Sous Vide Smoked Pumpkin Puree Video

How To Make Sous Vide Smoked Pumpkin Puree with fresh pumpkin to add maximum flavour to sweet and savoury dishes.

Using fresh pumpkin and a sous vide makes a vibrant, smooth puree with superior flavour and texture. Adding a short smoke infusion after cooking deepens the profile and gives both sweet and savoury recipes an engaging, outdoor note.

Do you make your own pumpkin puree?

Growing up we always used fresh pumpkin rather than canned. The colour, texture and flavour of a homemade puree are noticeably different, and home-cooked pumpkin works wonderfully in everything from pancakes and fritters to soups and desserts. If you enjoy recipes that highlight real pumpkin, making your own puree is worth the extra few minutes of prep.

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Can The Colour

Store-bought canned pumpkin is convenient and has its place, but homemade puree usually offers richer taste and a more pleasing texture. Cooking pumpkin sous vide preserves colour, flavour and nutrients better than many other methods, and it yields a consistency close to canned pumpkin, while tasting fresher.

I originally developed a sous vide pumpkin puree for a crème brûlée recipe, but the method adapts well to many pumpkin-based dishes. For extra depth, I like to lightly smoke the pumpkin right after it comes out of the sous vide bath so it absorbs a clean, smoky note while hot.

Sous Vide Smoked Pumpkin Puree

A hand-held smoking tool or a small smoker works well for this technique. Rather than smoking raw pumpkin, I prefer to smoke it after sous vide cooking and before blending — the warm flesh takes on smoke more evenly and the flavour feels more pronounced. Use your preferred smoking wood chips (apple, hickory, cherry, mesquite, etc.) to tailor the aroma.

Try small amounts of smoke to begin — you can always increase the time on future batches once you know your taste preference.

Tips for Homemade Pumpkin Puree Success:

Many readers prefer homemade pumpkin puree, and with a few simple steps you can get consistent results that work in your favourite recipes.

Sous vide or roast for a texture similar to canned pumpkin. Sous vide preserves colour and flavour while producing evenly cooked flesh.
After cooking sous vide, snip a corner of the bag and drain the liquid that accumulates. Removing excess liquid helps achieve a thicker, more stable puree; reserve the liquid to thin the puree later if needed.
If the puree is still too loose, drain further through cheesecloth, a fine mesh strainer, or a nut milk bag to remove additional moisture.
If you plan to smoke, infuse while the pumpkin is hot straight from the sous vide. A short smoke (1–3 minutes) inside the sealed bag imparts flavour without overwhelming the pumpkin.
Use sous vide pumpkin in many ways: mashed, pureed, folded into soups, blended into ice cream, or shaped into patties and roasted.

Recipe: Sous Vide Smoked Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

Equipment:

sous vide immersion cooker
heat-proof bin or tall pot for the water bath
vacuum sealer or heavy-duty zip-top bags
handheld smoker or small smoking device (optional)

For the puree:

fresh pumpkin (choose a variety with firm orange flesh; Guyanese pumpkin was used here)

For smoking (optional):

smoking chips of your preferred flavour

Method

Cook the pumpkin

Set the sous vide water bath to 85ºC (185ºF).
Wash, peel and cut the pumpkin into small cubes. Place the pieces in a food-safe vacuum bag and seal. If you do not have a vacuum sealer, use a heavy-duty zip-top bag and the water displacement method to remove air.
Submerge the sealed bag in the heated water bath and cook for 50–60 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender.

Make a standard puree

Remove the bag from the water bath and carefully snip a corner to drain the cooking liquid into a cup. Transfer the cooked pumpkin to a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Adjust texture with reserved cooking liquid if needed.

Smoked version

For smoked puree, remove the bag from the water bath, snip a small corner, and drain the liquid. Add smoking chips to your smoker, insert the smoke tube into the snipped corner of the bag, and secure it so smoke can be directed into the sealed bag. Smoke for 1–3 minutes, then reseal the bag and let it infuse briefly while still warm.
After smoking, blend the pumpkin until smooth and adjust consistency with reserved liquid if necessary.

Save for later

To store, cool the sealed bag in an ice bath for 15–20 minutes, then refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to two months.

Use this smoked sous vide pumpkin puree in pies, soups, custards, pancakes, ice cream, or as a flavourful side. The combination of sous vide cooking and a short smoke infusion delivers bright colour, silky texture and a balanced smoky note that enhances both sweet and savoury preparations.