smoking almonds

Here is one way.

Nuts, Almonds, Smoked, Boccie & Nikkig


Ingredients
2 cups raw almonds
water to cover
2 Tbs olive oil
table salt
Dizzy Pigs Swamp Venom




Procedure
1 Start with raw almonds. These can be found in the baking section of your grocery store. Chef's Naturals are what I find locally. Measure out 2 cups.
2 Soak in water for 10 minutes. Why soak? You will find that your seasonings fall off after a short time. Salt just doesnt want to stay on the almonds. Through some trial and error, attempts of soaking in a brine solution etc. I have settled on a short soak in water to help with this. The salt now melts onto the almonds. In addition if the almonds are soaked long enough they will swell in size, and it will change how dense they are after roasted. 10 minutes wont swell the almonds much at all. If you prefer this, use a warm water and soak 20-30 minutes. Try it both ways and see what you like the best.
3 Now drain well and coat with olive oil. About 2 tablespoons will be enough. Mix well with your hands.
4 Now season well with table salt. Do not use kosher salt as the grains are too big and will just fall off after a short time. For an added kick use Dizzy Pigs Swamp Venom seasoning. The following pictures show a batch done with the Swamp Venom.
5 Use the seasoning generously while mixing the nuts using your hands. Ok use kitchen spoons if your a real wimp :-) It isnt real cooking unless you get your hands dirty somewhere in the process!
6 Use a pan with sides. Or you can use tin foil with the ends folded as sides. I use a vegetable pan I found in the camping section of a department store. I cover the bottom with foil to prevent burning the almonds through the holes of the pan.
7 Once the cooker is stablized at 325deg, place a small amount of Plum wood and wait until it is smoking well. Any fruit wood should work just fine. Place your pan on the cooker.
8 Stir every 5 minutes, and recoat with your seasoning each time. You'll only do this twice since the almonds will be dried enough after 10-15 minutes that any added seasoning wont stick anyhow. After 20 minutes or when the almonds look right (this is of course a judgement call on your part) remove from the cooker and allow the almonds to cool. They will be soft until cooled, and will possibly be quite noisey while they are cooling and some will crack open.
9 The almonds have a good color after 20 minutes and are done just right here:
10 Thats it, enjoy!


Servings: 1

Recipe Type
Snack, Vegetarian

Recipe Source
Author: Boccie & Nikkig

Source: BGE Forum, Boccie & Nikkig, 2003/04/05

as Richard mentioned, Boccie's recipe is good. The recipe is put together with pictures here:
http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesAlmonds.html

I did a bunch for gifts over the holidays. But this time I skipped the water soak and oil, and instead used egg whites whisked until foamy, coated the almonds with it, then applied rub and a little extra salt. They were the best yet.

Still eating them cuz I made 6 pounds. hehe.
Cheers!
Chris