Cooking Cigars in the Microwave Oven

[Pyro]

I just wanted to share a little information regarding a small experiment I did on treating cigars with microwaves as an alternative method to deep freezing them to get rid of the Tobacco Beetle. The reason for this was a discussion at a Swedish cigar forum where people wondered if the cigars could survive such treatment and if they even could benefit from it (as a forced storage process to speed up maturation).

This has been mentioned but not really discussed before. Although I have seen that Club Stogie member kansashat several times has posted that some vendor recommended him to microwave cigars to “pop” the eggs. The background to this might be an article from European Cigar Cult Journal, autumn 2001, where some experiments and results were presented. See the text from the article at http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showpos...4&postcount=12

So, just for fun I did a small scale experiment just to see if the taste would be altered after heating some cigars in the microwave oven. The conclusion was that I couldn’t detect any significant change in the flavour profile that couldn’t be connected to variations in the cigars themselves. But, I would never use this method myself and would not recommend it to anyone since there must be a risk of loosing volatile compounds, which could affect the taste and aroma in a negative way. Especially if the cigars are to be stored for long time maturation!

See some pictures at:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2090108079

[yourchoice]

With a name like Pyro, it doesn't surprise me you would try for high heat over freezing cold.

Not something I would do, but thanks for sharing.

[Teninx]

Dem dam microwaves be makin' ya sterile. Ahy's gonna put mah stogies in de
'lectric oven.

[texasbadbob]

Thanks for sharing. I will stick to the freezer. Just used dry ice to freeze my entire stash. Worked fine

[White97Jimmy]

There was someone here who used a microwave for "fast aging" and failed miserably!

[Syekick]

Try it with a convection oven:

1. Preheat convection oven to 325 on high fan speed (roast)
2. Liberally spread crunchy peanut butter over a cookie sheet.
3. Lay the cigars out evenly spaced with about a thumbs width between each.
4. Top with 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup walnuts.
5. Pour 1 cup of melted butter over the top. (Butter not margarine)
6. Liberally sprinkle cinnamon sugar over all.
7. Open fresh bottle of single malt scotch.
8. Set timer for two hours
9. Take a fresh cigar and the scotch to your smoking area.
10. Complete drinking the entire bottle of scotch.
11. Turn off the oven and go to bed.

Note: If the smoke alarm goes off before you finish the scotch, you are drinking too slow.


Make 0 servings of 0 Calories.

Enjoy

-----

Otherwise, maybe the microwave idea does have its merits! But the scotch is more fun!!

[tzaddi]

I really appreciate the effort and scientific method you put into the evaluation. You would definitely get a Blue Ribbon at my Science Fair.

Never lit and smoked 2 at a time, will have to try it sometime...in the name of science

Thanks for sharing

[Teninx]

First I'm going to sterilize all my cigars with Ethylene Oxide. After that I'll cook them in the microwave and then I'll freeze them.

[DamnU]

I prefer grilling mine on the BBQ so it gets those little lines across it like a Ball Park frank. Then I stick it in a bun and smoke it that way. See?

[pizzaboy089]

Wouldn't the cigar taste like microwave food?

[DamnU]

^^ Pizza flavored cigars?! I think you're on to something!!

[tuneman07]

Interesting theory on the microwave, I wonder if just a second or two would kill the eggs, I mean microwaves aren't too nice to life forms that short of a time wouldn't necessarily heat up the tobacco much either.

[hova45]

nice exploding cigars

[Teninx]

Originally Posted by tuneman07

Interesting theory on the microwave, I wonder if just a second or two would kill the eggs, I mean microwaves aren't too nice to life forms that short of a time wouldn't necessarily heat up the tobacco much either.

Microwaves do not penetrate far into the objects they strike. They produce heat by exciting the molecules. If the cigar gets hot enough to kill the eggs, it most likely will get hot enough to kill the cigar.

[Pyro]

Originally Posted by Teninx

...If the cigar gets hot enough to kill the eggs, it most likely will get hot enough to kill the cigar.

Well, that was what I would guess too but even the Vegueros Marevas that was cooked at maximum effect for 20 seconds and really boiled actually tasted completely normal after the stabilisation!