoking with the donabe smoker.
We got a variety of ingredients for this first try...chicken wings, salmon, scallops, Swiss cheese, jumbo shrimp, and quail eggs (boiled and peeled).
We first lined the bottom of the donabe with a piece of aluminum foil. Then, we put a small handful of the smoke chips. These are Japanese sakura (cherry blossom) smoke chips, which comes with the donabe. There are 3 levels of the grates. We set all the ingredients on these grates.
Set the donabe over high heat. Once it starts smoking (about 7-8 minutes), we closed with the lid.
Wait until the smoke starts to come out of the rim of the donabe again (about 5-6 minutes). Then, make the "water seal" by filling the rim with the water. After 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let it rest for 20 minutes...NEVER OPEN THE LID MEANWHILE.
Voila...all the ingredients are ready to eat. The aroma was just so fantastic. And the flavor was so nicely smokey and perfect. I couldn't believe how juicy the chicken was and also it was cooked to the bone. Everything was unbelievably delicious.
We were so quiet while eating, because they were just so delicious and made us focused to keep eating. We cooked so much and finished everything. It was a great protein fest.
Wow. I already have so many different ideas with this beautiful donabe smoker. I LOVE it.
You can find the recipe on toiro's website. Please check it out.
