Baking tins:

[settersbrace]

I recently downloaded Dr. Fred Hanna's "Perfect Smoke" and found the essays on baking or heating of tobacco tins to alter the color and flavor. Has anyone here ever tried this? If so, I'd be interested in the type of tobacco, English, VaPer, etc. the time and temp and the results of your experiments. It sounds like a fun and possibly tasty adventure.

 

[mso489]

I'd be concerned that a sealed tin might expand and blow up, at least messing up or maybe damaging

an oven. But I'd be interested to hear if there is a safe way to do this that improves tobacco flavor (?).

 

[settersbrace]

I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that Fred's process uses oven temps at the very lowest settings, under the boiling point of 212 degrees F. He did say that a few tins from various blenders did occasionally swell up and once in a while the seal would be compromised but it seems that if it's done carefully, it works well.

 

[rockford]

I have done tins of Erinmore Flake @190F for 3 hours (thanks to a post from Bradley). It did pop the seal but the result was just fantastic! I also tried Luxury Bullseye Flake, wrapped the coins in parchment paper and then two layers of foil. It was also a treat.

Both methods worked equally as well for me and I will try it again.

 

[eastwoodaudio]

I've done it with Erinmore flake. I didn't have a sealed tin, so I put 3 or 4 flakes in a smaller 8 oz mason jar with tinfoil over the top, the top ring screwed on carefully. Baked at around 190-200 according to my digital thermometer for about 2-3 hours. Flakes turned out quite a bit darker and the flavors that seemed to be hiding were more present, although not overwhelming. I compared to the pre-baked flakes, and the baked flakes seemed quite a bit more mellow, almost like an "instant aging". I certainly enjoyed it. Haven't tried it with any other flakes however.
Let us know if you decide to do this and your results!

 

[nsfisher]

Erinmore and Escudo tins. Bake at 220 for 9 hours. It is the only way I smoke em now. Way better than fresh from the tin or even aging.

 

[nsfisher]

I was too late to edit my previous post. It should be 190 for 9 hours. The short version is 220 for 2hr and 20 min.

Sorry for the mislead.

 

[settersbrace]

So it seems the method is a favorite with flake smokers? I did get when reading Freds book that the process is somewhat of an accelerated aging tactic that smooths out and darkens the sharper notes of some blends. It's interesting to be sure.

 

[hawke]

Digging up old threads on baking tobacco I thought I would revive the discussion once more. A couple months ago I was wanting to put together a blend that was to be a night time high nicotine smoke. Ive redone this a few times now and pleased with the outcome.
Equal parts of McClellands 5100, Perique, & Five Brothers. Some scissor cutting to help them mix. A day or two in a press then to a small toaster baking oven in a spare old tin for two rounds of 30 min each at 200 degrees. The tin is actually sealed again and the "poof" upon reopening is heard so it could be used to store further if desired.
The result mellows out the harshness of the Five Brothers which along with its strength and some perique delivers the nicotine. The 5100 sweetens the blend a bit. Pleasant on the porch for relaxing or a nighttime bowl.

 

[ericusrex]

Anyone ever tried this with OGS?

 

[skraps]

A buddy of mine from my pipe club baked OGS. 6 hrs, 200° wrapped in tinfoil just in case the lid blew.
Noticeably darker in color and he said that it really took the bright edges off the flavor.

 

[ericusrex]

Can you bake just a few flakes at a time? Or does it dry out that way?

 

[pipestud]

I love to tin bake for getting variations in flavor presentations after cooking. I do wait until my wife leaves for work before sneaking to her oven to do the cooking.
Here's an experience I had with a 19-year old 50g tin of Dunhill's Royal Yacht - I know this tobacco very well because I smoke it all the time. It is a mostly Virginia blend with a secret casing that I love. That casing, along with the rich, ripe fig like tones of the tobacco can readily be smelled when I pop the lid, and with tins this old, the tobacco is quite dark with only a few lighter brown specks of leaf and lots of sugar crystals. When I opened that freshly baked tin, I found that all of the tobacco was jet black in color, the sugar crystals were there, but the tin note had morphed. I could not detect even a hint of the smell of the secret Royal Yacht casing, and the ripe fig aroma had transformed into a smell I had never whiffed before. Sort of a dark, almost Espresso kind of smell along with burning leaves, maybe? At first light, I knew immediately that there was a difference. This cooked Royal Yacht had flattened out. There were no high or low nuances to the tobacco as it was smoked. Instead, a strong but monochromatic Virginia taste that was so tamed, that even the strongest puffing cadence produced no bite. The flavor was no better or worse than had the tin been uncooked, but it was a very different flavor presentation as I got no hint at all of that wonderful added flavor produced by the casing. It had been cooked out. The entire tin was consumed within a week and I thoroughly enjoyed ever puff.
I have done a lot of tin baking with other tobacco blends since then and have had varying results. I've lost the seal when tin baking some of the Gawith rectangular tins such as Full Virginia Flake, and a C&D tin of Exhausted Rooster exploded on me while in the oven and there were bird feathers all over the place along with a lot of tobacco leaf. I had a heck of a time cleaning all the tobacco out of there before my wife got home. I was lucky. If she had found tobacco shards all over her nice oven, instead of being an exhausted rooster from all that cleaning, I would have been a dead one!

 

[tarheel1]

I have no desire to do this or buy/trade for any that has been baked aka stoving. I will stick to what the blender intended it to be.

 

[sthbkr77]

I was offered baked OGS at pipe club a couple months back and I can say it did smooth out and darken. I haven't tried doing this myself yet but it doesn't seem like a horrible idea for a fun experiment. It'll set you back $7-ish for the tin and peace of mind of experiencing it for yourself.

 

[cortezattic]

Tin Baking Thread

Tame Your Erinmore

Tobacco Aging Acceleration Devices

 

[perdurabo]

I did this with some Squadron Leader. Tasted like McClelland's Wilderness. Which may have ruined Wilderness for me. I need to give it a try again, still have a stash of baked Squadron Leader somewhere, I threw some perique in there at a later date to add pizzazz.